September Prayer Alert for Beauty From Ashes

Greetings Prayer Partners,


Thank you for your faithful and consistent prayers for Beauty From Ashes™ (BFA) Ministries.  The prayers of the righteous availeth much and your prayers continue to make up the foundation of this agency and are making a difference in lives of countless individuals.  Below are September's prayer requests.  


CLIENTS:  Please pray for our local and national clients' mental, physical and spiritual healing, that they have sound minds, and the courage to commit to the long term healing journey.  May they receive a revelation of God's love for them and who they are in Christ. 


OUTREACHES:  Thank God for the favor we have with sex business management and employees.  Pray that the Father's love will be evident in and through the team as they operate in unity and one accord.  May those we reach receive the revelation of who God is, how much He loves them, and embrace the truth that will set them free to be everything they were destined to be.  Agree with us that outreach team members would continue to multiply as our territory expands according to God's will.  


ASSESSMENT/RESOURCE CENTER:  Please agree with us for God's perfect will and provision of funding for a professionally run, integrated and comprehensive assessment/resource center for victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and human sex trafficking.  Pray that God would send in the resources and qualified staff from the North, South, East, and West. Thank Him with us that in His perfect timing this vision will come to pass.  


FUND RAISING:  Pray that God would raise up more businesses, agencies, churches, ministries, and individuals to initiate creative fund raising for BFA. 


FREEdom™ HOMES BEST PRACTICES PROJECT:  Pray that God would continue to unite multiple governmental and non governmental agencies to work collaboratively in the development of the Best Practices for residential homes for sex trafficking victims.  (Currently there are none).  Pray for a spirit of unity and harmony and that these agencies will work together in the best interest of victims.  


PARTNERSHIPS:  Pray that God would continue to align us with the professional, governmental, private, corporate and faith based partnerships that are of His perfect will and nothing less.  


VOLUNTEERS:  Pray for strength, encouragement and perseverance for current volunteers and that God would raise up more called, anointed, and committed servants.  Please agree with us for a Volunteer Coordinator.  


BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ADVISORS:  Pray for health, protection, wisdom, encouragement, and divine direction for BFA.  May all directors operate in one accord, in tune with the Holy Spirit.  


STAFF:  Agree with us for a technologically competent Business Administrator and/or Office Manager. Pray with us that our founder, Julie Shematz, will begin her second year of full time graduate school, and second semester of interning as a mental health counselor, rested and with a clear mind. 


EVENTS:  Wisdom and discernment to know what and/or who BFA is to be involved with or not.  Pray that God will raise up a BFA Event Coordinator.


CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT:  Please pray for the completion of the project and for the funding for the DVD production and marketing of campaign.


OTHER LIKE MINISTRIES/AGENCIES:  Pray for unity amongst one another and humbleness, wisdom, and patience in reaching, rescuing and restoring victims.  May the level of professionalism be raised and licensed counselors and professional service providers unite with them to provide restoration services and program development.  Pray for balance, biblical priorities, and protection of marriages and families.  May strong boundaries be established and maintained for aftercare providers.  May God's strength and encouragement be imparted to all in the name of Jesus.  


BFA E-NEWSLETTER:  CLICK HERE to sign up.


WEEKLY PRAYER:  Join BFA every Friday from 8-9am EST to pray for the victims of sex trafficking and commercialized sexual exploitation.  Locally, we meet at Barry University in room 500-5.  For a prayer guide, CLCK HERE.  


Thank you for standing with us in prayer, for the establishment of God's perfect will for His ministry, Beauty From Ashes™.  


I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare". Isaiah 49:9


Nancy Sampson & Sandi Spencer
Prayer Coordinators
Beauty From Ashes Ministries

Strip Club Outreach, Bibles & Housing Needed, FGCU & More

STRIP CLUB OUTREACH: This Saturday, March 13th, we will be taking a home cooked meal of BBQ beef spare ribs, corn casserole, salad, rolls & yummy Sugar Mama cupcakes into our local adopted strip club 6pm - 10pm. Please keep us in prayer as we interact one on one with the employees. Agree with us for trusting relationships to be established, captives set free & names added to the Lamb's Book of LIfe.

BIBLES NEEDED: We are in desperate need of new & gently used bibles for outreaches & those we work with. If you, your church, small group, business or organization can assist us with this need, please contact us ASAP.

