Cherished

I have recently joined a ministry called “Cherished”. Cherished is a faith-based support group for women working in the local sex industry.

We seek to offer hope, healing, encouragement and the message that you are LOVED, VALUED and PURPOSED.

Our aim is to reach, restore and equip people in the sex industry with the purpose of getting to know them and their stories, in the hopes that they will come to know that they are valued, purposed and loved. We hope to provide friendship, support and access to avenues that they can utilise in pursuit of a healthy, fulfilling life.

We are made up of people from all walks of life and cultures.

This has been something that God laid on my heart a few years ago already. In December last year while having supper with friends, they started sharing about “Cherished” and that they are busy with training and are going to be starting up in Middelburg. I was so excited and asked if I could also join the training.

On Saturday 6th March, I went on my first outreach with the team that ministers in Strip-Clubs and Brothels in the East Rand. It was incredible to do this ministry with ladies who are on fire for Jesus. Every place we went into we experienced God’s favour and protection. The ladies were open to prayer and encouragement. All the ladies we spoke to are moms, which broke my heart; knowing in contrast to them I am a mom who has the privilege of spending so much time with my kids.

Women in the sex industry experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at rates equivalent to veterans of combat war. 89% of women in the sex industry said they wanted to escape, but had no other means for survival.

The women in this industry face a myriad of issues that impact their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

There are many women in the sex industry who would say they made a choice to enter sex work, yet they still find themselves feeling trapped.

Most of the women we serve experience the following victim vulnerability:

  • History of Childhood Sexual Abuse (Between 66-90%)
  • Lack of a healthy support system
  • Economic hardship or lack of education and employable job skills

Place this woman in the context of a culture where there is a huge demand for sex, and

suddenly sex work seems like a solution to her problems. Since the negative effect of sex work increases over time according to a qualitative study done by Bernadette Barton, often it is only after she has been in it a while and wants to leave that she realizes she is trapped.

Due to South Africa’s anti-trafficking laws only being put in place in August 2014, we do not have accurate statistics which show us the extent of the South African sex industry and the demand thereof. Although we can see the demand is high with some new stats that have been released (below).

South Africa is home to about 153,000 sex workers (research done by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) 2015)

Porn (fuels the industry) Stats

  • The word ‘porn’ is the most searched word in South Africa
  • Pornhub has found that SA watches porn longer on average, than the rest of the world. Ten minutes and 35 seconds – one minute and 39 seconds above the global average.
  • Out of their estimated 35 million daily users, 91000 are South African.
  • Hollywood releases 11,000 adult movies per year – more than 20 times the mainstream movie production
  • 40 million Americans regularly visit porn sites
  • 47% percent of families say pornography is a “problem” in their home.
  • 70% of men 18-24 visit porn sites
  • 1 in 3 visitors are women

Trafficking Stats

  • The average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 yrs.
  • Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately US$31 billion a year
  • 70% of females who are trafficked are trafficked into the commercial sex industry
  • There are 1.39 million victims of commercial sexual servitude worldwide

This is a crisis in our nation and the only thing that can truly set these ladies, pimps and Johns (Clients) free is Jesus.

Please pray for our Cherished team, that we can sustainably reach out to these ladies and that Jesus will guide every one of our plans and steps.

By Nicole Masson

Plumbline – Personality Restoration Course

Nicole had the privilege of being an intercessor on the recent Plumbline, hosted by the Witbank House of Prayer, where 12 people were restored; it was an incredible week of being God’s hand and feet and seeing people’s whole countenance change as Jesus set them free.

If you are interested in going on a Plumbline, we have another one this year from 5-11 September. You go away for a whole week to do the course. Spaces are limited, so booking early is essential. The cost is R2800 per person.

Healing Rooms Training

On the weekend of the 26th of February, Carol Campbell, the Head of Healing Rooms Africa, flew in from Cape Town and spent the weekend with us. It was amazing to see a lady of 73 years old so on fire for Jesus and so full of joy. It was a blessing to hear her testimonies of healing and receive training from her.

Joshua Year Students

We have 5 Joshua Year students; please keep them in your prayers, as this is an intense year spiritually, emotionally and physically. Here are their names:

  • Sheney
  • Joshua
  • Cobus
  • Marno
  • Keaorata

IHOPU Students

We currently have 3 IHOP-U (International House of Prayer University) Students busy with their 3rd year of ministry training school. Please pray for them as the workload has greatly increased in the 3rd year:

  • Reece
  • Mariske
  • Andre

Half-Night Prayer

On Friday the 4th of March we had our quarterly half night prayer from 18:00-00:00; for 6 hours there was non-stop worship & intercession as we pressed in for issues such as Revival in our Nation, Upcoming Outreaches, the Youth of South Africa, just to name a few. It was good to have such a full prayer-room as a local Youth Group joined us.

Please Prayer for us

  • Jean-Michel will be doing the teaching at our Fellowship on the 13th of March; please pray for him for divine wisdom & revelations, and to be able to impart it to the people.
  • We have leave scheduled from the 21st of March to the 28th March; please pray for us for provision, that we will be able to go away during this time and have some family time. It’s a challenge to rest at home as even though we are going to be on leave, music lessons still happen at our house everyday in the afternoons and evenings.
  • Jean-Michel completed his 3rd full Marathon on the 5th of March in Secunda in a new personal best time; as he continues to train for the Comrades Marathon in August, he has numerous Marathon’s lined up including the Uniwisp 5 in 1 in Nelspruit at the end of this month…He is so enjoying this journey of transformation, health and wellness. Pray for him for wisdom when it comes to his training & nutrition.
  • Nicole is selling her camera equipment to fund getting a laptop, as her desktop is outdated and she’s not getting everything done that she needs to as we are not at home very often but at the House of Prayer. If you or someone you know are interested in the equipment, please whatsapp us and we’ll forward you the details of what we’re selling. Please pray for definite buyers.
  • We are currently in a season of fasting, please pray that our inner man will be strengthened during this time.

Family Highlights

  • In March we celebrate
    • 12 Year of Marriage on the 6th March
    • Jean-Claude turns 7 years old on the 10th of March
    • Trinity turns 11 years old on the 30th March

Thank you very much to every financial partner, what we are doing would not be sustainable without your partnership.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our monthly newsletter, we really appreciate your support.

If you are not a financial partner, but would like to financially partner with us, here are the details:

Account Name: House of Prayer; Bank Name: FNB (First National Bank); Account Number: 62718897848; Branch Code: 230146; Account Type: Cheque Account; Reference: HVG-JN (this reference ensures that money is paid to Jean-Michel and Nicole)

If you would like more information about financially partnering with us, please send us a WhatsApp so we can have a coffee to discuss further. Partnership of this nature is such a blessing to us and goes a long way in covering our monthly expenses as we run full time with the ministry mission God has called us into.

If there is anything in this newsletter that you have questions about or would like more information about, please contact either of us via WhatsApp.