Will you stop?

Will You Stop?

I am believing for a day when strip club outreach will be a normal part of the way the local church loves and reaches her community. I imagine there was a time when soup kitchens and homeless ministry was not commonplace—when people walked by a man laying on the street without stopping, much like the religious leaders in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Today, I wonder how many people walk by strip clubs, porn conventions, and women walking the streets without stopping and asking themselves, “What is really going on here? And what can I do about it?”

I wonder how many turn away in judgment, assuming that “those kinds of women” must like what they are doing and that they are all there by choice.

This weekend, the Treasures team had the honor of training over 30 women, from all over the nation, to do Strip Club Outreach. These are the sorts of leaders that have made a decision to STOP. They have asked the question: “How can I be a part of the solution?”

During the training, they learned that 87% of women in the industry would leave if they could*, and that there is a lot more going on behind the façade of glamour. After discussing everything from vision and logistics, to after-care and healing, we put it all into action during an outreach to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles.

Each time I handed a little pink gift bag to a woman, I had generations in mind. As we link arms and reach women, the capacity to impact generations grows exponentially. As women in the sex industry make decisions to walk in healing and freedom, the lives of their children and grandchildren will be impacted.

And I believe that as people like you and I, make a decision to stop along the way, whether it be through prayer, outreach, giving or any other way, we become a part of these stories of freedom. Generations are affected.

Love, Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com/donations

PS. Tell your friends! This week you can catch me on the radio…

March 24th, 6pm (PT)
The Frank Pastore Show
Station call letters: KKLA
http://www.frankpastore.com

March 26th, 10am (PT)
Midday Connection
Host: Melinda Schmidt
MOODY RADIO
http://www.middayconnection.org

*Based on research conducted by Dr. Melissa Farley

National Training, 700 Club, MI and more!

We've got some exciting things happening at Treasures and we don't want you to miss out!

Saturday, March 20th, we will be hosting a Strip Club Outreach training for leaders throughout the nation (and even Australia) interested in started outreaches in their communities. They will be joining the ranks of the 16 other outreaches we have trained using the Treasures model of outreach. I am excited to partner with them and potential impact is unfathomable!

If you are in the Los Angeles area and are considering volunteering on the Treasures team, this training is open to you too! Please email Brey at info@iamatreasure.com for details and to register. Please do so quickly as space is limited.

Attention Michigan peeps: I will be speaking at Gateway Assembly this weekend and would love to see you there. Check out our upcoming events to see when I might be speaking in your area. AZ and GA are next month. www.iamatreasure.com/events

And finally, in case you missed out on the 700 Club Episode I taped last week, here it is.

Harmony Dust: Scars and Stilettos

Hey Folks, In case you missed it, here is the episode of the 700 Club I taped yesterday:)

Harmony Dust: Scars and Stilettos

Let's Mobilize!

Let’s Mobilize!



If you have been following the work of Treasures, you have no doubt heard the stats…



Research indicates that women working in the sex industry are faced with higher rates drug addictions, sexually transmitted diseases, violent assaults, and mental health problems such as Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than the general population.



Overwhelming research indicates that large proportions of women in the sex industry have been sexually and physically abused as children. Data gathered from 2 studies suggest that 62% of the women in the samples came from a background of physical abuse. Other studies estimate that anywhere from 66% to 90% of women in the sex industry were molested as children.



Risk factors for vulnerability to sex work include economic disadvantages, lack of education and training and broken homes where either one of both of the parents are absent. The average age of entrance into prostitution is 13!



Behind each of those statistics are real-life women, with real-life stories.



For the average person, the stories and stats can be overwhelming…paralyzing even.



We at Treasures want to empower and mobilize you to make a difference!



No matter who you are, you can do SOMETHING to partner with us as we provide spiritual inspiration, mentoring, and resources to women in the sex industry (including victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and trafficking)



Here are 10 Simple Things you can do:



1. SHARE

Memorize the stats & Read the Stories on the Treasures site and share them with friends.

2. PRAY

Treasures prayer partner application available online

3. JOIN the Treasures Facebook Cause
4. INVEST

Become a monthly financial partner. $10 a month funds 5 gift bags for outreaches, $25 funds 3 care packages including bibles, books and resources to encourage the women who contact us.

