An Angel in Street Clothes

Imagine if you will, a broken and cracked sidewalk that you find yourself standing on. The sky is going dim as the sun sinks behind the horizon. You feel your heart sinking with it and long to feel the warmth again. The air turns brisk and the blink of the corner liquor store sign joins with the dirty street light to give some illumination to an otherwise dark place. You stand on this sidewalk with your business attire painted on your body so tightly you can scarcely breathe. A dress so short that it could qualify as lingerie. You wrap your arms around yourself in a failing attempt to keep warm.

You know “he” is watching so you make no moves to escape this inevitable pick up. A car pulls to the side of the road and a man in the driver’s seat motions you over. Eyes on the sidewalk, you reluctantly approach his vehicle. “Get in pretty lady”, he says with a wicked smile. Do you fear this man more or the one who is lurking in the shadows? The stinging and burning of a freshly made brand mark is a constant reminder that you are owned by someone now. You have no more choices and no more hope. Whatever has happened in your life to bring you to this point is buried in the back of your memories and you can only hope to survive where you are now.
This is the grim picture of the women my friend, Christina, encounters every week. Women who have been captured or forced or seduced into human trafficking. Young girls with troubled hearts and lives finding some sort of fulfillment in the empty but pretty lies of men who promise to take care of them. Women who are lured into a situation they cannot get out of. Women who have been beaten, raped, violently attacked. Girls who just wanted to be special or loved by someone.

God has used a tool called Tipton Ministry to rescue women from this horrific life style. Christina came out from some struggles of her own with a heart to serve and help others. As she asked the Lord what to do with this desire, she saw a billboard alongside a highway, advertising a strip club. “Go after that”, Christina recalls God prompting her. Having no experience in strip club life, Christina sought the council of her Pastor along with her husband. After much prayer and planning, Tipton Ministry was born.

To further their reach, Christina decided to become an ordained minister along side her husband. The first active mission in Tipton Ministry was to begin doing what some would consider outrageous at worst and out of character at best. They began holding prayer meetings and worship concerts in these strip clubs on the nights they were not open for regular business. Christina recalls yet another clear word from God telling her “If you change the atmosphere, I’ll change their hearts.”

As she told this particular piece of the beginning of their ministry, I found myself wondering if I could be that bold for Christ. Some of the girls who worked at the club began attending the worship concerts and before long, found that they no longer wanted to use their bodies to earn a living. They began to see the value Jesus had for them and found that value in themselves. Even some of the men who worked there attended and could feel changes happening in their hearts. It surely seemed that God was fulfilling His promise to change hearts through Christina’s and her husband Doug’s obedience.

There is another facet to this ministry in which Christina hands out purses to women she finds standing on a sidewalk “working”. These purses are filled with personal care items such as chap stick, deodorant, tooth paste and brush, a hair brush, feminine hygiene products and even under garments. She explains that the nature of the under garments is because these women go through such violent experiences that a simple thing like under garments are often destroyed.

But perhaps the most vital item given in these purses is a Bible. Though all of the items in the bag are needed and important, the word of God is one that, once she reads a few words, cannot be stripped away from her. In fact, Christina has the receiver pull out the Bible right away and asks the woman to read a few words aloud. Sometimes she is met with confusion, but most of the time they will oblige. Far to often these women are forced to hand over the purse and it’s contents but that doesn’t stop Tipton Ministry from handing them out. Of course, the men who are controlling these women know that if they allow the women to keep the belongings, it’s that much less they have to provide for them.

The conversation turned much more personal when Christina began telling me about a woman named Angela (name has been changed to protect identity) who was the recipient of one such purse. She was drawn in by the words Christina asked her to read from the Bible in the purse. Both women knew that “he” was watching and Christina chooses to acknowledge that she is aware of his presence by nodding in his direction. The two women share some more words and it has had an impact on Angela. This has set the wheels in motion for a changed future.

Some time later, Christina is visiting the local jail for one of her prison ministry Bible studies and who does she see? Angela is now in jail and Christina has yet another opportunity to minister to her. She attends the Bible studies and serves her ninety-day sentence. It is time for her to be released back into the world. The world that holds so much darkness and devastation for her. She faces the judge and pleads with him not to set her free. Angela tells the judge that she has found Jesus in jail and doesn’t want to return to the life that is awaiting her on the other side of the cell. She felt safer behind bars then she did living her everyday life. Can we even fathom what that would feel like?

The judge is compassionate and understanding to her situation but cannot simply let her stay in a jail that she doesn’t need to be in anymore… or does she? Her need for Jesus has been discovered and thus feels a need to stay where she found Him. However, the legal system requires a sentence handed to an individual in order to be in jail and she had served her sentence. But… there was a different facility the judge could send her to for rehabilitation. Another ninety days in this place would give her more time and her own opportunity to serve others with Bible studies. Angela did just that.

