Hello Friends. We here at Magdalene Hope are constantly seeking the Lord in prayer as in which direction to go in the ministry. We have made different tweeks here and there over the last few years as we felt God has lead us in different directions. Our eyes have been opened recently to a rapidly growing concern that has been talked about and reported on for the last few years, Human Trafficking. Until recently I (Doug) was unaware of this form of Modern Day Slavery until last year when I spent some time on the California Coast with some amazing young missionaries who are with Y.W.A.M.Youth With A Mission in Pismo Beach, Ca. It was there I was told of the horrendous acts that Men were performing on Women and Children in Cambodia, Thailand, China, Vietnam and so on. Men, (mainly American and European) were BUYING women and children as SEXSLAVES. My heart broke. I looked into it further and found out that these things were not only true but were almost common place in these parts of the word. Truly if you have enough money you can buy anything you want and get away with anything as well. Imagine for a minute if this were happening in America? I am sorry to inform you that it is. America is the third largest "Trafficked" Country only behind Japan and Australia. Women more than children are sent to this Country daily with the sole purpose to be used as a sex slave. Upon arrival the women are brutally raped and beaten for days on end until they are broken and filled with FEAR! They are told if they go to the authorities that the police will do the same to them and lock them up where they will never see their family again. Can you imagine what must be going through the head of this poor, scared, broken woman? She has been sent to another Country where she dose not know the language or anybody and has just been through a traumatic event. I think that I can imagine what she must be thinking. I am going to die here, my life is over, my dreams will never come to pass, I must survive and so on. I for one and not going to sit back knowing that this is happening in our Country and our City. YES it is happening here in BAKERSFIELD too. These women are being trafficked and PROSTITUTED out of at least 10 massage parlors in town and over 4500 NATION WIDE. Friends we at MH need your help in this matter. It is my desire (Doug) to learn the languages of Thai and Chinese (Mandarin) and then go into these Massage Parlors (Brothels) and talk to these women in their own language and inform them that we have a safe house for them and then I'll take them by the hand and walk them out of the establishment that they are in.. A friend of MH offered to buy BOTH Rosetta Stones (Mandarin and Thai) and they now sit in the office of MH. These are the gold standard of computer based language learning software available. They are so advance that our computer at MH can not meet the minimum system requirements. The computer we have is old and slow. It was given to us as an "In Kind" gift and served this ministry well for the last two years but we need an upgrade. We are asking for help with donations of "In Kind" gifts or Monetary donations of any kind.
We need the following of new or gently used items;
An Operating System (one of the following):
* Windows XP SP3 or higher
* Windows Vista SP2 or higher
* Windows 7 or higher
* Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 or higher
* Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 or higher
* Mac OX S Snow Leopard or higher
Computer Hardware (all of the following):
* 1 GHz processor or faster
* 1 GB of Ram or higher
* 600 MB free hard-drive space (per level)
* CD or DVD drive for installation
* 1024 x 768 display resolution
* 1 available USB port (for included headset with microphone)
My friends this can either be a Personal Computer (P.C.) or a Laptop we will take whatever we can get. All Donations are Tax deductible and you either donate to me or one of our leaders or on-line on our website or you can send in donations at P.O. Box 2631 Bakersfield Ca 93303. Thank you so much and may God's hand continue to be upon this ministry and on your life.
We at Magdalene Hope are a group of believers, called to minister the unconditional Love of Christ in an untraditional and unconventional way to those who are stuck/trapped in the commercial sex industry, namely prostitution and human trafficking. This blog is a first hand account of what happens in the ministry. Thank you for joining us on this journey!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
10 Things you need to know about Human Trafficking (Australia)
10 things you need to know about Human Trafficking Featured
Written by Jonathan Hirt , 21 April 2011
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fazen/ 1. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Human trafficking involves one human being holding another human being against their will, by either physical, emotional, psychological or economic chains, to make profit by forcing that person to work in a variety of inhumane ways. What makes this modern conception of human slavery, "modern", and therefore different from it's historical trans-Atlantic counterpart, is that slavery today is illegal, in fact there are many laws, internationally and domestically, now in place that have outlawed modern slavery in almost all of it's manifestations, in much of the world. Yet modern-day slavery still exists, in truth, there are more human beings enslaved right now than in any other moment in human history.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Human trafficking involves one human being holding another human being against their will, by either physical, emotional, psychological or economic chains, to make profit by forcing that person to work in a variety of inhumane ways. What makes this modern conception of human slavery, "modern", and therefore different from it's historical trans-Atlantic counterpart, is that slavery today is illegal, in fact there are many laws, internationally and domestically, now in place that have outlawed modern slavery in almost all of it's manifestations, in much of the world. Yet modern-day slavery still exists, in truth, there are more human beings enslaved right now than in any other moment in human history.
