Super Bowl Street Outreach Update
by Julie Waters
Before we had even crossed the parking lot, we found a bullet casing laying on the ground. This was not a safe area. Luckily, we had two police officers with us. So we loaded up our arms with purses and set off to meet young women who were walking the streets.
We immediately saw three young ladies standing together. At first, they didn't want to talk to us but after they got to pick out a pretty purse, they started to open up more. One young lady said that she had come in from Arizona for the Super Bowl this weekend. Another girl was talking on the phone with her trafficker as we handed out the purses filled with hygiene products.
We walked further down the street and encountered a pimp and his two girls. How do we know that he was a pimp (aka trafficker)? Before we even said a word, he declared, "These are not h**s!" And then he started ranting and raving. He was definitely on drugs. We did manage to give purses to the two ladies, and one of them said, "It is so nice that you are doing this. God bless." So even though we couldn't do much because the pimp was right there, that woman knew that someone cared about her.
As we continued with the outreach, the thing that struck me the most were the JOHNS...the men who bought the women from the traffickers. This is what hurt me the most and made me the most angry. We stood in a very busy parking lot and watched as car after car picked up and dropped off young ladies. You would think we were watching a school drop-off. It was that busy. On a Thursday at 2pm in broad daylight! These men had no shame. They drove up in beat up trucks and $60,000 cars. They bought girls as if they were buying a drink through the drive thru at McDonald's.
As a young lady got in a car, my heart sank because I knew what she was about to have to do. When a young lady was being dropped off, she was unceremoniously discarded on the side of the road. I wanted to scream and yell. These are women!! These are not objects or playthings to be used and discarded. They are precious daughters of God! STOP it! How can you use these women like this?
My heart hurts at the many levels of depravity involved, but deep down I know that God is at work. On that very day, not far down the road, law enforcement were running operations to shut down this horrible problem. And I am so thankful for everyone who prayed yesterday after getting my newsletter with the prayer requests. Thank you for the many emails and texts letting me know that you are praying! I truly felt God's peace and saw Him work in incredible ways. Here's how:
We immediately saw three young ladies standing together. At first, they didn't want to talk to us but after they got to pick out a pretty purse, they started to open up more. One young lady said that she had come in from Arizona for the Super Bowl this weekend. Another girl was talking on the phone with her trafficker as we handed out the purses filled with hygiene products.
We walked further down the street and encountered a pimp and his two girls. How do we know that he was a pimp (aka trafficker)? Before we even said a word, he declared, "These are not h**s!" And then he started ranting and raving. He was definitely on drugs. We did manage to give purses to the two ladies, and one of them said, "It is so nice that you are doing this. God bless." So even though we couldn't do much because the pimp was right there, that woman knew that someone cared about her.
As we continued with the outreach, the thing that struck me the most were the JOHNS...the men who bought the women from the traffickers. This is what hurt me the most and made me the most angry. We stood in a very busy parking lot and watched as car after car picked up and dropped off young ladies. You would think we were watching a school drop-off. It was that busy. On a Thursday at 2pm in broad daylight! These men had no shame. They drove up in beat up trucks and $60,000 cars. They bought girls as if they were buying a drink through the drive thru at McDonald's.
As a young lady got in a car, my heart sank because I knew what she was about to have to do. When a young lady was being dropped off, she was unceremoniously discarded on the side of the road. I wanted to scream and yell. These are women!! These are not objects or playthings to be used and discarded. They are precious daughters of God! STOP it! How can you use these women like this?
My heart hurts at the many levels of depravity involved, but deep down I know that God is at work. On that very day, not far down the road, law enforcement were running operations to shut down this horrible problem. And I am so thankful for everyone who prayed yesterday after getting my newsletter with the prayer requests. Thank you for the many emails and texts letting me know that you are praying! I truly felt God's peace and saw Him work in incredible ways. Here's how:
- The missing girl was found! I spoke to her last night! She is safe. Praise God!
- My baby had woken up at 1am with a fever of 102.2. This was his first fever. I sent out a newsletter at 5:30am asking for prayer. When he woke up yesterday morning, the fever was gone so I was able to lead the outreach.
- God provided the perfect law enforcement personnel to help us. We had 3 different agencies assisting us.
- The male officer was big and burly and knew all about the streets. I learned so much from him. He definitely made us feel protected. His years of experience helped tremendously.
- The female officer had an amazing rapport with the ladies. They warmed up to her instantly. God picked exactly the right officers to help us.
- We also had unmarked cars patrolling the area and watching over us.
- Without them, it would have been unsafe and ineffective.
- It turns out that I was pretty sick too but really didn't realize it until after the outreach was over. God sustained me!
- Every purse donated was such a blessing! We were overwhelmed by your support. For example, Denise of Kingwood collected 249 purses from her friends and network. Without the purses, the girls would not have spoken to us. Thank you for your support!
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