Bringing Hope and Healing to a Red-Light District

Naya* and Kalpana* have lived in the red-light district for many years, actively working as prostitutes.

Through your generosity, they have heard the gospel repeatedly throughout the past decade. But, for much of that time, they didn’t understand that Jesus loved them despite their sin.

Beginning in 2020, Naya and Kalpana started attending weekly church services. Slowly, they began to see Jesus’ love for them and feel broken about their sin.

Still, they couldn’t find the courage to follow Jesus and trust God’s provision if they left the profession. They said they would go when they paid off their debts.

They attended prayer and discipleship meetings for four years, feeling convicted but unwilling to leave their old lives behind. We continued discipling them but were frustrated by their lack of follow-through.

But that’s not the end of the story!

On Christmas Eve 2024, Neha and Kalpana packed up their things and left the red-light area, saying they could no longer disobey Jesus. Praise God!

Both women are currently in job training. They still have debts that we will help with if they cannot. These women are committed to never returning to their old lives.

Thank you for persistently giving and praying for women involved in the sex industry in South Asia. Your faithfulness is critical in transforming lives here.

Please join us in prayer:

• Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in pursuing Neha, Kalpana, and others in the red-light district. Pray for the salvation and spiritual growth of women here.
• Ask God for wisdom as women seek new employment and develop new lifestyles.

Your gifts help women like Neha and Kalpana escape the darkness of the South Asian sex trade and change lives for eternity. Thank you!

*Names changed

Heena’s* baptism marked the end of a two-year struggle to leave prostitution. Her life was not easy in the red-light district, but thanks to your generosity and the love and support of a team of local believers, Heena decided to leave. Her baptism took place at our annual camp, an opportunity for prostitutes and their children to leave the struggles of the red-light district behind for a few days and learn about Jesus.

Because of your gifts, our team has seen three women leave prostitution and follow Jesus over the past 18 months! National partners consistently reach out in love to women in the area. Through the friendships they create, these believers pray and share the gospel with women, simultaneously helping them provide for their children’s needs. Your giving enabled 12 children to attend boarding school to keep them away from the red-light district where their mothers live.

The outreach center you support faithfully serves women’s needs and brings the gospel directly into the red-light district twice weekly. We see an average of 35 women at each church service. We have four ladies who used to work in the red-light area before becoming baptized believers, attending church services to encourage women to consider leaving.

Our team is working with several women who have left prostitution to find new lives. Your generosity helps these ladies find housing in a different area of the city and offers job training so they can provide for their families. Whether by learning to sew or preparing for the civil service exam, we want to equip each for a future career.

Please join us in prayer:

• Pray for Heena as she moves into her new life beyond the red-light district.
• Ask God to give courage to two women struggling to leave prostitution and follow Christ.
• Praise God for the 15 women who have left prostitution to become believers!

Thank you for joining us in addressing the world’s greatest problem: lostness. Your gifts and prayers for this team enable us to reach the people of the South Asia with the good news. You are a co-laborer with us in the gospel. We value your partnership!

*Name changed for security

Because of your generosity, we are seeing the Lord move powerfully in the red-light district of our megacity!

We are currently discipling three women as they work towards leaving the red-light district permanently. Their love for Christ is growing, as is their trust that God will take care of them even if they leave everything they have ever known.

Each week nearly 50 women gather to hear Christ proclaimed in the red-light area. Along with teaching the Bible, our local partners talk with them about what it would look like for them to create lives outside their current darkness.

Many of these women have children who live in hostels outside the red-light area to attend school. About 25 children recently returned to visit their mothers for their May school holidays, and we will soon take them to a special camp where we can encourage them to know and follow the Lord Jesus.

We have the precious opportunity to communicate regularly with hundreds of ladies in this area. We help meet their needs and boldly point them to the One who can meet their ultimate needs, Christ Jesus, who loves them and gave Himself for them.

We are excited to install a new team of local believers as the leaders of this life-changing work. During this transition, the project does not need additional gifts. Please continue to pray for God to move powerfully through this effective ministry.

Please Join Us in Prayer:

• Please pray that the Lord will touch more hearts in the red-light areas of our city and help these suffering women believe that He will transform their lives.
• Pray specifically for three women—Shruti, Sita, and Ruby—who say they will leave the red-light district if we can find them jobs elsewhere. (Each of these ladies refuses to move to one of the available rehabilitation programs.) Ask the Lord to give us wisdom about how to help them. Pray that the Lord will provide jobs!

Your generosity is impacting and changing lives! We are so grateful for your support in this work!