Thank you for continuing to pray for After Hours Ministry. Here are some specific ways you can pray

• Pray specifically for C and A who have left the streets in the last several months that they would continue to choose life, that they would place their faith in Jesus and trust in Him completely. Pray for provision for them and others to come alongside them and encourage them.
• Pray for our Friday night outreaches that we would have wisdom and discernment with each person that we speak to and that we would be led by the Spirit walking by faith in all things. Pray that as the women see us regularly their hearts will be open and that we would have opportunity to build relationships with them. Pray for our safety.
• Pray for our team, that we will walk in unity of one mind and one spirit. Pray that as our team grows each one would see how their giftings may be used to glorify the Lord in this ministry.
• Pray for more partnerships in the local community and across the nation that we may offer greater resources to those we are ministering to.
• Pray for a possible radio interview this week, that in whatever ways we are able to speak to the public we are able to bring glory to Jesus and be a light and encouragement to others.

Other cool stuff

• check out this documentary that we are a part of www.volviendo.org
• interested in helping out victims of sex trafficking through changing state laws? Check out www.castla.org
• want to read our weekly blogs and hear more details about our weekly outreaches? Go to www.afterhoursministry.com

Blessings in Him!
Jen Cecil

pessimism.
optimism.

so many ambitions.
so many lost dreams and opportunities.

turns that lead to dead ends.
promises that were never kept.

i never meant it to end up this way.
i thought i’d just try something new for a while.

hope long gone.
a fear to hope again.

innocence.
fear.
regret.
resignation.
apathy.
anger.
nothingness.

darkness and light
reality and denial

…one day
…one day
…one day
…one day i’ll stop saying one day.

When we first got on the track we saw lots and lots of girls but they were all spread out all up and down the track. They were not clumped together as usual, they were each standing on their own.

We also saw a big fight break out on the side of the street between about five girls and two pimps. There was lots of hitting and yelling.

I am not quite sure what makes nights like this happen. Why one night can be so different from the week before. We can come up with theories like how we sometimes  see this happen on weeks when new girls are getting turned out. Or relate it to conversations with girls over the last few weeks telling us how lately things are getting more and more dangerous out on the streets; the Johns are being more violent, demanding weirder things, not paying for services they receive and kidnapping the prostitutes. But this type of activity tends to make the girls want to clump together and watch each others backs for safety.

As I drove back to my safe warm house in Pasadena that night I couldn’t get the hectic weirdness of the night out of my mine. The bottom line is, we can’t figure it out. The street is unpredictable. And the girls have to live in this environment all the time. They never get to take a break, they don’t get to drive back home to their safe houses if the street happens to be unpredictable and chaotic one night.

I struggled to find the words to say to these women that seemed so nervous and skittish as I approached them this last Friday. How do you comfort these women that face this kind of abuse, fear and unpredictability everyday? But I take comfort in knowing that God sees them. God knows what they are going through. God intimately cares about their every step. Sometimes it does not make sense to me why they are stuck where they are at and why they have to go through the struggles that they do – but I am confident the One who knows them best is constantly chasing after them. I am humbled that each week we get to go out and try to be just a piece of that. We get to be just a word or a touch or an encouragement from the One whose heart is breaking watching them scared, lost, confused or wandering.

They are so deeply loved. And that’s the only message we need to communicate to them. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been – it doesn’t matter where you are.

You are loved, you are loved, you are loved.

By the grace of God I was able to speak this truth to her and in the moment she seemed to respond. She went from saying “if” and “when” to “now”. I told her that her heavenly Father was able to deliver her now and perhaps we were sent just for that reason.

This interaction with A spoke volumes to my heart. How often do we say to ourselves “I will do this or that…if and when” when God is already there, ready to deliver us. We look to the things of this world, to other people to take a role that was meant for God alone. We will always come up short when we seek to fill God’s position with another. And yet, when God takes this rightful position we are free to be in a right relationship with others and the world around us.

