Reality

Hello my friends and family! I thought I would update you again on what has been going on here.

Today I sat in a shack with one of the girls from my Bible Study. I was just visiting her and her family. No one else seemed to be around, so we sat down and talked for awhile. Her name is Melinda. After chatting a bit she let me know that her father left the house on Monday and had not returned. It was Wednesday. When I asked her why, she told me he was probably having an affair. What really broke my heart was the way Melinda accepted this.  It was as if this was absolutely no big deal to her. It was as if this was expected behavior. This was very sad to me, but not too shocking. Culturally it is acceptable for men to have multiple affairs and partners, and the woman accept this. But to see how Melinda accepted this with ease made it more real to me. I hate that this mentality of infidelity being normal gets passed down from generation to generation. I don’t really have an answer for this. All I can do is ask God to give me the wisdom to know how to talk to Melinda about this, so this doesn’t also become her fate.
 On Monday I spent the day reading and researching articles that prove that decriminalizing prostitution leads to more human trafficking. There are people who believe that making prostitution totally decriminalized (meaning it is legal anywhere and everywhere for both buyers and sellers) will decrease the amount of trafficking. These people believe the prostitutes and police will then work together to stop trafficking! This baffles me. It may even sound like it is not a bad idea, but countries like New Zealand have tried this, and the results are not good. A brothel can be next door to a day care center, and no one can do anything about it. Also, this actually increases the amount of women trafficked into these countries.  Now imagine a country like South Africa trying this, where the government is extremely corruptible. It is a disaster waiting to happen.
 Right now in South Africa, this is a hot topic. There seem to be many in the government who are pushing for decriminalization of prostitution in South Africa. I believe the main reason for this is that the government can then tax the prostitutes and pimps on all of their profit, meaning much more profit for the government. It is all about revenue. Being a pimp or prostitute will be like any other profession. Anyway, Justice [ACT’s] is part of a counter trafficking coalition. We happen to be the only group within the coalition fighting for total criminalization of prostitution within South Africa. Because we were the only group to speak up at the last coalition meeting, we are now involved in a “friendly debate” to discuss where we stand and why. We are battling with everything we have got. We honestly feel we are in over our heads most of the time, yet we keep pressing on and finding ourselves being given a voice within circles of people that seemingly know far more than we do and have much more pull and resources. Therefore it has become so obvious to me, almost laughable, that God so much has His hand on our small group at Justice [ACT’s]. He is taking this farther than any of us could hope to do on our own. Our efforts belong to Him, and as long as we keep being asked to speak, help, and advocate, we will. I will let you know how things go at the debate.
 Just a quick story for you: I was teaching Traffick Proof at a high school on Tuesday. At the end of our presentation, I always ask if the kids have any questions or anything they would like to share. Most are too shy, so I let them know they can come speak to me privately afterwards. On this particular day I had two young girls come up to me afterwards. One of the girls had something she wanted to talk about, but was begging me not to make her share. I tried to calm her and let her know she didn’t have to tell me anything. She just teared up and was shaking her head. I tried to ask her some questions, but she wouldn’t budge. At the time, I was at a loss as to what to do next. I let the girl know I would back at school on Friday, and she could share with me then if she wanted. Anyway, I shudder to think what she was hiding. I don’t think she was a victim of trafficking, but probably some type of abuse. Anyway, if you all could pray that I run into her again, that would be great. I am realizing more and more that I am standing between life and death for people here, in many ways. In most cases, if I don’t advocate for them, no one will.
 Well, that is it for me. How are things back home? Are John and Kate +8 really done? Does the swine flu really exist? What is Britney Spears up to these days? I need updates! Really though, I would love to hear what is going on in your lives. Please feel free to send me an update as well. You have no idea how much hearing from you all lifts my spirits. I hope to hear from you soon!