Recently we arrived at one of the clubs Beautiful One has adopted, gift bags and lots of love in tow, only to find that it had been closed down. There were somewhere around seven pages of violations posted on the front door by the State Liquor Authority. As I read of one violent altercation after another, including some shootings which had occurred there, my heart broke once more for the women who work in this club. It has always felt especially dark at this particular club. As if it’s not difficult enough for a woman to put her naked body on display as a means of earning a living, these ladies are doing so in an environment plagued by anger, contention, and violence. From one day to another, they do not know what might occur at their workplaces and if their safety would be in jeopardy. Some of them then return home to pimps who beat them within an inch of their lives if they don’t earn enough money that night. Occurrences such as these are not limited to this club, I might add.

To rewind even further back, a tragic account of sexual abuse by a family member or friend would, more than nine times out of ten, be found in their childhoods. Anny Donewald, a survivor of the sex industry and founder of Eve’s Angels, writes, “The God’s honest truth is that something has happened to that little girl to make her private parts public.” Having myself been sexually abused as a young woman, I can attest to the horror that ensues for years and years to come. I found hope and healing in the loving arms of Jesus, as have many others including Anny. Before we left that night and found the club closed, I had a vision of Jesus walking into that very club and removing these large chains hanging on the women’s necks. In His tender, faithful love He is pursuing each of the ladies who worked there. It cannot be said enough that the fight for women trapped in a life of sexual exploitation begins with understanding and compassion for what they have endured and continue to endure. Each woman has her own journey, her own heartaches, and her own dreams. Each woman needs friends who will love, encourage, and believe in her. That’s His heart, may it be ours as well.