2. Australia has a History of Slavery – not all that dissimilar to Human Trafficking.
Australia has a history of slavery that is not well known and often omitted from school history curriculum. "Black-birding" as it was called, involved the kidnapping of Pacific Islanders to work for little or no pay on the sugar cane plantations of Queensland. The practice occurred primarily between the 1860s and 1901. In 1901 Queensland became a part of the Commonwealth of Australia and so black-birding as an economic practice ceased, however it is estimated that up to 80,000 indigenous people were trafficked against their will and forced to work in Australia during this time.
3. Human trafficking does not have to involve the movement of a person across borders.
The term "human trafficking" implies the movement of a person across a border, like "drug trafficking". This is a misconception. Both legally and literally, a person does not have to be moved across a border to be a victim of human trafficking. Domestic, or internal trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation does take place; it is particularly prevalent in the United States, however the practice also takes place within Australia. In an inquiry by the Northern Territory Government into the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse undertaken in 2007, and further supported by the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report put out by the U.S. Department of State, it has been highlighted that cases of child "prostitution" among Indigenous communities have taken place – cases where the child was not trafficked across a border, but exploited within their own country.
4. Human trafficking is happening in your backyard.
The trading in human property exists in 161 countries, on every continent and within every type of economy. The phenomenon of modern slavery is a global problem, however it is also an Australian problem. Australia is a source and destination country for the trafficking of human beings. Men, women and children are trafficked into Australian borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation, supplying its burgeoning sex industry. People are also trafficked into Australia and forced to work in aspects of the hospitality, agricultural, construction and mining industries.
5. You are complicit in modern-day slavery.
Modern-day slavery is embedded in our global economy. We are all complicit in the global slave trade because we all patronize slave made products. From the chocolate we eat, the coffee we drink to the clothing we wear, many of the products we buy come from supply chains that use forced labour. Kevin Bales, author of "Disposable People", clearly describes the connections between the use of human slavery and the consumer,
Slaves in Pakistan may have made the shoes you are wearing and the carpet you stand on. Slaves in the Caribbean may have put sugar in your kitchen and toys in the hands of your children. In India they may have sewn the shirt on your back and polished the ring on your finger.
6. People smuggling is not human trafficking.
Many erroneous beliefs surround the issue of modern-day slavery. One of the greatest misconceptions, especially relevant in the Australian context, surrounding the global event that is human trafficking, is the understanding that people smuggling is a form of modern slavery. Although the two acts have similarities, people smugglers cannot be charged under human trafficking laws and vice versa. Consider it like this; people smuggling is legally a crime against the sovereignty of a nation, human trafficking is a crime against an individuals human rights.
7. The victims of human trafficking are not just "foreigners" – it is happening to people like you and me.
The perpetrators of modern-day slavery do not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race or religion – the bottom line for the trafficker is profit. The vast majority of trafficking victims are women, and a vast portion of those women are under the age of 18. There are over 2.5 million human beings experiencing the horrors of forced labor at any given time, which includes sexual exploitation. It is estimated that 95% of victims will experience physical or sexual violence during the trafficking process, whether that is domestically or internationally. The International Organization for Migration, goes further to highlight that 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98% are women and girls and 32% of victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of whom 56% are women and girls. Many trafficking victims have at least middle-level education. Within Australia, the majority of prosecuted cases of modern slavery have involved people trafficked into Australia; however cases are emerging that suggest domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation of Australian citizens is also taking place.
