Interview Day

After a train to a another train to a bus and a short walk, Enda and I arrived in Rotterdam, NL for my first interview of the day. I fell in love with her two year old little girl who taught me some Dutch and played with me in the sandbox (I guess I am missing my nanny life...). We hung out for a bit enjoying the day, then sat down for the interview. During the interview, as she told me her story, I was impressed by her level of self-awareness. She has been out of prostitution and a Christian for 6 years, but knows it is still an on-going process. Despite her dignity and brutal honesty with me, she couldn't hide the tears when it came to talking about her family. That is the thing...my first question for the women is always "tell me about yourself..." they always talk about their family. When I ask them to describe a painful memory, once again it's about family. The tears I have seen in the interviews have been over deep wounds from their birth families. The prostitution, addiction, violence, etc. all take a back seat to what happened to them as children. I have been amazed by the power parents have. Second to that, which became more evident in the interviews I did at SHOP, is the power of addiction. One of the girls said her family only knows her as a junky...she is 23, smart, beautiful, and spends her days eating and sleeping (her schedule is like an infant) to fight off her drug addiction. One of my favorite shows, So You Think You Can Dance, had a routine this season about addiction. I watched it again this morning with this girl in mind and found it even more powerful.

gravity 4r @ Yahoo! Video

I was also surprised yesterday by the fact that I was able to talk about God with all 5 women I interviewed. Each of them brought it up of their own accord and I was able to pray with 4 out of 5. It was so great. We talked about freedom from addictions, healing from the past, and the hope of eternity. It is surreal thinking about how all of it happened. Just like the rest of this trip, the day unfolded and I was able to join in what God already had set in motion. He is so faithful...the interviews are done and now we get to enjoy our last few days in Amsterdam. Here are some photos (of the women I didn't interview) from our "creative night" of collaging, dancing, and hanging out with the SHOP women. It was such a great night. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. We could totally feel them yesterday. Love, Cal