Today is my birthday. I just got back from a 10 day vacation with a couple of friends, I will celebrate tonight with another friend and decided to spend the day with God, resting. What a great decision it was! I spent the day reflecting on my life and what God has done in it, especially this past month. He is so unbelievably amazing! I am so overwhelmed with joy at how He loves me and the ways that He shows it! I have an amazing life and have become an amazing woman of God. It's hard to picture the person I used to be, for I am so engulfed in who I am now. I know that were it not for God I would never have become even an inkling of the person that I am now. I love who I am, I love the people in my life, I love the ministry He has given me, I love that I am in Africa and live in Cape Town and I love how much closer I am to the God of my life - Jesus Christ. I love that I am more capable of love and to receive love and how amazing this feels! I feel loved; every part of my body is consumed with this love that I feel. Thank you Jesus and thank you all for loving me so much that you saw the best in me, even when I couldn't see it myself. I look forward to this next year and all that God is going to do in my life. Thank you Jesus for your many blessings. I am who I am because of You!

What a great and unexpected day. On my walk to Jireh today, to help the ladies make jewelry (actually they helped me today), I prayed that God would build more of a connection with the ladies and me, that I would step out of my comfort zone, and to help me if that meant sharing my testimony. I shook my head and said I'm not sharing my testimony today, why would I think that? 20 mins later the speaker canceled and I'm preparing to share my testimony.

These are Muslim women and I had to be sure not to use 'Christian' words or mention that I am a missionary; I could share Christ and what He has done. The women were captivated by my testimony and surprised by the fact that a white person could have bad things happen to her. They were even more touched by how much God has changed me. They had many comments and questions. I love when God uses my story to help other people!

They also made a made a great observation: that I once took from everyone and now God uses me to give to everyone. I've never thought of my life story that way - this really humbled me. I believe this time to share also built a bridge between me and the ladies. I am no longer the spoiled, white American, but another human being who has also gone through some really tough times. Praise God for His glory!

Strike

A little boy collapsed at a rugby game a few Saturdays back. He has been diagnosed with leukemia and aside from praying for a miracle the people around him are praying for enough medical personnel at the hospital where he is at – Tygerberg – to assist in his ward.

As some of you may know, we have numerous strikes going on. It is technically one strike that is affecting numerous areas. The war is with the Unions and getting fare wages. Our schools, hospitals and even gas stations are being effected. There have been days that the kids just sit there or get sent home because there are no teachers. People are not getting medical treatment, even in emergencies due to not having Drs or nurses. Much more minor is the fact that it takes longer to get help at the station, because there are few tendants working.

I have a feeling there is a lot more that is going on with this, as well. This is just all that I have heard about and seen.

A Safe House Once Again?

God has turned things around to make it so that I am now more of an apprentice to Marge. We work hand-in-hand on most things and we are looking to let a friend’s daughter come stay here for about a month. I am still making the decision of whether I can commit to this, because it will be mostly my responsibility. This means that I create and implement the program with the guidance of Marge. I know this will be the best experience I could get and the day before this opportunity came I had been telling God I wish that I could have a place where I could just have 1 or 2 ladies come stay and do it a little more casually than Marge is training me to do.

The lady is an ex-prostitute and drug addict. She has been off the streets for 6 months, but ran a couple of weeks ago. We told her mom that if she came back and was willing we would let her stay at our place, but she would have to go through a program. It will be a huge sacrifice and commitment from me, because she will be locked in the house except if she goes out with me, which means I need to often take her with me. This is my biggest worry, because I so desperately need my own space. I did find out that it is okay to build in a quiet time each day where we each get our own space, so maybe this is doable. I am also trying to figure out how to work out some of my schedule (which I believe I need to continue with); there are days that I am doing ministry all day and a couple of nights where I am gone till early morning doing street ministry. These few things are things that would not be good for her to be at.

