Justice will be served

"...Who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind...The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked." - Psalm 146: 7-9

"Now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly."  -Luke 18: 7-8

My heart has been stirred this week about the idea of justice. Clearly Holy Spirit is speaking to me about this issue, but two things in the physical realm also triggered my thoughts.

1. On our prayer-walk through the RLD this past week, we noticed for the first time that at the end of the RLD, in plain view of everything that happens, is a police station. Prostitution is illegal in Korea, yet across the street from a RLD is a police station and things just go on as normal?!?!?! How can this be??
It's because we live in a world full of corrupt humans, corrupt governments and corrupt justice systems. The more I research into the sex industry in Korea, and across the globe for that matter, the more I realize just how much corruption there is...corruption in every possible arena you can think of.

2. This week in Korea was elections.  Everywhere was swirling with promotional banners, volunteers handing out fliers, trucks driving around to advertise candidates, etc. I'm not a citizen, so I can't vote. And I'm not even Korean, so why should I care about elections?? I care because I want to see God place righteous people in the places of authority in this country. Ones who will finally stand for truth and tear down the strongholds of corruption.
Ah, how my heart burns to see righteous leaders lifted up!!!

God's kindness is what leads to repentance. This is why we pray for God's love and mercy to come down. Each week that we do these prayer-walks, we see the prisoners. We see the oppressed. We see the fatherless. We see the strangers. We see the blind. And our hearts are broken. So we cry out. We cry out for God to thwart the way of the wicked and quickly bring His justice. HIS perfect, holy and righteous justice.

Arms wide open.

We went out again this past Saturday. It's so cool how God shows us something so different each time.

2 people stood out to me: 1 man in the car and 1 lady in the window. The man's car was parked in front of her. He was looking at her.  His car windows were tinted very dark but when passing by his car, I looked right into his window and saw his eyes. In those short moments, I could see an intense craving. It was dark and scary. His eyes looked that of an animal, waiting to prey and pounce.

There was a different lady in the window than the one we saw sitting there last time. As we took some extended time to pray over the area, I kept praying God's love over her.

"And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me. I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me. He was looking at me, looking at Him, staring through me. I could not escape those beautiful eyes. And I began to weep and weep. He had arms wide open, a heart exposed. Arms wide open. He was bleeding, bleeding. Love's definition was looking at me."



As she spends hours waiting for men, looking at them as they stare at her. I pray that she would see Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at her, staring through her...arms wide open.

"You shall love Me."

-El

Arms wide open.

Rejection.

A few weeks back, on one of our walks, we saw 4 young men. They looked university-age. They went window to window, asking for the prices and bargaining to get the best deal. 1 boy immediately stood out to me. He was wearing a striped polo shirt. He looked so much like a follower. It seemed to be his first time in a RLD. He seemed nervous, curious, and submissive to the other 3 boys. There was a system of hierarchy: the dongseng and the hyungs. As they went from window to window, we were praying for rejection. We asked for rejection from the women and for frustration...that they would give up and leave the RLD. Seeing their persistence was heart-breaking. Little did they know how much the enemy was laughing and how the much the Father was weeping.

As we continued to pray, God led us to pray over specific needs. What stood out to me was Rejection. Rejection from their earthly fathers. They are father-less. They've been abandoned, neglected, unloved.

In the end, the striped-shirt boy went into the room while the 3 others were waiting outside for him. We prayed for a deep dissatisfaction.

It was obvious that the boy was craving something. Whether it'd be craving for the exhiliration of trying something new, something more "manly". Or craving acceptance from the "hyungs." Or a fleshly craving.

I wish I could tell him, "Drink the water that Jesus gives. You will never be thirsty forever. Your Heavenly Father is inviting you...you aren't rejected. O how He loves you..."

-El

We rest on ONE truth

"Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. "
-1 Corinthians 15:57

As we pray for things like prostitution and sex trafficking- issues that are just so big- it can easily becoming discouraging or disappointing because we don't often see significant change. But, with each and every prayer, the spiritual realm shifts and our Father in Heaven is glorified.

We know that our war is not waged against the flesh. It is not waged against the world. Our fight is against the principalities of darkness that rule until Jesus comes back. So until then, we rest in the assurance that it is through HIM that we have victory.

It is the Cross that gives us the strength to endure and press on. It is upon the Cross that we gaze, with unending devotion and thanks.

Planting seeds.

We had our 1st official walk last Sunday. We walked around the perimeter and then once we got to the opening of the RLD, I walked through alone. Due to the lack of sisters, we weren’t sure if I should walk through or not. But we decided it would be ok since the street was pretty empty, public, and open (I’m not sure if this is good or bad..that the RLD is so open). Walking through, I found myself very alert, walking rather quickly,  intimidated, while at the same time trying to focus on praying. Honestly, it was pretty tough. I won’t do it alone again. One thing became very clear..we need more prayer partners (brothers and sisters). (Strategically, the brothers will be on the perimeters praying while the sisters will be walking through.)

On the outside, the streets seem alright. Perhaps it’s because it was the morning or because there weren’t many people out that we thought it was “safe” and “ok”..but this is a deception. The reality is that it’s not safe. It’s not ok. There is something really serious and something really wrong going on. There’s so much weight to the depravity. I’m still processing this.

Though it was the shortest walk out of all the other walks in the RLD’s, I was reminded that Unearthed is about planting seeds. We may never see the fruit to our prayers. We may never engage with the men or women. We may never see the Church mobilized. We may never have others partner with us. BUT, we believe, ask, and receive in faith. Greater things are to come.

In the beginning stages of Unearthed, someone shared with us, “You guys may be the answer to other people’s prayers, and others later on may be the answer to your prayers.”

We are planting seeds. Yes, it’s in a very dark area. Yes, the soil may be full of thorns and rocks. But, we trust in Jesus…He is the Light of the world, He is the Living Water. Jesus can bring life to these small seeds.

-El

Grace upon grace.

Looking back, I see God's imprints of grace upon grace on these past several months.

There have been so many times of questioning, confusion, uncertainty, discouragement, loneliness, closed doors.

The lessons learned are many, but perhaps the most resounding is: Prayer.

Even for a prayer ministry, prayer has got to be the fuel. Perseverance in prayer. Faith by prayer. Love through prayer. Vision from prayer. Passion out of prayer.

Jesus, thank You for authoring Unearthed. Thank You for using us. Thank You for what You have in store. Thank You for loving us, for loving them. Thank You that You are redeeming all creation.

"The world is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." -Psalm 24

All for Jesus,

El