Please forgive me - I sent out a mass email and blog about needing finances and just found out today by someone who wanted to donate - that my paypal is not on the webite! So… because I am not the website administrator - I don’t know how to access the paypal. Hopefully it will be up again soon…? Please check in another day or two. Please forgive me for the inconvenience.
<editor>I am the web guy and here is the donate button:
Well, we got a late start today - Jen hit traffic on the way to me place. We met D*****, at Kabuki restaurant on Vine and waited for A***, one of her partners. A*** hit traffic as well, so we didn’t get on the road until 2pm.
Because we were running so late, we prayed on the way to the track. We prayed that the Lord would give us divine appointments, for protection, favor, etc.
We got off the freeway and drove down the track. We saw a random girl here and there - maybe two - spread out blocks apart. I wanted us to drive the entire track to get an idea of where most of the girls were before we parked and hit the street.
After we’d covered most of the track, we spotted a girl on a corner and decided to to turn around, park and talk to the her. We circled a couple of blocks and came back around… looking for the girl. Not seeing her on the same corner anymore, we thought that she got picked up by a John… but then A*** and Jen noticed that she was on the ground, being beaten up by a guy!
D***** flipped a u-turn and went back to where the girl was. She was on the ground, the guy standing over her, punching her trying to get her purse. When we pulled over, she was screaming at the guy and he was ANGRY. He yelled some choice words at her and walked away with her purse.
She ran up to D*****’s car yelling for someone to call 911. I got out of the car and ran toward the guy - so I could get a good look at him, but I was only able to see the back of his head and what he was wearing… he was a very angry young man. I saw him put the girls cell phone in his pocket… I didn’t sense that I would be able to talk to him (he was too angry) but I didn’t want to lose sight of him. Jen stayed with the girl (her name was Ta**sha), and I followed the guy… until he disappeared down an alley. I started to follow after him until A*** said, “You don’t want to do that…”
I wasn’t going to try and confront him, I just didn’t want to lose him… but following him down an alley wasn’t wise, but A***’s advice was - especially because Jen told me later that Ta**sha said that they guy was armed. He didn’t seem like the most stable guy. Lol.
Well, while all of this was going on, A*** was on the phone with a dispatcher, Dottie had driven around the block to meet us, Jen was still with Ta**sha, another guy was on his phone with the police and Ta**sha was as well. People started coming around and shortly after, the police showed up… we caught sight of the guy who had on a light brown/beige shirt with an orange, white stripes… he was down the street about three blocks and we told the cops where he was, on the right side of the street…
But then we saw the cops stop another guy - on the left - Jen and I started running down the street, screaming “Go right!!!” then they put their car in reverse and came back and we told them again where we saw him… they took off but it was too late. Bummer.
By this time there were about 10 squad cars - no joke. I have never ever seen so many cops and cop cars in South Central (Daryl and I lived there for a while you know) even when there’s a shooting!!! It was crazy, it must have been a slow day. There had to have been at LEAST 12-15 cops there, plus an ambulance. Ta**sha’s face was pretty messed up, scraped and with a huge swollen bruise on her cheek.
They took Jen and Ta**sha for a ride in the squad car (Jen’s first ride in a cop car :-)) and the other cops went down the alley with guns drawn. Unfortunately, the guy was not caught.
In the meantime, I had a great talk with an officer who was getting information from me - when I told him I was from Hollywood he was like “What are you doing here?” Which was a great opportunity to share with him. I told him that we were out there to give gift bags to the girls and “these” (handing him a pimp tract) - and he said, “Oh, a gospel tract?” and I asked him if he was a Christian and he said yes. He kept the tract. In fact most of the cops weren’t interested in any of the other literature except the pimp tracts and a few, of my testimony tract. The cop that said he was a Christian asked what church we went to and I gave him one of the fliers that Melanie made for us with Reality LA’s address on it.
He then proceeded to question D***** and A***, and I went to talk to the other officers. I handed out some more pimp tracts and then gave Ta**sha a gift bag. The police asked us one by one to see if we could identify a guy on the computer (I saw him way too briefly to say for sure if the guy in the photo was him) and Jen couldn’t tell if it was him either. The guy in the photo looked more ‘cleaned up’ than the guy who attacked Ta**sha. He didn’t look like a pimp or a runner - just like a guy who wanted to rob someone. He didn’t look totally unkempt and dirty like he was homeless or anything, but he wasn’t real sharp or crisp either.
D***** and A*** had an appointment at 4 and it was already after 3 - so we decided if the police were done with us, we’d get going. But I wanted to ask Ta**sha if we could pray for her… for some reason, the cops all left at the same time - and Jen and I asked her if she wanted prayer, and she said yes. I asked her (since the cops were gone) if she had been working when the guy attacked her and she said yes, with no hesitation.
Jen and I both prayed and Ta**sha began crying (hard) and we could tell by the way she was praying with us that she knew the Lord (or at least was raised in church). By the time we had just wrapped up praying, all the cops were walking back to where we were. I gave Ta**sha my number and we hugged her and said our goodbye’s.
