When many of us were young we were told that we could do anything and be anything; all we have to do is believe. As we grow older we are told that hard work and determination will earn us the American dream. Our dreams may seem challenging or even farther out of reach as we age. However, as average American children, the idea that we can better ourselves and achieve dreams remains: it inspires us, motivates us and drives us from one self-improvement technique to the next. This is our reality.
Then, there is another reality. There are children that are raised believing that becoming a pimp, a high level gangster, or maybe a rapper is the ultimate dream. Girls are taught that the more they can flaunt their bodies, lure in a guy, or find some skewed level of power in their lives – the more valuable they are. Twisted versions of power, family, love and belonging are instilled in generation after generation. This past week we met a beautiful girl being sold on the streets of Los Angeles. This beautiful girl stood with her body almost fully exposed. She asked us to pray that she would have the courage to better her life. She explained that she once had dreams to go to college and pursue a degree in Criminal Justice. Now she finds herself a victim of tragic injustice: the injustice of the violation of her body, her mind and her very identity. This girl was so incredibly sweet. Despite her situation she had such a childlikeness and sweetness about her. My heart instantly felt such a deep love for her; a love beyond my own human ability. I truly believe that God allowed me to feel His heart for her for a moment; this precious, beautiful, child of God. My heart ached as I listened to her dreams and listened to her speak of the bondage and fear that holds her captive. Because I know that God sees her and longs for her as His precious child. It’s girls like this that inspire us to dream big as a ministry. To believe, to work hard and to remain determined. Ministry in this area has proven time and time again to be challenging and not for the “faint of heart”. But they matter. Each woman, man, and child affected by this twisted injustice matters. If we only ever impact one life, then we have made a difference. Over and over again we meet girls with similar stories. They don’t know what they would do other than allow their bodies to be sold over and over. Many of them have criminal records from being arrested for prostitution or drugs. The average age a girl is recruited into sexual exploitation is 12 years old. That means many of these girls have limited education. In their reality- they are stuck. Leaving the life and pursuing hope seems impossible. We are already connected with other organizations, safe homes, and rehabilitation centers that are making radical impacts in these girls lives; but as a ministry we feel called to offer a next step. We dream of providing vocational training and job opportunities for these women after they have been rescued. We want to see victims of trafficking not only find their feet but thrive in life and live out their dreams. WE believe that we have a God who restores lives and who heals. So why would these daughters deserve anything less? -Jenny
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Its 3:45 on Saturday morning. We head up to the prayer chapel to intercede before we head out to do ministry. Jenny felt God putting it on her heart to pray over the names of the women we’ve met on the track all the times before. So we compiled our many lists into one list totaling a number of 58 women, and this only included the women we’ve met in the last 6 weeks. God has been challenging and reminding me this weekend of the power and importance of prayer. These women may not have anyone else praying for them. What if we are the only people who prayed for each one of those girls we have met on Saturday mornings?
There is too big of a spiritual battle going on for us to not pray. Part of the reason I am where I am at today is because someone was praying for me; someone chose to stand and fight for my life against the darkness that was trying to keep its grip on me. These precious women are in a battle between death and life, who is fighting for them? Who is standing against the authority of darkness and saying: “No! you cannot have this girl!” ? I came across this verse in Isaiah 40:28-31: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” This is convicting! When it says: “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” Do we believe that the Lord is the everlasting God and the creator of the ends of the earth, and He does not grow tired or weary? He is pursuing these girls and He is not weary of running after them. Our prayers and request regarding these women do not annoy Him, because He is after them; He loves them! As we walk out there to talk to these women, we know that we are carrying this hope in Lord that will give them the strength to keep fighting; to keep hoping for a way out of their current lives of darkness into a life of light. One encounter, one conversation, even just a small moment of reaching out is an exchange of this hope that will empower them to keep on fighting. This Saturday morning as we went out God lead us to a girl that I have met before. (We will call her B.) She remembered who I was and she was happy to walk over and receive the gift bag we had for her. She looked different, she looked happier. I couldn’t help but think that God used our team and our prayers to give her strength that day we first met her. It’s not through our own ability, but it is God using our obedience and our choice to be a vessel for His grace. He will use us if we are willing to be used. God also lead us to one of the sweetest girls, whom we will call S. She carried so much joy and she brought a presence to those streets like I’d never felt before. It was almost like she was welcoming us there. She pointed us into the direction of another one of her friends and then called another friend over to meet us and receive a gift. At that moment light overcame the darkness and we were once again be used by God to insert truth in place of lies. It’s crazy to think of all the things that God will use us for if we believe what He says is true and if we hold onto His promises. If we are willing and tuned to the Holy Spirit we can wage war and stand in the gap for those out there that are weary and we can help bring them hope that will strengthen them for the journey ahead. -Emily His timing is always perfect, neither too late nor too early! Ecclesiastes 3:11
