"Maria is . . . prostituted by her aunt. Maria is obliged to sell her body exclusively to foreign tourists in Costa Rica, she only works mornings as she has to attend school in the afternoon. Maria is in fifth grade."
Child sex tourism makes its profits from the exploitation of child prostitutes in developing countries. Many children are trafficked into the sex trade. In Thailand, for example, Burmese girls as young as thirteen are illegally trafficked across the border by recruiters and sold to brothel owners.
The lives of child prostitutes are almost too appalling to confront. Studies indicate that child prostitutes serve between two and thirty clients per week, leading to a shocking estimated base of anywhere between 100 to 1500 clients per year, per child. Younger children, many below the age of 10, have been increasingly drawn into serving tourists.
Child prostitutes live in constant fear; they live in fear of sadistic acts by clients, fear of being beaten by pimps who control the sex trade, and fear of being apprehended by the police. It comes as no surprise that victims often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness.
Many victims of child sexual exploitation also suffer from physical ailments, including tuberculosis, exhaustion, infections, and physical injuries resulting from violence inflicted upon them. Venereal diseases run rampant among these children and they rarely receive medical treatment until they are seriously or terminally ill. Living conditions are poor and meals are inadequate and irregular. Many children that fail to earn enough money are punished severely, often through beatings and starvation. Sadly, drug use and suicide are all too common for victims of child sexual exploitation.
We will be going to Costa Rica to reach the young girls trapped in this ugly industry and we have a huge challenge before us and we would covet your prayers. Please pray that God would lead us and give us the opportunity to give children their childhood's back while offering them the love of Jesus Christ.
We have been invited to pioneer a church planting movement based on the Church Multiplication Network here in the United States and we are focusing on giving communities churches with purpose.
The Church Multiplication Network is a simple idea — work together to plant as many churches as possible. We believe that we can do more together than we can ever do by ourselves. We collaborate with church multipliers to effectively equip, train and innovatively network new faith communities.
Please pray that the Lord of the harvest would send Pastors who will say "Here am I, send me, I want to reach my community with a solid, bible believing church who will preach the unequivocable Word of God.