Again, hopefully Ta**sha will call me… unfortunately, I still haven’t heard from C******, the girl we met two weeks ago - we had been texting back and forth and now her phone is still disconnected. I pray that she’s okay.
I wish there was more that we could do for these girls… but we were blessed working with D***** and A*** and will go on outreach with them again on Friday. They work with sex-trafficking victims and are very successful at what they do.
God is so good - it was NO COINCIDENCE that we were at the right place at the right time - I really don’t think that Ta**sha would have gotten so much help if we hadn’t stopped and if so many people didn’t call 911. A*** was very professional on the phone as well, which makes a big difference - compared to someone screaming, emotional and in a panic.
Please pray that Ta**sha realizes that Jesus was looking out for her today and that He LOVES her! 
I’ll try to make this sweet and short (my notes/blogs are sweet maybe, but never short lol).
Jen came over early and helped make up some gift bags. Julia got to our place a bit before 10pm; we loaded the car up and headed for 7-Eleven to get some coffee. Then we prayed… we prayed for divine appointments, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, protection, spiritual gifts, etc. Geared up with the whole armor of God, we jumped on the freeway.
When we got on the track, it wasn’t too long before we saw an older prostitute on the east side of the street. Across the street was another, younger girl. Julia parked and she and Daryl headed south, while Jen and I headed north. I made an attempt to talk to the younger prostitute - and she was obviously scared… there was a runner (or pimp in training) who whistled at her, watching from across the street. Daryl and Julia went to go and talk to the runner, while Jen and I went to talk to the older prostitute.
Her name was M******. She must have been in her late 30’s or 40’s (it’s hard to tell sometimes, black people age very well, just like us Asians lol). It was obvious that she had been through some stuff and was a drug addict… it is so sad because I heard this saying and it is so true… “First a girls does drugs to be able to prostitute, later a girl prostitutes so she will be able to do drugs…” This was the case for this woman. When we approached her, I asked her if she was cold (I was, but then I always am) and she said “no” (she had on a spaghetti strap dress/top). She did let us pray for her and although she was pretty distracted, she grabbed her jacket afterward and said that she was going to wear it, thanked us and walked away.
Jen and I met up with Julia and Daryl who was praying for Maurice - a nice looking 23 year old young man. Daryl had a word of knowledge and said that he saw Maurice doing some electrical work - and asked him if he had any interest in that… and Maurice shared laughed and said that he’d actually been to school for it and had even done some work on a building across the street. Daryl encouraged him to keep on striving for that, he felt the Lord really had something for him in that trade. Maurice thanked Daryl and called him “sir” and us women “maam.”
We got into the car and drove some more. We saw another girl, who called herself “Lovely” - it was so sad, she said that she was 22, but she looked so young… and she looked so unhealthy… she looked sad too. She said that she was hustling and she also asked if we had any money - I told her that we didn’t have any money to give her but that we wanted to give her a gift bag. She was surprised and said that she couldn’t pay for it - and we told her that we were just giving it to her. She thanked us… I asked her if she had a pimp and she said no, just a “boyfriend” (that would be her pimp). She looked SO SAD!!! She said that she wanted to get out of the life but that she needed money… I asked if we could pray for her and she said to pray for her later (when she was gone)… she just looked so sad…
We drove around some more and saw a girl and John pulled over by the police. We watched as the cops let the John go and then talked to the girl for a pretty long time. We waited for a while and then decided to drive some more and come back - it’s great when we can talk to a girl right after the cops just cut her loose, especially if she’s shaken up a bit.
By the time we came back to see if they were still there, the cops and the girl were gone. But then we saw two more girls. Jen and I got out of the car and talked to another girl named K*****, 23 years old. She said that she didn’t have a pimp, that she worked alone. When I asked her if we could pray for her, she said that she didn’t want to get emotional. I told her that my number was on the matchbook in the bag we gave her and asked for her number, for her to call me if she ever wanted prayer.
Ran into another older woman with a glass eye, named A**** - she admitted that she was working and she thanked us for the gift bag.
Drove around some more, saw another girl who we discovered on closer examination was a young man (he looked pretty good though) and we were able to talk to him a bit and by the time Julia dropped us off at home, he called to find out more about what we do. He had said that his cousin had been murdered by the “Grim Sleeper” (serial killer) a few years back…
The last girl we talked to was talking to a John - who ended up driving away. When she saw Jen and I she was obviously scared - I was able to give her a gift bag and that was about it - a car slowed down and two guys were in it. They said something and then kept driving - then a black car flashed it’s headlights at us a couple of times… I think it may have been the girls pimp and he was trying to let her know that he didn’t want her to talk to us, so we left. No sooner had we walked away then the cops swooped - not on us (although I wished they had - we could’ve given them our tracts and told them about the ministry) but they seemed to stop to get the girl (and hopefully, her pimp). She was scared. Her eyes showed fear.
Anyway, we left after that. I could have gone all night if I didn’t have to pee and if we weren’t all pretty sleepy. All in all, it was a pretty fruitful night! Praise Jesus! It’s crazy cause I had never met any of these girls before - there must be SO MANY prostitutes working out there - it is SO RARE that I have met the same girl more than twice - over a five year period. SAD!!!