8. The traffickers are people who look like you.
Although the re-emergence of the modern slave trade has been greatly perpetuated and proliferated by domestic and transnational organised crime, a significant portion of contemporary slave traders are seemingly "normal" people. Our perceptions of who is committing these crimes against humanity are largely misperceptions. In 2009 there was a case in which a mother from the New South Wales South Coast forced her underage daughter into prostitution in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.
One would assume that the perpetrators of this transgression are predominately men. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime tells us that 52% of those recruiting victims are men, followed closely by 42% who are women (6% of cases involve both men and women). What is more, in just under half of the cases, the victim knew the recruiter. If we are to end slavery in our lifetime, we need to shift our thinking about the crime - it isn't someone else's problem, this crime isn't being committed by someone unlike you or me. Slavery today is everyone's problem, and it is going to take all of us to see out its end!
9. You have a role to play in the movement to end human slavery.
Modern-day slavery is an Australian problem, it is also a global problem – it is all of our concern, it has to be. The movement to end human trafficking needs all of us, it has a place for all of us – we all have a role to play. One avenue of engaging with the abolitionist movement and learning how to work against slavery in your home context is to take part in training like that of Not For Sale's "Abolitionist Academies" that will be taking place in late June and July in Sydney and Melbourne.
This is a challenge that all people of conscience face working for justice, to find their place in the fray, to hone their skills and own the role. The line, what can I possibly do in the face of such an embedded global problem is oft used. It is also an easy out. Yes the problem is huge and overwhelming and yes it is deeply rooted in the global economic system. Your role may only be to buy ethically and justly. If one quarter of the First World altered their consumer habits consider the change that would ensue – imagine a world where Fair Trade was the norm. We all have a role to play in the movement to end the captivity of millions of human beings, every single one of us.
10. We can end human trafficking in our lifetime.
We can end human trafficking in this generation. We can end human trafficking in this generation. We-can-end-human-trafficking-in-this-generation. Let that statement marinate. We truly can end this horrendous crime against ALL of humanity if and only if we ALL work against it. There is a growing global abolitionist movement mobilising around the world. We need a multifaceted approach. We must engage all spheres of influence that make up society. As Dr. David Batstone, President of Not For Sale often says, we must become "smart-activists". We must buy from companies that have transparent and just supply chains and tell their unjust counterparts that enough is enough! In this global human rights epidemic, education is advocacy. Educate your community, your friends and family – everyone needs to know that slavery still exists. Apathy is hard to change; however ignorance is something we can cure. Together we will end human trafficking in our lifetime, but only together.
Learn more about Modern Day Slavery at http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/australia/
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
My Trip and First Australian Outreach 2/5/2011
I will attempt to Blog to the best of my ability what I experienced while going out on the streets to minister in a foreign Country the love of Christ to the prostitutes working in Australia.
It was back in November that I learned of a ministry in Australia that was ministering inside brothels (more commonly known as whorehouses here in the states). I learned that they would go in and give massages to the girls during the slow times of the day when there weren't as many customers looking for a date. My friend Narelle had told me of Shaz the leader and founder of this ministry and naturally it grabbed my heart. I thought how amazing would that be to minister in another Country and see first hand what prostitution is like in another culture and more importantly what could I pull from this ministry and incorporate back home in the United States. I also heard of Shaz's husband and the work that he was doing as well. I learned from Narelle that he was a former Anglican Priest who had had enough of the religious legalistic crowd and stepped down to do street ministry. He now has a ministry that focuses on ministering God's unconditional love to homosexuals and lesbians in Perth. I then quickly woke up from my day dreaming and thought that that is half way across the world and I am stuck here in Bakersfield...yet I never lost hope of one day teaming up with Shaz for an outreach.
