Dad, I’m With Prostitutes

One of our ministries this month is with prostitutes located in the heart of San Jose, Costa Rica. As we walk towards the rough part of town, we noticed a guy shove a 10-inch knife in his pants. There was a drug dealer hanging out in his car just steps away from the gated door where we were serving. Michelle greeted us, who has been leading this ministry for the past four years. All of the prostitutes on the streets know her by name. She opened with the news that one of the prostitutes was murdered overnight and that the girls may or may not bring it up when they come in today.

The ministry feeds them breakfast, which is rice and beans, a piece of bread, and some coffee. They also share a 15-minute devotional about the gospel and Jesus. Of course, many of the girls come just for the free food. The majority is drunk or high by 10 in the morning. However, a lot of them are engaged as the message is given. 

Whenever Michelle opens the doors for the women, she always makes rounds outside to greet and invite them in. Kellie and I joined her on the walk around the block. Michelle greets every single prostitute as if they were her dearest friend and without an ounce of judgment. She walks up, knowing each by name, giving them a customary greeting of a kiss on the cheek.

As we turned one of the corners she pointed out about four or five brothels in a row where the girls mainly work. The men come in, pick one of them out, and then go to a room in the hotel directly upstairs. A single curtain or saloon door covers the entrances. I could see the legs of the girls on the other side from below. Michelle stops for an old man that she seems to converse with often. He hasn’t eaten since the morning prior. Immediately, she backtracks around the corner and buys him some fried chicken on the spot. Michelle was bringing Kingdom of God with every step she took and truly made it seem effortless. I was blown away by how she loves. These people are normally despised, never looked at in the eye, and aren’t even worth asking their name. Yet, Jesus hung out with the homeless, the beggars and the prostitutes and we praise him for it.

Once we returned to the ministry building, Michelle didn’t skip a beat. There was a women strung out on the couch that had a burn on her thumb from mishandling a crack pipe. Michelle grabbed some rubber gloves, an ointment and gauze. I sat at the table to hang out with a couple of the girls. I could tell they were talking about their friend that was murdered. One of them was trying to read the newspaper because the article made the front page. She couldn’t read it since she had such a bad twitch from being high on whatever drug. I asked if she wanted me to read it to her and she pushed the paper towards me. As I read it she shook her head upset, commenting on what I was reading to her friend.

Another prostitute, a transvestite, had walked in that I recognized from when we walked up that morning. I had seen her crying and hugging one of the other girls on the street. Now it made sense. Fear had stricken many of them, considering they knew the girl who was killed. It could have been any one of them. 

I sat in the back as the 10 to 15 girls listened to the message about Jesus. Some are in crop tops with their muffin tops hanging over and tramp stamps visible. Others wear extremely short dresses that clung to any and everything. As I looked at them my heart began to break.

These women don’t have any inkling to their worth in God’s eyes. They don’t know how loved they are by the Father. For many of them, this may be the only thing they’ve ever known. Their worth is coming from how many men they can get in a day. Their income depends on how well they perform and how appealing they can make themselves look.

A righteous anger built in me thinking about the men that feed, no demand this. Industry. Because let’s be honest, where there is a demand a supply will find a way. I thought about how each one of these prostitutes is a daughter to someone in some capacity. Each one has had a father, whether they were abandoned as a child, abused or sexually assaulted, or perhaps actually had a decent relationship with their father.

So the message I actually want to share today is directly to fathers. Although hiring prostitutes isn’t a terribly popular thing for the average husband and father in the States, I want to speak out on something that is: strip clubs.

Although strippers aren’t actually giving themselves fully physically, the emotional, spiritual and mental damage is the same. Their worth is degraded to how much money they can make by flaunting their bodies. They are supplying a demand of sexual entertainment for the men that come through. Their value is found in gratifying men as an object and nothing more. Their intelligence means nothing; their personality and heart have no voice. Whether they enjoy going to work or are just desperate to make money, you are telling them that they’re worth nothing more than their bodies.

And so I’m here to give a very direct message and change your perspective. I want you to imagine it’s your daughter on that stage, dancing on the pole. 

Would you look at that stripper the same if she were your own child? Wouldn’t you want to cover her up immediately from the eyes of all the men who desire her with a sexual appetite? Wouldn’t you have a righteous anger toward those men that have driven her to believe this is the best she can do with her life? Wouldn’t you fall to your knees weeping for the broken heart of your daughter and how she finds her worth in this way?

Each one of these girls, prostitutes, escorts, strippers, dancers and the like are ALL daughters of God. They are precious to the One who created them. His heart is distraught for how the brokenness of this world has distorted her worth and value.

You can be a man of God and an influence of light. The next time your buddies want to go for a night out, please remember this blog. 

Imagine your daughter up on that stage. Please take a stand for her.

Stop thinking that going to a strip club is “light” and “harmless” fun. You want to make a change in this world? Well here is one way where you really can. You can be a force for the Kingdom of God and make a difference by taking a stand.

You can make a difference by sharing this post and getting the conversation out there. Let’s stop sweeping it under the rug. Let’s stop being afraid of taboo subjects that are destroying lives and start being BOLD about fighting the kingdom of darkness that society is trying to normalize.

From, 

a daughter of equal worth to the prostitutes on the streets.