My Grace is Sufficient

It is getting harder to leave at the end of the night when we go out to the streets. Can I just stay with them? I promise I will be safe. I know that I am not allowed to be alone out there, but who is going to keep them safe? I find myself wishing that we couold go out every night. I have the overwhelming question of "why" screaming in my head all the time. Why. Why her? Why not me? Why is this allowed? Why do you not save them right now God? You walked on water, you healed the sick, you made blind men see... Why are these girls here? Do you know that the girls regualarly stand on the streets singing praise songs? Often the conversations go like this: "What fun music! What is it called?" "It is praise music from my country. From Nigeria. Praise to the One who made it all." Then the girl runs off chasing a potential customer. My mind cannot fully grasp this. In all this darkness, these girls are listening to praise music? I am pretty sure I heard hillsongs from one of the girls. We are told that everytime Bibles are brought out, they are gone in an instant. The girls love to get Bibles. Some keep them as good luck charms to sleep with under their pillows. Often, you can find a girl reading one in a brothel. The girls know that what they are doing is sin, but they are trapped by their circumstances and their traffickers. "just as soon as I pay off my debt, then I will find a new job."
The girls have started to remeber me. I do not really blend in here you could say. I remebered their names, thankfully, and was greeted with warm smiles and hugs. I loved seeing them. Its hard not to just grab them, throw them in a car, and go far away. Sometimes I imagine that we could all start a cafe by the Sea, and they could be safe and healthy. I would take care of them. I would love them. In my perfect world, they would never hurt again or deal with the consequences of their trade. In my perfect world.
At different times, the girls asked me to sit with them.We would sit there. Just two young women have a conversation. One girl told me of how she missed home. She said she had alot of family there, but she was here in Athens alone. She told me that if she could, she would go back home right now. She would just fly away and be gone. I am going to find out why she has not done so and offer her the opportunity to go home through Nea Zoi next time I see her. Another girl offered for me to sit down on the cardboard box she had set out so the dirty sidewalk would not stain her dress. We laughed at our attempt to both sit on this little pieece of cardboard. We laughed at the size of my butt in comparison to her small frame. We laughed at my recent sunburn and awful tan lines from the merciless Greek sun. We laughed. We talked of how she loved to sing gospel music. I asked her if she would want to sing in front of a crowd ever. She said it did not matter. She loved to sing everywhere. We shared smiles and stories. But we shared an unspoken pain. We could joke and laugh, but we did it amongst the darkness of a street filled with men walking by and gawking at us. She sat safe with me, but I could not keep her safe. Everytime I looked at her I could see a yearning to be as far away from here as she could be. I watched her fiddle with her phone and hands, never really looking up. I wanted to throw away any normal conversation, and just grab her and hold her close to me. I wanted to let her cry. Cry for the injustice of it all. Cry for where her life had taken her. Cry for what had been stolen from her. I could see so much pain that could not come out. I once saw a movie with a poem and it immediately came to mind, It is by Antwone Fischer, but I am changing it to a girl for the sake of getting my point across.

who will cry for the little girl?
Lost and all alone.
Who will cry for the little girl?
Abandoned without her own?

Who will cry for the little girl?
She cried herself to sleep.
Who will cry for the little girl?
She never had for keeps.

Who will cry for the little girl?
She walked the burning sand
Who will cry for the little girl?
The girl inside the woman.

Who will cry for the little girl?
Who knows well hurt and pain
Who will cry for the little girl?
She died again and again.

Who will cry for the little girl?
A good girl she tried to be
Who will cry for the little gilr?
Who cries inside of me.

You see this girl who I sat on the box with. She has not been making enough money, thus her family has been threatened. They have reduced the amount she has to pay off, but she still has another two years ahead of her. She is dying inside. You can see it all over her face. Her family has been threatened so she receives pressure from them. She receives pressure from her traffickers. She is ravaged by her customers. She must go out night after night allowing others to take advantage of her. Noone seems to care for her. All is hopeless. I look at her and I want to scream at every man that walks by with that disgusting look. I want to fight for her. tell her she is loved. Oh, she is adored. That is when the question , "why" begins to scream in my head. I hear "My grace is sufficient." What does that mean? Everytime I cry out to the Lord this is what I hear. Grace. Grace. My Grace. I am not going to pretend to understand. I am not going to play all knowing holy Christian.
Was I blaming God for all of this? Paul is talking about nothing being out of his own good, but rather from God. I see all this injustice and it is hard to comprehend and understand my God in this context. But why this verse? Is the Lord reminding me that this pain I feel He feels even more then I do? All the filth, this is what sin does. This is what sin is. Have I not been walking in the grace of God? Yes. I know it is only by Grace I am saved. But what about these girls? I am not questioning that Gods grace is enough, but am I questioning his heart in comparison to mine? As if the Lord has turned His face from the wretchedness and hurt here? Am I forgetting the filth that is in me? So many questions. I am so thankful to know that God can be patient with me me and my questions. When I understand this verse in the context of my life right now, I shall let you know.
Pray For L. Pray for hope. Pray for every girl on this street. Pray for the team. I have no idea how I will ever be able to leave them. Pray. Pray. Pray. For I know His Grace is sufficient.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."