The great thing is that I will get to build a relationship with her and walk hand-in-hand. I will teach her daily living skills such as: hygiene, sleeping patterns, boundaries, house keeping, cooking, etc. I will also do spiritual teachings/ studies such as: salvation, forgiveness, daily devotions, how to study and whatever comes up and based on where she is at. We will have mentoring sessions and she will get counseling from a qualified counselor. She will go to church with me and possibly cell group. She will be my first jewelry pupil. This will be a great chance for us to do something fun together and for her to make some money. We will do fun things too – some with the intention of learning from and other things just for the fun of it. These are just some of the things that we will be working on; it will really be learning as we go and listening to God and His guidance.

I'm pretty sure I already know my answer. How can I not help? This is after all why I am here, is it not? I just need a chance to adjust to the fact that life looks different than I expected and that I am not just here to train. Of course, who was I kidding? I was never good at being a spectater. I prefer to see things happen and a catalyst for change.

Public Transportation

I rode a taxi for the first time last Friday. This is a 15 passenger van and cost the same as the train. I was going to meet a friend at his coffee shop in Green Point. The train took me to Cape Town, but I needed to take a way to get from there to Green Point. My friend offered to pick me up at the station, but I figured this was a good day to figure out how to take a taxi.

I ended up taking 3 different taxis in order to go about 10 mins. The first one was extremely nice. He told me that it is only 5 Rand, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. No one was going to Green Point, so he found me a different taxi. This guy had said he was going to GP. The taxi was full, as soon as I was getting in the entire taxi unloaded. It was now just me and the driver and his assistant. Now everything I have read and heard says do not get into a taxi that doesn't have anyone else in it. I was already in it. There also wasn't any other taxi around. The driver immediately started hitting on me and offered to "show me around". I was pretty abrubt with him and stopping his advances. In my head I was thinking "Dear God, help". After a couple of minutes he told me that he can't take just me to GP and he can't pick anyone else up - I needed to get out.

As I was trying to get into the next taxi a guy pushed me out of the way. The worker kept yelling at him, pushing him out of the way and then opening the door for me and the man kept yelling (not sure if at me or the worker), pushing me out of the way and slamming the door. I finally pushed past him and got in. The driver got out and cursed him out, making him leave. I have no idea what all this was about, since they were speaking a language I don't know.

I got dropped off past my stop - they failed to let me know when we were at the BP. Luckily it was only down the street a little bit when I asked if we were almost there.

What an experience - Welcome to Africa.

Love on the Streets

The street ministry is really picking up. Last night was the best night yet. People are really getting to know us on Long Street and look forward to seeing us. We are pretty intentional at stopping to see all the people we know. We all are building relationships; sometimes we all know the person and other times the relationships are strictly between one or two people. Last night was really anointed, we had to of had almost 30 meaningful conversations and some conversions.

I had a great talk with a lady from Connecticut. She was at one of the clubs and had a bit of a grudge against God and church, but we had a lot in common and I got to share a little of my testimony.

I met a teen who is working on the streets. Oh you guys, how I wish you could see him. This is the second time I have seen him and each time the Spirit washed over me and showed me visions of his life – this grief and burden for him just floods over me and then I feel this great love from Jesus to him. Last night I went up to him and said how much Jesus loves him. I told him that God showed me his life and I told him how sorry I am that things are the way that they are. With tears in my eyes, I told him I love him and wish I could take all this away. As tears came to his eyes, I asked him if I could pray for him and he said yes. I gave him a big hug and just held him as he cried. I asked him if he had Jesus in his heart and he said no. I asked him if he would like Him in his heart. He said yes… when he is ready. I said okay. I told him I will be praying for him and then I left.

I don’t know that I will ever get to the point where this doesn’t wound my heart and honestly I’m not sure I want to. It’s times like this that I feel so helpless. There is no law here for human trafficking, there are no Safe Houses running at the moment (though we are training a few groups on how to get one started) and foster care is not for kids like that. This is not America, things are not the same. There is no where to go to get food and very few shelters. The shelters cost for people to stay at them. Thousands of people here are homeless. Teens on the streets is common. There is little that we can do, but offer them Jesus, relationship and at times, food. Where possible, we do try to get them off the streets.

