Mere Missions

T he G ospel : E vangelize • 135

In one two-block section you will find every kind of sexual perversion and abuse. It is known as “ho stroll.” It is a humanitarian crisis. It has been some time since I used to evangelize in Skid Row, but much hasn’t changed. It is a community where Jesus knows the names of each person who is trapped in the spiritual clutches of the Kingdom of Darkness. His heart weeps for them as He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19.41). He has not forgotten a single one of them and continues to call saints to proclaim the good news of His love in Jesus His beloved Son. Jennifer is one of those saints. Jennifer is a petite (at the most 5'5") Taiwanese woman, rejected by her parents and foster parents. She would visit a small church behind her house every Sunday morning where she first began hearing the story of Jesus. “As I grew older, I believed in God but did not attend church or practice my faith at all.” When old enough, she married a man who rejected the daughter they had. She left him and came to the United States to build a life for her daughter. As Jennifer states, “My focus was on money and material things, and I took many risks to provide these things for her. One of these risks got me into financial trouble, and then incarceration.” It was in jail that God began to do His work in her to prepare her for the task He had. She doubted her qualifications and ability, thinking it would be impossible for her to be a “Christian leader and soul winner so I cried out to God.” Not long after, someone mentioned The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI), and although we ran a program at the jail for men, we did not have TUMI inside the women’s jail. Given our commitment to the least of these, Dr. Bob Lay, our Los Angeles TUMI Satellite Director, personally went down to visit and teach Jennifer (Jennifer graduated from TUMI in 2019 with a Certificate in Christian Leadership Studies ).