Laurie Ishii and Daryl Bargy

Recently, I have had a number of people express interest in ministry to pimps and prostitutes.

I sat down and wrote the following for those who are interested:

People who would like to be involved with After Hours (ministry to pimps and prostitutes) should be prepared to be asked a number of somewhat personal questions…

It is of the utmost importance that people who want to be a part of this type of ministry that you are actively involved and accountable to a home church and are WALKING IN SEXUAL PURITY. If you come out of a lifestyle of drugs, pornography, prostitution, or any other type of sexual immorality (that definitely includes sleeping with or even living with your “fiance” boyfriend/girlfriend – we do not want to have even the appearance of evil 1 Thessalonians 5:22) We require that you have been out of the lifestyle, are accountable to your church and have been consistently serving and walking with Jesus for AT LEAST 2 YEARS. We may ask for references from your Pastor/church leadership as well.

Anyone who would like to come out on outreach with us must attend a 2 hour training class as well as sign a waiver. Some of the places we go to our pretty ghetto and dangerous. We want you to count the cost, know where you are going and some of what to expect BEFORE going out with us. On average, we have about 20-30 people attend the class, and MAYBE one person (if even that) will actually end up coming on outreach with us. On average, 2 people out of about 100 who attend the training will still be interested in coming on outreach with us.

After attending the training, we do an informal interview. We want to get to know you a bit before going out on the “front lines” with us.

The reason we are so “strict” about who goes out with us is because we do not want to cause anyone to stumble. We let you know up front what they may experience out on the street – everything from half naked YOUNG girls to gang members to homeless drug addicts. We experience a lot of darkness on outreach and we realize that not everyone is called to this type of ministry.

The training is very informative and even if you don’t go on outreach with us you will walk away viewing both the pimps and prostitutes in a different way. We encourage everyone to take the training class and then pray! If you feel like the Lord is leading you to join us on the streets, please contact me laurieish@gmail.com and we can talk!

God bless you and we totally appreciate your prayers!!! Thank you!

Wow. I’m still recovering from last night. Lol!!! Yesterday was a very long day/night. I went to lunch with a friend and she dropped me off at another friend’s house we were proceeded to go all around town, last stop being Home Depot and then home right before everyone was coming over for pizza, gift bag’s and prayer!

Our time of prayer was such a blessing (as well as the food and fellowship of course). This is my own personal belief but it’s my heart to do more than just go out on outreach/ministry. I believe for us to be a tighter knit group, or “family” that it is important to have fellowship (and food of course lol) so that we can get to know each other outside of just doing ministry. Basically, we are putting our lives on the line every time we go out on the street in the middle of the night – it is important that we are in unity, even be willing to lay our lives down for one another out there.

There are a number of people that we meet and pray for as well as pray for each other – and we also do a lot of praying during the week, either together in person or on the phone. PRAYER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE “LAUNCHING PAD” OF EVERYTHING WE DO.

Last night after praying and making gift bags, we headed out.

We got on the track around 11pm. We didn’t see girls right away, but it wasn’t long before we noticed one here, another there, standing against a wall in the shadows or on a dim lit corner.

The first girls we approached were S*** and T****** walking an adorable stray doggie one of them had found. Ar first they looked at us very sceptically, S*** may have even appeared a bit scared. We introduced ourselves and when we asked them if we could pray for them, they both said YES! So we all held hands and prayed together. We gave them gift bags and they thanked us.

There were quite a few girls we saw after that while driving up and down the track but there were a few that really “stood out” – because either we got to connect with and/or pray with them.

There was Cr****, who said that she was 22 but did NOT look that old and who also looked about 4-5 months pregnant. I asked her if she had a pimp and she said he was her boyfriend, that she was “different from the other ho’s because they don’t get to keep their money. I get to keep my money. I just bought a house.” Sad. She did say that eventually she wanted to stop turning tricks; she said something about hoping that having a house would change things… she let us pray for her before we parted ways.

As we walked down the street, we noticed a guy standing on the sidewalk (obviously a pimp by the way he was dressed and his “croc’s” – shoes). There were girls across the street and a runner “spitting” at them. (Saying things to them, not spitting saliva lol) We approached this man, A****** and handed him a pimp track. We introduced ourselves (it was me, Everett and Lindsey) and I felt compelled to tell A****** that God didn’t call him to be pimping, in the game… I can’t remember exactly what I said but basically told him he was created for destiny, to be a leader, that he is leading people in the wrong direction and that he is to be a world changer and to lead people in a positive way. I asked him if he knew Jesus and he said he didn’t – all three of us went on to tell him how much Jesus loves him, he died for him, how God wants a personal relationship with him etc.