Well as God would have it He spoke to a friend of mine and said to bless me and pay for my airfare. My friend Narelle had offered me a place to stay if I ever came to Perth, even my own room. I was overwhelmed with the thought of traveling to another Contentment and immediately went to prayer. If God is not in it then I would not want to go. Sometimes you might be presented with a "good thing" but, it might not be a "God thing". Well I asked a couple of my elders for advice and I sought God in prayer and His word. 5 different passages I looked at all had the word "go" or "went" in the scripture that I read. I felt peace and I said yes, I would be honored to come to Australia. I told my friend not only did I want to come down and visit with her but that I wanted and felt as if we would go out and minister with Shaz. I was also feeling as if God was calling me to rest in Him, and that He was giving me and oppertunity to recharge my battery.
6 weeks came and went and with my affairs in order I boarded a plane for Australia, bright eyed with the whole world in front of me anticipating what my God was going to do. I left not knowing for sure, exactly why I was going to Aussie land I just knew it was to rest and hang out with a friend and that God had showed me in a vision that I would worship Him before we would go to do an outreach (I didn't know where or with who, but that I would minister to prostitutes)...I knew in my spirit it was deeper and much more than just these three things.
Upon arrival into Perth I met my friend Narelle at the airport and we had dinner. Afterwords I got situated into my room before laying down to sleep (tired and a little weary from traveling 31 hours) I noticed that I had zero jet lag. God woke me at 2:00 am and said for me to read Jer 31. I did and it was on Hope and Restoration. God revealed to me at that time that I was sent by Him to Australia with a message of hope and to encourage the believers in Australia.
I soon met up with Andrew (Shaz's husband) to encourage him and find out about the work that he and his wife were doing. What an amazing man of God the fellow turned out to be. I had the honor of meeting his wife a few days later and I saw humility in both of them. Shaz and I talked about the wonderful work that God was doing here in the states and she told me of the wonderful things that He was doing in Perth. We set up a time to meet the following week to see about setting up an outreach. I had to be very respectful of the work that God was doing in the city through her and her team and did not want to compromise it in any way. Well, we meet up for coffee and dinner and there were 2 things that stood out to me. They were that (1) she was getting a feel for me and my heart and (2) was something that she said to me. She said that God has called us to go out as sheep among wolves. To be gentle in a hostile environment. She said that often we want to go out and be the aggressor and God has not called us to that. We are to be as gentle as doves and as shrewd as snakes. I agreed wholeheartedly and shared that we must go out as less than. She shared of the importance to go out on their turf and minister to them in an environment that they feel comfortable in. I took one thing from this meeting and that was that Shaz and I were from the same tribe meaning the way that she sees and does outreach and her approach was very similar to mine and that we were both on the same page. We both believe that an approach with love and compassion is the best way to minister to someone not shoving religion down someones throat and telling them if they don't change their ways they are going to hell. That is certainly not the way Jesus went about it.
We set up a date to go out and minister to the street walkers but , that wasn't going to be easy. There are not that many street walkers in Perth. Narelle and I went out to 3 different times to places we had heard that there might be street walkers but never found one. They all work in the brothels. I never found out how many brothel there were in Perth but it is a city twice the size of the land mass as Bakersfield and a population of 2 million people there, so I believe there were a lot. Also, understand the brothels are not legal nor are they illegal in a sense. They have a business license and most have neon "OPEN" signs in the window not to mention neon "ATM" signs lite up at night as well.n If there is trouble inside one of the brothels the police will come out and help the ladies.
So on Saturday February 5, 2011 we sat out to minister to the working girls on the streets of Perth, Western Australia. Earlier that day I went shopping and purchased gift bags and girly items to put in them; jewelry, nail polish, candy etc. These are the things that work back home so lets give them out here or so I thought. Shaz did what she knows and she got together the things that work in Australia. She got together tubs, towels, water and lotion to give massages in the camper van that her and her husband purchased for street ministry. It is named the "Pamper Van" rightfully so and it is set up and equipped with mattresses and couches to do massages. Well we got ready and met up at a park in the neighborhood of where we had heard the working girls walked and as we prayed over our night I thanked God for Shaz and her preparation for our outreach. She interrupted me and said that she forgot the water for the massages. I said "That's God". I suggested that we go over to a gas station and get some water. She said no it has to be "Hot" water. She then said well maybe I can ask to get some at a brothel around the corner. I replied, "That's God, lets go". Woo Hoo I knew God was moving.