I love that every time we go on outreach it looks so different from the weeks before. We never know what is going to happen that night or what to expect! All we know is that God knows exactly what each outreach looks like and that he has a perfect plan for that night. Each time we go I learn something new about God’s character. Last time I saw how much God cares about the one and about the little details; this time it was all about His perfect timing! The night started pretty slowly and although we were all super excited to go out it wasn’t going so smoothly this time. There were no parking spots for the car to stop and the girls we saw were either talking to customers or they were gone by the time we got to them; it wasn’t really flowing. In the end we were able to hand out 10 gift bags, which is awesome. We got to tell 10 girls that they are loved, they are valued and that God cares about them! We saw 10 lives that God touched that night! When it was time to leave we were passing through a part of the street where usually no girls are. One of us said something like ‘Oh there are never girls on this part of the street.’ As soon as she said that we saw a girl on the other side of the street. We turned around only to see that she was talking to a guy. We were about to drive away when we saw that the guy had left. So three of us got out of the car and walked up to her. As we approached her she started to walk away. You can tell that she was afraid. Our team called out to her asking if she would like to have a gift bag. She stopped and took the gift. When we asked her how she was doing she shakily told us that someone just tried to stab her. She held her hands to her neck to re-enact the situation. Our team came at the right moment to stand with her, to listen to her and to tell her how loved she is, to bring comfort, to pray for her safety and to tell her to call us if she needed help at any time. With tears in her eyes she thanked us and walked away! God knows about this girl and He cares about her! He knew what she needed and at what time! At the end of the night we always drive to another “track” a few miles down the highway (track- section of the street where girls are typically sold). For weeks we haven’t seen any girls there, but we still go every time. It was later than usual, I wasn’t sure if anyone would still be out because it was already starting to get light outside. We pulled up on the street and right away we saw a girl walking. Three of our group got out of the car to hand her a gift bag. She actually recognized us and told us that she met us on the other track last week. She had a different hair color then and didn’t really want to talk to us; but this time she asked for prayer and she was excited to talk. She asked us to pray that she would find an alternative to what she is currently doing. God knew if we had come too early to this track the girl wouldn’t be there. He knew that this time she was ready to talk to us. Every time I am amazed that God chooses us to reach out to His beautiful daughters, to tell them how precious, valued and loved they are. It is such a privilege to be a part of this ministry, to see the girls smile, to see their excitement when they see the little gifts, to see them be surprised when we tell them that we are up late. It’s an honor just to tell them how important they are, to see them receive prayer and to see them understand that there is a God who cares so much for them! This is why we do what we do! -Naomi I walked up to the entrance of the strip club with two other women on the team; I took a deep breath as we drew closer. We were approached by the bouncer who asked why we were there – the 40 pink gift bags in our hands probably his first clue we weren’t customers. Our team leader explained we had brought gifts for the girls simply to show them that they are loved. A moment … a moment of decision for him, does he let us in or not?! A moment of anticipation for us, we’re excited to look the girls in the eye and tell them that they’re valued (but equally we know that as long as the bags get into the club and into the girls hands at the end of the night then we can count that as a win). He allowed us to come in … a moment. A moment of thankfulness and a moment of opportunity. We move through the club handing gifts to the girls, looking each one in the eye and smiling as we do – with each bag there’s a different moment between the girl and us. A moment of hope for us, that the love of Jesus shines in our eyes and a moment for her where she is seen for who she really is. We meet one girl who knows us instantly and expresses her deep gratitude and thanks for what we do. In the dressing room of this club we hand out bags and as we do we ask for a specific girl whom the team met last year, it turns out she’s standing right in front of us … a moment. A moment where she understands that she is known and she is loved. We remembered her name, just like God does. God who loves her and relentlessly pursues her. Our prayer is that one day she’ll have a moment where she realises that truth for herself.