I also met a couple of women working on the streets. The man that was with them stopped to talk with a couple of guys on our team. I went over to talk with the ladies, but they were quite closed and told me they didn’t want to talk to me. I stood there with the men and just prayed. I met them at the beginning of the night and was a little discouraged that I didn’t know how to start up a conversation.

When we were leaving one of the ladies came up to me; she grabbed my hands and said I believe in you. She told me that she heard me talking to someone and that she believes in me. She told me this over and over and said that I don’t judge her. I don’t know what conversation she overheard, if it was one that I had with someone on the street, or one of the couple times that I was asked about why it is that I am here. I got the impression that she knew I was here to help her. I told her how much Jesus loves her and that I believe in her, too. She gave me a hug and wanted to know when she would see me again. I told her we try to come every Sunday night. She said that she would come back and find me. Her friend was less keen on my being there. She was quite intoxicated and would go back in forth from pushing me, cursing at me and telling me to leave to holding my hands, giving me a hug and saying she would like to see me again, too.

This, this is what I came for.

Becoming Vulnerable

I have gone through a lot this past week and God has worked on some HUGE issues and character refining. Some of the guys have been calling me on pulling back and not letting people in. They told me, in numerous different ways, that I don’t let myself be vulnerable. At first, I wondered what on earth they were talking about, then, through the death of a friend, changes in ministry and my living situation, as well as an issue with a friend, God showed me this was true. I spent a lot of time this past week with God, working on my anger towards Him and the issue of intimacy.

He showed me how scared I get when I feel vulnerable and that I isolate myself or run. He is teaching me how to let people close. Part of this is by admitting to people that I have a problem with this and giving them permission to hold me accountable, telling me when I am starting to do this or devaluing something, because I am scared. I have asked my cell group and my mentor here to do this.

I have also agreed with God to step out and do things with people, participate in the groups that I attend and to fully let go and let people in whenever I am around them. It has been exhausting! There has been HUGE breakthrough, though and I am already closer to people because of it. After cell 3 different people invited me to events. I went ballroom dancing Friday night, to a drum circle Saturday night, a braai (bbq) Sunday and am invited to another braai this Friday. Everyone at cell now has my # and 3 people on Sunday asked for it, as well. I even met a lady who wants to take me to tour. I’m not so sure how I am going to have time for this kind of a social life.

The best breakthrough was that I am no longer angry at Jesus and believe that he loves me romantically, cares about my emotions and feelings and is romancing me. I now feel His love instead of just knowing it. I can’t help but smile and feel so much joy. God did so many amazing things with street ministry yesterday because of it. It was the first time I ever felt comfortable enough to go up to people. I couldn’t help it last night; I just felt so much love for them and wanted to share it with them. Women even came up to me. I sure hope things remain like this. I just have to push through and give it to Christ when I feel vulnerable and afraid and remember when I have down times that it is okay, but not to give up.

Modern Day Slavery

HUMAN TRAFFICKING
A Definition
Human trafficking is the dislocation of someone by deception or coercion for exploitation, through forced prostitution, forced labour, or other forms of slavery.

The slave trade is prohibited under Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet the modern-day slave trade that is human trafficking is the fastest-growing form of organized crime.

There is no law against Human Trafficking here in South Africa. This prevents authorities from being able to do anything when they do find Traffick victims or Traffickers.

Vera’s Story

(taken from STOP the Traffick, by Steve Chalke, pg 13)

At the age of 27, an Albanian young woman, Vera, was mugged and raped in her house in Albania and then kidnapped. She was then locked up in a house in Albania for two days and transported by bus to Greece, from where she was taken to Italy by boat. In Italy she was first pushed into a truck and then transported by train via France to Belgium. Upon arrival in Belgium she was forced into prostitution in the red light district of Antwerp. She believed she was sending all her earnings to her father in Albania. But her father never received any money. Somebody else intercepted the money in Albania and kept it.

There are many more like Vera. They are beaten, raped, kidnapped, taken on journey after journey, forced into prostitution, suffering abuse after abuse.

And may are sold not once, but countless times, passed from man to man like a shared cigarette. Used, and then, all too often, stubbed out. It is not only women who are affected by trafficking. Men, boys and girls – anyone can be trafficked. Children as young as 8 yrs old are trafficked every day.

