Strip Clubs in the U.S.

Weeknights, as many families are eating, playing games or watching Prime Time, women around the U.S. prepare to care for women in the sex industry. These volunteers are moms, wives, and daughters who are passionate about empowering other women. Outreach teams bring everything from hot meals or baked goods to high-quality beauty products to those working in strip clubs and massage parlors across the country.

Outreach 4What the women bring is more powerful than lip gloss. They are bringing the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel. Their unconditional love is displayed through their consistency and allows them to learn the names of the dancers, pray for them, and connect them with resources they may need (should they decide to leave the industry). Condemnation is not even in their vocabulary. They go in knowing we are all sinners. But, most of all, we are all created by the Most High God and can be princesses in His Kingdom.

Almost 90 percent of women in the sex industry have experienced some form of sexual abuse as children. Many of the women in strip clubs were lured into the sex industry as minors; some women find themselves under the control of a pimp (a trafficker by definition). These traffickers can be violent in their approach to the women and often force them to prostitute, on top of working in the local strip club.

In a recent study of 130 prostitutes by the Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 82 percent reported they had been physically assaulted, 83 percent had been threatened with a weapon, and 68 percent had been raped while working. These are the women society has forgotten, which is exactly why the work of these outreach teams is so critical.

The issue of human trafficking has come to light, proving itself to be an epidemic. It is no longer seen as a dark corner crime. With brave abolitionists beginning to take a stand against this injustice have come many different ways to get involved with the fight against sex trafficking. Direct outreach into strip clubs and massage parlors operating as brothels is just one of the ways we can make a difference. If direct outreach is something you’d like to get involved with, we urge you to do a little research on groups who may already be doing this sort of thing in your area. Prayer is of utmost importance, and it’s something we can all do to practically care for those in the sex industry.

Every day we see the sides of highways flooded with billboards advertising the local strip club. In fact, in large cities, some cabs and taxis have ads for strip clubs or escort agencies on the roofs of the cars. Every time you pass a billboard, some kind of advertisement, or a physical venue, we urge you to pray. Prayer is not insignificant – it’s a force powerful enough to change the hearts of pimps and traffickers.

We will be praying for you as you discern which way God is calling you to serve. Above all, it is our hope you would begin to look at these billboards and venues differently – that they aren’t simply provocative signs or buildings on the side of the road. They represent places where girls are being bought and sold in our cities –every single night. These women are real people with real passions and desires. Some of them have never heard the true Gospel of Christ. We hope you’ll consider being His hands and feet – becoming Christ with skin on – to those in the sex industry in some way.

Sold Movie

THANK YOU FOR A SOLD OUT EVENT

Sold_poster-2

Celebration Cinema North,

(Wave Room and Theatre)

2121 Celebration Dr NE,
GR 49525
June 28, 2016
Ticket Price: $20
Doors open at 5:45 p.m.

Join WAR, Int’l for an interactive screening of the new movie, SOLD. We will hear from Becky McDonald, our President and Founder, and a Nepali safehouse partner prior to the event at 6:00p.m. on the breadth of human trafficking. There will be hor d’oeuvres and shopping for guests, as well.

Earthquake in Ecuador

The deadliest quake in South America since 1999 recently shook Ecuador. Authorities continue to count the dead, and that number has now surpassed 654. Another 58 people have been confirmed missing. Ecuador’s government stated that 113 people were rescued alive immediately following the earthquake on April 16, and currently more than 25,000 people remain in shelters. A partner of WAR, Int’l informed us there was a second earthquake, a 6.2-magnitude quake, in the same area after the initial blow.

Estimates place the damage caused by the earthquake to be nearly $3 billion for the already economically unstable country. Authorities say the reconstruction effort will take years. This week, survivors of the quake have begun to bury their dead as the world watches in horror. The news broke our hearts at WAR, Int’l as we received word that some of the girls in one of our partner’s programs have family and friends on the coast where the quake took place. Many of these girls still wait to hear whether or not their relatives have found adequate shelter.

In the wake of this disaster, we hope you’ll join us in prayer for the nation of Ecuador. Pray for their reco
very – a long road they will walk in the years to come. Pray for the girls in programs so dear to us, that they would hear from relatives and find courage and strength during this time. Our heart aches for the hurting, and it is our desire to come alongside them in their desperate time of need. Right now, we can do that by getting on our knees in prayer for them, and we hope you’ll join us as we pray for the people of Ecuador.

National Day of Prayer

As believers in Christ, we believe in the power of prayer. We believe that prayer breaks strongholds and can set the captives free. On Thursday, May 5, 2016, our country will participate in the 65 th Annual National Day of Prayer. This year, the event will be in conjunction with nearly 45,000 other groups from across the nation. Whether you participate in the day of prayer each year, or this is the first time you’ve heard about it, the National Day of Prayer is a phenomenal opportunity to humbly bring our requests to the Lord with thousands of other people in the United States.

The goal of this day is to pray collectively for our nation. At this time in our country’s history, there is much prayer needed, but there is also much to be thankful for. When it comes to human trafficking, our country has made great strides to see justice brought to women and men engulfed in the chains of slavery. But, we have a long way to go.

