The lady who was Jesus

“TELL the lady who made these” proclaimed one woman as she munched homemade tiffin while sitting in the minibus. “She’s Jesus she is”.

I am not sure whether this appreciative consumer we met on a night-time outreach was referring to the skill of the Jericho Road Project’s volunteer baker or the love that went into making the goods she was enjoying. Maybe it was both. She had a sense of encountering Jesus in this simple treat.

In 2020 Jericho Road Project’s plans to celebrate our 20th anniversary were limited by pandemic restrictions. So we celebrated by telling stories of our 20 years. Staff and volunteers past and present contributed.

Lucy, a former project leader, recalled the above story and said: “It was the small things that could offer glimmers of hope.”

Another woman told us: “Thank U (sic) all so much, I don’t know what I would do without all of you, you’ve helped me so much and because you’ve all helped me with food, kind words, it stopped me from going back on the street.”

We have now been around for 22 years. And plan to be around while ever women and girls experience sexual coercion, exploitation, homelessness and modern-day slavery. Over the years we have encountered more than 500 women.

We have had the privilege of learning from them and supporting them as they make life-changing decisions to not go back out street working, with staff being on the phone for hours finding accommodation for a woman leaving prison looking for a fresh start. And literally walking in a park alongside a woman who has chosen life again today.

We started a prison-visiting team in response to women saying: “If you really want to help, you need to visit us in prison too.”

It evokes thoughts of Jesus’ parable in Matthew: “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was homeless and you gave me a room. I was shivering and you gave me clothes. I was sick and you stopped to visit. I was in prison and you came to me... whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.”

If we’re looking to encounter God, we don’t have to look far. Jesus invites us to see His presence in those who are often overlooked or ignored.

At Jericho Road we encounter Jesus every day in Kirsty, Amy, Sarah and others.

“Tell the lady… she’s Jesus she is.”