“A” did leave the street that night, whether out of faith (that God had come to deliver her) or fear (of her current circumstances)… I don’t really know. What I do know is God met us there and will continue to do so. God knows the depths of our hearts and speaks straight to them. God comforts us, guides us, assures us, provides for us, and desires to be our all and the choice is ours. In the last few days as I have interacted with A, I can sense the battle taking place within her.  To choose to be free is to choose to walk by faith, faith in a God who is not necessarily tangible (though even our presence on Friday night challenges that idea) and may even seem distant in light of her current circumstances, or to continue on bound up in chains always waiting for “if” or “when”.

Please pray for A to choose life. Pray that she will know God as God is, our gracious and merciful Father who longs to restore us. Jesus, who has come and made a way for us out of bondage and into everlasting life. May her image of an earthly father be changed and replaced by the gentle, yet firm love and faithfulness of our heavenly Father.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:15-18

Here are some ways you can pray for us this week

• Pray for A who we met on outreach last week who has asked for help in getting off the streets. Pray that she would choose life and take steps toward freedom. Pray for wisdom for our team as we guide her through that process. Pray that she will continue to connect with us and that a genuine relationship will develop.
• Pray that we will continue to make connections in the community and that those we have will be strengthened that we may have more resources to reach men and women involved in prostitution.
• Pray for wisdom and creativity as we seek to minister not only to the women on the street but those being sold through websites
• Pray for the administrative aspects of the ministry and those who are faithfully serving in this capacity.
• Pray for the training I will attend this weekend with Treasures, that it will be a time of equipping and encouragement. Pray for all who will attend that they will be empowered to reach out to those in the sex industry in their own cities.
• Pray for provision and vision for our team and that our board, outreach team and support team would be of one mind and one spirit in Christ.

Praise God for His faithfulness and His heart for His people. We are overwhelmed by His love and grace and long to see others walk in the freedom of Christ.

Blessings to you this week,
Jen

This was so apparent this last Friday as we hit the streets…but in an unusually extreme way. It seemed every woman we approached on the track was disinterested & unimpressed with our humble yet creative little gift bags we held out to them. Not only was their disinterest apparent, I noticed in myself an unusual fear & discomfort in speaking to them due to their receptivity. My whole group felt the seeming coldness in the women. We huddled and prayed, surrounding our plans and expectations for the night to God and trusting that it was in his hands. Much of the night continued in this way. We encountered a few women who accepted the gift bags & opened up in conversation which was encouraging. We got to pray with them and trust God in the ways he was working in them.

The night was drawing to a close and we began heading back to the church to meet with the rest of our team when we saw T. She was standing alone on the street corner so we pulled over quickly and I jumped out of the car along with one of my other team members. As we approached she greeted us with a warm smile and handshake as we introduced ourselves and said our names. The minute I looked into her eyes I remembered that this was a girl I had met and had quite a long & meaningful conversation and prayer time with several months back. She recognized me right away as well and we began to catch up. She had testimony of how God has been working a lot on her heart and she has felt challenged to go back to school and work her way towards getting off  of the streets. She said just 3 months ago she was out on the streets every night and over the past month has only been coming out 2-3 times a week. When we asked her about her walk with God and whether or not she had a personal walk with Him she answered very genuinely that she has always desired one and has always known the truth but has run from it. She said she recently made the decision to start over and is on the road to recovery. We prayed for T and told her that she could call us if she ever needed anything. I walked away with an assurance yet an emptiness in my spirit. An assurance that God is in control of every situation and that he is working in T’s heart but an emptiness not knowing if I would ever see her again and having to trust that her life and story are in God’s hands.

However, I had my own little epiphany that night. I think often times we don’t see people and situations as God does and our judgements can quickly deceive us. I see God at work in the heart of this prostitute in a more real and raw way than I see in many Christians sometimes. Of course I see her brokenness and the ways in which she needs to be freed but I think it’s so beautiful how she is a child of God fighting for freedom. It’s a very real battle in her life and I don’t want to be the one to point the finger and make snap judgements. I think the way we view people affects the way in which we can love them. As Christians we’re called to walk humbly and love selflessly, no easy task at all. I think we would all do good to ask God for strength and wisdom to see His people the way He sees them so that we can learn to love them more purely and reach out to them more effectively. God is at work in the heart of many of these prostitutes and as long as we put them in the broken and untouchable zone in our minds and spirits we will be ineffective tools to be used in a real way in their lives.