From a tender age, these children grow up thinking they are worthless. They believe all they are here for is to be used as sex objects – and nothing more. Their childhood is ruined by physical, emotional and psychological violence. Far from home, used again and again, never paid; they can hardly remember anything else.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The Facts
800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year.
US State Department

It is estimated that two children per minute are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

UNICEF believes that this amounts to an estimated 1.2 million children trafficked every year.

In 2004, between 14,500 and 17,500 people were trafficked into the United States.
US State Department

Human trafficking generates between 10 and 12 billion dollars.
UNICEF

Total profit from human trafficking is second only to the trafficking of drugs.
The European Police Office; Europol

Riding the Train

I rode the train yesterday. This was my second time on the train, but the first time by myself. I have been terrified to give this a go, but finally decided it was time to face my fear. I realize this sounds really lame to be afraid of riding the train. Had you heard the stories I was told the first week I was here and been given the same warnings, you too would have been afraid. I am also aware that South Africa is number one in muggings and rape. For the first few weeks I wouldn’t even open my mouth when walking anywhere; my roommate had told me that my accent made me more of a target than I already was. I wouldn’t even walk to the market for a couple of weeks. (I eventually needed to buy food.) I was told never to walk around my neighborhood and definitely don’t go in the subway by myself.

It’s amazing how fear can blind, cripple and lie to us. I let fear keep me immobilized for weeks. I only would leave the house when necessary or with other people. This made it so that I was bored, lonely, had cabin fever and was completely ineffective for the Lord. One day I realized that I need my mouth to share the gospel and despite how dangerous it may be, I only have one accent and by golly I was gonna use it for the Lord. Shoot, who can harm me anyways when I am speaking for the Lord? I’m more protected when I am speaking than when I am not, for it shoots through the warfare.

Since the guys came to Observatory to do street ministry and claimed my neighborhood for the Lord, I have been much braver to try all these different ‘scary’ things. I learned that night that my neighborhood is not that scary, it belongs to the Lord and there is sooo much more here than I realized. It opened a window for me. I have now walked and jogged all over my neighborhood and feel so much more refreshed because of it.

Getting up the nerve to ride the train yesterday opened the door – wide, too. I don’t have a phone and I don’t have a clue where I am going or even what I am doing much of the time. I was afraid less of the people & more of getting lost while not being able to call for help. I decided to bring some phone numbers with me and money to buy a calling card, if necessary. I printed out a map of the trains that I hadn’t realized I had saved on my computer and asked lots of directions.

By the time I headed out I was so peaceful that when a guy sat next to me and asked what time the next train was coming I told him that I don’t know, I just hope it’s taking me where I need to go. I didn’t even know what time it was. The guy told me he wished that he could be as relaxed as me. Funny, he should have seen me just hours before.

It was so much fun and freeing! God even provided me with a tour guide. I am no longer scared to go anywhere by myself. It feels great to be more self-sufficient, not having to depend on everyone else even for transportation. I feel as if I have the whole world, or at least Cape Town, at my finger tips. It’s great!

Lord, help me to remember these things each time I am afraid to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

I'm Finally Here in Africa!

I made it safely. Couple glitches along the way, but I made it. I came without a visa or round trip ticket and was warned that I may not make it into Africa. They require a ticket showing I am leaving sometime and we had never heard of not needing a visa for more than 90 days. I did bring a letter from Inter Outreach here in Cape Town that states what I am doing and how long I will be here. Plus a letter from Covenant of Faith saying they are sending me with their blessings. The guy in customs at Cape Town airport asked if I have a visa and a ticket. He said "you're really supposed to have a ticket to enter, but you have a letter, so I'll let you in anyways. I can only do 90 days, but you can get an extension in 60 days." So, here I am.

The house is great! Very South African - even has a couple of living areas outside with TONS of plants and greenery! Looks like mom was here :-) It's a pretty large ranch house with many sitting areas, bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with showers (very diff than our bathrooms, though). I will have to take some pics and send them to you.

