As a man working at Restoration Ministries, I was changed in a way I will never forget. As a third-year counseling student seeking a practicum site, I discovered this ministry to sexually exploited girls and decided to get involved. When I first walked into the center to meet with the director of the program, I immediately saw the Wailing Wall filled with prayer requests from the girls they were working with at the Youth Service Center (YSC) and The Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW), and it made an impact.
I was generally aware of human trafficking but believed it was mainly happening in foreign countries. By reading articles from CNN and other online resources, I became more aware of prostitution and sex slavery in the United States. While growing up in Northern Virginia, I had heard of areas in D.C. where women were being prostituted. However, learning the facts from third parties made the reality feel distant. I did not take it seriously since I did not have any direct involvement with the issue and it did not affect anyone I knew. All of that changed when I started working personally with girls at YSC and PIW through Restoration Ministries. The real damage of sex trafficking is undeniable when a girl is sitting in front of you, telling her story.
To hear from these young girls how so many of them had survived being molested and raped by their own family members, before finally being sold into prostitution, was gut-wrenching. Their heartbreaking stories of being abused sexually, emotionally, and mentally are ones that have stuck with me and caused me to re-evaluate how I view and relate to the women in my life.
One area I have dealt with is the messages and references made toward women in the music and movies I consume. Before working at Restoration Ministries, I saw a “pimp” as a man who was able to have a lot of women, and I saw the number of women a man had as a badge of merit. However, seeing up close the damage a pimp really causes changed the way I saw that type of man. This simple concept helped me re-evaluate the things I watch and listen to, which is something all Christians should do. The Bible says in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Working with these girls meant that I had a rare chance to see with new eyes how my actions might affect others, and gave me an opportunity to learn how to truly convey God’s love to them.
After realizing the impact men had in the lives in these girls, and how deeply I as a man could influence the women around me, I knew that I would always be a work in progress. There will always be the need for me to renew my mind and set boundaries on what I watch, what I listen to, and how I act. I encourage every man to monitor what he allows to enter his mind. The Bible clearly states in Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” There is nothing that we will indulge that will not surface in our actions and in our relationships. Let’s be careful what we let into our minds, so that we can know that what flows from our hearts will be Godly love. – M.L.
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