Petra LunaDuring my time in Durban, I have encountered many young women with traumatic backgrounds which have impacted their lives in unspeakable ways. Some horrible cases include those of human trafficking whereby young girls are deceived by men who promise a better way of life but in actuality bring them to Durban to sell their bodies with no escape. These women are taken and given illegal drugs to sedate them and kill their emotions so that the work might be “more tolerable.” They have no claim to the money made because the pimps have sole access to it. Sadly, these girls range from age 9 and up. Many of the other street girls who are not trafficked come from a background of sexual abuse starting as early as age 3 by family members and friends of the family. For some of them, the superficial pressures of youth weigh heavy (i.e. the need to fit in with the latest fashion trends and styles) leading them to look for other means of financial support. All these factors combined have led many of them to runaway from home and lead lives of prostitution.
For example, we have one nine year old girl, “Nonto”, whose father died at an early age and has been raised by her mother and step father. She was raped at age 5, ran away from home and became a street child prostituting herself for means of survival. A few months ago she returned home only to find her stepfather attempting to rape her. I was able to lead her to the Lord and now “Nonto” is attending church and serving the Lord. Sometimes during worship services I can catch her out of the corner of my eye with hands lifted high and eyes closed singing praises to Jesus.
Another young lady who we’ve come to love is “Zandile”. She is HIV positive and the mother of three children. Two of them are in custody of her mother; the youngest has been given up for adoption. “Zandile” also has a history of sexual abuse from many family members starting at age 5 until she was 13 when she began the life of prostitution. She met a man who became her pimp and turned her on to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. She has been physically abused by her pimp repeatedly that even on one occasion he beat her so severely that she had to be admitted to the hospital for months. Customers have also physically abused her to the point that a single incident left her unconscious for days.
When I met “Zandile” she was pregnant. I preached the gospel to her, prayed for her and invited her to come to the Life Place Center. Miraculously a few weeks later walking down the corner towards Life Place I came across her again. She said “I’m coming to see you because I want to give my life to Jesus.” She surrendered her life to the Lord, became a woman of God, and started working as a baby-sitter. Unfortunately, after eight months her pimp found out where she was and began calling her. She then backslid and returned to him. Her situation became worse; abuse began again as well as the drugs and alcohol. I started to pray and fast for “Zandile” and asked many people to do so as well. I also began looking for her on the streets of Durban to no avail. Then one night I found her in a corner so intoxicated that she was barely able to speak. I prayed for her, invited her to the center and gave her my phone number. One week later, she came to Life Place and rededicated her life to the Lord. Today she is under one of our Doctor’s For Life facilities faithfully serving Jesus and has stated with conviction “I will never return to the world again.” Let us not loose heart in praying for “Zandile,” “Nonto,” and the young women that are victims of human trafficking and for the other sex workers that the gospel is yet to reach.
http://www.doctorsforlifeinternational.com/programs/lifeplace/theirstories/petras_time.cfm