5. ORGANIZE A FUNDRAISER or Jewelry Making Party
6. VOLUNTEER

Our next training is March 20th. Info

7. SHOP TREASURES

Pick up a copy of our devotional, Treasures Reflections, or Harmony’s memoir, Scars and Stilettos. Proceeds support the ministry.

8. COLLECT

Gather brand-new cosmetics & jewelry from your friends and donate them to the Treasures gift bags used for outreach.

9. REACH

Get trained to do outreach in your area. info@iamatreasure.com

10. GET CREATIVE

Write a song, paint a painting, or write a blog where you talk about the women we are reaching and how their stories have impacted you.


Thank you for taking the time to make a difference!



PS. If you missed the Moody Radio show today, you can download the podcast at: http://www.facebook.com/l/31073;www.moodyradio.org/brd_podcast.aspx?Program=MiddayConnection

Harmony Dust

Long Overdue...

We have had so much going on at Treasures lately, this update is long overdue!

From our latest outreach last Friday during which we visited 8 strip clubs in Anaheim and gave gifts to a couple of hundred women...encouraging them that they are loved, valued and purposed...

To The Stiletto Project Exhibit and Release Party (check out the photo albums!)

Some days I stand back and wonder how on earth this team is pulling it off! God is having His way & The Stiletto Project was a prime example of that.

If someone walked into that gallery at 7:15, they would have never known about all of the challenges we had to face in preparing for the night. From unexpected storms causing a flood in part of the gallery to an unexpected shift in our entire set up....to having the whole team locked out on the street in the cold until 30 minutes before doors! The team got in there and set the ENTIRE GALLERY UP IN 30 minutes like a bunch of CHAMPS!

And by 7:30, we were at capacity with a line around the corner! The rain had stopped, and people began to flood the gallery to see the photos and art work done by some of the bravest women I know.

I watched people walk around that room with tears in their eyes as they processed the beauty, splendor and redemptive power of God they saw displayed!

At one point, a girl walked in off of the street. As it turns out, she works as a stripper and "just happened" to be walking by because her private gig that night got canceled. She went on to tell me that she wants to leave the business but doesn't know how. I told her that I am a Christian and believe that God has a plan for each person's life and that we are all inherently valuable. I told her that our heart was to see women live in a way that reflected that. She told me she is a Christian too but feels like she can't go to church on a Sunday because she feels so ashamed of what she does on Saturday night. I invited her to Oasis and told her it is a safe place for her. We were also able to give her my book and some other resources. And even though I know that we impacted hundreds of people that night, even if it was all for her, it was worth it!

I seriously feel like we took a sledge hammer to concrete and un-earthed new soil. We planted seed in places it had not yet been planted and I truly believe that God is doing a new thing in this ministry and in our city! Thank you so much for being a part of it! I am honored to serve alongside of you! FOR REAL!

Love, Harmony

PS. We are having a SALE in the Treasures webstore! Check out our new Stiletto Project T-Shirt! www.iamatreasure.com/store

In the face of rejection...

What do you do when you find yourself staring in the face of rejection?
What happens when it seems like the dream in your heart has no way of coming to fruition?

Check out this interview for the Examiner where I talk about how I dealt with rejection in the early stages of writing Scars and Stilettos.

http://www.examiner.com/x-35833-Womens-Ministry-Examiner~y2010m2d4-Coming-out-of-the-sex-industryinterview-with-Harmony-Dust-author-of-Scars--Stilettos?cid=email-this-article

This has been a VERY long journey and I am so excited to finally be celebrating the release of this book! Hope you can make it to The Stiletto Project on Saturday to celebrate with me!

Love, Harmony

PS. You can read the first pages at www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

Are You a Tweeter?

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional

Are You a Tweeter?
by Ashley Dodson

Are you a tweeter? Me too… In fact, I have tweeted in the middle of a Pilates class, as I begged God for mercy from the beautiful-Russian-ex-Ballerina instructor holding us hostage. I have tweeted during showers, weddings, dates, awesome conversations, accidentally from my purse, and yes, I have even tweeted in church (but I am sure it was because Holly or Philip had a brilliant point that required an insta-tweet).