FGCU: Over-comer & founder of BFA, Julie Shematz, will be speaking on behalf of the voiceless victims of human trafficking and discussing this modern day slavery at Florida Gulf Coast University on Thursday, March 25th 6-7:30pm. Event is sponsored by the Student Abolitionist Movement.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Weekly, we are working directly with 10 CSE & human trafficking victims currently and another 10-15 indirectly. Their needs vary from salvation, re-dedication, faith, deliverance, jobs, strength, wisdom, food, safehomes to be restored in, to godly mentors, children, pregnancies & addictions. Please agree with us for God's perfect will to be done in their lives. May they have a hunger & thirst for His Word & receive the revelation of who God is in & who they are in Him. Send your prayer requests here: prayer@beautyfromashes.org

HOUSING NEEDED: A mature, godly, woman who relocated to Fort Myers, FL two years ago to serve Beauty From Ashes is in need of renting a room, an efficiency and/or one bedroom apartment. She has been a faithful servant of God, BFA and is a widow. God's Word is very clear to us in that we need to care for widows and she needs our help. She is employed. Please contact Pastor Julie if you or someone you know could provide a loving home for her to live in.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: BFA needs your donations today in order for us to continue reaching, rescuing & restoring victims of commercialized sexual exploitation & human trafficking. Will you please consider giving a one time give or committing to becoming a monthly partner with us? Perhaps you could speak to your pastor and inquire if they add us as home missionaries for their one time or monthly support?

Currently 80% of human trafficking is sex trafficking with 80% of women and children being the primary victims. This horrific crime is happening in our backyards, not just in other countries. Right now the United States of America is the #1 place to have sex with children. Currently, as a nation we are giving millions of dollars to assist illegal immigrants and victims in other countries and little to nothing to help OUR OWN CITIZENS. We need your help and are taking the steps to acquire federal & grant funding for these victim's comprehensive restoration needs, but the needs are URGENT NOW. We receive emails weekly that break our hearts and we are limited to what we can offer them due to a lack of funds. By supporting us, you, your church, your business or organization will be fighting to abolish modern day slavery in the USA and contributing to the restoration of innocent lives. Any amount will help, $5, $10, $50, $100, $1000 or $5000. Please consider giving today.

CHILD OF GOD FUND RAISING CD: For your gift of hope that enables us to reach, rescue & restore women, children & men, we will give you our private label, Child of God, CD for a minimum donation of $35 plus $5 shipping as a way to say thank you. To give securely online, CLICK HERE or send cash, check or money order to 5100 S. Cleveland Avenue, Suite 318-148, Fort Myers, FL 33907.

WEEKLY GLOBAL PRAYER FOR CSE & HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: Please join us every Friday 8am-9am EST to pray for the victims, survivors and over-comers, as well as the organizations reaching, rescuing, restoring & advocating for these individuals. Prayer Guide, CLICK HERE

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
Outreach Team
Accounting/Bookkeeping
Administrative Assistant
Event Coordination
Case Management
Mentors
Social Networking/Moderation:
http://www.twitter.com/BeautyFrmAshes
http://www.twitter.com/thecall2xxx
http://www.twitter.com/FREEdomHomes
facebook fan page
facebook group page
facebook cause page
Please contact us if you are interested in becoming part of the BFA FREEdom™ Team.

E-NEWSLETTER SIGN UP: Email us at newsletter@beautyfromashes.org

God bless you!

Steve, Julie & the FREEdom™ Team
Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries
Where Victims Become Over-Comers
239.939.9218
877.4BFA SOS (423.2767) International Toll Free Help Line

Complexities of Acquiring a ‘Normal’ Job for Survivors of Commercialized Sexual Exploitation

The following questions were asked to our Co-Founder & over-comer, Julie Shematz, by reporter Youngbee Dale of the Norfolk Human Rights Examiner. It's worth noting that in Julie's initial written response to Youngbee was the following statement: "...it's complex, as is each case individually and collectively the topic of sex trafficking and commercialized sexual exploitation. I could actually go into other factors that hinder their ability to transition into having a 'normal' job, but I'll leave it at this for now."

"Why [do] women who worked in sex industry tend to go back to the industry despite the exploitation?

