Sharing the Love of Jesus . . . With the Girls of the Night

 

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light."
—Matthew 4:16 (NKJV)

ON ANY GIVEN DAY in the Costa del Sol region of Spain you'll find street girls—girls of the night—selling their bodies to those passing by. They're young, and as they wander the filthy streets, scantily clad and looking for "work," they are seemingly without hope.

In reality, hope is not far away. Armed with her Bible and the message of God's love, 1989 Rhema Bible Training College graduate Joyce McNaughton is doing what Jesus did. She's reaching out. She sees something in these girls that others do not—a future. And she's loving them when no one else does.

Joyce's journey to Spain began more than 20 years ago as she was packing to leave Rhema after graduation. "I felt like the Lord said, 'Go do the work of an evangelist,' " she recalled. "I didn't know that calling was in me, though everyone who knew me did."

With this word in her heart, Joyce began helping other ministries around the world. Throughout the '90s she ministered in Mexico, Russia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, and Africa. In 2004, while she was teaching at a Bible school in the Philippines, the Lord spoke to her once again: "I want you to go to Spain." Though Europe was brand-new to her, in 2005 she packed her bags. Without knowing the language, without studying the land, and without a missionary visa, she moved to Spain's Costa del Sol—by herself.

In an effort to familiarize herself with the region, Joyce began holding Healing School meetings on the streets and building relationships with local churches. Interestingly, it was not the Spanish people that the Lord hooked her up with, but the Nigerians, Finnish, and English. "This area is like our Florida or California," she explained. "People flock here and it's very multicultural."

Sadly, as Joyce has seen firsthand, the area also has a high unemployment rate and the Nigerians are the last to get work. They come thinking the city will offer a better way of life and find that it is anything but easy. For this reason, the girls on the streets are mostly Nigerian.

That's where Joyce's ministry, "The Beauty of Holiness," comes in. In a country where prostitution and human trafficking are not only prevalent but accepted, Joyce is going into the streets—usually by herself. She is letting the girls know that Jesus loves them and has made a way of escape from a life of sin and darkness.

"I just walk up to the girls," Joyce said. "They don't have a lot of clothes on and they're waiting for a client to stop. I'll say, 'Hi, girls. How are you doing today? Do you want to hear the Word? Do you want to sing? Do you want to pray?' They always love prayer. And the Nigerians love to sing.

"It's hard for people to understand," she continued, "but a lot of these girls go to church on Sunday. They just think this is the only thing they can do to support themselves. My part is to put the Word of God into their hearts. If I can do that, it will give them a vision and self-worth."

And Joyce is reaching the very hearts of these girls. On one occasion, she gave her brochure and a plastic rose to a girl we'll call Emma*—just as she does with each new girl she meets. Emma clutched the rose to her heart and talked with Joyce for a few minutes before getting into a nearby car with a client. Ten minutes later, the Lord prompted Joyce to turn and look. "Emma came out of the car and she still had the rose at her heart," she remembered. "It was like she was in the light, went into the darkness, and then came back into light."

These girls are slow to break free from the bondage and lifestyle that holds them down. But Joyce knows that each one she has talked with has heard that there's a chance to get out. "They want to be loved, but they're going about this wrong," she noted. "It's their choice."

"I'm very thankful I know what I do," she added. "What I take to the mission field, I learned from Rhema. And I've seen it work. For seven years, I've watched God take care of me alone and in times of need. There's an anointing on me, and I'm not afraid."

In fact, at 61 years of age, Joyce is looking to the future. "I am strong, healthy, pain-free, and thankful for my life. But there is a lot yet ahead. Spain needs a lot of work," she observed. "Praise the Lord—it's just one little country I seem to have landed in. I just pour out what I can."

*Emma's name has been changed for her safety.