Tonight is a little different … two girls from our Justice 180 team were on outreach with one of our ministry partners, Treasures. We were able to join with what they do: reaching thousands of women through visiting 170 strip clubs annually. At these clubs we give out gift bags filled with cosmetics, jewelry and the simple message that the women are loved, valued and purposed and that support is available to them. It seems so simple: simple, yet powerful. Powerful enough that a number of the women who do outreach with us used to work in the industry themselves until they encountered Treasures. God has used this amazing ministry to restore their lives and put it in their hearts to see the same restoration for others. It was a night filled with lots of little moments of impact. At the beginning of the night as we worshipped and prayed, we were reminded that all it takes for transformation in someone’s life is a moment. We reflected on the love of a Father without condition: He loves us exactly as we are; yet He loves us too much to leave us there. We want to show the girls we meet tonight that kind of love, knowing that the moment they grasp it their lives will be transformed. The biggest moment of the night came when we approached the door of a club that has been consistently turning Treasures away for the past 11 years. As three of our Treasures team made their way to the club, the rest of us stayed on the minibus and prayed, we prayed for God to open what seemed like an impossible door. They got in! And not only did they get in but they came back to the bus to get more bags … a moment. A moment of joy and victory. A moment of realisation that tonight makes every “unsuccessful” trip to that club worth it and that gentle perseverance pays off. And a moment of opportunity for the 40+ girls that work there to receive a gift that they’ve never received before. We were welcomed at every club we visited, with a total of 182 gift bags given out. That’s 182 women reached, 182 moments of impact where they open the bag and know that they are loved, valued and purposed. Between 4 and 6am the rest of our Justice 180 team, along with some of our former students, went out to hand different gift bags to the women being exploited on the streets of LA. Our gift bags contain the simple message: Because You Matter. On the streets they handed out around 10 gift bags. Many of these girls received bags containing their favorite color of lip gloss or nail polish that they’d wanted; for each girl… a moment. A moment where she glimpses that the God who loves her also cares about the small details of her life and the desires of her heart. Ten more women reached, 10 more moments of impact. I love that as we step out and serve God He encounters us just as much in these moments as He encounters the women we’re reaching out to. It’s these moments that drive us to continue; and the hope of a single moment that leads to transformation in the lives of these precious and beautiful women. - Laura This past week has been an incredible but emotional week. Some people from our team were apart of a Restoring the Foundation (RTF) Training Seminar. During this weeklong seminar we were trained in ministering to individuals and walking with them as they receive healing from past hurts. Part of the training practice includes yourself being ministered to as well so that you understand the process. To sum it up you take 3 months of therapy and apply it into 1 week. It is intense. At the end of the week I was emotionally drained, and going out for outreach was hard to even think about. I kept thinking, “How will I get up at 3:30am and how will I even be able to give anything to these girls? I am drained.” But at 11pm at night God reminded me of what I learned this week; that He cares and loves me so much, and that He doesn’t want me to stay the same in believing lies. He healed hurts that happened to me when I was a child and teenager. He literally restored lies I had believed. Lies that, “no one care about me or love me for myself.” He replaced that lie with, “Just as God trusts me, I can trust Him. He is safe to be open with and He is going to bring people into my life who are safe too. I will choose to trust Him and be open with my emotions and feelings with those He brings into my life.” This is a promise He told me, and as I lay down to get a few hours of sleep, that was the promise I was going to bring to these precious women. The promise that God is safe, God is trustworthy, and God loves them.