Why can't they make a living out of waitressing or working at Walmart or something?" QUOTE

I believe, based upon my experience of being a woman that kept going back, even after acquiring a college degree, and of working with survivors of commercialized sexual exploitation, that a number of factors or influences pull them back into the exploitation.

One of them is the quick money, but most certainly one of the biggest challenges in reconditioning a survivor is restoring their dignity and teaching them self discipline. Most are accustomed to being told what to do or alternately, working very little to make the money they need to survive. Making healthy decisions and exercising self discipline is a huge hurdle, yet necessary for even a simple 40 hour a week job at Walmart or waitressing. Not to mention that working a 40 hour week to earn what one previously could make in an hour or two is a tough transition.

Wounding from trauma, both physical and emotional, and trauma bonding with their perpetrators/exploiters also contributes to the revolving door of sex workers, not to mention their need for affirmation and attention; although it’s unhealthy, many times it’s the only kind of affirmation they have received. When not provided with a consistently, unconditionally loving community/family/support system, they tend to return to what’s familiar, missing the only ‘family’ they consider themselves to have.

Victims and survivors are simply not stable individuals due to the fact that they have been severely wounded, abused, used and discarded often by the very individuals that were to provide them with love and protection. They do not trust anyone because they have been lied to, taken advantage of and exploited for so long. One of the first goals as a care provider is to establish trust and get them stabilized, both of which are more easily said than done.

Another factor, especially with international victims, is a lack of education (although it’s very common with domestic victims as well). Many times, their educational level is way behind their age and especially with minors, that produces the challenges of schooling them. We have had to register survivors in private schools and basically home school them because they would not attend public schools due the fact that, although body-wise they were an adult woman, not to mention street wise, but scholastically they had not completed kindergarten. We had a particular case in which the survivor consistently was expelled from school for her unmanageable behavior and inappropriate language. When someone is not disciplined, they will not be able to complete school at any level. Even completing a GED requires self discipline and in the USA, it’s needed to acquire even a basic minimum wage paying job.

You must also take into account that 80-90% of adult sex workers were victims of child sexual exploitation, which commonly results in psychological and mental complexities. Many of the victims/survivors are diagnosed with dissociative disorder, aka multiple personalities and/or borderline personality disorder, in addition to the typical diagnoses of bi-polar and ADD. Most cannot afford the mental health care they desperately need and their ability to make healthy decisions is often impaired.

Because of the deep and very painful events connected to the inner lies they believe to be true [sadly many times reinforced by society] (ie. I am not good. I’m a whore. I’m worth nothing. I am unlovable. I am only good for sex. I can’t do anything right. Nothing I do is good enough. I am dirty. I can’t trust anyone., etc.) that have been embedded into their souls, they tend to get emotionally triggered very easily and it’s natural for them to go back to what is familiar instead of committing to the long and often very painful journey of healing and restoration. We’ve seen over and over survivors placed into safe homes that they refer to as being ‘too normal’ and once they begin the journey of healing (uncorking the packed away pain,) they can’t handle it and run away, returning again to what they have known.

Additionally, you have to factor in denial for those that return. Denial that they can make a living working at Walmart or waitressing, that what they are doing is exploitation and not good for them, that they need help, etc. There are also drug addictions and until the root of the addiction is completely removed, like a weed, it will grow back & pull the victim/survivor back to self medicating the pain. A job at Walmart or waitressing cannot typically pay the cost of a drug addiction.

