love perseveres

November Outreach Update

On Friday night, we visited 10 clubs in Hawthorne and Inglewood, CA and gave gifts to women working there. At one club, a manager welcomed us in and said, “What’s it been? At least four or five years now you have been coming.”

Actually, next month is Treasures’ 6-year anniversary! And from the day we started, I knew that building relationships with the clubs was an endeavor that would take time and consistency. The manager’s acknowledgement of the longevity of this outreach was affirming.

Unfortunately, there are three clubs on this route, all owned by the same person that were less welcoming. We haven’t been able to connect with the owner on a personal level to address any concerns she may have and she has directed her staff not to let us give out gifts. At one of her clubs, the girls found out we were outside and came running to the door, trying to push past security, clamoring for gift bags. Our hearts broke to have to turn away without giving them gifts out of respect for the manager’s wishes. One girl ran out of the club and took one from us saying, “I don’t care what they say, and I’m not going to let them stop me!”

Despite the challenges at those clubs, it was a night of breakthrough in other respects. We were able to hand-deliver gifts at one of the clubs I used to work at for the first time since we started going there! It was incredible to think that I used to walk those floors prowling for customers and Friday night, I walked the same ground for an entirely different purpose!

When we visited another club I used to work for, I found out that one of my old co-workers is still there. At the mention of her name, my eyes welled with tears. She is a woman with whom I always felt a special bond. I could always find comfort in her kind and knowing eyes. And when I left the business, she cheered me on.

It has been 11 years since I last saw her, but when she walked in the room, she recognized me immediately and called me by my real name. It touched me to know that she remembered me after all of this time. For the past 6 years, she has been receiving our little pink gift bags. It felt so good to see her face and to wrap my arms around her. It was worth the wait!

In 1 Corinthians 13, the bible paints a picture of what love looks like saying that “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Hugging my friend in that special moment was the fruit of perseverance. When I think of the women in the clubs that we were not able to reach, my hope is in knowing that God’s love for them perseveres. And because of His great love, so will we.


Love,

Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

The Place of Preparation

The Place of Preparation

But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to (The Promised Land), and his descendants will inherit it. Numbers 14:24

One of the greatest freedom marches of all time is recorded in the Old Testament. It is the story of Exodus—the movement of a people from slavery to freedom.

After leaving Egypt, the land of their slavery, the Israelites entered the desert. The desert was the place between their captivity and the land that God promised them. In the desert, God provided them with manna from heaven. He generously gave them everything they needed to make the journey, yet the Israelites became complacent with the miraculous provision of God and began yearning for Egypt, the very place they so narrowly escaped. “We never see anything but this manna!” they complained. “We remember the fist we ate in Egypt at no cost…”

The fish they remembered, the hopelessness of their imprisonment they forgot.

Moses, the leader of the Israelites, sent spies to scope out the Promised Land. When the majority came back with negative reports, saying that it would be too difficult to enter the land because of the giants that inhabited that place, a man named Caleb had a different account. “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it”, he proclaimed.

Because Caleb had a different spirit and followed God wholeheartedly, the bible says that he and his descendants would inherit the Promised Land.

This story paints a beautiful parallel for our own lives. Often, after escaping some of the most entrapping circumstances, we find ourselves wandering in the desert—that dry, desolate place, standing between our slavery and God’s promises for us. It is in the desert that we experience the hand of God sustaining us in ways we never could have fathomed. Still, like the Israelites, we are faced with the temptation to grumble and complain. Often, we find ourselves wanting to turn back to what is most familiar to us, despite how entrapping. Old habits, old ways, our old lives. In the midst of this desert experience, God is looking for a people that will fix their eyes on Him and determine to lay hold of His promises like Caleb did.

The desert is a place of preparation. During the trials and wandering, our character is uncovered and our hearts lay bare before God. There, he is able to do His most masterful refining, using the dry sands to scratch through the surfaces of our being and uncover the beauty that is hidden there.

The journey can be difficult and there are giants to be faced, but God will sustain us. With grateful hearts, we will enjoy His miraculous provision. If we are wise, we will remember to relish in our freedom. And as we follow Him wholeheartedly, He will give us the strength to face what lies ahead so that we can and will lay hold of all that He has promised us.

Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

Love Painted

Treasures Outreach Update October 2008

Friday night was the first outreach I have attended since having my precious daughter in July. Running a ministry and raising a beautiful baby girl is teaching me a lot about surrender. Let’s be honest, my tendency towards being Type A can get me bogged down in details and day planners until my head spins. But I am learning that after a reasonable amount of prayer and planning, the best that I can do is show up and trust that God will move. And that is exactly what He has been doing. Funny enough, as I am releasing more and more to Him, it seems that MORE, not less, is being accomplished. John the Baptist was right when he said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

When I showed up for the outreach, volunteers arrived in such record numbers that we were able to split up our Hollywood route between two groups! Thanks to the welcoming managers and door guys, women in every single club we visited received a gift bag.

