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Making Prostitutes Beautiful

Wanhua is known for its “teashops” especially those in Three Waters Street. Men visit and pay women to drink tea or alcohol with them. Other services vary according to how much the men are willing to pay and the women are willing to offer. Most of the women are single mothers, working to meet financial needs or pay off debts. Their age ranges from 25 to over 60.

One Hot Summer Afternoon 2006

It hadn’t been easy to befriend the ladies waiting outside the teashops for customers, but with the hot weather it was even harder. Most of them stayed inside, enjoying the air-con. So we prayed that God would open doors and He did.

When we met Fiona she was sitting on a motorbike outside her teashop. Her face covered with a thick layer of make-up to conceal her true identity. She had seen us before, yet not dared to greet us. “Are you Christians?” As we got talking to her we discovered that she was a Christian herself, but too ashamed to go to church. One day she invited us to her home and so a friendship grew. Now we meet once a week for Bible study and she comes regularly to the Sunday service in The Spring. She is growing stronger in the Lord. Even her children notice the change. Her big desire is to ‘no longer depend on men’ for her income.

Through Fiona we got to know her boss, Hua-Hua. She owns two teashops. One of them closes after 6 pm. We wondered if we could organize a special event and rent it for an evening? But what kind of event would attract the ladies? It would have to be something flexible, so that they could pop in for just 10-15 minutes whenever it was convenient.

Four Cold Winter Nights, Christmas 2007

We watched in amazement as a team of 10 Christian beauticians transformed Hua-Hua’s grimy looking teashop into a shiny beauty parlor. Outside a big red banner announced: ‘Free Beauty Treatment and Massage’. Normally the men were getting all the attention here, but now the women were treated with loving care; having their nails polished, necks massaged and faces made up. You could see how this loving attention touched them.

We arranged four consecutive Wednesday nights leading up to Christmas. Each night more people came. These beauty nights gave many opportunities for us to get to know the ladies and for them to know us in a non-threatening environment.

At one point I wondered is it OK to do something with no direct gospel input? But the fact that we provided what we promised: ‘Free Beauty Treatment and Massage’ helped to built trust. They kept asking; “Is it really for free?” And when God brought 20 of them to our Christmas party in The Spring, we knew that He had opened yet another door. Now, when we walk around in the Three Waters Street area, more people respond to us and there are several teashops where we are welcomed to come in and sit down for a chat.

Pray that many of these ladies will continue to attend our monthly Tea Parties And pray that they experience true beauty as they hear and understand God’s love for them.

Tera Twillert – Taipei