It was awesome!!! The Lord was totally ministering to A****** and we must have talked to him for at least 20 minutes or more. He shared with us that he wanted to be a professional comedian one day – he was always funny growing up but that his dad beat him whenever he cracked a joke and it kind of quenched his dream… he said that it seems like every time he starts to get somewhere or move forward something happens to mess it up… he said that he was supposed to go to Hollywood but instead he ended up on the track… I said “That’s because God wanted us to talk to you!!!!”

We were able to pray with A****** and we could tell that he was very touched. The crazy thing about the whole thing is that there were girls all around us – I mean, for this guy to let us talk to him, to let us PRAY FOR HIM IN FRONT OF THE PROSTITUTES… that is humbling! Everett even overheard a girl say something about us talking to A****** about Jesus!!!

What an awesome, DIVINE appointment!!! A****** knows a lot of the same guys (pimps) I still talk to on the phone every now and then – they older “mack” pimps. We exchanged numbers and he even said he might check out church when he’s in town again. (He’s from outa state).

It was also awesome to know that Jen and Johnny are in the car interceding for us while we are talking to people.

The next ladies we saw were across the street from A******, two were standing by the bus stop, another sitting on the bus bench. We asked them if we could bless them with a gift bag, and one of the ladies standing said, “No, we don’t want nothing from you guys, what are you doing out here anyway, you need to go away etc.” She was pretty angry.

The lady sitting on the bench said, “You don’t have to be mean to them, they’re being nice – I’ll take one” and stuck her hand out. The angry lady said, “Oh, you’re out here to bless the ho’s.” She looked at us with disdain and I looked at her in the eye and said, “I WAS A HO. I love you and we want you ladies to know that Jesus loves you and you are special to Him. Please let us give you this small gift and bless you” handing her a gift bag. She kind of made a frown and said, “Well, I guess I can take one for my kid.” (Yay! Praise God!)

After that we drove around a bit more and one of the girls we call “America’s Next Top Model” (because she’s so strikingly beautiful) had been texting me off and on through the night and we wanted to see her but she wasn’t going to be out until 2am. Then a friend of mine who I am praying so hard for to come to know Jesus – he text me and man, he needs a lot of prayer, the enemy is really trying to keep him from coming to Jesus, beating him up with guilt, shame and condemnation. Anyway we saw another girl and this time Jen C, Lindsey and Everett went to talk to her while Johnny and I stayed in the car and I texted back and forth between two people at the same time. (Multi-tasking lol) Jen didn’t turn the car or the lights off and after about 15-20 minutes a police car shined a spotlight on us! Lol.

I got out of the car and they asked what we were doing, I told them that we were just waiting for our friends who were talking with a girl about Jesus on the corner. The cop in the passenger seat said, “Well you guys are gonna get run up by some gang bangers if you don’t turn your car off.” I was so into what I was doing texting that i didn’t even realize the car was still running!

It was great though, Jen, Lindsey and Everett were able to talk and pray with a woman, Sh**** who had just gotten out of prison and she was crying and they exchanged numbers.

By this time, my bladder was about to explode and we got back on the freeway and headed towards home. The whole night was amazing, the Lord is moving in such a powerful way and it is so encouraging to see people’s lives touched!

The first time we saw the girl we call “America’s Next Top Model” – she wouldn’t even talk to us. She took a gift bag from us but didn’t say a word – she almost looked like she’d start crying. The next time we saw her, she said that she’d read my story (tract) and was surprised that I used to be a prostitute. We exchanged numbers and now we text quite often – this morning we talked on the phone. We know that this young lady is going to come to Christ!

Serving Jesus is the most exciting, REWARDING life there is. Don’t get me wrong, we may not see immediate rewards – but our treasures are stored in heaven. Just seeing something as small as a girl going from not talking to us to saying hi or taking a gift bag from us after weeks of having her not acknowledge us is a big thing!!! It may seem like a small thing to some but to us it is great progress!

What such a privilege it is to know Jesus.

WATCH ON VIMEO:

AFTER HOURS MINISTRY: The Game from Benjamin Koppin on Vimeo.

OR YOUTUBE:

Last night’s outreach was great… written by Johnny http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=172642754967&ref=mf because we have been going out on the track consistently for months now, many of the girls working the street either know us or at least have heard about us, so it is awesome to see the girls greet us – sometimes with hugs or excitement! Other times we are blessed to see a girl who would not say a word to us one week and the next time they smile and have conversation with us.

As of now, we only have 6 people on our “team” who are somewhat consistent going on outreach every week. People have asked me for specific ways they can pray for us and the outreach, so I am going to list some here.

It is very important that we have people praying for us on a regular, consistent basis. Especially while we are out on outreach and also AFTER outreach. Especially the DAY AFTER.

