Human-trafficking, Prostitution, and the Church in Hungary

This post might not be appropriate for some of our younger readers.  If you are under 16, please talk to your parents before continuing to read.

Prostitution (along with alcoholism, substance abuse, and corruption) is an issue in Hungary that has been on my heart for some time.  Last week, while talking to a colleague about ways for the church to become more proactive in addressing various social issues I discovered two things.  First, a huge number of prostitutes in Amsterdam are Hungarian.  Second, many of these women are forced into prostitution against their will and yet because of a lack of safe-houses in Hungary, even if they try to "get out" and come back to Hungary, they are quickly picked up and sent back to Amsterdam.  It is a vicious cycle, and without anywhere else to turn, these women are genuinely enslaved.

To make a long story short, I'm beginning to seriously think and pray about ways the church in Hungary might begin to address this issue (develop a safe-house ministry, etc).  However, in all honesty, it is a bit terrifying since there would certainly be some push-back from those that profit from the human-trafficking.  Therefore, I ask for your prayers.  The idea is still nascent, and nothing might ultimately come out of it.  But if this is a direction God is leading us (and perhaps some of our teammates and national partners), then we will need a lot of wisdom, courage, guidance, and perseverance.

Here is a recent news article on the issue (click here).