My name is Sean Filidis and I'm a full-time missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in the Netherlands. I work with a ministry called The Cleft, which focuses on reaching the lost through evangelism and mercy ministries in the Red-Light district of Amsterdam. I'm in need of your prayers and support, and so I want to invite you to partner with me as I work to see God's kingdom established in this city!
You have probably heard all about the red-light district. It's famous for its prostitution and drugs, and it has a reputation for being a place of 'freedom' where you can be who you want to be, do what you want to do, and never worry about consequence. Those who run the district try their best to uphold this image, and insist that it's all a wonderful expression of humanity and personal freedom.
Freedom, however, is not what we see when we look outside. The neighborhood is full of drug dealers, addicts, homeless people, prostitutes, pimps, criminals and lover boys, all of whom are lost and desperately in need of a savior. There are addicted ladies who sell their bodies in exchange for drugs, and businessmen prowling the streets and cheating on their wives. Every day masses of gawking tourists come through, often with their kids, to look at the scantily dressed women standing behind store windows as if it's all just a great attraction. Really, it's a neighborhood full of broken, hurting, and rejected people.
But the good news is that God really, really loves the people of this neighborhood, and he is committed to pursuing them with his great love no matter what they do! He doesn't look at them as prostitutes and drug addicts, he looks at them as his precious children, and he wants us to do the same. God has called us to reach out to these peoplpe--people that everyone else has given up on--and love them like Jesus would. Jesus said, 'As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
It's to these people, and into this neighborhood that I feel God has called me to serve and to invest in. Through building relationships and trust with the regulars in the area, through taking in the homeless and feeding them, through bringing worship and evangelism out onto the streets, and through merely living my life as an example of Christ, my goal is to be a light in the darkness of the red light district.
If you would like to know more about me, or about the specifics of what we do at the Cleft, feel free to contact me; I would happy to answer all of your questions. All YWAM missionaries are unpaid volunteers; I meet all of my expenses through raising support from churches, friends, family, and other generous individuals who want to be a part of what God is doing here. If you would like to get involved, either by praying for me, or by financially supporting me, please let me know, it would be an enormous blessing!
Thanks for your interest!