I have two housemates (1 is a roommate); Deborah is from Zimbabwe and is very sweet, Colleen is from Cape Town and is very fun, she is my roommate. Deborah has been here for 1 1/2 yrs at the house and knows the ins-&-outs very well, which is great. Colleen is very outgoing and social and has already introduced me to some people. Both of the ladies are the same age as me, in love with God and attend the church that I was hoping to go to (Marge goes there, as well). Deborah has shown me the area and how to use public transportation- we went to the market, Chinese store (this is where they buy cheap stuff, too -lol) and Internet cafe (for when I can't use this one). I'm 15 minutes from the ocean driving: it's a little cold for that right now. I did go to Marge's house to help her clean for a showing; she lives at the ocean and has amazing views - you can also see the soccer stadium, for those of you who are interested.

I have attended cell group with Colleen and met a few more people. Two of the ladies & I instantly became friends - they are also friends with Colleen and Deborah. We went to a (never ending) worship service last night till midnight. It was about a 1/2 hr drive and had a great time clowning around and talking. They are all so much fun and Godly women, they also are very relational and deep people - they don't just settle for short answers, they keep asking till they get deeper - I love it!!! Roommates and friendship are two of the things I prayed about before leaving and I am still pleasantly surprised at God's awesomeness!

I still can't tell how safe it is to walk around here. Everything is surrounded by gates and locks, but told it's safe if I walk over the bridge, not the quick way. I guess Deborah does it often enough. It feels a lot safer than Joburg, but I have already heard stories. I can't make phone calls here unless I get a calling card, so I can't even contact anyone, which feels weird. I have to wait for Marge to contact me. I kind of feel like I'm on a prayer retreat, which someone else decides when it ends. It's strange to be at everyonelse's mercy: transportation, phone calls, instructions on how to do things here and even food for awhile.

I just got up enough nerve to go to the market by myself today. Guess what? I made it just fine and even enjoyed myself. It was kinda strange to pay 10 for most items like milk and coffee, 15 for cheese and have a total of 90. Kind of makes your heart skip a beat until you remember that rands are 7:1 with the $. Then, it's not so bad.

Marge was unable to meet with the church Tuesday due to car failure, this is now rescheduled for next Weds. We are all waiting to see how everything will play out. Good thing I've been getting practice at this. In the meantime Marge has me reading materials and networking with other people doing similar things here. I will be attending a couple of trainings at Straatwerk soon and joining Justice Acts, which is a committee set up to help prostitutes.

I still can't believe I am here. I got quite nervous after London, when they were unsure about my coming in without a visa to go to Cape Town. Now I can relax a little and enjoy being here. Some moments I'm quite excited and others, I'm asking myself "what the heck am I doing here?" Life is definitely not going to look the same.

Death Made Me an Heir

Another event that affected me immensely was the death of an acquaintance. We had recently done ministry together and I had looked up to him as a role model for the ministry that I was doing. Out of respect for others I won’t mention his name.
The week after my accident, I found out that he had committed suicide, leaving behind a family. The wound is still raw for many, so I will leave out the details. He may have been an acquaintance and not a close friend – his death still affected me, none the less. So much that I have told very few people about this and did a couple counseling sessions. Even now I can not write this without tears coming to my eyes.
I was well aware of his testimony and all that God had brought him through. I never saw the man without seeing him smiling, laughing or talking about God. My whole paradigm was being thrown into orbit.
I didn’t understand how a sovereign God could allow him and his family to go through and make it through so much, just to have this happen. What would cause a person to take their own life? I also took it quite personally.
I wondered how I could have been so deceived. The man I knew was an amazing man of God. Or was he? Could a man of God do such a thing? How on earth was I to trust any leader in the church again when so many have blind-sided me? This is something that has bothered me for quite some time and was keeping me from not only trusting others, but fully trusting God.
Through this journey, God showed me that so many Godly men (and women) have orphan hearts. We are all born with this; we can be “born again” and do all the “right” things and still have an orphan heart. Without dealing with this it can grow into a stronghold of oppression. The only way for one to overcome this is to experience the full embrace of Father’s love; going from the heart of an orphan to an heir of Father God.
Very few people, even Christians know what this is like. On the outside we can “look” and “sound” like an heir, but we do not “think” like an heir. This leaves a lot of room for the enemy to step in and defeat us. All it takes is for one circumstance to defeat us and we are left weak and vulnerable. It is in this moment that we find ourselves doing what we normally wouldn’t do.
This does not mean that we are not a man (or woman) of God, that we do not love Him or that we are not genuine; it just means that we have not allowed Father God to completely transform us, turning us into His heir, not just His child.

