Safe House

The guitar was a last minute thought and took up as much room as one of my kids. But since the kids were remaining behind this time with Sam, I reasoned there was more than enough room for it in the van.

We set out for a ministry opportunity at a safe house for women rescued from prostitution in Bangalore, India.

As we sat in the office of the women who ran the facility, we heard testimony of how the girls were literally rescued in sting operations by the local police and brought to this safe house as a first line of defense. The well guarded entrance served a dual purpose in keeping unwanted visitors from entering and kept disillusioned girls from escaping in the middle of the night.

Trapped in a life they never wanted, in a shame based society that offers them little else, they often return to the one thing that provided a living. This home of 30 dearly loved and chosen daughters of a Heavenly Father eat, sleep, watch TV, craft tokens and try to imagine a life outside the walls of the prison their minds told them they deserved.

The guitar came out and songs were sung. Not just songs, but redemptive lyrics of the God who loves them and has a plan for them. Of a God who brought our team from halfway across the world to their community room to let them know they weren’t alone. They weren’t forgotten. That a Heavenly Daddy loved them. Loved them more than they could possibly imagine.

We’d painstakingly taken the time to learn how to wrap our mouths around their spoken dialect to form one song. There was chatter in the room at first that quickly quieted as they realized we were singing in their native tongue. The quiet deepened as the weight of the lyrics were sung.

“Whatever happens it is good, God – I have loved You – Not able to see – Not able to see- Never thought of in my mind – You have kept me and You are good – If I walk in the darkness – If thrown to the fire – You are with me all of the time – Your promises will be fulfilled in me – Even when relatives and friends forsake me – Even when the ones close to me blame and neglect me – Your grace is sufficient for me, God – Your promises will be fulfilled in me.”

Scraps of paper and bits of pencil were brought out as they showed a sincere desire to learn the lyrics and hear the song again and then again.

More songs were sung. Prayers were brought before the Throne of The God Who Cares Most. One hour turned into two hours and the lunch hour came and went. And no one was hungry. No one wanted the time to end.

There is rescue for every heart in the saving power of Jesus Christ. He is the only answer for true safety and rescue from our sin.

Pray for these girls. For a better way of life for them. For reconciliation of their hearts to their Father God. The God who “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.” (Psalm 113:7)