June 2, 2008 (10:35 p.m. Brussels, Belgium) Today has been quite an emotional roller coaster. After breakfast this morning we had an impromptu meeting with missionary April Foster. April and her husband, Jerry, are relatively new missionaries to the Belgium field. They are working with a ministry that reaches out to prostitutes in the red light districts of metropolitan cities in Western Europe. According to research, more than 700,000 women and girls are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation. In Paris alone, it is estimated that there are 5,000 child prostitutes. April shared with us that pimps will visit places like Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, and Nigeria, attempting to trick young ladies into coming to Western Europe. They promise them decent jobs as waitresses or maids, tell them lodging will be provided, and lead them to believe that they will live the good life. Because these girls are often poor, it seems like a great opportunity for them. Once they agree to the job, these pimps will require them to go through rituals in which voodoo curses are placed on the girls. They are led to believe that if they try to get out of the agreement, they will die. Once in Western Europe, they are taken to the red light districts of major cities where they are forced to work as prostitutes. Their passports are taken from them and destroyed. They lose a sense of identity and freedom. The pimps tell them that in order to be released they must repay a debt. Often the figure is $50,000 to $60,000. The girls see no way of repaying the money, and so, lose hope for the future. April gave a testimony of a young lady who had been set free from this lifestyle. This girl had come from a poor neighborhood in 1
Nigeria, having been promised a job as a nanny. For the first few weeks after she arrived in Western Europe, she was raped, beaten, and gang-raped, until her will was broken. She was required to work as a prostitute, got pregnant, and then was forced to have an abortion. Some time later she got pregnant again and was forced to have another abortion. About that time she realized that if she didn t find a way out of that lifestyle, there was no hope for her future. She was helped by Jerry and April s ministry, accepted Christ as Savior, and today knows true freedom. She is married and has two beautiful children. God is full of grace AND mercy! April recounted that, last week, she was in Holland in the red light district. While there, she saw three sisters in three separate windows (they are displayed for the shopper s picking pleasure). It broke April s heart as she thought about her own three daughters. She wondered, Do their parents know where they are? Do they have parents who care? Do they know that freedom even exists outside of their cell? When April said this, I couldn t help but think of my own daughter. My heart was torn as I thought about the thousands of daughters who are being exploited around the world for the sensual, sick pleasure of men. The injustice overwhelmed me. I couldn t help but cry as I listened to April talk. It just doesn t seem fair. But in the middle of the corruption shines a glimmer of hope. Jerry and April have been called to reach these girls. They 2
are teaching them life skills (such as sewing) in order to have a job to make a living after they get out of the brothels. They are sharing the love of Jesus and teaching them how to be freed from this lifestyle. I don t know how this impacts you, but I am convinced of the importance of Speed the Light to help missionaries like Jerry and April. They are my heroes. After spending these few moments with April, we met missionary Ken Barickman who is a chaplain to three prisons in Brussels. Ken was called to the mission field as a student at Trinity Bible College in South Dakota, when a missionary visited the school. He has been a missionary since 1982, worked 14 years in prison ministry, and is fluent in five languages. He drives a nine-year-old Speed the Light VW Passat. As Wade and I rode in Ken s car, he told us that because the prisons are out of the way of public transportation, he probably wouldn t have been able to even envision this prison ministry without Speed the Light. Ken told us about a man named Victor who had been imprisoned for smuggling people into Belgium. While in prison he was reached with the gospel message. Being very educated, he began to read all the materials that Ken had given him. One day, Ken went to his cell. Victor had run across information on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He asked Ken if it was real. Ken responded with a yes and asked Victor if he would like to pray to receive. They knelt in the prison cell and Ken laid hands on Victor. Victor was filled with the baptism that day. He has returned to his homeland, and, at last check, is 3
doing quite well in his relationship with God. Ken also shared that about 80% of those imprisoned in Belgium are Muslims. Ben Joseph was a young Muslim who was imprisoned and became very depressed. He was in the depths of despair when Ken visited his cell one day. He wanted to hear about Jesus, so Ken shared the gospel and left a Bible with him. Ken returned a few weeks later to discover that Ben Joseph had been reading the materials he had been given and had begun leading Bible studies in the prison. The work of Ken to see lives like Victor s and Ben Joseph s saved and changed is made possible, at least in part, because of Speed the Light! Following our time with Ken, we drove to T Groot Cafe in Halle, Belgium. The restaurant is located in a building constructed in 1404 talk about history! We had, according to our missionary host, Gerald, the best cappuccino north of Italy. It was pretty stinkin tasty. From here, we made our way to Continental Theological Seminary (CTS), which is located in Sint-Pieters- Leeuw, on the grounds of the former Rattendaal Castle. The Bible school, with over 120 students enrolled, has representatives from 36 countries! Graduation is this weekend and includes a class of 29, with 19 nations represented. Once again, the world comes to Belgium, and these students will return home to spread the fires of the gospel. CTS utilizes three Speed the Light vans which are essential for transporting students to and from church and ministry opportunities, and hauling supplies for the daily 4
operation of the school (among countless other uses). Several Assemblies of God missionaries also serve at the school, training and equipping students to reach their world for Christ. After we got back to the European Ministry Center, a surprise awaited us. Greg Mundis, Area Director for Europe, had made a visit to the Center. As we snacked on fresh fruits and veggies, Greg s passion to see Europe blanketed with the gospel was apparent. Truly, our Assemblies of God missionaries are counting on us to help them get the job done. The projects are numerous, the cost is great, but today I am reminded, souls are at stake. Loving the Lost, Chet Caudill 5