The Delilah Project

Well the weekend has come and gone. After two weeks of intense work, we finally completed the Delilah Project (as we titled it, the name we use for one of the girls we came to love in Albania) at 10pm on Friday night and delivered it to downtown central Kyiv at noon the next day.

The weekend was amazing and a great success. We spoke to roughly 400 people the first day and in total, nearly 1000 people came through our structure.

Before I go more into the weekend, however, I want to back up just a little to tell you about the miracle that occurred a couple days before. Since the beginning, when we first came up with the idea for the art installation, we inquired about needing a permit. At first we were told no, but that soon began to change to a possible maybe and yeah you probably do. A couple people suggested to try and do it without a permit because it takes nearly a month to get a permit and at this point, with only a week left to go, it seemed like an impossible task.

So on the Thursday, Sue, Bekki and Wouter headed into the centre for some souvenier shopping time, as well with the intent of connecting with police officials to somehow get permission and their okay for our structure. They went into the police station and were directed to city hall, where all permits are issued. It took a while for them to find someone who spoke english.

They explained what we were doing and the lady who worked there said that if they wrote up a letter and got it back to her before closing at 6 p.m., she would sign and stamp the permit herself, right then and there. On top of it, when she asked where we were planning on setting it up, in response to the unknown, she encouraged to set up the structure right out front of city hall! How amazing!!! God is so amazing! It was evident that this project had Gods anointing on it and this was meant to happen. Here we are in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, a hotspot in Easter Europe for human trafficking and they've told us that we can do our awareness campaign right outside city hall!

But why not? Earlier in the week, during the YWAM base Monday morning intercession, this exact thing was prayed for - that the city itself would back up this project! God is so good!

So back to how the actual weekend went.

Transportation ended up working out, which was another huge prayer request. We had two different vans set up, one for each day. The first van was from our contacts church and the other from the YWAM base. Thankfully everything fit inside.

About an hour after arriving and beginning our setup, the police arrived and stuck around for the next hour and a half. We showed them our permit but at first that wasn't good enough. Sue ended up having to go with them to get a photocopy of it as they wanted to take our permit but it was our only copy. It wasn't until Kelly (our main contact) showed up with his family and began speaking with them about how we are only helping the officials out, working beside them for the good of the people, etc., etc., that they finally left. We found out later that there was a demonstration/protest planned for 6:30 p.m. on the Sunday, that they were worried about and thought we were a part of it (it actually ended up being a protest against family violence! How fitting).

As we continued to set up, curiosity quickly set in amongst those walking by and though we were not complete for sometime, people were already checking out and walking through what was ready. We had many positive comments and feedback and as to be expected but still sad, a few negative ones (this is not my problem, this doesn't effect me, etc). A number of our walls along the side of the structure, were set up to be comment walls and we had many people leave their comments. At times you noticed as they excited, tears welling up in their eyes. There were a number of emotional stories, though we will never know just how many who walked through were actually walking through their own life story, a few stopped to share. On the Sunday, one of the first women to go through, became very emotional, sharing with our translator that she knew this all too well, having grown up in the city's orphanage - the abuse, friends trafficked as they turn 18 and have no where to go but to trust the men that our outside waiting, promising good things. It was obvious she had much pain to deal with and the two of them exchanged numbers to talk again.

Some were offended that outsiders would come in and tell them what was wrong with their country (or so they perceived it to be) and others were amazed that foreigners would actually come and share of their time to help their country out, to spread awareness of this great problem. Often at the end, whenever there was opportunity, we would ask if the person had known about the issue of human trafficking, and often the answer is no. Even the ones that do still don't often realize the extent of it or that they themselves could easily fall victim to enslavement (as there are many kinds).

As a group, our prayer is that all those that had the chance to come through the Delilah Project, will feel a stirring in their hearts, a movement, a call to action, a need to know more and that the awareness can continue to spread in this city and that they will also begin to realize that the women they view as just prostitutes or druggies, really didn't have the choice that we like to believe they do, that there is a story behind the mask of every women, man and child and that in this day more than ever love is needed for all, but more specifically - God's love.

----------------------

On another note, when we arrived home we were met with shocking news that at first left us with many emotions and tears. We received an email from Julie in Pogredec, that Xhulio, the boy we had all grown to love so very much, had passed away that very morning. It was heartbreaking to hear that his smile would no longer be witnessed here on earth but at the same time, through tears, I think about the wonderful fact that he is now in heaven experiencing the most amount of love he could ever know from our heavenly father and running around on his beautiful legs that work. I'm so happy that he no longer has to suffer and be ill-treated within his own family but I pray for the three young sisters, who we also got to know, that are now left behind. Please keep them in your prayers as well as our group, through the many emotions that we are dealing with.

Thank you.