Side note; when I heard of the pamper van from Shaz a week or so earlier and that there weren't many street walkers I prayed a simple prayer and that was, "God even if I could be the driver and sit and pray in the parking lot of the brothel while the women are inside ministering, then that is fine with me." That prayer came true as I watched both (Narelle and Shaz) enter the brothel after getting the Ok by the manager. The manager asked Shaz if she would mind talking one on one, to one of the girls who was "in a bad way". She said sure I will. The women working that night found out that these girls Shaz and Narelle were the ones who give massages on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they said we have been waiting for months for you to come here to massages us, will you? Shaz asked Narelle to massage while she went to talk to this one girl who was in a bad way. Don't forget I'm sitting in the parking lot praying like I never have before. Anointed prayers for both of the girls. So Shaz goes in to meet the girl that is in a bad way and the girl asks Shaz if she is a Christian? Shaz said yes...Then the girl asked do you speak in tongues? Shaz said yes...Then the girl said well then I guess you can massage me if you're a Christian. Turns out the girl was a Born Again, Tongue talking, Spirit filled believer who had back slide and started using meth and ended up working in this brothel. Shaz and this girl ended up praying and doing a bible study for two hours!!! How amazing is that??? Narelle listened and talked with two more girls and both asked her if she would come back the following week and she said yes. I had no idea that this was going on inside as I sat and prayed and man did I pray. Wow!!! I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if God had sent me to Aussie land that there would be a God story of epic proportion. Well there was so much fruit and since we had been invited back that we decided to do it again in a week. My next blog will be about the outreach that we did on February 12th. God bless- Doug Bennett
It was back in November that I learned of a ministry in Australia that was ministering inside brothels (more commonly known as whorehouses here in the states). I learned that they would go in and give massages to the girls during the slow times of the day when there weren't as many customers looking for a date. My friend Narelle had told me of Shaz the leader and founder of this ministry and naturally it grabbed my heart. I thought how amazing would that be to minister in another Country and see first hand what prostitution is like in another culture and more importantly what could I pull from this ministry and incorporate back home in the United States. I also heard of Shaz's husband and the work that he was doing as well. I learned from Narelle that he was a former Anglican Priest who had had enough of the religious legalistic crowd and stepped down to do street ministry. He now has a ministry that focuses on ministering God's unconditional love to homosexuals and lesbians in Perth. I then quickly woke up from my day dreaming and thought that that is half way across the world and I am stuck here in Bakersfield...yet I never lost hope of one day teaming up with Shaz for an outreach.
Well as God would have it He spoke to a friend of mine and said to bless me and pay for my airfare. My friend Narelle had offered me a place to stay if I ever came to Perth, even my own room. I was overwhelmed with the thought of traveling to another Contentment and immediately went to prayer. If God is not in it then I would not want to go. Sometimes you might be presented with a "good thing" but, it might not be a "God thing". Well I asked a couple of my elders for advice and I sought God in prayer and His word. 5 different passages I looked at all had the word "go" or "went" in the scripture that I read. I felt peace and I said yes, I would be honored to come to Australia. I told my friend not only did I want to come down and visit with her but that I wanted and felt as if we would go out and minister with Shaz. I was also feeling as if God was calling me to rest in Him, and that He was giving me and oppertunity to recharge my battery.
6 weeks came and went and with my affairs in order I boarded a plane for Australia, bright eyed with the whole world in front of me anticipating what my God was going to do. I left not knowing for sure, exactly why I was going to Aussie land I just knew it was to rest and hang out with a friend and that God had showed me in a vision that I would worship Him before we would go to do an outreach (I didn't know where or with who, but that I would minister to prostitutes)...I knew in my spirit it was deeper and much more than just these three things.