Going out anywhere between 10pm Friday night and 5-6am Saturday morning takes a lot out of a person, physically, mentally and spiritually. Especially those who are a bit older (like me lol) who’ve had a lot of damage done to their body (like me lol) due to mistreating their body and isn’t in the best of health – but even for the younger, more healthy ones – it still takes a toll out of them as well… we are literally on the front lines and you’d be amazed at the opposition and warfare we face regularly.

Please pray for our health! As well as for words to speak while we talk to the girls, wisdom, favor… divine appointments, relationships with both the girls and the pimps… for God’s love to shine through us, that the girls would see Jesus in us and know that they are special to Him… that we can communicate to the girls that they are beautiful, of worth, precious, important, cherished and adored by God, that He has a destiny and purpose for their lives and that it is not to sell their bodies for money.

We also need FINANCES!!! We are in need of printing done, money to print more tracts, more brochures… GAS money or gas cards… if anyone has good fundraising ideas please feel free to let us know.

If you would like us to come to your church and teach the “Reaching out to Pimps and Prostitutes” class let us know!

THE LAST FEW MONTHS WE HAVE HANDED OUT ON AVERAGE 15-20 GIFT BAGS A WEEK. EACH BAG COSTS ON AVERAGE (INCLUDING PACKAGING – BAGS, RIBBON, TRACTS, LIP GLOSS, ETC.) ABOUT $3.00-$5.00 DEPENDING ON WHAT’S INSIDE. I TRY TO BUY THINGS IN BULK, LOOK FOR THINGS THAT ARE INEXPENSIVE BUT NOT ‘CHEAP’ – I DON’T WANT TO GIVE AWAY TACKY CHEAP JUNK – BUT SPECIAL, GOOD GIFTS THAT WILL MAKE THESE GIRLS FEEL SPECIAL, NOT LIKE THEY’RE CHARITY WE’RE HANDING OUT LEFT OVERS TO. I ALSO TRY TO ALTERNATE THE GIFTS INSIDE THE BAGS SO THAT THEY SAME GIRL DOESN’T GET WHAT THEY GOT THE PRIOR WEEK. FORTUNATELY (UNFORTUNATELY?) WE SEE DIFFERENT GIRLS EVERY TIME WE GO OUT – THE SAME GIRL MAYBE TWICE WITHIN A COUPLE MONTHS OR SO IF AT ALL.

I am so busy during the week and so are the others on the team (full time jobs) – ideally it would be awesome to have more COMMITTED, reliable volunteers so that we can alternate each week – so that each person would have a break in between but we wouldn’t miss out seeing the girls we are developing relationships with.

We are SO GRATEFUL for your prayers and support!!!

Because last night’s outreach was so amazing – I just had to write!!!!

Jen C wrote a blog about the outreach and it was great – I can totally relate as far as going out later goes and about migraines… When we used to go out at 3-6am – I used to get migraines all the time – almost every week! There were more than a few times where I’d be so sick, throwing up – right up until an hour before walking out the door. That just made me mad and more determined to hit the streets because as soon as I did, I’d feel better.

There’s just a little I want to add to last night’s outreach from my perspective…

I’ve been doing this for a little over 5 years now and have seen a lot out there. We go to different tracks and see different girls every week, different pimps – but one thing that never changes – is the brokenness we see in each girl.

The girls seem to fall in one out of these three categories:

1) A girl who is new, fresh who is being broken. She has just been turning tricks for anywhere from a week, month to 3 months… she is inexperienced and afraid. She may have a pimp who was first a “boyfriend.” She “loves” him and is just turning tricks for him “temporarily.” Or, a girl who was basically kidnapped and is brainwashed into turning tricks for the pimp. The pimp may drug them or let them use drugs to be able to follow through with the sex act. These girls are still operating out of fear for being beat/disciplined if they don’t do what they are told. They are still learning the game, the rules of the game and are being watched at all times, controlled, manipulated and intimidated. Getting arrested, having a bad trick or experience may be enough to scare them to get out – but talking to them is difficult. They are being tried and tested, they have yet to prove their loyalty to the pimp and the game. They are afraid and the consequences of talking to us during the testing time could be fatal.

2) Then there are the girls who have been ‘broken’ – they know the rules, are desensitized and are “proud” to be in the game. They are “in love” with their pimp and are totally loyal to them. He is their everything – daddy, savior, best friend… they will do just about anything for him, including die for him. They are proud to be a ho and have an attitude to show it. These girls are difficult to reach, even if they are respectful towards us.  It’s as if there is an invisible “wall” around them which is almost impossible to penetrate. Only Jesus can speak/break through it. These girls are still beat/disciplined and hurt but they have accepted being beaten as part of the life and one of the ways their pimp shows his “love.” These girls are allowed to smoke pot and drink but are not allowed to do harder drugs which may threaten to become a bigger priority over the game or the pimp. (Unless her doing harder drugs will benefit the pimp in some way i.e. if she needs to stay up all night she can do speed or if she doesn’t want to turn a trick with some gross fat old man her pimp may shoot her up with heroin – but even this is totally controlled and dispensed at the pimps discretion.)

