I SEE HER: The 27-year-old mom of 3 struggling to make ends meet in the only job she has ever known. She is quiet and standoffish, but her eyes are always watchful and her plate of the “church ladies” home-cooked meal is always full.
I SEE HER: The young woman from an abusive, drug-infested home who aspires to pursue a medical career and support her young son. She is a dreamer, an artist, and a resilient fighter with fierce love and loyalty to the most important person in her life: her brother.
I SEE HER: The incredible performer who has placed her heart and soul into a career designed to degrade and objectify her. Through her tough and seemingly impenetrable exterior, I’ve seen glimpses of an intelligent and driven individual in need of extreme kindness in contrast to the world that has hardened her.
I see them, and they look a lot like me. The more I get to know and love these women, the more I realize how similar we are in our need of redemption from our brokenness and our hope for new beginnings is only made possible through the radical love of God.
Before I saw them, He saw them.
Before I knew them, He knew them.
Before I loved them, He loved them.
My experience on Scarlet Hope’s outreach team has opened my eyes to a dark part of the Louisville community I had previously only heard about in rumors or fictional movie portrayals. I’ve felt the rumblings of renewal as the light of the gospel pervades the shadow that these women live within. It has drastically shifted my perspective on missions from a lofty calling to a simple conversation over a home-cooked meal. Through Scarlet Hope, Jesus has provided hope, redemption, and new life to the adult entertainment industry locally and nationally—both to the women we serve and to me.
Submitted by Susan Bramer, Outreach Volunteer
