The night we arrived in Mexico, I was on the phone with Deanna, letting her know we had arrived safely. As we talked, I asked her to pray that the Lord would allow me to see Sylvia again, if possible. I greatly wanted to encourage her, and see how she was doing (she was the 16 year old prostitute who gave her life to Christ on our previous trip to Mexico).

I have noticed in my life that at times the attacks or temptations the enemy sends are so obvious, that they can be laughable. I wish it were always this way, or that I was always in a position to discern what was happening, and could thereby resist and cause him to flee.

It is not always this easy, and that is for sure.

Our time was to be short. We would be in the city to minister for one day, and then we would return to the US. We do not usually stay out after dark here, as it is not as safe for our team. On this occasion, there were eight of us. Six were men, and two young men. We felt safe enough to walk to dinner.

We headed out, and were looking to meet our contacts at a restaurant. We were armed with the name of the restaurant, and thought we knew just where it was. When we arrived at that place, it had a different name and was closed for remodeling. However, we knew our instructions were correct, so we headed off to find it.

We walked, and walked, and walked. I asked some of the locals if we were headed in the right direction. Each time we were told "Yes, its just 3 or four more blocks." When we finally arrived, twenty or so blocks later, we were ready to eat.

Unbeknown to us, our contacts would not be coming. After a long day of travel, a long wait, and then a long walk, we were hungry. It was 9:00 in the evening. Too late for dinner, by my body clock. We finally decided to order, even though we felt it was not polite.

We waded through the menu, determined what we wanted, and ordered. We listened to the Mariachi band sing and play. For some reason, my mind was on John Wayne and old westerns, where I heard similar music.

The food arrived, and eight men plowed through it. We left little on the table!

We were now ready for the long walk home.

Secure in where we were headed, we walked single file down the narrow streets, talking of our day, and wondering where our contacts had ended up. The sidewalks had mostly emptied by this time of night. It was certainly a different view of Nuevo Laredo than I was used to seeing.

As we neared the end of our walk, with one street corner to approach and turn on, I could see the church where we were staying. In that moment, what caught my attention, was what was in front of the church, passing by on the sidewalk.

Surprised, I immediately pointed it out to the pastor I was walking with. Just as I pointed, a van pulled into his view, and we could not see. Not wanting to draw too much attention to the circumstance, I quietly said, "wait just a moment, and you will see what I am talking about."

We rounded the last corner, and began to cross the street. As we did, the six men in front of us were passing them. Then all of a sudden, there they were.

Two ladies of the night, with very little clothing. I was the last in the line of eight, and as they passed the pastor in front of me, the one nearest to me, reached out her hand, and placed it on my stomach.

I was moving the entire time, but as it happened it seemed like she had too much time to do so. She was saying something in Spanish that I was glad I could not understand. The last time I heard some of those words was 25 years ago when I was working with a crew of Mexican men in Houston, and they were teaching me words that were inappropriate, but telling me they had "appropriate" meanings. I didn't know then, and I didn't know now, what I was hearing.

I reacted like I was being held up in an old western. My arms shot up like I was at gunpoint, and I tried to hurry off and lose eye contact.

I knew what was happening. My stomach turned at the realization of what these ladies were looking for. In that instant, I knew they had been sent. I also knew that this was laughable in terms of temptation...there was none.

I knew these ladies did what Sylvia did. I knew they had been doing it longer as their ages and "uniforms" betrayed them.

I began to pray for them, and for the men they would lure. While there was no weakness for this in my own heart, I knew there would be among the men (like Jose from yesterday) who would be coming out of the saloons at any moment.

While it seems foolish to me that the enemy would send such a blatant attempt our direction, it is only foolish because of who we are in Christ. For those who do not know Him, the temptation would be significant. For those who do, sometimes He allows us to see the fiery darts Satan sends at us, and defend against them with no real struggle.

I Praise the Lord that He strengthens me this way. I know in my flesh, I am not always strong. But because I walk with Him, He apportions His strength and wisdom to me, and I can discern foolishness.

Praise Jesus!

brent