Christians Who Throw Birthday Parties For Prostitutes

While we were in Haiti in May, our preacher, Phil, told our missions team how proud he was for us showing so much love to all we have come in contact with.  I will agree, our group did do an amazing job showing Jesus to people who really needed to feel that kind of love.  We met all kinds of people when we were doing house visits to provide food relief; some were Christians and some were not, but one of those people stood out from all the others.  Her name was Magdala, and she has been supporting her family through prostitution.  We didn’t tell her she was going to hell, we didn’t judge her, and we didn’t try to convert her right there.  Instead, we listened to her story and what led her to that walk of life.  We also prayed a very long prayer while we stood in a circle around her.  Phil also told her a story of Mary Magdalene and how special her name is and that we will never forget her or stop praying for her.  We have given her some money to start a business, and maybe with God’s help, she will use the help wisely and can provide for her family in a better way.

That night, we had a birthday party for one of our friends, Fefe, who turned 15.  We surprised him with a fancy cake from the local French bakery at his house after sunset.  He was so emotional that he cried, and he told us that was his best birthday he has ever had.  We cut the cake with a plastic knife using the help of a kerosene lamp while crowding in his large family’s one-room house, and we had the best time celebrating and laughing together.

That night at our devotional, Phil told us a story that he was reminded of after the house visits and the birthday party.  You can read this story here.  We need to strive to be Christians like this, the type of Christians who “throw birthday parties for prostitutes at 3 o’clock in the morning.”  It is so easy for us to call ourselves Christians, but I think our actions speak for themselves.  We need to put ourselves out of our comfort zones and associate with everyone, even those who have gone down the wrong path and remember there is probably a good reason for how they got there in the first place.  We need to be as Jesus was and show His love to everyone, not just “devout believers.”

The reason I chose to write about this today is because Roni recently told me how he has started to talk to one of the regular prostitutes that comes to his hotel.  He said that no one else he works with calls her by name like they do to other hotel guests, and they just talk about the fact that she is a prostitute.  He treats her with respect, and in time he might get to know a little bit of her story.