After overcoming recurrent bouts of reluctance to move out of the United States as a missionary to Muslims in the Middle East, nurse Peggy Curry moved with her husband on to India to continue their missionary work. Peggy then faced another hurdle of reluctance: willingness to work in one of the largest brothels in their city. Within a few blocks of this location, more than 2,000 sex workers survived. Many had been trafficked as children or sold by their impoverished parents. Peggy’s narrative of reluctance and then obedience to God’s prompt to serve in unexpected places and circumstances appears in the upcoming (July-September) issue of the Journal of Christian Nursing. The following excerpt is from her article.
Our healthcare team in India traveled each week to the brothel. When we arrived, the women of the brothel sat outside on the sidewalks on boxes or old plastic stools, prepared to start their workday. We always were welcomed and hugged by these women with whom we had developed relationships. Many were short in stature. As a woman of average height in North America, I loved being so much taller than most women and quite a few men in India. Some of these height differences were due to race and ethnicity, but for some, it might be due to malnutrition in their younger years.
My height difference did lead to precious moments with these women. The hugs they gave me often led to them resting their head on my shoulder like a daughter would lean into her mother for comfort. I thought perhaps this gesture might be a result of traumatic childhoods that forced women into this lifestyle, either because their families sold them, or the women did not have other options. This image of the brothel women resting on my shoulder is how Jesus comforts us when when we are in trouble. No words need to be said, but the love is felt.
Read Peggy’s article and the experiences of other nurses who accepted God’s call to mission in the July-Sept issue of JCN.
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