As you find yourself praying for our country, whether during your morning prayer routine or specifically on May 5, we encourage you to lift up the least of these within our borders. Pray for the women coerced into prostitution, the pimps, the “johns,” and the traffickers. Pray for law enforcement officials – that they would be attentive to the needs of trafficking victims within their individual precincts. Pray for policy makers and senators who work tirelessly to see freedom brought to the oppressed. Pray for medical professionals who are sometimes the first line of defense in the fight against trafficking. Pray for moms and dads, working hard to provide for their children in safe, loving environments. Pray for the Church, that women and men would begin to sound a battle cry for trafficking victims.

As we head into an election year, we also encourage you to pray for a leader who cares about human rights issues, like human trafficking. The National Day of Prayer is an opportunity for us, as believers, to lay our requests at the cross, knowing that our hope is in the Lord, and not in man.

We will be on our knees for those who deserve justice this National Day of Prayer, and every day before and after May 5. We invite you to join us in lifting men and women to lives of dignity and hope this month.

For more information about the National Day of Prayer, please click here.

Lakshmi

In light of some new information that has recently come our way, we have made corrections and updates to this story.

From the Heart of Our President:

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Several years ago in India, I met a Nepali girl named Lakshmi. I was speaking to the leaders of her safehouse, reinforcing their brilliant and powerful dream of lifting tiny lives to dignity and wholeness, urging them to persist against incredible odds. They dreamed big for their land. Lakshmi was their first rescue from sexual slavery. She cowered in the corner, twitching and acting out bizarre behavior while I spoke. Having grown up in that culture, I knew their world, and I watched her from the corner of my eye. When I looked away from her, she stopped twitching and acted normal and attentive, shaking her head at the appropriate times—obviously understanding even the English—and acting “smart.” When I’d look at her, she’d twitch again. Smart girl! She’d learned that acting weird made customers leave her alone and helped her avoid abuse. When I saw her body language go from dead to alive and alert, I knew there was a thriver hiding in the wreckage. Beneath the brokenness was a very alert mind and a survival instinct.

Sold by a family member, she had been taken from her homeland and trafficked to India. Abused repeatedly in a particularly vicious ceremony, she had a vehement fear of blood. We learned not to speak of “the blood of Christ.” Instead, we talked about the Lamb of God. She was fascinated with a God who loved her, stood in her stead and protected her from wrath. She had only ever known wrath. As she came alive, her relentless drive to share this God of love with others also came alive.

Yet I also saw in her a grieving mommy. Soon after coming to India she had given birth to a son, then was sold to a faraway brothel while he was still quite young and had never seen him again. Though now flourishing, she was desperately lonely for her baby. The day I met her and saw her hollow eyes and broken mommy heart, I took Lakshmi on in my own heart. She knew I saw the mommy in her—something no one else in her life had seen. I bought her all the beads the market held, and we paid her to make baby bracelets in her son’s memory. Though she longed to find him and prayed for him daily, she eventually found peace in knowing that God was taking care of him.

Her longing for her son grew into a deep desire that others come to know the SON. She used to go back to the red light districts to share her testimony of the God Who Changes Lives. After a few years, she decided to visit her family in Nepal to reconnect with them, forgive them, and share the gospel. Her sister chose to believe!

On the day she was to return to India, she did not show up. Her family said she had died in her sleep. We sent a local non-profit to investigate and discovered that the police were also investigating. Her death was fraught with shadows and lies. All we know is this: she arrived in the village, professed that she no longer served a god that dripped blood, and declared the Lamb of God. She ended up dead. My partners grieved and held a memorial service, planting a tree in her memory in their garden.

We later found out that Lakshmi had shared the gospel to the very end of her life. She chose to live the last days of her life sharing Jesus with those who sold her: her own family, whom she chose to forgive. When she knew she was about to die, she sold all her jewelry and used the money to buy samosas and sweets for the village children. The next day, in unspeakable pain, she lay down on her bed and, with her Bible on her chest, passed away into glory.

I carry in my Bible a picture Lakshmi gave me of her dressed as a bride on the day she declared she was now a Daughter of the True and Living God. Safehouse staff had given her a brilliant red wedding sari, wedding makeup, jewelry, and a full party. She was so proud of her status as a Daughter of this God of Refuge. The village spoke of the fact that she would not back down on this God! It makes me wonder what really happened. God knows. Whatever happened, her death was not in vain. Those in her village saw how Lakshmi lived out her life and they, too, wanted to know the One who helped her to forgive. In a neighboring village, known for its traffickers, there had been a dormant church. Because of Lakshmi’s choice to live her last days sharing the gospel, this church is now growing in number, with members actively sharing their faith.

I want a portion of the memorial garden slated for the front and side of our headquarters to be named the Lakshmi Memorial. We have 2000 patio tiles that make up the garden. We will raise $100 dollars per tile to finish the memorial garden in her name: a forever reminder of a Daughter of the King who died trying to tell others of the Lamb of God and the greatest rescue of all.

lakshmi-2The Memorial Garden will have a dozen stations where you can stop, meditate, pray, and reflect on the sorrow and JOY we address as the Family of WAR, Int’l. In honor of Lakshmi’s beloved son, there will be one stop in memory of children ripped from their moms, the Sweeties of life. Your gift will help make this place of healing, reflection, and memory a reality. On a wall at Headquarters, there will be a Tree of Life with the donors’ names on leaves. It is fitting that Lakshmi in Indian lore is always connected to the Lotus flower that grows in muddy water rising to bloom above the darkness. Life began in a Garden (Eden), was restored in a Garden (Gethsemane), and will be returned to a Garden (the Garden City of Heaven).

Donate to Lakshmi’s Memorial Garden