For more information on this subject check out “Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship”, by Jack Frost.

I Auto Be Glad

I realize I sort of dropped off the planet for the past 6 months. This is because at the end of January I was in a car accident. Though it was a minor accident it effected half of my body, which made it difficult to do much more than go to Dr apts and sit with ice. It was also quite painful. My left ankle was sprained, with different types of minor issues, my pelvis was knocked out of place and caused my siatic and other nerves to be pinched, plus hurt my hip. I got whiplash, which caused swelling, dizziness, headaches and nausea.

The worst of it all was my left shoulder. My front rotater cuff muscle was torn, as well as some tendants surrounding the rotater cuff. For the first couple of months I was waiting to see if I would need surgery. As the shoulder was beginning to heal, I tore it again. This time I was told that I need to see the surgeon. Instead I prayed.

Even though I have had a great medical team, I had enough of the Drs, medical apts and being injured. Mostly I was tired of waiting for Africa and decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and completely give it to God. I had people pray for me; it was during a mobilization seminar that God healed this tear, as well as most of my body.

Immediately I was able to do many things that I couldn’t do before (like move my arm without it hurting). My pain went from a 6 to a 3 and within a week it only hurt when I used it too much. Within 2 weeks I was doing Zumba, 2 weeks later added Pilates and am now doing Zumba 4 times a week. I’m pretty sure I am healthier now than I was before the accident. Last Tuesday I was medically discharged. My shoulder now only hurts at a level 1 about 1x/wk.

I still have injuries, my back and neck hurt often, my range of motion isn’t perfect and I get headaches. God is faithful and I know that He will heal these areas, as well.

Besides the physical it was emotionally difficult, as well. At the time of the accident I was dropping off the rest of my donations. I had quit my job the week before, the day of the accident was my last day at my house; the following week I had planed to sell my car, buy a plane ticket and go to Africa. Instead, I found myself wondering what happened, where did I go wrong?

We often say that God doesn’t allow things like this to happen. I disagree. He had been telling me for almost a month that I would be in a car accident. Every time I prayed about selling my car I immediately envisioned a car accident. I would then think that I am paranoid. I also believe that this car accident was completely a blessing from above. There are so many ways in which my life is better because of this accident.

At first I had peace, as I knew it was a part of God’s plan; shortly after I wallowed in my pity and questioned God’s love and sovereignty. I quickly learned that I base God’s love on circumstances, I lack faith and I am easily discouraged.

Over the months God has worked on each of these areas and has matured me. I am not the same person I was 5 months ago and I thank God for that. He not only grew me emotionally and spiritually, but he worked on me physically.

I have spent a lot of time and effort working on who I am emotionally and spiritually, but didn’t concern myself a whole lot with the physical. I knew that one day I would need to work on this, for the time being I would just let that happen when it happened. Apparently, the time was now and God figured I needed a bit of a shove.

Through my medical apts, exercises and time with God I learned so much more about anatomy, how things function and why. I learned that I wasn’t standing, walking or even breathing correctly (didn’t know it could be incorrect). I also learned that I do not use my core muscles hardly at all. I now know how to do this correctly and have exercises to assist with this. I have also learned even more about eating correctly and how taking care of myself would heal me quicker, which meant I could go to Africa sooner. I finally had motivation.

I have also been pampered by having a chiropractor and massage therapist. My body is better aligned, which helps everything. I had assistance with working out and learning how to do this correctly and effectively. I also virtually had my own personal trainers. I was even allowed to order a therapeutic pillow and will be getting orthotics – all of which will help my posture, back and neck. Though it has been quite annoying, I have been given ample time to rest and spend time with God before heading off to a whole new world.