Please pray for these women, our hearts are broken for them and Jesus’ so much more! Thank you so much!
Greetings!
This is tough economic time for everyone and we realize that - so when you are praying for yourselves, please pray for us too!!!
It has been said that if we need something, we should ask… (”You have not because you ask not” James 4:2b).
Well, we are in need, so we are asking! We have paid the IRS the $750 to process the paperwork for the 501c3 (and they didn’t waste any time cashing the check lol). We were already getting down to the nitty gritty before we sent the check to the IRS and I probably should have sent this out months ago but I didn’t.
People have been so gracious to give us things for gift bags which is awesome and we are SO GRATEFUL!!! We do need cash as well - even just $20-$50 a month would help out a lot and we will be able to give a tax receipt for everything people give to After Hours Ministry now, from the date we sent the final paperwork to the IRS.
Everything (including internet/phone - which is about $250 a month - we have three phones and 3,000 anytime minutes and I do a LOT of ministry on the phone as well as Melisa being on our plan), electricity $100+ mo., even rent $1250 mo. (because we do all of our ministry/business out of our apartment we are able to pay half out of the After Hours account - if there’s money in it), printing costs (we need to print more brochures/tracts $500+), gas (thankfully Jen and Julia have been driving on outreach the last few times), we also got hit (of course, all at once) with a big electric bill, and annual car insurance payment, as well as doctor, phone and water bills! Ugh!
Whenever we have no money in the After Hours account - whatever we need to pay for comes out of our personal savings account - which is what’s going on right now!!!
Yes, we are confident that the Jesus will provide for our needs, but we are also asking for our brothers and sisters to PRAY and when God leads - give financially to support what God is doing on the streets of LA!!
Thank you so so much for all of your pray and financial support, and encouraging words!
Make checks payable to:
After Hours Ministry
P.O. Box 93275
Los Angeles, CA. 90093
Yesterday Jen, her Pastor, Manuel and his wife Karey came over and we started off by praying (a necessary, absolute priority). It was such a blessing to have them come out on outreach, they love Jesus, are down to earth and are fun, too!!! They brought some really cute already assembled gift bags to hand out to the girls as well as some things to put in the gift bags.
After praying we did what is always another necessity when going on outreach around lunchtime - we ATE. Lol. (Can’t go out on the street when we’re still hungry, right?)
We got on the freeway after lunch (traffic, ugh) and got off the exit and got onto the track. We drove a while before we saw girls - two here, five there. We pulled over and parked. When we began walking towards them, the girls were talking amongst themselves. We introduced ourselves and told them that we came bearing gifts (j/k - we just told them that we wanted to give them something) and one asked “Why? What for?” Jen told them that we wanted to let them know that they are special to God… they were so receptive!
They asked us where we were from and we told them - and that we were/are Christians - I noticed one of the ladies pull her dress down a bit (it was up past her thighs - it was a shirt used as a dress)… I shared with them that I used to turn tricks and that if any of them wanted to get out to call me… as well as showed them a picture of Tony and told them to stay the heck away from him if they ever came around and tried to talk to them - they might end up dead.
One of them said that she was pregnant and that she might want to get out of the game soon, she asked me for my number and looked around at the other girls - said, “I don’t care what you guys think, I’m serious, I want to get her number.”
Her name is C*****, and she is only 21. She said that she’s been in the game since she was FOURTEEN. I asked her how she got into it and she said that she “just wanted to try something new” !!! (She most likely had been violated sexually by someone when she was a child but that’s not information someone just freely volunteers off the bat).
Our hearts went out to her! I asked if she wanted prayer and she said yes - and turned around and told one of her friends that she needed prayer too. So all of us gathered together, held hands and Manuel prayed.
While we were talking with the girls/ladies (I call them girls because they are girls to me - they all look so young!) - a woman (she looked like she was homeless) came up and started talking to Karey and asked her if we could give her a ride to the hospital… from experience - this is a judgment call that needs to be made. We were out there to talk to the prostitutes and give out gift bags. The homeless woman is no less special (we gave her a gift bag too) and if she seemed like her situation was urgent - maybe we would have taken her to the hospital. (After praying and asking the Lord if that’s what we should do).
But too many times I have seen the enemy work in a distraction - and we end up on a wild goose chase by one person who ends up consuming all of our time and energy and accomplishing little. Of course, I realize that “nothing done for the Lord is ever in vain” - that is why we must be wise and discerning to know what HE wants us to do. We told the woman that we were sorry that we wouldn’t be able to give her a ride.
It was great that C***** and I exchanged numbers - because after driving a bit I called her and asked her where we could see more girls and she told us where to go. We didn’t see any more girls and Karey had a great idea - that maybe C***** and the other girls were hungry? (One of the girls was eating a cup of noodle)… so I called C***** back and asked her if she and the other girls were hungry. C***** said “Yes!” She was at a motel with one other girl and so we bought both of them Mc Donalds (personally I’m anti Mc Donalds but hey, it’s food - sort of lol) and went to the motel to give it to them.
