Buried Treasures Ministry was born in my heart in
January 1999 when I saw a news report about ladies of the street,
prostitutes and drug addicts, right here in my own home town that just
kept going in and out of jail like it had a revolving door. As girls were
interviewed, each one said that she had no other place to go except the
street when she got out of jail. As I watched the report, I didn’t see
criminals, I saw sad, desperate, lonely women. I thought, “They must not
know who they are. They think they are trash. Someone needs to go tell
them that they are treasures.” I found myself saying, “God, please send
someone to tell them who they are, someone to tell them that they are
precious in Your sight.” Even as I was crying out to God, I felt Him
gently nudging me to be the one to go. Isn’t that the way God usually
works in our lives, sending us to minister to those for whom our hearts
are very tender.
One Sunday night in church, we were urged to share what God
was doing in our lives. I stepped up to the microphone and asked for
prayer for ladies in jail. I asked the church family to pray that I would
be faithful if God really wanted me to be the one to go there and minister
to prostitutes and drug addicts.
Perhaps just to see if God was really opening the door, I
called the jail to see if I would be allowed to conduct a weekly Bible
class for prostitutes. I was sharply rebuked and told, “Oh no, that would
be discrimination. If you come to jail to hold a Bible class, all the
ladies in jail must have the opportunity to sign up for the class.” I
could only say, “Thank you, Lord.”
The first time I went to jail I went alone. I had prayed that
God would bring someone to go with me, but no one came forward, so I knew
He would supply all I needed as I entered the jailhouse. The sound of
steel doors scared me but once inside, I found serenity.
Twenty
ladies were allowed to come into an activity room. I had arranged the
chairs in a circle so I could face each one. As I looked into each
inmate’s eyes, I thought, “These ladies don’t look like criminals. They
are mothers, daughters, and sisters, just like me. I told them that God
had sent me to tell them that He loves them and that they are precious in
His sight. Confessing that I didn’t know exactly what God wanted me to
say to them, I knew He wanted me to bless them. I asked, “How long has it
been since someone blessed you?” They looked at each other and at me like
I was crazy. I asked, ‘How long has it been since someone cursed you.
They all nodded and laughed. One girl said, “I was cursed as I came in
this room and I’ll be cursed as I walk out.”
I said, “I’ve come to bless you. Please stand and tell me
your name as I come to your place in the circle.” As I moved around the
room, each lady stood and told me her name. I called each woman by name,
put a piece of chocolate candy (called Treasures) into her hand and said,
“You are a treasure and I thank God for you. God loves you and I love
you, too.” I put my arms around each girl and prayed for her. We were all
crying when the blessings were over. Somehow, I knew I was right at home
with these ladies and I was right where He wanted me to be.
Since that first meeting Buried Treasures has continued to
meet with ladies in jail each week and minister to their families with
special events sponsored by
First
Baptist church. Since my husband and I said ‘yes’
in 1999, hundreds of inmates and their families have been blessed by
hundreds of volunteers from FBCJ and other churches in the community. I
prayed that God would send someone to jail to tell ladies they are not
TRASH, they are TREASURES! He seemed to say to me, “Will you be the
one?” I praise Him that He gave me the grace to say, “Yes.”
That
mission is our life and has lead to the establishment of Buried Treasures
Home, where otherwise homeless women can live for one year as they learn
to live as captives set free by our loving Savior. More than 100 women
have accepted Christ as Savior and have been baptized at FBCJ in the last
five years.
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