Upon arrival into Perth I met my friend Narelle at the airport and we had dinner. Afterwords I got situated into my room before laying down to sleep (tired and a little weary from traveling 31 hours) I noticed that I had zero jet lag. God woke me at 2:00 am and said for me to read Jer 31. I did and it was on Hope and Restoration. God revealed to me at that time that I was sent by Him to Australia with a message of hope and to encourage the believers in Australia.
I soon met up with Andrew (Shaz's husband) to encourage him and find out about the work that he and his wife were doing. What an amazing man of God the fellow turned out to be. I had the honor of meeting his wife a few days later and I saw humility in both of them. Shaz and I talked about the wonderful work that God was doing here in the states and she told me of the wonderful things that He was doing in Perth. We set up a time to meet the following week to see about setting up an outreach. I had to be very respectful of the work that God was doing in the city through her and her team and did not want to compromise it in any way. Well, we meet up for coffee and dinner and there were 2 things that stood out to me. They were that (1) she was getting a feel for me and my heart and (2) was something that she said to me. She said that God has called us to go out as sheep among wolves. To be gentle in a hostile environment. She said that often we want to go out and be the aggressor and God has not called us to that. We are to be as gentle as doves and as shrewd as snakes. I agreed wholeheartedly and shared that we must go out as less than. She shared of the importance to go out on their turf and minister to them in an environment that they feel comfortable in. I took one thing from this meeting and that was that Shaz and I were from the same tribe meaning the way that she sees and does outreach and her approach was very similar to mine and that we were both on the same page. We both believe that an approach with love and compassion is the best way to minister to someone not shoving religion down someones throat and telling them if they don't change their ways they are going to hell. That is certainly not the way Jesus went about it.
We set up a date to go out and minister to the street walkers but , that wasn't going to be easy. There are not that many street walkers in Perth. Narelle and I went out to 3 different times to places we had heard that there might be street walkers but never found one. They all work in the brothels. I never found out how many brothel there were in Perth but it is a city twice the size of the land mass as Bakersfield and a population of 2 million people there, so I believe there were a lot. Also, understand the brothels are not legal nor are they illegal in a sense. They have a business license and most have neon "OPEN" signs in the window not to mention neon "ATM" signs lite up at night as well.n If there is trouble inside one of the brothels the police will come out and help the ladies.
So on Saturday February 5, 2011 we sat out to minister to the working girls on the streets of Perth, Western Australia. Earlier that day I went shopping and purchased gift bags and girly items to put in them; jewelry, nail polish, candy etc. These are the things that work back home so lets give them out here or so I thought. Shaz did what she knows and she got together the things that work in Australia. She got together tubs, towels, water and lotion to give massages in the camper van that her and her husband purchased for street ministry. It is named the "Pamper Van" rightfully so and it is set up and equipped with mattresses and couches to do massages. Well we got ready and met up at a park in the neighborhood of where we had heard the working girls walked and as we prayed over our night I thanked God for Shaz and her preparation for our outreach. She interrupted me and said that she forgot the water for the massages. I said "That's God". I suggested that we go over to a gas station and get some water. She said no it has to be "Hot" water. She then said well maybe I can ask to get some at a brothel around the corner. I replied, "That's God, lets go". Woo Hoo I knew God was moving.
