Rescued from the Sex trade

One of the greatest opportunities where we can make a difference is in a city named Pitesti (pit-esh-t). There we have recently partnered with Reaching Out Ministries, a new program to rescue victims of the sex slave trade in Romania. Their stories are quite shocking, with some of them being deceived and sold by their own fathers to pimps.

Read an amazing story about Bianca who was rescued and accepted Christ through Reaching Out.

They were told things like that they were going to another country to get work as a Nanny or house keeper only to find when they arrived a pimp would take them and lock them in a room with no food or water until they consented to have sex with scores of men. Some of them have stories of the pimps themselves raping them over and over. Without going into any further details, these girls have suffered immensely and have very little self worth, struggling to even look people in the eyes.

Some manage to get a letter home to a family member who alerts the authorities. Some are rescued in government raids on night clubs and deported back to Romania. Iana Matei (yarna) has started Reaching Out Ministies in 1999 so that she can bring hope, encouragement and love to these desparate young women. Mission Connection assisted Reaching Out to purchase land and build a house for these girls which can house 12 girls. However, there are many more girls awaiting return to Romania, most of them with nowhere to go.

A recent church plant by Mission Connection has assembled a team of volunteers who travel to Pitesti to provide couseling, ministry and help. Most of the girls are very open to the gospel and at least 8 have accepted Christ.