The town of the Jews?

A very long time ago when Kelly and I first starting looking into the Dominican Republic, a certain town called Sosua caught our attention. We liked this cute little town because it was a refuge to the Jewish people during Hitler's reign. (www.mjhnyc.org) There are many Jewish people living there still. We had always wanted to witness to them and had hoped that the Lord would open up a door for us to one day visit this place. While on this trip we didnt think that we would be able to go there since we were so short on time. Well, the Lord had other plans for us! He most certainly wanted us to visit Sosua, but not for reasons that we first dreamed of. We found ourselves in this town looking for a place to stay the night. It was getting dark and we had not been able to find a reasonable (in price) place to stay so we kept on traveling. By the time we reached Sosua we were relieved to be in a town to rest for the night. OR SO WE THOUGHT!!! We drove around and around and around . . . we did not like what we were starting to see here. We finally stopped at an ice cream stand (still a little scared to get out of the car), so we ventured out. Well, I can honestly say that I was not prepared for what I was about to see! I started noticing women that were alone and VERY scantily dressed walking around. It was getting dark out and dominican culture calls for EVERYONE to get dressed up (EVERY night of the week), grab some beer and head out to a central location. So I kinda overlooked these half naked girls and got my ice cream and we all headed to a small store across the street. There we bought a few things and headed back out to find a hotel. (so much happened at this store also, but I will leave our haitian worker story for another blog) As we were driving I started noticing more and more (half naked) women standing on street corners - You are probably starting to see where this story is going . . . And yes, you are right! At this time I was TOTALLY freaking out!!! BUT, I didnt want to judge anyone, so we kept driving. There were people partying all over the place at this time where we could hardly even drive the streets for so many people. I was begging Kelly to get us out of this town, I didnt care how late it was and that we didnt have anywhere to sleep yet! As we were leaving the city, there right beside my window stood a drunk elderly white man with a VERY young dominican girl in her early teens. Yes, she was a prostitute. At that point I was very sick. That image stuck in my mind and has not left me yet. The little town that once was of interest to Kelly and I is a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. I was so saddened by what we witnessed. I cannot imagine being a Jew and living in those conditions. I would be scared of God's punishment on that city while I was living there too. We were all affected by this town, and I know that I left a changed person. It was as if I was looking through the Lord's eyes and I felt His holy anger inside me. I will continue to pray for the town of Sosua, and I would ask that you do too.
Prayerfully,
Shawn