Journey in a Brothel

We had the opportunity once again to partner with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and put on a luncheon for the ladies that work in the red light district. Some women on our team were able to go into the brothels the morning of to personally invite the ladies to join us for a special lunch. I heard about it the night before and since I had gone into the brothels the year before I almost didn’t want to go again. It is a hard place to be. What we see is heartbreaking, it’s heavy. However I felt a nudge from the Lord and knew that He wanted me to go.

The next morning I was spending time with Him trying to prepare for what lay ahead. He began to speak to me about His heart. He challenged me saying “I want you to weep over what I weep over, and to rejoice over what I rejoice over.” He wanted me to go in to see what He sees everyday and to be able to share that burden with Him. This spoke volumes to my heart about friendship with God. He longs to share His heart with us, the joys and grief’s, just as we do in our closest, deepest friendships here on Earth.

Later that morning the YWAM team strategically split us up into small teams of 3-4 people and sent each team to cover 3 brothels so about 21 brothels were covered. It is amazing that the owners let us in there! Only women from our team were allowed to go in which is appropriate, and there would be one man from the YWAM team who would walk in with us for safety, and wait in the hallway while we would go up to each woman who was available and invite them as a special guest to have lunch with us.

The brothels are like hotels where each lady has her own room. If the door is open that means there isn’t a man in there so we would go to the open doors and invite those ladies. If the door was closed we moved on. We prayed and were prepped as a team beforehand of what to expect and what to do. These brothels are almost like shopping malls where the men will go from room to room until they see what they want to buy. Many women are passed by and rejected in their most vulnerable state, fully or almost naked, which is heartbreaking.

There was so much grace for me as I walked into each brothel with my two partners. Neither of them spoke much English, so they let me hand out the invitation while they would talk with the women and explain this team came all the way from the US to put on a special luncheon for them. Having an American with many of the groups was an incentive to get the ladies to come!

We prayed as we walked through each hallway of each floor, seeing men stream in and out on this Sunday morning. I was so thankful to the Lord for this impacting time; seeing people as He sees them, regardless of their vocation or lifestyle.

Back at the hall where the luncheon was about to start the Lord gently spoke to me about how He was rejoicing over what was about to take place. Although what I just experienced was weighty, I could rejoice too in knowing these women would be blessed and hear the gospel!

The men on our team served the drinks, lunch and dessert as we sat with the ladies hearing about their lives, their families and their dreams. David and Mary Anna shared their testimonies along with the gospel. Then we gave gifts to each lady and prayed over them as they would come up to receive the gift. It was a beautiful, special time.

Brazil!!!

Hello friends!

I am leaving for Brazil today and just wanted to write a few prayer points to keep in mind for those of you who will be praying :)

-For safe travels- we are flying to Miami and then straight to Belo Horizonte from there. Then we have about an hour drive to the church we will be staying in.
-For protection/safety/good health throughout our time.
-For unity in our team as well as with the Brazilians we partner with.
-For the people we will meet- that their hearts would be open to receive the Truth of the gospel.
- Grace for me personally to help lead worship, serve, and walk in the fear of the Lord.
-Anything else you can think of!

Again thank you so much for your prayer and support! The remaining balance of my trip was covered last Friday, just in time!

I’ll be back July 11th with stories to share :)
Love,
Jess

Bowne Playground

This summer we started going to Bowne Playground once a week with teams to expand our borders and add some children's ministry to the mix. We have been going Friday afternoons (kids are still in school here) and we set up a little face painting station, do sidewalk chalk, blow bubbles, play basketball, handball, etc! It has been great so far and very busy the past two weeks that we have gone out.

We stay for about 3 hours and encourage teams to share the love of Jesus in their playing and talking. There are also opportunities to share with parents which is great too.

There is a ton of diversity (a language barrier sometimes), so many of these kids are coming from Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu homes and have never heard of Jesus before.

Please join with us in prayer for relationships to be formed as we go weekly, for continued favor with the park staff, and of course that Jesus would be lifted up and draw many to Himself. Thank you!

I write up a newsletter every few months to send to my family, friends, supporters, etc. Here is a story from my most recent one, enjoy!


Happy?

Recently at Tompkins Square Park I met Shawn, an 18 year old who came by our truck and sat on his skateboard while he ate some soup. He shared with me how he was currently living with his father and had been in and out of rehabs the past few years. He hangs around the park which is very telling that he may still be using or dealing.

We had a quick conversation and he asked how I got involved with Street Life which gave me a chance to tell him about Jesus. As I shared my testimony he seemed very attentive. We chatted a little more and before leaving Shawn agreed to let me pray with him. He told me he was looking for work, so I asked if there was anything else I could pray for along with a job. “Just to be happy, like you. You seem really happy.” I smiled and shared with him what makes me “happy”. I told him how Jesus’ love has been my strength and joy daily and how He satisfies me unlike anything else ever could.

I then prayed for Shawn to know this love and experience the joy of God. Shawn thanked me for the prayer, the soup, and a sweater he took from our clothing. Please pray for Shawn and others like him who are searching for the one thing that will make them “happy”.

Underneath an overpass...

One evening in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, we partnered with a local church that passes out soup to a homeless community under a highway overpass. There were many bound by addiction who were open to talk and receive prayer. I was drawn to a particular group of men and was able to talk with them through a translator.

One man, Alishando, was eager for prayer and immediately confessed that he was living a homosexual lifestyle and wanted to stop. With tears in his eyes he shared how far he had fallen from being a preacher and minister of the Gospel years ago. He was miserable and desperate for a way out, admitting that he was not strong enough to get through it himself. I was excited to pray with him knowing that God is greater than sin and has the power to free Alishando completely and make him whole. He continued to cry and agreed as I reminded him that Jesus is a Faithful Father who loves Him and has many plans for him. We then introduced Alishando to a young man who was with the host church and urged him to get connected. Please pray that he continues to seek God and recieve healing and full restoration. Thank you!

August Video Update

Here is my latest video update. I share a bit more about Brazil and how the summer has been here with teams. Hope you enjoy it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyP-wS9Pgog&feature=related

Back from Brazil!

Every year Street LIFE Ministries takes a team down to Brazil to server with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for two weeks. This was my 6th trip and it was a powerful time of God showing His faithfulness and revealing Himself through worship, the Word, prayer, testimonies and dramas along with one on one sharing. Most of what we do is out on the streets where there are PEOPLE!

In the two week time we ministered 3 different nights in the red light district, one night in Praca Sete (street 7) a busy street square, 2 church services on the two sunday nights, 1 evening partnering with a church that gives soup out to the homeless under a bridge, a luncheon for the women that work in the brothels, an afternoon in a public park, a day in the favillas (slums) with kids, 2 days at different men's rehab centers, and an evening service at the YWAM base where we were able to pray with and pour into the staff.

It flew by but was so sweet. The Lord did so many special things and revealed Himself to people in very specific ways. I will share more specific stories soon, thanks for reading!