Meet Justice

We pulled into the small business complex and quickly found the building that housed Victoria's Friends. Victoria was outside on her phone and flashed us a huge smile as she ushered us inside, not even missing a beat with her phone conversation. The floor in the reception area was covered with wrapping paper, bows, and gifts for the upcoming bridal shower that was to take place that night.

I (Kate) had heard Victoria's story and read a few articles published online. However, meeting this woman who had been through so much yet has managed to transform her past into a future for so many other women was truly amazing. Victoria was a dancer and a stripper. She was everything you were warned about in Sunday school as a child. She was the woman fetching water for Jesus at the well.

Meeting Victoria and hearing her heart for the women she worked with truly changed my perception of strippers and dancers in clubs. Her eyes shone as she talked about the bridal shower for one of her "girls" and smiled excitedly as she described the gift she purchased for the bride to be: a beautiful pure white gown to be worn on her wedding night.

"The white represents the purity and transformation she has been through. I received a gift like this for my wedding from a friend and it meant so much to me," she explained.

White is a powerfully symbolic color for all of Victoria's Friends. The women who are typically part of this group are the exotic dancers, entertainers, and sex workers from the various clubs around the Atlanta area. Many have discovered a way out of this lifestyle of abuse, drugs, and exploitation through Victoria's help and are involved with helping Victoria in her ministry.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how to relate to the women who were coming that night. Their lives were so different from mine and I was afraid I might say something wrong, or worse, have nothing to say at all. As the women began to arrive for the bridal shower, I realized how very wrong and ignorant I was. I met one of the bridesmaids and began to talk about the wedding day and the style of her bridesmaid dress. I had previous knowledge that this girl was a former dancer and a recovering drug addict. Yet, that's not who I was talking to. I was talking to a beautiful woman with a contagious smile bubbling over with excitement about her friend's upcoming wedding.

As I talked further with her, I realized the smile on her face wasn't just a mask for her past pain and addictions, it was a mark of the changes that have taken place in her life; changes that have given her a life. I realized that this is what Victoria's Friends was all about: hope for change.

"Most of these girls have a long history of sexual abuse," Victoria told us. It wasn't as if they wanted to be strippers or night entertainers. Most of them are just trying to make ends meet anyway they can. As I talked with a few of the women that evening, I realized how very similar we actually were. They weren't erotic, dirty, or any other negative stereotype. On the contrary, these women were sensitive, kind, joyful, and strong. They desire a full, happy life just like anyone else and they haven't let their past determine who they are. I discovered that night at Victoria's Friends the beauty of forgiveness and the life changing power (for all parties involved) on unapologetically loving our neighbor, despite how the world defines them.

Technorati Tags: prostitution