C***** was so grateful and because Manuel and Karey’s church has resources to help women - they can help C***** with her baby and baby stuff - Jen and C***** exchanged numbers too. PLEASE PRAY for this sweet young lady! She said that her (old) pimp is is prison for life and she doesn’t have a pimp right now… I am going to keep in touch with her as much as I can so that maybe when she’s ready - she will take the steps to get free from the game.
Okay I’m off to the dog park with Daryl and the boys now. Yay!
She was so scared and literally sick while we were at the restaurant and was too scared to tell me but broke down when we sat down in church… I told security, the head of security has known me for over 5 years now and knows what’s going on, as well as seen Tony’s picture which has been circulated throughout the church security. They had someone sit with us during the service and afterward escorted us out to our car with like 5 guys. Thank God for these guys. They are not afraid and Tony and they are taking Tony’s threats very serious. At Angelus Temple we’ve got security and at Reality LA on Sundays we have the LAPD.
But Melisa is very scared - Tony has done the most horrific things a human being has ever gone through… electrocuted, tortured, put in a 3X3 box for days with no food or water, just horrific stuff. The guy is straight EVIL.
This crazy man is so obsessed that we can’t even walk a few blocks to the store without him or one of his cronies show up to TRY to intimidate Melisa. This crazy man has come all way from Indianapolis to LA and has been here for a month now… this crazy man has committed horrific crimes in the past and no doubt WILL (if he can get his hands on Melisa) not just kill - but first will torture her before he kills her. Melisa is not afraid to die - she knows that she will go to heaven if she dies. All she wants is a life apart from this crazy man. It is very common for women trying to come out of prostitution when they have been with the same pimp for over 10 years - that he kills her if she tries to leave. Yes, Melisa has Jesus. Yes, God is bigger than any crazy pimp. We just have to be aware, alert and on guard, because this crazy man has kidnapped her too…
He has kidnapped Melisa too many times to count, and because he KNOWS that Melisa is NOT afraid to die but that she LOVES and CARES about Daryl and I so much - since he said that if she didn’t do what he says that he would kill us…. she feels terrible - but no worries - he’s an idiot and he can’t do anything to us without God’s permission and even if he does kill us we’ll go to heaven. I told Melisa before that she had BETTER NOT ever leave with him because he makes treats to hurt Daryl or myself. He infuriates me - in the beginning I was praying for his salvation but I guess maybe I’m not all that saved because right now - I just wish that he would be REMOVED from this earth. Lord help me if he tries to hurt Melisa or Daryl - he will have to kill me before he hurts either of them and I don’t care how small I am. I have Jesus and the power of God but I WILL get ghetto on him too. Grrrr!!!
Honestly I am SO PISSED… I don’t struggle with fear (except fear of bugs or doing my bills - stuff like that) I struggle with ANGER - please pray for me I want to stay a Christian and truly love the man and be able to pray for him but right now if I were to see him I would love to hurt him… people have offered to let us have a gun (but we can’t since Daryl has two strikes for violent offenses - mine are only drug felonies) but I would not want a gun for the mere fact that I would have no problem using it on Tony if he tries to hurt Melisa or Daryl and I truly want Jesus to get glory through this and I want HIM to do a miracle… I don’t want any blood on my hands and I believe that having a gun would only hinder what God could do if we were unarmed… the only thing we have is “defensive” weapons - to buy time and hurt Tony is he tried to grab Melisa - but nothing to kill him. Just injure him. I want to get Tony behind bars. It would be awesome if he got saved… in PRISON though… lol.
Our concern is that Tony is probably really pissed that Melisa once again is NOT doing what he told her to (usually by now, she’d give in because he wore her down) and when he gets desperate he goes crazy and does some horrific things. Melisa is afraid that he will try to make up for almost a year of her being away from him - this is the longest she has ever been away from him, off drugs and not prostituting - ever.
As far as asking us about getting a restraining order or having the police involved - what I will say is that there are things going on that we aren’t at liberty to share, especially if Tony has people checking Melisa or my facebook… all I’ll say is that he is going to put HIMSELF away at the rate he is going by his carelessness and foolishness. The more he continues to harass Melisa, the worse it will be for him. We serve a mighty, BIG God, all of this just gives Him an opportunity to perform a miracle and shine.
Going on outreach tomorrow gotta get some sleep. Thanks so much for your prayers!!!
Jen picked me up and we went to 7-Eleven to get coffee and something to eat (when I don’t sleep I seem to get HUNGRY to compensate) and when I paid for my food the guy at the register gave me $5.00 change back from my debit card… I had noticed that 2 cups of coffee and some sushi (yes, sushi) was over $11.00 and I was wondering why it was so expensive but he said I must have accidentally asked for $5.00? When we walked back to the car and this homeless guy named Gerry was asking for money and I asked Jesus if He had me get that extra five bucks out to give the homeless guy and I felt like He said yes and that we were supposed to go and talk to Gerry. We got out of the car and started talking to Gerry, long story short, ended up giving him the money and praying with him…
As we were praying/talking with Gerry an unmarked car of three police officers pulled up and went into 7-Eleven. We waited for them to come out so we could ask them if they knew where the hookers were since they were scaring them all away… they asked us if we wanted to see a tourist attraction lol and we said no and explained why we were out there. Well it was cool cause they did tell us a couple of new areas and asked for our contact info and told us to be careful. Awesome.