While it may not have seemed like it, God has used this accident to bless me beyond measure. There are so many things that I know He did and there will be things that God will still be revealing to me later, because of this accident. I am glad that God loves me so much that He is willing to let me go through some pain in order to better me, my life and those around me. For this it was worth it.

Be Thou My Vision

The vision that God has given me is to help women to get out of prostitution; sharing Christ's love in every aspect. A few months ago God woke me up and gave me a vision of what I am to do and steps that are to be done. He showed me that I am to work with prostitutes, build relationships and show Christ's love to them - that this is more important than any other aspect of the vision.

About a year ago, I started up a jewelry business, in order to take a trade to Africa to help provide income to the black community. I am now going to use this business to teach the women, in order to give them another means of making money, so that this one step of survival might be eliminated. I am an entrepreneur and have numerous other ideas for business at some point.

After, or in conjunction to providing a new method of making money, I will also use the support group that I started up here in Colorado Springs, Real Women of Genius. This is a group that helps women to get out of sexual addictions; going through a devotional that God has helped me to start writing. I believe these are the two most predominant steps and will be my initial focus.
Later, at some point, I would like to have a safe house where women can go to live and get out of the lifestyle and be protected as they work through the program.

The last couple of steps will be to go through a similar program that I have been going through where you deal with forgiveness, idolatry, self, sexuality, curses, generational curses, etc. This cleans out house, so as not to allow the enemy any foothold any longer.

As well as: using the Lifeworkx program that Steve Aldrich leads and I have gone through, where the women will learn who they are: strengths, spiritual gifts, passions, talents, etc - who God has uniquely made each of them to be and what His purposes are for their lives. This will help the women to learn their "new" identity in Christ and what's next for their lives. Then helping them to take the necessary steps to do this.

As you can see this is a pretty huge vision God has given me and will require numerous steps. The absolute first step is this initial trip – the vision trip – to see where God is working and further show me where He wants me and to prepare me for the next steps.

After this step I will come back to raise the support needed and then I will go to language school for whichever area I will be living in. Then, I will, by the grace of God, get to start putting this vision into place.

Legalizing Prostitution, in Durban, SA, for the World Cup?

I just read this really disturbing article: www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7509357.stm. Durban, SA is looking at legalizing prostitution during the 2010 World Cup. This just makes me sick to my stomach. One of the arguments for it is that it will lower rape. Really? Are we so far gone that it is not possible to suppress ones sex drive for a week or even a month?

I have worked in the field long enough to know that offering another source does not stop rape. There are already a whole lot of ways for people to get sex legally and for free; ways that are a whole lot less demoralizing to people. I am not condoning this in any way - I believe abstinence and sex in marriage are the only way that we are to live. I just know that one who rapes is sick and not thinking clearly, or morally. He/she will not be thinking "well, hey, if I can legally pay to have sex...". No, it is about control, power, entitlement and the enemy, not logic.

I served on a Human Trafficking committee in Denver months before the Democratic Convention. I am aware that sex crimes go up and become a whole lot easier, as well as on demand whenever there is a large event where there will be thousands of people. Why in Heaven's name are we making this easier instead of helping to eliminate it? With the Democratic Convention, we demised ways to protect as many children as possible. I am not so naive to believe that we stopped all of it, but I do believe we helped. A large part of this was bringing awareness to the people at large.

I believe that if they are to legalize prostitution during the World Cup, there will be even more trafficking going on. The mafia, pimps and so on will jump all over this opportunity to make more money, as much as they can, which means that even more people will be put into prostitution and then South Africa will have an even larger problem on their hands.

Even without a Biblical foundation for one's viewpoint on this, does it truly make sense to legalize prostitution one minute and then make it illegal the next? What are they going to do, say "make as much money as you can, for tomorrow you will be arrested"?

Shouldn't we rather be protecting these women (and men and children)? So many people do not choose to be in prostitution, but rather are forced, or are convinced that there is no other way for them. We should be doing everything we can to show value to them as a person and helping them get out of prostitution - period!