Dear friends,

It's been a long time since I posted anything on this page.There are a number of reasons for this, most stemming from concerns that were raised when I began to get more deeply involved in the lives of women from Central and Eastern Europe who are selling themselves on the streets of western countries.Realizing the insidiousness of those who deceive them into this trade, I felt that I shouldn't put myself or them at risk by putting information on the web.I felt that I should stay "under the radar", so to speak, and so chose to communicate in other ways, through paper newsletters and e-mail.So what has changed?Why am I now choosing to post this letter?I've decided that those of you who check this web-site and who have supported me in many ways need to have some communication from me.

What has changed is that there are a variety of words and country names that I just will not use on the web, so that my name will not be linked to certain issues and places in a web search.If you would like more detailed information, please send a note to Jill Mussel at IM (Jill.Mussel@abc-usa.org), including your e-mail address, snail-mail address and the name of your local church, and she will forward the information to me so that you can be on my newsletter mailing list.

Two years ago, I invited students from the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) here in Prague to join me in a prayer walk on the streets of this beautiful city, praying for those women who were working on these streets, selling themselves.From that first prayer walk, we began to meet young women, many who were deceived into coming here from an eastern European country.The women who were most receptive to our offers of friendship are from a minority group which is disparaged by many.Most of them are also from Christian backgrounds---and also from communities where unemployment is 80-90%.When we approached the women with the message that they were God's beloved daughters, most of them asked us to pray for them, for their children, their husbands, their other family members.It was not the scenario I had expected!But I realized how hungry these young women were for a touch of caring, in the midst of so much abuse.

From this simple outreach to these precious ones has come "Project Hope."One of the IBTS students, Simon Vlechkov, who is a pastor from the country of the women, felt called to work full-time with the ministry after acting as my translator for several months.Susan Linderman, from South Dakota, who came to IBTS as an English teacher for 2 1/2 years, also felt called to this special ministry, and returned to Prague in February to work full-time.Every Friday Simon, Susan, myself (when I'm in town) and others in the community meet together for prayer before heading out to the streets at about 9:00 p.m.Meeting with the women on the streets and in the bars is still at the core of the ministry.Many request prayer, and so we form a circle around them, and pray.We also give them Bibles, devotional books and Christian music tapes, all in their language, provided by the Baptist Union of their country.Some join us for church and then lunch on Sunday.In these two years, we've developed relationships with about 150 women---many of whom have returned home.

Earlier this month, Simon, Susan and I drove 16 hours to the east to see if we could find some of the women who have gone back to their homes.And what a reunion it was!We were able to spend time with 9 of the women who have returned.Though we had told them we were going to come to visit them, they were so surprised that we actually showed up!The last young woman we found, "Violet", returned home in February, has gotten married, and is working in a local factory.

When she saw me, she grabbed me and just kept saying "my mother, my mother"!My heart was so full of joy and thankfulness to our loving God, who led us to this young woman on the streets, and gave us the privilege of seeing her in her "new life"!

In addition to the spiritual support that Project Hope offers the women, we also are endeavoring to provide economic alternatives.A knitting project has begun, using knitting machines to produce "Hope" scarves.I'll share more information about this soon!

Thank you for your prayers for:

• the women on the streets, that they would be able to find alternatives for their lives
• safety for the women and for the Project Hope team
• funding for Pastor Simon

Many Blessings to you!

Lauran

Mission Statement of Project Hope:

"Project HOPE is an international ministry which exists to bring hope and a future to women [at risk] through:

• unconditional love
• the embrace of prayer
• the Good News of Jesus Christ
• and viable alternatives to current lifestyles"

Rev. Lauran D. Bethell