We went back in the car and started to pray that Jesus would show us where to go, where the girls were etc. and saw a pimp SUV, black Escalade with bling bling rims pull into the 7-Eleven parking lot. We had seen a girl earlier walking around and she didn’t look “typical” of the girls out there but when the pimps pulled out of the parking lot, we followed them. They were following the girl! We saw them stop and one of them got out of the car - the Escalade drove away… Jen and I parked and got out of the car to follow the girl… the pimp (runner - young guy) was walking toward us and I introduced myself and gave him a pimp tract… he said his name was “Michael” (later found out his real name was “Noah”)…
Jen and I almost ran to catch up to the girl and when we finally did, we introduced ourselves and just asked straight out how long she’d been out there and she was pretty shaken up - earlier a trick had robbed her with a sawed off shot gun and took all her money - her pimp got in a car accident and couldn’t pick her up, then those guys in the SUV were harassing her, trying to break her… long story short we asked her if there was anything we could do to help her or if she needed a ride and she said she did… she was not too far away so we took her to where she wanted to go (we thought we were taking her home but she actually took us to another track, yay!) and we were able to talk to her the entire time… she was pretty receptive because even though she was shaken up she still wasn’t willing to give up the lifestyle… but it was great her name is H**** and she was a Jehovah’s witness (did not have a relationship with Jesus)… we were able to pray for her and tell her that she could have a personal relationship with Him…
Okay (back track) while we were getting into the car to take H**** to where she wanted to get dropped off - “Michael” comes over and starts saying stuff about how H**** was this and that and that we were taking her away (the whole time he was talking he had this weird fake smile - honestly he looked like he had “visitors on board” if you know what I mean) and when I mentioned the name JESUS his whole smiley demeanor changed and he said, “Jesus is in all of us, even me” and that his real name was Noah… he kept trying to stick his face in the car and I just said “God bless you goodbye…” (smile)
Well, as soon as we finished praying with H****, guess who pulled up? The Escalade/SUV. Noah was hanging outside the window and he yelled, “That’s the Jehovah’s witnesses that took that H****!” I turned around and said, “JEHOVAH’s WITNESSES??????? Where did you get that from? We aren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses!!! We are born again Christians!!!” Then he said that he was a Baptist… I forgot the drivers name but he called us over and started asking us questions - he even asked me if I used to be a ho and I said yes and he was totally respectful (I know that sounds contradictory but seriously, I took no offense when he asked me if I used to be a ho cause he didn’t say it in a demeaning tone or anything) and then he asked for one of my tracts and said “God bless, be careful out here” and left.
By this time there were pimps and girls everywhere, girls all over the street, pimps driving in their bling bling cars up and down the track flipping u-turns… Johns everywhere… ugh. Jen an I got out of the car and started handing out gift bags and one of the girl recognized us from another track we go to. One girl on a bike asked me if we were lost because we looked so out of place - another car full of pimps said, “Look at the couple of ’squares’” (people who aren’t in the game).The cops came out (but didn’t stop any of the girls - pulled over cars) - girls were running around down side streets and a helicopter was flying around - two tricks tried to get me and Jen’s attention and I let them know that we weren’t working and that we were out there for the girls and Jesus… there were literally cars and vans pulled over on the side streets (one van parked behind us - oh man I did not need the visual - ugh) and it was just a crazy immoral frenzy of perversion out there.
On the way home we ran across a VERY drunk guy in the middle of the street with his bicycle all bent in the street - we pulled over and I asked him if he needed help… he was SO DRUNK and I helped him get his bike out from the middle of the street…
Okay I’m fading fast and need some sleep… all in all the night was amazing, H**** and I exchanged numbers and she said that she was going to call me for sure (they all say that so we’ll see) but I have her number too so I’ll call her too… I LOVE IT when it’s crazy like that on the streets. It’s a rush. God is so faithful - He totally answered our prayers for divine appointments and He led us to where there were TONS of girls!!! I wish it was like that every night we go on outreach - these kinds of nights are what I live for… I mean this is what I LOVE!!! It was an amazing, awesome night!!! Praise Jesus!!!
There are a lot of prayer requests I have here…
Well, Julia and I are usually the only two people who consistently go on outreach to the pimps and prostitutes, along with a few other women who come out with us whenever they are able to and we are SO GRATEFUL for them!
Earlier today, Julia text me to let me know that she couldn’t come out tonight… and I felt a little relieved. Then I struggled… I have a tendency to feel “guilty” whenever I don’t go out… (which is just me - condemnation is not from God)…
I’m sharing my heart here - I LOVE the men and women we reach out to. There is so much more that I wish I could do to help them… if I had my way, I’d go out every night… but that isn’t practical and I know that it isn’t what God called me to do. Going out at 3 in the morning really takes a lot out of a person, even if they don’t have a bunch of medical problems. I feel like all my years of drinking, drugging and abusing my body is finally catching up with me!!!
