“We would really like to reach out to sex workers in our city, but we just don’t know how or where to begin.” – Pastora Raysa from Reggio Emilia, Italy.
These words planted a seed that led to Femke taking a mission team to Reggio Emilia in Italy to lead a conference and outreaches to sex workers in that city. Her team was made up of women from Amsterdam, some of whom have previously worked in the sex industry themselves and whose lives have been changed by Jesus. Many of them are now leaders in our church. Participants in the conference were from The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, USA, and the Dominican Republic.
After 10:00 pm, they took small gifts to the sex workers to let them know how valuable they are and what an honor it is for them to be able to go visit them. In this region of Italy, there is not a single church or organization that wants to reach out to these individuals. The reactions were very special. They heard things such as:
“No one has ever stopped to just give me a gift and come just because they wanted to talk to me and get to know me as a person. This is very special.”
The teams went out from 10:00 pm until 1:00 am every night to the abandoned gas stations and industrial areas where prostitution takes place. What's important about this outreach is that the local church there in Italy has continued going to visit these sex workers every weekend to share the gospel with them. They are dreaming now of finding a place where they can give free food, hot coffee, advice, and prayer.
This is just another of many examples of how God has been enabling us to multiply our ministry across the world. In the month of September, Matthew did six Prophetic Conferences in three weeks across the USA and Mexico (Oklahoma, Mississippi, Georgia, Washington State, California, and Mexicali). Our Bible School, RUAH School of Prophecy, continues to spread across Europe, North America, and South America (www.ruahnetwork.com). While many people are feeling the limitations of the Coronavirus pandemic, we are seeing growth and multiplication through our Bible School, local church, and Scarlet Cord.
Scarlet Cord (www.scarletcord.work) is the ministry we are working with to reach out to Sex Workers all across the Netherlands. With weekly outreach teams to Amsterdam’s Red Light District and sex clubs, we continue doing outreach and helping many individuals. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we have been able to help so many more sex workers than ever before.
The national authorities have also reported a significant surge of human trafficking and illegal prostitution in our nation. We have been thrilled to be a part of helping people get out of prostitution and assisting victims of human trafficking. We love having the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever we go, and especially to sex workers who are often neglected and overlooked by society.
Through your prayers and financial support, we are seeing lives literally touched and changed all around the world. Thank You!!
Sincerely,
Matthew & Femke Helland
