Ponder these two words:

Men

Sex-trade

What emotions and stereotypes do you associate with these two words?

Be honest…

If you are anything like me, these two words might immediately arouse some not so pretty thoughts or feelings.

Ponder what God associates with these two words…

I imagine He might think about how He sent His son to die because He loves and wants to redeem all of His children whom He created in His image—even the man who might travel half way around the world to spend a night at a bar looking for ‘love’…because in His eyes that doesn’t define who that man is.

Just like you and me, that man has a story. He has a name; a mother and father; maybe a wife, a son or a daughter; friends; a job; a hometown; emotions, needs, and dreams, and (we can’t forget)...

BROKENNESS.

Really we are all broken in some way. We were all created to be in never-ending, close, intimate relationship with God our Creator. But then sin got in the way and ever since we’ve been searching for that intimacy and love in all the wrong places.

And when all one has known in the world is an abusive father, a broken marriage, a bulimic daughter, a suicidal son, an addiction to alcohol or porn…disappointment after disappointment starts to make one wonder:

Is there any hope? What went wrong? One might not know that the hole they feel is due to a lack of God in their life and they might go in search of something—anything—to fill that gap.

There are many unfortunate places one could end up while on a search like this. One of those places is in front of The Heart of Darkness Bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia were one can easily buy what one might think will bring love and fulfillment, even if just for a night.

The MST Project (Men and the Sex Trade) is a ministry that reaches out to these men. They say,

“We do not look at these men for where they currently are but rather for where they can be with a transformed heart. The MST Project wants to reach out to these men and be an example of restoration and redemption. It is our responsibility to go to these men, when very few will, and bring the love of God to them in an area where they least expect it, by those whom they least expect it from. It is our hope that they will experience the love and the hope that is found in a relationship with Him. The Father’s love is available to all, in all places and at all times.” 

Every other Friday night, a MST group heads out to talk with men (mostly foreigners) outside of bars. They ask questions, they listen, they learn the men’s stories, they listen, they offer to go play pool or get chicken wings together, they listen, they share their own disappointments and fears and hurts, they offer hope by sharing personal stories of the Lord’s restoration and healing in their own lives, and they listen some more.

Often this is one of the first times that someone has actually listened to that man’s story and heard the pain along his life’s path that led him to a bar half way around the world. No one hits anyone over the head with a Bible…it is just real people talking with other real people about real life and real hurt.

So no matter where the search for love and intimacy takes a person, there is only One who can truly fulfill the longings of our souls completely.

Please pray that more men (Cambodian and foreign) will be called out of their houses to listen to these stories and offer hope.

Join The MST Project in parying that “The hope we have in [The Lord] will cause a man to return to his wife and become a better husband. Will cause him to return to his children and become a better father. Will cause him to return to his community and become an example, not a statistic.”