Ideally, I would love to have enough trained leaders to alternate going out on the street every other week. There are so few people that are willing to commit to go out with us on a regular, consistent basis… not too many people want to go out at 3 in the morning (not to mention, go to the ghetto at 3 in the morning). Of course we don’t always go to South Central LA or Compton - but that’s where we can pretty much count on regularly seeing girls.
We have a number of people who hear what we do and they get all excited and seemed passionate about reaching out to the prostitutes (not so much the pimps - but we make it clear that we reach out to BOTH the prostitutes AND the pimps) and they want to know how they can help, or they say that they want to start coming out on outreach with us… but things don’t ever seem to pan out. Or they go out with us one or two times and because it is rare that we see immediate “fruit,” salvation, and changed lives they decide not to come out on outreach again.
We are not quick to pray the “sinners prayer” with prostitutes, because we do not want to turn them into Christian hookers - give them a false sense of assurance that they’ll go to heaven when they’re still living like hell. There have been a number of times where the Lord has prompted us to lead girls to the Lord but most times we never even see them after that.
Let me just say that this is a LONG SUFFERING ministry. It requires consistency, love and relationship skills. We require that people attend a mandatory class before they go on outreach with us… and I believe that actually discourages many people from coming out - having the class is good to “weed out” people who may just want to go “sight seeing.”
We ask that people PRAY and ask the Lord if he is calling them to go on outreach with us. They do NOT have to have a background of something crazy like prostitution or drug abuse to come out with us. The only thing we ask is that they have a deep LOVE and COMMITMENT for JESUS CHRIST, because He will take care of the rest. We do encourage people to come out with us at least two times to get a “feel” for what we do. Unfortunately, every week we go out is totally different and unpredictable. One week there may only be one prostitute out on the street, another only homeless people. Another there may be pimps and prostitutes everywhere - or like last week - see a half naked man hitchhiking.
After attending our class, many people seem to be a bit intimidated. That is not our intention… but we do take this ministry very, very seriously. We want to train people, raise people up into passionate leaders… reaching out to prostitutes and pimps is somewhat different from doing your typical street ministry, which is why we teach people about the Game and about the relationship between the pimp and the prostitute.
It is so important that people realize that we are representing JESUS and we want to make sure to give people an accurate example of who HE is. This is why we are STRICT about men not coming out with us if they have a bad attitude toward the pimps. We do not need “bodyguards” when we are out there. We need (and have) the Holy Spirit and His power, not the power of any man of flesh and blood. Unless a man is able to set his ego aside and truly LOVE the pimps on the street - we’d rather just have them they stay at home. They don’t realize that they can do more harm than good if they don’t know about the Game and the street dynamics.
We also ask that people who go out with us have a clean heart before the Lord, for: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, EPH 6:12
We ask that “compromising” Christians who go out partying like a rock star in public places and sleep around (even if you are “engaged”) really stop and think about the way they are living before they decide to come out with us. If I sense that someone is living in un-confessed sin, I do not have a problem coming out and asking - and I expect that someone would do the same to me if things were the other way around. We need to hold each other accountable. Because we are working with people in the sex industry - it is SO important that those who go on outreach with us do not have (an active) problem with pornography or who is compromising in the area of sex.
I probably sound like a real hard a** but I do always try to err on the side of grace. I believe with all my heart that God will bring the right people He wants to work with us, in His time. I care more about the people we are reaching out to then compromising and “settling” - working with people just because we don’t have any other choice. There are lives that are at stake. The people we reach out to are precious to us and even more precious to God.
MY PRAYER IS THAT THE LORD WILL GIVE US MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK - AT CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, EVEN THE POLICE STATIONS - TO EDUCATE PEOPLE AND POSSIBLY INSPIRE THEM TO LEARN MORE AND EVEN COME ON OUTREACH WITH US.
WE WILL BE SENDING IN $750 TO THE IRS FOR OUR 501C3 AS SOON AS WE GET ONE MORE FORM FROM THEM IN THE MAIL WHICH SHOULD ARRIVE WITHIN THE WEEK. WE ALSO ALWAYS NEED FINANCES, FOR GAS, GIFT BAGS, ETC.
PLEASE PRAY FOR WISDOM, DIRECTION, FAITHFUL WORKERS AND CHURCHES TO PARTNER WITH US.
I STILL NEED TO FIND AN EDITOR, AGENT AND PUBLISHER… BUT AT LEAST I’M DONE WITH WRITING AND MY FRIEND ANDREW SWIHART DID AN AMAZING JOB ON THE BOOK COVER!!!
When M**** was back east last year her friend S****** would try to make the day special because she knew that M****’s pimp would do anything he could to make Valentines Day the worst anyone could ever have.
Every Valentines Day has been very difficult for M**** because there are a lot of traumatic memories attached to this holiday (among a number of others - it seems like her pimp would go out of his way to make every holiday a horrific experience to remember a lifetime!
