LA Treasures Conference

About noon, got in the taxi at USC and off I went on the 405 freeway and then the 101, past the Hollywood sign on the hill to Van Nuys Blvd. I ate lunch in the cab and looked at sights and watched the video posted on the back of the seat. The taxi got to the address and I swiped my credit card ($60!) and he gave me my suitcase and left. I looked around and saw nothing. I finally found a sign that had fallen over. I was in the right place! I went upstairs and registered and waited and talked to the gal at the table. Other women started showing up. I had worn the right clothes--my jeans and flat shoes and fluffy blouse. About 25 women were there but no one sat by me. We introduced ourselves and everyone else were from larger cities. Most had come in groups but a few came alone. Some where women who had worked in the sex industry. We were all there for a purpose--to reach out to girls in the clubs who are hurting and need Jesus.

I was distracted from the start having just left Joel at USC, all that is going on at home with my parents, and not feeling real well from a cold. They talked about the ministry and the outreach and I couldn't concentrate well. I was concerned about how I would get back to the hotel for the break. I needed food and rest and to regroup and freshen up. When they started talking about the actual outreach and what we would see in the clubs--full nudity, lap dances, and that we'd be going into "hostess clubs" or brothels, I started to feel afraid. What in the world was I doing here? I wanted to skip the outreach part and I considered just staying at the hotel. So when the afternoon ended, I stood up and asked if anyone was going to the hotel. A lady Pastor said she was so I rode back. I tried to rest, called home to check on Dad, ate some food from the vending machine and washed my face and changed into a black jacket and my boots and jeans and went back to the Treasures office. I still felt distracted and scared and did NOT want to see anyone doing a naked lap dance!
When I got there, there was a gal sitting alone and I remembered she'd said she'd been in the industry previously and she'd come alone too. She looked terrified. I went over to her and asked if she was ok. She said she wanted to leave, that she wasn't like the other girls and she had no idea why she was there. I told her I felt the exact same way! I started saying all the exact things I need to hear myself--that God wanted her there for a reason and that He knew what her purpose was--maybe she could reach the girls no one else could! Then another girl, Sharon, who was all put together and confident looking came over and said she was scared too! We all prayed together. We all worshipped as a group and it helped me focus some and calm down some. Then we all stood and they asked for volunteers to pray. Usually, God lays it on my heart to pray but for some reason, He didn't at all that weekend. We prayed for the bouncers, managers, house moms, the team, the girls on the team who'd be going back into the clubs for the first time after leaving the industry, all the girls in the clubs and over the gifts bags themselves. They told us that we were to just give the gifts to the girls and express unconditional love toward them. I felt weird about this because I was leaving and would never see them again but they explained that we were to gain trust for Treasures in general.
We divided up into two shuttles. One would go to downtown LA and mine was headed to Hollywood, Sunset Strip and West LA. I was excited to see these places I've never been. I sat on the shuttle with Sharon, a neat gal who is head of a ministry that encourages women to be in the Word. I shared my story with her and tried to stay focused but I did keep breaking their rules by texting the family.
We paired up and took turns going into the clubs to give the gifts to the girls. The bags had lip gloss, cool earrings and a card with the website on it that just said, "You are loved, you are valued and you are a treasure." I went up to the club doors twice but never went in. We were 100% successful at getting all our gift bags accepted. Some of the girls were able to go inside the clubs. Harmony was able to have a good conversation with one of the dancers who told her she would for sure call the number. One of the former dancers in the shuttle shared how freeing it was to have gone back into the club after leaving the industry 17 years ago.
At the second club, I looked in as the door opened just for a moment and saw the girls projected in sillouette on a large screen and I realized that God wasn't going to have me go in to the club for a reason. Having grown up with a dad who had difficulty showing me love and then going through the divorce, the promiscuity (even though I saved actual intercourse until college) and the abortion, I feel like I am just now healing as a fully sexual person. I am really for the first time truly understanding how wonderful married sex can be. I think that God didn't want to ruin that.
The second day of the conference, I learned tons. The biggest thing I learned is that when mentoring these girls who have such incredible, overwhelming needs, we don't have to have the answers nor do we need to take responsibility for their recovery. God will do a work in them and transform them. Our role is to love them unconditionally, model healthy boundaries, be there for them consistently, and point them to God. Period. This was so freeing to me.
I am not sure what my role will be other than to take this information back to the ladies at the church and to train them to do this outreach and to mentor hurting women. I also think that the info will be really valuable to Mary in her jail ministry. And maybe the two ministries can combine. I could see myself facilitating support groups for the women and debriefing the teams, maybe even providing consultation to the mentors. I will pray and wait and see.