The next day, Anna came into our Café / drop-in center. We were surprised to see her, as the women from her street normally do not come in, because they are closely watched by their pimps.
“Someone stole my book last night!" she said. "Can I have another one?”
We very happily gave her a new copy. (Joke's on you, Satan.) A week later, when we met on the street, I asked if she had gotten a chance to read it.
“Yes, almost twice now,” she responded.
Wow. It felt so good to know that she’d not only read the whole book through, but that it had meant enough to her to read it again. It felt like we were making progress with her.
But after a few weeks, Anna disappeared. Another girl had taken her spot on the street.
This is not abnormal for many women, especially those that are closely controlled by pimps. After a certain period of time, they are moved to a new city or country. That way they don’t have time to form meaningful connections with anyone.
All I could do was pray that Anna was okay and wonder if I’d see her again.
. . . . .
Flash forward to ONE WEEK AGO.
We met a woman during Street Outreach and had a great conversation with her. In the middle of talking, an image of Anna came into my mind and I realized this woman was standing exactly where Anna used to stand.
As we were saying goodbye, I asked,
“Hey, there was a girl earlier this year who used to stand right here, named Anna? Do you know what happened to her?”
The woman smiled. “Yes. She went home. She’s done with this work. She’s never coming back.”
I’ll never forget the moment I heard those words.
Guys, I really believe God spoke to her through that little book, and showed her that he loved her and wanted to rescue her.
And guess what?! HE DID.
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