You see, I love words. More specifically, I love to learn who people are, what and who they love, and what matters to them. What we say (and don’t say) determines what we do, so I try to listen carefully. Whether it’s Bentleys in Beverly Hills or fighting human trafficking, I value a deeper insight into, and understanding of, humanity. Because, as John Maxwell always says, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Go ahead and tweet that. I’ll wait.

Aren’t you so glad that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it? Whatever people in our world care about influences our media, the arts, business, industry, ministry, economies and ultimately establishes our global condition. If we are to ever minister effectively to others, it will require that we operate less in judgment, and more in love. I am not suggesting tolerance; we are supposed to be in this world, but not of it. I am suggesting an aggressive, radical love that stands strong in what it believes, but has an enduring presence and a faithful heart that makes way for each individual journey.

I like that Jesus hung out with tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, rough neck rowdy entrepreneurs AKA Disciples, traitors and thieves. I like that when he saw Zacheus up in that tree he didn’t scream, “You thief! You oppressor! How can you lay your head down and sleep at night!” Nope, he said, “Dinner at your place. Tonight.” I like when the woman at the well gave him a tough time about even wanting to talk to her that he didn’t say, “Listen woman, I am the Messiah, I know everything about the hot mess you’re in and if you know what’s good for you, you will do what I say. And can’t you see I’ve been walking a while? Get me some water!” Nope, he listened gently, spoke lovingly and revealed to her His character as He addressed the need in her heart through perspective correction. He offered her another way… His way…the Way. I hardly call what He did tolerance – I call it understanding where she was, where she had the potential to go, and speaking the truth in love.

How can I ever begin to minister to anyone without an understanding of the context from which they view life and make decisions? Jesus knew how to love because He took the time to listen to His Father, who revealed to Him understanding and insight from heaven. Then He took the time to listen to the individual as He encouraged them to successfully navigate the transitional journey of becoming more like Him.

I see myself in the rebels and outlaws. In the thieves and robbers, the thugs and traitors, the rough around the edges disciples, the forbidden women. In the lost, the broken, the forsaken. I am so thankful that He offers us new life, a fresh start, a beautiful invitation to join Him on the wildest History story ever unfolding. He is a God of freedom, second chances, new and seemingly small beginnings.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, a well-known American author said, “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” This made me consider what it’s like to walk with Jesus. My journey with Him has called for tenacious persistence; however, it has also called for endless surrender. I am learning to master maintaining the constant ability to keep on keepin’ on, matched with the humility to begin again in various areas, at the same time. Life in general requires us to increase in capacity to handle thinking, believing, doing and loving on several different planes. This is what the Proverbs 31 woman, our Mother and Hero, our Blueprint from the Bible, was so great at. She had a super-natural ebb and flow, which kept her ready for anything in every season of her life. She also had capacity that kept her prepared not just for her life, but also her husband’s, her children’s and even in her local and global world, encompassing politics, economics, social awareness and spirituality. She knew how to live, and I imagine she knew how to let go, to roll her sleeves up and start again, whenever life called for it.

Sometimes the answer is not to persist but to let go, to give up a method, process, system, a way of thinking and start over again. Letting go is not always failure; oftentimes, it yields a fresh way to live. The way I used to live was full of persistence, but there was no method to my madness. Giving up my ways to adopt all that Jesus Christ is and all that I am in Him was not only an incredibly gracious chance to start over, but the key to living fully. After all, He came not just that we would have life, but life more abundant. This might just mean hearing, Daughter, you can keep living that way or you can live a better way. Persist in becoming more like Christ and endure faithfully when that means letting go and starting again. When we seek first His kingdom, when our whole life is focused on being transformed more into the image of Christ, everything else in our hearts, lives, and dreams must be held lightly. Nothing is surety but surety in God.

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Ashley Dodson
Harmony Dust

PS. Don’t miss The Stiletto Project: Exhibit & Memoir Release Party on Feb 6th! www.iamatreasure.com