Side note; when I heard of the pamper van from Shaz a week or so earlier and that there weren't many street walkers I prayed a simple prayer and that was, "God even if I could be the driver and sit and pray in the parking lot of the brothel while the women are inside ministering, then that is fine with me." That prayer came true as I watched both (Narelle and Shaz) enter the brothel after getting the Ok by the manager. The manager asked Shaz if she would mind talking one on one, to one of the girls who was "in a bad way". She said sure I will. The women working that night found out that these girls Shaz and Narelle were the ones who give massages on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they said we have been waiting for months for you to come here to massages us, will you? Shaz asked Narelle to massage while she went to talk to this one girl who was in a bad way. Don't forget I'm sitting in the parking lot praying like I never have before. Anointed prayers for both of the girls. So Shaz goes in to meet the girl that is in a bad way and the girl asks Shaz if she is a Christian? Shaz said yes...Then the girl asked do you speak in tongues? Shaz said yes...Then the girl said well then I guess you can massage me if you're a Christian. Turns out the girl was a Born Again, Tongue talking, Spirit filled believer who had back slide and started using meth and ended up working in this brothel. Shaz and this girl ended up praying and doing a bible study for two hours!!! How amazing is that??? Narelle listened and talked with two more girls and both asked her if she would come back the following week and she said yes. I had no idea that this was going on inside as I sat and prayed and man did I pray. Wow!!! I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if God had sent me to Aussie land that there would be a God story of epic proportion. Well there was so much fruit and since we had been invited back that we decided to do it again in a week. My next blog will be about the outreach that we did on February 12th. God bless- Doug Bennett
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Heavy Heart
I enter this blog with a heavy heart. I just left one of our clients not more than 10 minutes ago. I met with here at a neutral spot of her choosing to talk about possibly placing her in a sober living program. She had expressed to our street team that she wanted to get into a program so she could take the steps of getting off of drugs and stop prostituting herself and be a mother to her 6 children. She showed up a couple of minutes late and confessed that she had forgot about our meeting but said that she wanted to get into a program but just was not ready right now. I asked her about her kids but she quickly changed the subject as a john walked by that caught her eye. "That guy is looking to date me", she said with a look of I need to make my rent for my motel room (one that I have saw a hundred times before), and with that she said to me, "I'll see you around."
As I watched her climb into his car, I thought, man the devil just punked me and did me dirty...again. This kind of thing is nothing new and is pretty much par for the course for myself and our ministry. We can not get discouraged in our calling. Seeds were planted today and we have to remind ourselves that she was not ready today to make a change. We have to hold out hope that one day she will be ready to make a change and when she is we will be here for her with open arms. It still weighs heavy on my heart.
I am reminded of God's patience and Grace for me as I played "CHURCH" saying one thing on Sunday and doing the exact opposite the other 6 days of the week, but in that... I finally surrendered all to Christ 4 and a half years later. Which reminds me that God has a plan and a purpose for us all even if we don't act like it.
Even if it's 4 1/2 weeks or 4 1/2 years or 4 1/2 decades Just as God was patient with me so do I need to be patient with others as they discover a love for Christ.
All Glory to God,
- Doug Bennett
Friday, January 21, 2011
Dinner with a "Maggie"
Hey everyone,
Thank You for checking out our Blog!
I wanted to share with you a visit I made the other day with one of our Girls.
I think it is fitting to call our Clients "Maggie's" short for Magdalene. Not only that but this "Maggie" name is the name of one of our FIRST MH girls we outreached to in the Ministry so that name is very fitting. I am going to propose that to the Leader man Doug B.
Anyway!
So we have been working with this Maggie for a while now, we lost touch with her and got back in touch with her again. The last time we got in contact with her she had been very sick and qualified for Disability. We thought YES!!! Let's get her application in. Well, she is taking the steps she needs to be approved for Disability, she wont have to prostitute if she gets these funds. But more importantly, she made a few very powerful successes in her life since we 1st met.
Thank You for checking out our Blog!
I wanted to share with you a visit I made the other day with one of our Girls.
I think it is fitting to call our Clients "Maggie's" short for Magdalene. Not only that but this "Maggie" name is the name of one of our FIRST MH girls we outreached to in the Ministry so that name is very fitting. I am going to propose that to the Leader man Doug B.
Anyway!
So we have been working with this Maggie for a while now, we lost touch with her and got back in touch with her again. The last time we got in contact with her she had been very sick and qualified for Disability. We thought YES!!! Let's get her application in. Well, she is taking the steps she needs to be approved for Disability, she wont have to prostitute if she gets these funds. But more importantly, she made a few very powerful successes in her life since we 1st met.
- This lady "Loved Crack" Loved it very much, it was more important than anything else in her life and could not even imagine her life without it. She commented the day of the visit that she doesn't like it anymore. After Decades of crack use, she says she can no longer enjoy her high anymore and she regrets every time she uses it. She stated that it wont be long till she is off completely.