3) This third category of girls/women are those who have been turning tricks for some time (usually 4+ years) and are sick and tired. She has been stripped of all hope, many times is older and cannot compete with the younger girls. She has little or no education or skills besides turning tricks and is now addicted to drugs. At one time, this girl/woman did drugs to be able to turn tricks – now she turn tricks in order to support her drug habit. She believes that the only thing she can do, the only thing she was created for – is to have sex for money and to be used by men. She is broken and is in total bondage. She longs to be free but has no idea how to be free. She is not only addicted to drugs but is also addicted to quick money and a lifestyle that she loves and hates at the same time. If he hasn’t dumped her, she may also be “addicted” to her pimp and the dysfunctional relationship they have. She has tried to leave her pimp and the lifestyle numerous times, but over and over, has continued to return to either one or the other, or both. She is open to talk with and pray with, but unless she is totally determined and has a strong support system – she is most likely to return to what she knows best.

When when a girl has some kind of relationship with Jesus – she needs a support group, accountability and she NEEDS to be taught WHO SHE IS IN CHRIST. Her identity has to be in Jesus, her self worth must come from Him. Otherwise, she may stop turning tricks or stop doing drugs… but she will most likely continue to fall into dysfunctional relationships, not have good communication skills and/or know how to have or make boundaries… there is SO MUCH MORE to a woman coming out of prostitution than just getting out. Getting out is only the beginning.

Jen shared about C*****, who let us pray for her – who cried and told us that she knew she needed and wanted to get out of the game. She is category 3 – she is broken, sick and tired – but doesn’t know how she can get out and STAY out. She shared that she has parents who have sent her money to fly back home and who want her to come home – but she always ends up going back to turning tricks, even if she stops for a while.

After we left C*****, Everette asked me what we could have done for her, what if we had taken her and put her in a women’s home to get away from her pimp… I explained to him that unless that was totally C*****’s decision and we tried to talk her into going into a place/program without her first “counting the cost” – she would most likely return to her pimp and the consequences for leaving in the first place will most likely not just be harmful, but deadly.

Granted, every woman and every situation is different. Had C***** been a minor – the options would be different, or if she had only been in the life for months rather than years – it would be different. This is where we stress how important it is that we are led by the Holy Spirit and not by our emotions or even by logic. Had I sensed that C***** was desperate to leave right then – I may have just taken her home and let her stay with us till her parents sent her money to fly home. But C***** said herself that she knew what she needed to do, she knew what the right thing to do was – but that she just needed to do it… which still doesn’t make the whole situation any less heartbreaking.

Last night was amazing. “Caviar” – one of the pimps we met (the one who we saw with at least two girls and who called them a few minutes after we began talking with them) – I started asking him questions when we were standing around by the “Roach Coach” where we got the carne asada tacos…

Caviar had been staring us down when he first saw us and he looked so familiar to me after we first approached him. I asked him if he’d worked on Sunset – he said yes – then I asked him if he knew “G” and a few other players I know – and he did. I asked him how long he’d been in the game and he said “since birth.” He was respectful and we spoke a bit about our neutral friends in the game – a few of the older, well respected pimps.

Whenever we are out on the street and we have the opportunity to speak with a pimp or pimps – I always go out of the way to do so. I believe that it is very important that they see that we are not intimidated by them and that they see our hearts, our reason for being out there. These young men are born leaders, called by God to be pastors, evangelists and teachers. Satan is such a liar and he knows that these men have such a calling on their lives and he does whatever he can to deceive them and keep them from their true calling.

We definitely need to start going out on the streets between 2-4am again. Maybe we can alternate teams, alternate weeks. I’m really feeling my age these days. Staying out all night really kicks my butt. I think I’m gonna go back to bed after writing this…

Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers… we really need them. Especially if we will be out later – we need prayer both before and AFTER the outreach.

God is good, He is so faithful and has the power to change lives. Praise His HOLY Name!!!

Copyright 2009 Laurie Ishii © All Rights Reserved.

The 700 Club – Saving Laurie

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.

Hand raised, Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old–barely out of diapers–and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued, “But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.
Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience–or so we think.

An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, “No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows there.” They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge.

A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, “I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also.

So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God–much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ–that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?” I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would happen if God stopped paying me?”
For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.