This woman who had been rescued from a life of misery and violence, now shared Jesus with other women in her same situation. The power of God was being lived out in this beautiful soul. She completed her time in rehabilitation and found a job she could be proud of. She was able to get her own place to live that could serve as a reminder of how God works. She can earn her own money and not have to hand it over to someone who wanted to sell something of hers that never belonged to him. Something much too precious to have any price tag. She now belonged to Jesus and saw her value. Jesus shed His blood for her and she would no longer have to shed her own in violence.

Now when Christina and Angela see one another and they embrace in friendship, tears are falling for an entirely different reason. These tears are in gratitude. Gratitude from each woman in thankfulness for being allowed to become a part of each other’s lives. Lives that intersected in a grim and hopeless environment and Jesus stepped in with the brightness of His presence. Angela now has a much bigger vision for her future then what her past had been blinding her with.

We talked about yet another girl who Christina’s heart broke for. A girl we will call Sarah. Sarah was far from her home in another state. She came here with a man who she met on line. A man who told her all the beautiful lies that lured her right into his trap. He promised to protect her. He promised to love her. He promised to provide for her. All the things she longed for in her empty heart. He made her believe that she was so very special to him. Like she had been the very woman he had been waiting for all his life. Sweet words that turned out to have a very bitter after taste.

After seeing this young woman walking down the side of the road with just a T-shirt and shorts on, Christina knew she had to stop and retrieve this poor girl from the cold night air and the cold situation she knew she must be in. Asking her husband to pull the car over, Christina rolled down her window and asked if the young woman was alright. Never lifting her gaze to meet Christina’s, she simply nodded her head and kept on walking. “Do you need help?” Christina prompted again. This time the girl looked up at her. The bruising around both her eyes needed no further explanation. Getting out of the car and slowly approaching the girl, Christina asked the girl where she was from. When she replied that she lived in another state, Christina probed for more answers.

For some unknown reason this girl who barely looked old enough to be out of high school, showed some trust for this angel in street clothes. Sarah let Christina talk her into getting in the car with her to offer her more than just a ride. Doug and Christina are very careful to take the proper precautions when giving anyone a ride. Working in this type of ministry has certainly taught them the evil that lurks and lies in wait for a perfect unsuspecting opportunity. They drive to their house and invite a bruised and tired Sarah inside. She agrees but with a little trepidation. She trusts them for the most part but her bruises are a painful reminder of what trusting someone you barely know can lead too. Doug quickly makes his way to the kitchen to begin preparing some food and allowing Christina to have some alone time with Sarah. Keeping a watchful eye on his wife and young stranger, he knows she needs this time to get Sarah to open up about what has happened to her.

Sarah begins retelling all the details of how she met this man on line who promised her the wonderful life she had been dreaming of. But when they got here to where they were going to start this fabulous life together, she quickly learned it was not going to be the fairy tale story. Beatings and sexual violence were never in the story books she knew as a child. The prince never rescued the damsel in distress only to put her under house arrest. Sarah had no way to get back home or how to even get out of this situation. Christina and her husband Doug bought her a bus ticket and arranged for her to have special protection at the bus station to flee the horrific life style she found herself in. Along with the bus ticket, they taught her about the love of Christ as well. Sarah learned that she too had value and that God had her knight in shining armor waiting for her. Christina and Doug received news from Sarah some time after returning home, that she indeed found her knight and they were planning their wedding. Sarah’s life had dramatically changed due to the love of Christ and the heart of a woman who desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

There is one other element of Tipton ministry that needs to be told. There is a terrible thing that happens to women who have been trapped in the human trafficking ring. They must have a mark of being owned by a particular person. They must be branded with a tattoo or an actual burn mark to inscribe their purchase. This is a painful and permanent reminder of who owns them and who decides their fate and who gets their money. Money that these women are beaten and violently assaulted for. Blood money if you will. This means that if a woman were to be audacious enough to consider running away, she would be identifiable and subsequently dealt with for her insubordination.

However, if she were to be able to hide said marking, she would have a much better chance of fleeing this cell-free prison. But how can someone cover such a permanent scar? These markings are far to deep a wound to simply cover with makeup. This is the extra piece of Tipton ministry that is unique and, well… really helps them make their mark.

Christina gives the women she ministers to a special coin. This coin can then be brought to a tattoo artist that has been working with Tipton ministry. When the woman hands the coin to the tattoo artist, he knows why she is there. Then the outward transformation begins. Never asking her about her story, the artist gives her visual freedom from her scars. He tattoos over the marks that was given her in ownership with one that gives her freedom. There is never any cost to the woman because Christina and the artist both know that she has paid enough. She can now begin a new life that she doesn’t have to fear. Christina provides for her external transformation and offers her hope for her internal transformation.

So, have you been able to walk a little further down that sidewalk we started on? Have you been able to feel the bleeding hearts of the women in this story? Have you ever been rescued by an angel in street clothes before? I can’t say that I have had the deep need to be rescued in this same way but if I did, I hope I would meet up with Christina. I also hope that I get the opportunity to wear these same clothes. Ones that Jesus has clothed me in. I want to be an angel in street clothes.