- After the Dr.'s appointment we took her to, I invited her to eat dinner. Not a drive thru or a taco stand she is used to. I took her to a Nice Mexican Restaurant. She wasn't used to being in nice places. I asked her why she was so scarred to go? she said Cause, I don't want people to see me and I want to go home so I can share my food with my friends at the hotel. So, we entered the restaurant and she curled up in the corner of the booth hoping to be unseen, she kept looking for the cheapest meal and I explained to her that she could order whatever she wanted she still checked all the prices before she chose and then ordered something similar to what I ordered. As we waited for our meal to arrive she nervously looked around the room and I started to talk to her about her plans in life, goals, dreams things like that. One question I really wanted to know about was "What kind of man would you marry?" Maggie's response was "Who's going to marry me? Men are all abusers, I am never going to marry nobody, who's going to marry me anyway? No, Amy I am never getting married" I said, "well, they don't all hit women you know you just have to spend time with them and learn what kind of person they are and you'll see there are men out there that are sweet and kind and will love you", she said "No, they are all tricks I don't believe in Love like that it only gets you hurt" We talked about a lot of other things that night till her Hotel family called her and told her she needed to hurry up and get home to make money to pay her room for the night, the Owners were looking for her.
Magdalene Hope goes beyond just handing a bag of goodies to someone on the street and telling them that God loves them. It's more than paying a night at their room so they don't have to stand on a corner all night till they made enough money to survive off of that day. It's about building connections sending out a fishing line and snatching these women out of the swamp of a lifestyle they are in. Showing them fresh water to live in so to speak. That goes beyond just handing out a gift bag every other week and saying Jesus Loves you! We have to show it!
What are the things that you would do with someone you want to marry someday?
Do you ask them to marry you the first day you meet them? No!
You get to know them, You date them or Court them.....
You build a bond to them, they learn to trust you when they need you and they fall in love.
It's not enough to think that the Lifestyle of living for God is attractive. They have to fall in Love with the One who will propose Marriage that can save their life!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Build us Back Oh God!
Lord so many women are broken and in pieces. Reach out and build them back!
Use us as you wish to build them back up! Through the power of your Spirit and your Love!
Take back what the Thief has taken, Rebuild Hope in all who have lost it!
Love you Lord!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
OUTREACH 1/7/11
Magdalene Hope Ministry UPDATE!!! from last night. Did a visit to start the night at 3B with "Kay" where they are observing her after thoughts of suicide from being raped:( so tragic! Prayed for her we will be back tonight. Visited with "Maggie" in her room and prayed for her and the area drug dealer. Then off to Unio...n Ave "Carnation District" where we handed out 7 gift bags in 15 mins.
We meet Nani, Christina, Terry, Linda, Toni aka T.K., Michele, and Tina. All but one appeared to be high which is usually the case. Hard to do what these women do sober. Please pray for all of them. Most were out trying to make rent and the......n getting in from the cold. Probably 45 degrees with a wind chill factor of 15. We ministered to all these women in about 15 mins. T.K. shared that her puppy had been beaten yesterday and that it had died. We prayed for her and when we were done she had tears in her eyes. God's presents was in that prayer and with us everywhere we went last night. Spent 30 mins with Kay and Maggie each. Long night with a lot of fruit. Oh yeah drug dealer to pray for is T.T. and she is a woman.
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and finances. God Bless:)
We meet Nani, Christina, Terry, Linda, Toni aka T.K., Michele, and Tina. All but one appeared to be high which is usually the case. Hard to do what these women do sober. Please pray for all of them. Most were out trying to make rent and the......n getting in from the cold. Probably 45 degrees with a wind chill factor of 15. We ministered to all these women in about 15 mins. T.K. shared that her puppy had been beaten yesterday and that it had died. We prayed for her and when we were done she had tears in her eyes. God's presents was in that prayer and with us everywhere we went last night. Spent 30 mins with Kay and Maggie each. Long night with a lot of fruit. Oh yeah drug dealer to pray for is T.T. and she is a woman.
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and finances. God Bless:)
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