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February 2010 Prayer Letter
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![Healing Hearts Ministries Internaional [LOGO]](https://www.healinghearts.org/nimages/HHLetterhead_Web700.png) Dear Friend, Many years ago the Lord quickened my heart with His compassion for a segment of our society which is often judged and overlooked. It started when the news was plagued with updates on the Green River Killer, a serial killer in the state of Washington who targeted prostitutes to torture and kill. I watched as the families of these women grieved the loss of their loved ones and I couldn't help but think, "What are we (the church) doing to help these women before they reach such a fate?" The honest answer to that question is, not enough. The problem seemed too overwhelming to do anything about, but the burden to understand and help has never left me. Every year Healing Hearts hosts a booth at Missions Fest in Canada and we are always asked by other ministries if we have any studies or help for prostitutes? Our answer has always been, "No, but we wish we did!"  While I was attending a women's retreat recently, the speaker told me a story of her experience on a short term mission to Tel Aviv, Israel, where a prostitute threw herself in the middle of a busy street and screamed that she wanted to die. One very brave missionary ran after her, risking her life to rescue her. The missionary dragged her to the side of the road and held her in her arms as she flailed and screamed, in the loving arms of this missionary the woman finally calmed down as the missionary prayed for her. The missionary works with a ministry called "Door of Hope", which offers shelter, food and clothing to prostitutes. The speaker went on to tell me that what is lacking are materials that would help them minister to these women spiritually. At this point in the conversation she had my attention. I thought, "Could Healing Hearts help?" My next thought was, "No, we can't, but Jesus can and we can be His hands and His feet." March 1-12, 2010, Donna Murgola, a Healing Hearts leader from New Jersey and I will be going to Tel Aviv, Israel, to visit "Door of Hope" to see if there is any way that Healing Hearts can help by developing materials to disciple women who are rescued from the sex trade industry. God has opened this door of opportunity for us to go and learn from these missionaries who are on the front lines, and once we have gathered our information and know how to approach the problem, then it is very possible that any materials we develop could be used world -wide. We must go where God is calling us to go and trust Him for the results. For us to go, we need your help. In order to cover our travel expenses, we need to raise approximately $5,500. Please read the information attached and prayerfully consider a love gift toward this mission. May the Lord bless and keep you always. In His love  International Director Did you know that human trafficking in Israel rakes in more than one billion dollars a year? Thousands of women are being smuggled into Israel, creating a booming sex trade industry. An Israel Parliamentary Inquiry committee, headed by Knesset member Zehava Galon of the left-winged Yahad party, commissioned the report in an effort to combat the sex trade in Israel. Findings showed that some 3,000 -5,000 women are smuggled into Israel annually and sold into the prostitution industry, where they are constantly subjected to violence and abuse. The report, issued annually, said some 10,000 such women currently reside in about 300-400 brothels throughout the country. They are traded for $8,000-$10,000, the committee said. The US Department ranks Israel in the second tier of human trafficking around the world, saying the Jewish State does not maintain minimal conditions regarding the issue, but is working to improve them. Most foreign prostitutes in Israel come from Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Russia and many are smuggled in across the Egyptian border.  During the height of the phenomenon, from the beginning of the 1990's to the early years of 2000, an estimated 3,000 women a year were brought to Israel on the false promise of jobs and a better way of life.Marina - not her real name, was lured to Israel by human traffickers. Marina rarely leaves her two-room home in northern Israel these days. She is hiding - wanted by the Israeli authorities for being an illegal immigrant, and by the criminal gangs who brought her there to sell her into prostitution. "When I was in Ukraine, I had a difficult life," said Marina, who came to Israel in 1999 at the age of 33 after answering a newspaper advertisement offering the opportunity to study abroad. "I was taken to an apartment in Ashkelon, and other women there told me I was now in prostitution. I became hysterical, but a guy starting hitting me and then others there raped me.  That part of her ordeal only ended when she managed to escape, but the physical and mental scars remain. Like Marina, some trafficked women are brought into the country legally, while others are smuggled by Bedouins across the border from Egypt. Their passports are taken away before they are sold to pimps. Sometimes women are subjected to degrading human auctions, where they are stripped, examined and sold for $8,000-$10,000.In Tel Aviv's Neveh Shanan district, for instance, just a short walk from the city's five-star tourist hotels, brothels masquerading as massage parlors, saunas and even internet cafes fill the side streets. One such place even operates opposite the local police station. There are bars on windows and heavily-built men guard the doors, which are only open to let customers in and out. Inside, groups of sullen-looking women sit in dimly-lit rooms, waiting for their next client. Foreign women fetch the highest prices, with trafficked women forced to work up to 18 hours a day. Out of the NIS 120 paid by customers, the women are left with just NIS 20, while the rest of the money is passed on to their traders. For years, the absence of anti-trafficking laws in Israel mean such activity - less risky and often more profitable than trafficking drugs or arms - went unchecked. It was only after repeated criticism of Israel by the US and the threat of sanctions that authorities began to act. Investigations into suspected traffickers increased, staff jail terms were handed down and Israel's borders were tightened against people-smuggling. The prostitutes face constant threats of abuse and murder and Israeli law does little to help them. Delays in trial dates and prolonged hearings force the women to remain exposed to violence for more than a year until they are called to provide testimony, and courts rarely collect early testimonies, as permitted by law. Several women's shelters have sprung up over the last several years, where these women are treated as victims of a crime rather than accomplices. One such shelter is called "Door of Hope", and is the Christian outreach ministry we will be working with. They are located in the old central bus station area of Tel Aviv, known as "Neveh Shanan". This is the home of Tel Aviv's red light district, which contains about 200 houses of prostitution. Prostitution is not the only vice that has found its resting place there. This district also hosts gambling, on-line casinos, Mafia, drug trade, and sex slavery. Very similar to a bunker or bomb shelter in the front lines of a war situation, they have what they call "The Underground". This is a 300 square meter basement complex that provides food, clothing, and a safe resting place. At present their focus is on those with the greatest need of assistance. prostitutes and street women. 
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To Make a DonationYou may use the donation form on our website to make a donation, or you may also submit your check to the address provided below. Healing Hearts Ministries is a federally registered non-profit corporation, all contributions are tax deductible. One hundred percent of all contributions made to Healing Hearts go directly toward supporting the various aspects of our ministry no "administrative fee" is collected by a fund-raising service. All donations and expenditures are internally and independently monitored and audited. Annual financial statements are available upon request. We thank you for considering contributing to our ministry. Your contribution will enable us to reach out and touch individuals who need the hope and healing message that only Jesus has to offer. To donate online click this link: https://www.healinghearts.org/donate Send checks to: Healing Hearts Ministries PO Box 44670 Rio Rancho, NM 87174 phone (505) 355-6922 |