Shenzhen, Shopping, and "Sesh"

Living in north Hong Kong makes it very easy to visit mainland China.  Almost too easy.  There are loads of people who frequently cross the border (going through customs and all that entails) to the city of Shenzhen.  And most often it’s not for a weekend holiday, or even for a day trip.  It’s usually just to go shopping!  And it makes sense—things are quite a lot cheaper in mainland China.

So, I joined the fun.  Yesterday afternoon, I crossed the border, bought groceries, had dinner at a noodle shop, and got money out of an ATM (it’s $5USD to take it out of Hong Kong machines).  I like living in Hong Kong.  But, paying half price—or less—for everything, makes the mainland attractive.

On my way to find an ATM machine, I remembered another reason that people come across the border from Hong Kong.  I felt assaulted by the massage parlor hawkers on the sidewalk, who stand outside at night trying to get guys to come in for massages and sex.  For the space of a few blocks, it was every 10 meters that I was approached with: “You want massage?”, “Foot massage with beautiful girl?”, and even just “Sex?” (But they don't have the "x" sound in Chinese, so they actually say, "Sesh?")

Spread over a few blocks along the adjacent sidewalk, there are middle-aged women inviting men to come to their shops for a foot massage, etc.

I just wanted to find my ATM, but I think God wanted my heart to break again for these girls.  Some of them are kidnapped, and forced to work day and night.  Many choose to work here, with hopes of making a lot of money.  And this is a prime location for tourists who come from Hong Kong, looking for cheaper (and younger) girls.  Someone who has been ministering here for decades said, "When I'm on the metro in Hong Kong, I can tell which men are on their way to Shenzhen...you can see the lust in their eyes."

But now, back to the middle-aged women on the sidewalk, trying to lure men into their sex shops.  I imagine that these “sex-pushers” can’t stand their jobs.  I know that this is not what they dreamed of doing when they were little girls in school.  Anyway, I don’t want to get angry.  But I do want to see transformation in this region. Right before that trip to Shenzhen, I felt God was impressing upon me Psalm 43:3: “Send forth your light and your truth; let them lead me.”  I want to see light and truth uncover the darkness and deceit of the sex industry, and save the lives and souls of prostitutes and their clients, both in Shenzhen and in Hong Kong.

P.S. I didn’t realize until this week that my own neighborhood is the center for prostitution in northern Hong Kong.  Pray for this place…there’s such an oppressive darkness, but it’s mostly hidden in massage parlors and cautiously marked apartments.  All I know to do right now is to cry out until God transforms this place.