M**** said that she is grateful that God has blessed her with good supportive friends like S****** and many others, including the new friends she’s made here in LA and the Lord is doing some amazing healing in her life these past few months! She is now making new memories - fun, happy memories to replace the old ones.
This weekend we are driving to Las Vegas to see the circus and eat buffets and Lord wiling, visit our friend Annie (Hookers for Jesus) as well. Praise Jesus, He makes all things new!
Some of you have asked or have been asking Daryl and I how (EP) M**** has been doing… and we have been very vague or even changed the subject - the reason being because M**** asked us not to share anything that was going on for fear of being judged, ridiculed, rejected or of being people’s “freak show.”
In the past, M**** had a handful of friends that knew about M****’s condition and were very supportive, but there were also people in church that were NOT so supportive and she soon became the topic of their conversations. They made it known to her that she either had demons or she was faking it.
M**** has been diagnosed with a condition called DID (Dissociation Identity Disorder) formerly known as MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder). Copied and pasted below at the end of this email is the definition of DID taken from the Christian Ministry website Restoration in Christ Ministries: http://rcm-usa.org/What-is-DID.htm
There is a lot of shame that goes along with this disorder. M**** doesn’t even understand and is just starting to grasp it. She was diagnosed with DID four years ago and at that time she only knew of two personalities, Mimi - a 5 year old (and a hilarious one at that, in my opinion) and Amanda a 25 year old dominatrix… who both she pretty much did her best to pretend didn’t exist… until recently.
Since she has been here, God pretty much made circumstances so that there was no choice and no way of denying their existence. It has taken almost six months for M**** to finally accept and fully believe that her alters (personalities) are “real”.
The first time Mimi came out was one early morning when she came out of M****’s room to wake me up! Lol. She had a bad dream and she wanted me to pray for her. The second time she came out was in October around Halloween when our friend C****** and I were shopping. Someone walked by and I noticed M****s demeanor change and in a split second, Mimi appeared. She stayed around for about 3 hours.
Since that day, we have had Amanda, 16 year old Michelle, 40 year old Lexi and some others that we are aware about but haven’t been out or stayed out for long enough for us to get to know.
First and foremost, I need to make it very CLEAR, that Mimi, Amanda etc. are NOT DEMONS. Mimi is a wonderful 5 year old with the funniest sense of humor - she LOVES Snickers, hamburgers, Veggie Tales, coloring and ice cream. She has been living with us off and on for 4 months now and if anyone tried to tell me that she was anything other than a 5 year old I would have to tell them to come live with us for a week before they make any assumptions.
Another thing - before I was a Christian and especially after I got clean and sober - I have had a number of experiences with demons and the demonic and demon possessed people. Demons do NOT repent. They do not have compassion, love or praise and sing to Jesus!!! After Mimi , Amanda, Abigail, Michelle and Lexi prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior Daryl and I have been so blessed to SEE before our very own eyes - DRAMATIC conversions, repentant hearts and a change in attitude.
Granted, this did NOT happen overnight and it was NOT easy!!! Before they gave their hearts to Jesus there was an almost tangible opposition and conflict constantly going on.
This last 6 months has been the most AMAZING journey - lots of ups and downs but so so worth it - we have had so many laughs and good times (as well as lots of tears). Mimi is absolutely hilarious, Amanda is a strong and intelligent… Michelle is sweet and sensitive…
Long story short, this is one of the reasons why M**** has not been at church, or if she is at church and Daryl and I appear to be protective of her or if she seems stand-off-ish - it’s because it may not be her!!! It may be shy Michelle (who has a lisp and is very very self conscious about it but who everyone who’s met her thinks is so endearing and love it) Lexi who sounds Cajun, or Mimi who sounds and acts like a typical 5 year old and who M**** gave strict orders not to talk because if Mimi talked to someone who knows M**** they would wonder why the heck she was talking like a 5 year old and then next week if they saw M**** why she would not remember talking to the same person at all.
So, M**** prayed about it and talked about it and she decided to let us tell people about this because she is tired of hiding and living in shame. M**** feels that if Mimi or Michelle or whoever is out that if they are not sick, they should be going to church! One other reason is that M**** felt that it would be less stressful on Daryl and I not to have to hide it. M**** came to this conclusion because there are several people that go to both churches we attend who know about her DID and they love and accept her and all of her parts/personalities (we call them her “family”) as well as a small number of people who have come through (or are still going through) the same or similar disorder with Jesus and others who are educated and experienced with DID that support her.
M**** is sick and tired of Tony who knows about her DID and has known about it for years - hanging it over her head and threatening to tell people about it - now that SHE is the one who’s told people about it, he can’t hold it against her anymore.
Basically, if you have any questions about this feel free to ask me about it - I am being very protective of M**** so any emails or questions you have will be filtered through me first. On the other hand - if this scares you (I’m sorry, but many Christians are very extreme - either all or nothing - all demons or all psych/mental - this is NOT a mental disorder) please keep your comments to yourself.