We were also joined by new friends from Connecticut and Oregon who came along to get some hands on training in order to take the Treasures vision home with them.

At one club, we handed out a gift to a woman who was running out the door in tears telling management she needed a minute to herself. We hope and pray that in that time she spent alone, she opened the gift and took the message to heart. She is so deeply loved.

Later that night, we had the honor of accompanying a young woman on her first trip back to the club she used to work at. Her old co-workers greeted her with welcoming arms. A talented artist, she painted a stunning portrait of a mighty angel for the girls to put up in the dressing room.

A bouncer studied her work with heartfelt appreciation. “What’s it called?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you name it?” she replied.

He stood back and examined it intently. “Gabriel. It should be called ‘Gabriel’” he nodded with certainty.

She painted her love for the women in that club with each stroke of her brush. And from what I could tell, the message was well received.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love,
Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com
Treasures Myspace

Be Still

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional
“Be Still”

And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place… Luke 9:10

Last week my Internet crashed just as I was getting ready to send out a project I have been working on for no less than 6 YEARS. I clicked send on the email, relieved that I had made the deadline, and kaput! It was down.

I called the Internet Company where I yelled at a glitchy voice response system, was transferred 7 times, and was placed on hold for a total of 2 HOURS. I finally reached the right person in the right department who told me a technician would be at my house in a week.

“How do you expect me to go without Internet? I don’t have the luxury of taking a week off to wait for your technician!” I lamented into my Bluetooth receiver while simultaneously sorting through the day’s mail.

The call was mysteriously disconnected.

My head throbbed and I felt the muscles in my chest tighten. It was enough to make me want to scream at the top of my lungs.

My husband tiptoed over to me like a soldier in a field of mines. “Babe…um. Well…you know…uh…he Bible.” He gently suggested.

He was right. I hadn’t been making enough time for that. So I went into my room and threw myself on the bed. “Okay God. You have my attention. What do you want me to read? What do you want to say to me? I’m listening.” I rattled on frantically.

Silence.

“I can’t hear you. God seriously. Who do you want me to pray for? Is there something you want me to do? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”

“Be still” I felt Him whisper to my heart. “Be still and know that I am God.”

All He wanted was my stillness.

I have been so wired up and plugged in, multi-tasking and moving at fiber optic speeds, that I had forgotten the art of stillness. Yet it is in this practiced quiet that we will find the refreshing that we need. Even Jesus went aside privately to a desert place. And it’s not like he didn’t have anything else to do. There were people to be healed and fed; a world that needed saving, still he withdrew to places without hurry and distraction.

If Jesus Himself, needed quiet and stillness, then how can I expect to go without these things?

So I am practicing being still and I am reminded of all that He is.

He is Comforter, Redeemer, our Ever-Present Help in times of Trouble. He understands the unintelligible cries of our hearts. He is Father and Friend, Lover and King. He captures our tears in His bottle and refreshes our weary souls. His burden is easy. His plans are good. His grace is sufficient. His hand is gentle and loving.

He is God.

Be still and know Him.



Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

Outreach Update January 2008

Friday night's outreach was a very special occasion for a couple of Treasures volunteers who, for the first time, bravely ventured out to the very clubs where they used to work. My heart swelled with joy as I watched them conquer fears and venture back to places that represent their past—this time, with a newfound sense of purpose and future.

A special guest, Vicky Taylor from Nashville, TN, also joined us. Vicky was sent on behalf of her church, (http://www.emmauschurch.tv/) for some hands-on training and will be starting an outreach in her hometown! We are so exited to see the vision to extend a hand to God's precious daughters spread throughout the nation.

For all the successes and the couple hundred girls that received gift bags, the night was not without some bumps in the road. When we arrived at one club that is normally very receptive to us, we were told that we would not be able to leave gift bags for the girls as the owner was there. We asked if we could speak with her and were told that it wasn't possible.

We were tipped off that she owns two other clubs that were on our route that night. We left our gift bags at the second club without a glitch. We arrived at the third club and, just as volunteers were being warmly greeted by the bouncer who remembered us from previous outreaches, the owner called and told him that she didn't want us leaving gifts at any of her clubs. When one of the dancers saw that we were being turned away from the club, she began to push through the security exclaiming, "Hey wait! Those are my favorite white girls right there!" J

When security would not let her exit, she ran outside through another door shouting, "You don't own me! I'm outside the club now and I'm gonna get my gift!"

We were both impressed and entertained by this young woman's tenacity. She wanted her gift bag and not even a 250-pound security guard was going to stop her. But beyond entertained, we were moved. The way she was willing to fight for her gift reminds us of all the girls out there who want and need to hear the simple message that they are loved and valuable.

Please pray for the owner of these clubs. Pray that her heart softens and that she will see the sincerity in our intentions. We hope that next time she will welcome us into all three of her clubs.
http://www.iamatreasure.com/
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit.com