Ministry to Prostitutes
August 2009
From Art and Ursula Spooner, Missionaries serving with MTW in Austria

The last time I went with another German woman and we went up and down one of the main streets in the city. Most of these women were not from Nigeria, rather from Eastern block countries. They are not permitted to stand on the main street (fine of about $200) and are not permitted to stand there before 10:00 p.m.
The language we used was German. Most of them have learned enough German for us to be able to speak with them. Not one of them knew English. One woman from Bulgaria has six children back in her country and her parents are raising them. As we were talking with her, she had to leave as she was receiving a customer.

One of the guidelines we have been given is that we do not interfere with their work. If we want to talk with them, it has to be on their terms. They are all happy to see us coming and of course, we always have tea and some bread and some other treats with us. They tell us they are hungry and do not have enough money. They often linger a long time.
In order to protect themselves (since they trust no one) they change their wigs and their names often and even the stories they tell. They believe we are from the police and we want to report them. Many of them do not have legal papers to work here at all and they are always living in fear that the police with catch them. (Prostitution is legal here in Austria, but many of them do not have papers and are working illegally which raises the AIDS statistics since they do not bother getting check-ups)
The Austrian prostitutes are upset that the Eastern European women are even here. They say they take away their business and that they are too loud and the neighbors are tired of the noise in the middle of the night. There have actually been some fist fights and blood battles among the women to claim their territories. One of the sad parts is that the police often take as much advantage of them as others of this society.
I guess, after reading this, you know what to pray for you. Without God, this seems hopeless. With Him, there is hope. Pray against the powers of darkness. Pray for our safety. This weekend we go out again. It is still hot here in Vienna so there are a lot of ladies standing outside.
Thank you for your prayers. I will have a chance to attend a conference on trafficking in Austria. This will help to understand better what is happening in this country and in Europe.

Ursula Spooner
Vienna, Austria

Contact Information:
Art and Ursula Spooner
Julius-Payergasse 14
1220 Vienna, Austria (Europe)
Tel: 0043. 0699. 1956.4238

These are the things that we need prayer for:

• – How to reach out (from many different countries and often a different language)
• – Safety for those of us going to the streets (fairly dangerous and therefore go in groups of at least two)
• – For God to show Himself to these women
• – For them to find a way out of this hell on earth (escaping or running away puts their own family in danger in their country of origin)
• – For God’s Word to give hope to a seemingly hopeless situation
• – For an ability to build relationships and trust with these women (they have been betrayed so often they trust no one!)
• – To visibly be able to show the compassion and love of Christ
• – Protection from Satanic influences (many are under voodoo curses and have had many horrible things done to their bodies)