Our team met up at 3:45am to take time to pray and listen to the Lord before we went out. As we prayed it was incredible to receive messages from people from all over the world sharing how they are praying for our team and for the women we will reach out to. I think it is beautiful to have people willing to stand with us and fight for these girls through prayer. A friend of ours got the word “breakthrough”. This word is what we held onto when we went out for outreach, and it was a word that definitely summed up our night. When we go out for outreach every time is different. You never know what to expect, who you will meet, or how open the women will be. You just pray that God will have you encounter the right girls at the right time. As we went out we all were excited to see what God was going to do. Tonight there was such a willingness and openness with the women. As each team went and handed out gift bags all the women were open and asked us to pray for them. When we approached one girl she said to a guy on our team, “You must be a prophet”. Without him saying much, she already could see he carried Jesus. Another group handed out gift bags to four girls. While they were talking one of the girls gave them her real name and phone number. This doesn’t happen often because it can put the girls at risk. This was incredible because that girl wants to leave the industry and now we can help her get connected with resources. As the group got back into the car we saw a girl walking very fast up to us. When she got to the car she said when she first saw us she was scared. After watching us she realized that we were safe people and that she wanted a gift bag. Normally it is always us approaching the girls, however this time the girl came up to us! As we continued down our route we met two other girls. We were able to share with them how we have resources that can offer them help if they desire. As we were leaving one girl said, “from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for what you are doing.” Those words were so precious and affirming to us because that one girl is who we are doing this for. That one girl matters so much to us. Tonight these women got to experience a piece of God’s safety, and God’s trustworthiness. Every time I go out I pray that God will always rekindle my passion because I never want this to be something that just becomes a routine every Friday night. Tonight God reawakened my love for these beautiful women. He showed me that my simple act of obedience, even when I was exhausted, allowed these women to feel safety. With my willing heart God always reminds me why I am doing this. I do this because they matter. -Brenna I woke up at about 12 am with terrible stomach pain. I laid in bed knowing that I had to be up for ministry in 3 1/2 hours. All of a sudden I felt consumed with anxiety. I felt unsure about going out at all and not just because I felt sick. My team and I spend a lot of time praying. We are a bold group of people. We walk into the "lions den" on a regular basis and have the confidence to do it because we know we are backed by the creator of the universe. When feelings like this arise we are quick to go to God and ask "why". I spent time asking God if we were not supposed to go out, but I felt a sense of confidence backing my team. However, I still felt shaky and unsure. For anyone who has met me, shaky and unsure are definitely not words they would use to describe me. I decided to try and rest and see what I felt when I woke up.
When I woke up for ministry in the early hours of the morning I felt fine. I got up and ran out the door to join my team. We spent time praying for our outreach. Asking God for things like protection and guidance. We also prayed that we wouldn't get caught up in "another outreach". That God would give us a passion for each girl we encountered. One of our team members felt God saying that He is all things for all people. That He is strength for the defenseless and gentle for the timid. We left with excitement. Ready to let every individual we encountered know that they not only matter, but they are radically loved. We took turns getting out of the car, handing out gift bags and having conversations with the precious girls being sold on the streets. Each one so beautiful, so sweet and so uniquely incredible. As we drove, I realized that the anxiety I had felt was most likely because I am a pregnant mama. I am currently pregnant with my third child and like every other pregnancy I feel a sense of protection over my little baby growing inside of me that causes me to be even more protective than usual over my own body. On the third stop it was my turn to get out. I was accompanied by two other girls from my team. As we approached a VERY young girl we noticed that she had a pregnant belly. Yes, you read correctly. A precious, young girl being forced to sell her body for sex even though she is pregnant. This is actually not unusual. As we approached the girl a car pulled up to her full of people. The young guy driving the car was yelling profane things at her in an obvious attempt to "sweat" her. (sweat-This is when a pimp other than the prostitute’s harasses her either with sweet talk, intimidation or efforts to "break" her. The goal is to get the girl to join his "stable" and work under him. Giving him authority and control over her.) We continued forward and offered her our gift. The car drove off on its way. I felt such a sense of motherly protection over her. She was so vulnerable, so precious and so alone. In the past we have had girls ask us to stay with them until they know the coast is clear because they say we make them feel safe. The girl didn't know how far into her pregnancy she was but I knew she was further than she thought and was most likely not receiving medical care. We told her that she could call us 24 hours a day and we are able to connect her with pregnancy resources along with many others. As we drove away I felt God speaking to me that he had allowed me to go through feeling sick, experiencing intense anxiety and fear just to feel a sliver of what this girl must feel every single night as she wakes up and is forced to stand for hours on end selling her body for another's moment of gain. It is moments like this that drive my team forward. Its seeing the faces behind the statistics and knowing that there are girls that are alone, broken and searching for a glimpse of hope in their lives. This is why we do what we do. This is why I have given my life to searching and fighting for these girls. Letting them know that they aren't forgotten and that there is a God that sees them and who's heart is aching to see them reached. -Jenny |