I wonder how many of the women that we encountered that night before speaking with T may have been in a similar place in their hearts but have been fearful to open up in it. I wonder how many were screaming for freedom inside but putting on the hard shell. I think way more than I had anticipated yet I let my fear and doubts hinder the way in which I could minister to them that night. In this ministry I’m learning to continually ask for strength and discretion to trust that God is at work in their hearts even if it seems blatantly otherwise on the outside. Lord guide us into new levels of faith and trust!

Just a reminder that we have a training…TODAY. It begins RIGHT NOW. So if you are able head on over to the World Impact Community Teen Center
1613 W. 20th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007

If you are not in the area

The After Hours Ministry Training will be broadcast live online at this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/afterhoursministry

So join us from wherever you are!

Thank you for praying for us this week, here are some specific requests as you pray..

Outreach
Last week on outreach we were able to help a woman get to a safe home, unfortunately she has already left the home and gone back to her pimp. It would be easy to be discouraged by this news but my hope is that we will instead be encouraged in that she took the step in the first place.We clearly saw the Holy Spirit at work on Friday night and I know that God will continue to pursue her, let’s hope M is just one step closer to leaving the life for good. Please be praying for her safety and her heart, that she would be brave and again take steps towards freedom.

Training Class
We have a training class and outreach this Saturday afternoon. For the first time we will be live streaming our class to groups in other cities who are preparing to start their own outreaches…praise God! Please pray that the Lord will lead this time and be glorified in every aspect.

Thank you for your faithfulness!

In His grace,
Jen

This past Friday, while on the streets ministering to the men and women of Los Angeles, we saw one such harvest – and it has changed me forever.

For a good portion of the night we saw little fruit. Girls were running away, were being vague and skiddish, and we kept getting distracted by runners and other men who continually approached us.

But then we met M. She had been in the game for over 15 years and was in a state of desperation when we walked up offering her a gift bag.  Her hallow eyes starred at the bag for a brief moment and then met our gaze. “Are you church people?” she asked abruptly. Yes, we answered. It was either excitement or fear that overtook her next as she requested for us to immediately take her off the streets.

Jen, our leader, started making a few phone calls as I took over praying for M. Almost instantly she started fidgeting with her skirt, switching her purse from the left shoulder to the right and rubbing the outside of her black puffy jacket for warmth. After I was done she stood still for the first time since meeting her, locked eyes with mine and told me her story.

She is the mother of three grown children and has never really had a relationship with them. She had been working for four days straight, with no sleep and no money after being robbed by her pimp. And finally after all these years, she was done; tired of her lifestyle and scared for her future.

Every time M reflected on her situation, her eyes would fill with tears and her chin would drop slightly to the ground.

But what gave her hope was simply seeing us, talking to the safe houses and knowing there was a place for her to go.

God brought her to the point of cross over. Her heart had already been softened. All we had to do was approach.

It isn’t always like this. In fact it is extremely rare to meet a girl and arrange for her to go to a safe house after one conversation. But God has yet again blown our expectations. God chose to use us at the moment of her greatest need. That is why we do what we do. We know we are nothing without God. We know our efforts mean nothing outside the Holy Spirit. But when God works to save prostitutes from their bondage, God wants to include us in the process. And for that we are all blessed.

M is now with a safe house, keep her in your prayers. Her road to recovery is just beginning and she will need warriors fighting for her during this difficult time. Please also pray for the safe houses: for their counseling and rehab and the wisdom and boldness they need to work with the men and women who come to them for help.

God is good. God loved M so much and arranged the perfectly designed intersection of our meeting.  And God loved us enough to let us watch!

-Kristy