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Bringing Beauty From Ashes—One Trafficking Victim at a Time

Aimee Herd : May 24, 2010  Julie Shematz – Beauty From Ashes Ministries

"We literally had a woman come into the expo, go straight to the booth (in the center of the expo) & pray the sinner's prayer! She just cried, telling us how relieved she felt…"

As I picture those who make the commitment to do what they can to bring down the porn/human trafficking industry, I can't help imagining it to be a little like David vs. Goliath. However, that's okay because we all know where the power was that day—as David trusted in God, he was victorious over a towering enemy.

I've recently heard an inspiring report, and learned more about an organization which—much like David—is going after a seemingly unconquerable giant… porn, those caught up in the industry and victims of human sex trafficking.

Julie The organization is called Beauty From Ashes; aptly named as it was founded by Julie Shematz, who had become enslaved by the industry and then, after turning back to the Lord, was delivered and set free. In turn, Julie began Beauty From Ashes to "educate the community, advocate for victims, implement reach, rescue & restore programs & provide safe-homes.

A statement on their website reads: "We reach, rescue and restore victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

"We meet and assist with practical needs, by providing them and their families with support, life skill development, assistance with education, job placement, relocation, short term and/or residential housing, as well as Christian discipleship and addiction rehabilitation. We assist them in the transition out of and/or away from this lifestyle by providing sound Biblical guidance and direction for situations brought about by their choices such as substance abuse, pregnancy, occultism, prostitution, abortion, etc. We help them to deal constructively with the consequences their and/or other's decisions to be involved or associated with this industry and/or lifestyle have produced. Teaching them responsibility, character development and how to daily maintain a victorious and abundant life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is our objective.

"It is also our purpose to network with and support other faith-based organizations dedicated to the same and/or similar goals in assisting individuals and families that desire a healthier lifestyle."

Missionaries know that a Believer who knows and understands the culture and its challenges will be much more effective in bringing others to freedom and ultimately to the Lord. In the same way, Beauty From Ashes is proving its effectiveness. Below is a report from a recent porn industry convention where they set up a booth and were a bright light in the midst of great darkness.

Julie writes: To summarize this enormous outREACH: God did exceedingly abundantly above and beyond what we dreamed, prayed or imagined!

Beauty From Ashes Ministries (BFA) debuted our first booth at a porn expo, Real Orange, May 14-16, 2010, at [a venue in] Miami.

BFA TeamThe outREACH team [of six] was made up of 4 former sex workers. They assisted 7 people in getting their names added to the Lamb's Book of Life, prayed for countless porn consumers & sex workers, distributed 5100 evangelistic DVD's of Ian McCormick's testimony & the Jesus Project's, Magdelena (we ran out because they went like hotcakes!), 130 Holy Bibles, 8000 cards and 130 gift bags for sex workers that included the BFA "Child of God" CD.

We gave away 1000's of beauty supplies, raised awareness for domestic sex trafficking, had porn stars tell us they want out & need help, as well as, offer to help BFA, was brought into the locker room [of the venue] by the manger to minister to the workers (she also brought numerous girls to our booth!) and she requested that we go to the other two national expos in LA and New Jersey, telling us how much she appreciated what we were doing (add comma or and) that they need a booth representing what we are there!

We literally had a woman come into the expo, go straight to the booth (in the center of the expo) & pray the sinner's prayer! She just cried, telling us how relieved she felt, saying she could not believe she came to porn expo, went to our booth first and got saved! We literally prayed that God's presence would be so great at our booth that people would be drawn to it not even knowing why.

We blasted contemporary praise music confident that God inhabits the praise of His people & He truly showed up to touch and transform people's lives. The team received a lot of encouragement from everyone they met, gave out countless hugs, wiped away many tears and spoke life and destiny in many people's lives.

A HUGE thanks to everyone from multiple denominations that gave of their time, talent and resources to make this outREACH happen. We celebrate what God has done, through us, together! TOGETHER we have made a difference!

If you would like more information on the good work that Beauty From Ashes is doing, follow the source link provided.







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