Please do not stare, point, shun, whisper etc. when M**** is around - she is not a freak and does not want to feel like one whenever she goes to church. Not that any of you would do this but from past experiences we’ve been amazed at how people act out of fear of unfamiliar.
Just talk to M**** however you normally would when you see her, and if she isn’t M****, we’ll be more than happy to introduce you to who you’re talking to!
This is a very real disorder and there is enough shame and embarrassment attached to this without people adding to it. What M**** and her alters need more than anything is LOVE, God’s love demonstrated through His people, whether or not you understand this… let me just say that if you loved and enjoyed M**** when you first met her and spent some time with her - she is still the same person and you will love her alters as well. If not even more.
Thank you!!!
What is DID?
Definitions, Frequency, and Cause of DID
Restoring the Shattered:
Recognizing and Restoring Complex DID
by Tom R. Hawkins, Ph.D.
Dissociation is generally considered to be a disturbance or alteration in consciousness, memory, identity or perception of the environment. Normally, a person integrates these various functions, whereas dissociation is a compartmentalization of these functions. Dissociation is a process whereby the mind separates one or more aspects of its function (knowing, feeling, tasting, hearing, seeing, etc.) away from the normal stream of consciousness.
Dissociation lies on a continuum ranging from the normal phenomena of day dreaming, fantasy, and “highway hypnosis” on the one end to the polyfragmented (highly complex) multiple whose mind is split into hundreds (or thousands) of separate identities on the other end. This condition was formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), but was changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in 1994 by the American Psychiatric Association with its publication of DSM-IV, in order to more accurately describe the disorder.
In the case of dissociation outside the bounds of “normal” dissociation (i.e. highway hypnosis), the mental separation involves the building of a more or less permanent and impermeable wall between the separated components so that part of the person can be unaffected by a given experience. We believe that such a defense is a temporary God-given capacity that enables a child to survive overwhelming trauma, though later in life this compartmentalization usually leads to dysfunction.
Once a child successfully employs the dissociative defense, dissociation usually becomes the preferred defensive mechanism and often will be used subsequently even when less extreme defense processes might suffice in threat containment.1
definition of dissociative identity disorder (DID) (formerly known as MPD)
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is not to be confused with demonization or schizophrenia. The disorder is characterized by the following:
Two or more personality states or distinct identities who think, feel, and choose from a different world view. As a result, each identity perceives God, themselves, other persons and their environment differently.
Though normal memory is hard to define, there is general agreement in the mental health field that persons exhibiting DID have more memory loss than a non-dissociated person.
The resulting disturbances in the functions of the mind are not due to a medical condition or the effects of drugs or alcohol.
It is also common to have personality fragments, which are defined as a part of the person with a persistent and separate sense of identity but a limited (compared to a personality) range of function, emotion, or history.2
DID can present itself in a variety of subtle ways (explained in detail in Breaking the Chains of DID). Few cases will be as obvious as the stereotypical Sybil with dramatic, abrupt switching from one personality state to another. Most multiples will initially be unaware of such switches and will attribute changes in the way they perceive God, themselves, others and their environment as just mood swings. Total amnesia among the presenting identities is no longer viewed as part of the diagnostic criteria.
This condition is defined fully in Tom’s book, Dissociative Identity Disorder: Recognizing and Restoring the Severely Abused (not yet released), where the complete DSM-IV definition is given.
frequency of DID
According to the psychiatrist, Dr. Colin Ross, some form of pathological dissociation may affect as much as ten percent of the population.3 DID itself, according to his data may affect at least one percent of the general population.4 Other researchers have reported that as much as 20 to 50% of psychiatric hospital inpatients suffer from dissociative disorders.5 Many working in the field will not be surprised if further studies demonstrate that as much as five percent or more of the population has DID. Many of these are people who, in the past, were misdiagnosed by the medical and mental health community. Previously the disorder was so narrowly defined and considered such a rarity that it was little studied or understood. Fortunately, that lack is now being corrected, though the societal “need” for denial has not diminished.
cause of DID
It is generally agreed that in about 97% of the cases where dissociative identity is formed, the victims suffered serious abuse at an early age. Friesen comments,
Most of them have been abused sexually. They needed to use dissociation to cope with the abuse. . . .the life circumstances have been dangerous, and the children continue to suffer abuse over a long period of time. The home is not a safe place, and the child needs to keep on using dissociation to deal with the continuing abuse.6
It is not always true, but too often the home is the source of the abuse.
DID is not caused by a brain or chemical deficiency. In fact, multiples are usually above average in intelligence and creativity. In this sense DID is not a pathological sickness but rather a God-given, temporary coping mechanism for an overwhelmed child whose only options were to dissociate, lose touch with reality (go crazy), or commit suicide. DID is generally considered a “disorder” rather than a mental illness because it is not caused by defective brain chemistry and treatment is usually effective. Someone with DID might be described more accurately as a normal person with a normal brain responding to the abnormal experience of overwhelming trauma. It is helpful to note that the literature in the field reflects an approximate 80% to 90% cure rate for those multiples who stay in therapy.