Good Evening Friends ~  Today we spent our time sightseeing around Amsterdam.  We had quite a long layover which gave us the perfect opportunity to really see the city.  We arrived around 7:30 am and headed straight to a coffee shop and then to Rijksmuseum.  Afterwards we took a canal tour around the city and really was able to see quite a lot.

One of the most popular spots in Amsterdam (tourist attraction) is the Red Light District.  This is where girls basically sell themselves for favors.  Prostitution is legal here and the girls get involved at a very young age.  We did not go but it weighed heavy on our hearts so today I think we need to focus our prayers on this issue that is accepted and even in some odd ways celebrated.  The other issue we noticed is that there seem to be no churches.  So I thought I would just type out a prayer for those of you who might like to join us on this journey.

Heavenly Father - We lift up to you all those involved in the sex trafficking industry and we ask you to break into the chaos and shine your light into the darkness.  We pray for a spiritual awakening in this city and we pray for rescue and restoration of the people who have become victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.  We pray for safe and secure shelters and for training and education to provide each person with meaningful and productive livelihoods and for the Gospel message to reach their ears and be received in their hearts.  We pray for encounters with Jesus that are transformational and life changing.  We pray for efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex, including the following:
--the defeat of attempts to legalize prostitution in countries around the world;
--the overturn of laws that legalized prostitution in the Netherlands, Germany,
New Zealand and certain districts of Australia.  We also pray that you would send missionaries and strategic intercessors into every area including the government.  We ask you to raise up Daniels and Josephs who will serve alongside the city leaders with Godly wisdom and insight.

We pray that tolerance, acceptance, and deception would be removed and replaced with discernment, conviction and Godly sorrow.

We ask all these things in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

Love you friends - Linda