Consequently, it comes back to the initial goal of care providers and victims advocates: to restore dignity and establish trust. It’s not a simple process, it’s actually very complex, often extremely ugly and much easier said than done. However, until a healthy self esteem is established and they learn to trust, they most likely will not be able to maintain a ‘normal’ job. The need for specialized care of these victims/survivors is obvious. It’s not a quick fix and will require years and years of restoration. Many times it’s taken years to get them where they are mentally and emotionally and most likely will take just as many, if not more, to undo all the harm that has been done to them. Until that healing process is complete, justice has not truly been rendered to them as victims.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that even when they are able to acquire 'normal' jobs often times they don't hold them down for very long due to their mental & emotional instability, lack of self discipline and/or inability to establish and maintain healthy relationships. It's very common to see them go from job to job, church to church, even community to community that will embrace them, if they don’t isolate themselves. Sadly some frequently take advantage of caring folks (ie. church groups, shelters, individuals, etc.) and often end up exploiting the very individuals that are trying to help them by manipulating, using, hustling and/or stealing from them. Many times there is a destructive lifestyle cycle that desperately needs to be broken, yet the survivor is not willing to commit to the process it will take to break this. More often than not, they will seek out people that will enable them versus those that will legitimately assist them in what needs to be changed other than just a job or profession. Because their pain and inner healing never takes place, returning to the sex industry seems easier to them than facing their own stuff and committing to the journey of healing and change. Even for the ones that persevere in not returning to the sex industry, due to depth of their wounds, you can imagine how their unhealthy choices effect their self esteem. Consequently, we're back to their basic need of dignity being restored, yet the decisions they frequently make prohibit and/or significantly hinder this from happening. It’s like a vicious cycle they need to desperately break out of but often find themselves trapped in it.

Like I said, initially, it’s complicated. From my perspective as an over-comer of commercialized sexual exploitation and trafficking, and a care provider/victim’s advocate, there are two common factors regarding human trafficking: complexity and injustice. Regardless of the diverse variables that pull the survivors back into the exploitation, they deserve the basic human right and opportunity(s) to be restored.

Julie Shematz
CEO, Beauty From Ashes

Norfolk Human Rights Examiner Story: Safe Housing Is More Than a Roof Over the Head of Sex Trafficking/Industry Survivors

Funding FREEdom™ in 2010

· Today 27 million people are held in slavery

· 80% are Sex Slaves & Female

· 60% are Children

· 100,000 – 300,000 domestic minors are being lured into prostitution yearly

· Every minute 2 children are being forced into sex slavery worldwide

· 90% of adult sex workers were victims of sexual abuse as children

· Florida is the #2 state for human trafficking

· Every year more than 1 million children are forced into global commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)

· Human trafficking will be the #1 crime worldwide in 2010

· Currently there are less than 50 beds for the much-needed specialized services for domestic minors of sex trafficking in the USA.

Will you help Beauty From Ashes™ start

the New Year strong

and enable us to better assist

victims of CSE and human trafficking?

How Far Will Your Dollar Go?

$50 – Cost of BFA’s monthly strip club food outreach (25 – 30 meals)

$100 – Cost of BFA’s bi-monthly strip club gift outreach (25-75 gifts)

$125 – Cost of 25 Bibles

$20/day, $140/week & $600/month – Cost to clothe, feed, shelter, provide therapy, staffing & insurance to survivor in BFA FREEdom™ Home

$400/month – Cost of BFA administration

$3000 – Cost to relocate family of 4 (two children; 3 months & 2 years) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Fort Myers, FL. Mother is CSE & human trafficking survivor who has worked as a hair stylist for 4 years. Husband wants to go into local drug rehabilitation residential program (Teen Challenge) while mother & children receive survivor-based assistance from BFA, including licensed therapy.

$415/month, $5000/year – Cost to acquire Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) degree for over-comer of CSE, mother* of three children (1, 3 & 8 years old) who has already acquired state nurses aide license & CPR training. She has been out of industry for 4 years.

$1000/month, $12,000/year – Cost to acquire Cosmetology Degree for CSE & human trafficking over-comer*, who has been free from slavery for 8 years and maintained full time employment.

*Rahab’s Hope Fund Candidates that have worked with BFA for 3-5 years. Both have demonstrated consistent maturity and a sincere desire to better themselves through higher education means.

You can give two ways:

1. Mail cash, money order or check made out to Beauty From Ashes Ministries to 5100 S. Cleveland Avenue, Suite 318-148, Fort Myers, FL 33907

2. Give securely online by clicking HERE

All donations are tax deductible. Your gift of love enables a victim and survivor to realize they can experience FREEdom™ to become an over-comer. Please notate in Memo if you desire your gift to go to specific area of need and thank you!

For a minimum gift of $35 ($5 shipping), we'll send you our 10 song private label, Beauty From Ashes™ Child of God CD.

Together we are better & are making a difference.

PLEASE NOTE: January 11^th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Awareness is key to prevention and intervention. Join the slavery abolitionist movement and refuse to be a bystander. Contact us for resources, ideas and possible speakers.

The FREEdom™ Team

Beauty From Ashes Ministries