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Jean Marie Davis: Genesis 50:20, “What was meant for evil, God turned for good to save many lives.” I’m an overcomer by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony because I went through something so that the next woman doesn’t have to.
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John Fuller: That’s Jean Marie Davis referring to her remarkable and at times horrific journey from human trafficking to a new life in Jesus Christ. I’m John Fuller and this is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. We shared the first part of Jean’s story last time, and we’re looking forward to part two today. Of course, this content isn’t going to be suitable for younger listeners, so be aware of that, and we’d recommend you direct their attention elsewhere.
Jim Daly: John, Jean’s story is unbelievable in so many respects. Uh, for more than 20 years, she was trapped in the nightmare world of sex trafficking, where she endured such cruelty and abuse that it’s amazing she’s still alive today.
John: Mm-hmm.
Jim: Uh, it brings tears to my eyes to think about Jean as a little girl, simply looking for love and affection like we all want in this life. But the men she encountered, including her own father, treated her like a product to be used for their own perverse and carnal indulgence and then tossed aside as if she was garbage. That’s the tragic legacy of the multi-billion dollar human trafficking industry, which is robbing the freedom of nearly 25 million people here in the U.S. and around the world. But as we heard last time, Jean was able to escape from that endless cycle of violence, drugs, and sex on demand. She made her way to a pregnancy resource center where a woman named Phyllis offered her help. Uh, this is such a powerful story of redemption. If you missed the program last time, contact us about getting an audio copy of that. Or you can review the previous episode on YouTube. Or better yet, get our broadcast app, uh, so you can access great content like this anytime you want.
John: And you’ll find details about Jean Marie Davis and, uh, her entire story as well, uh, at our website, which is focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Now, we mentioned last time that we recorded this conversation with Jean, uh, in front of a small group of Focus friends in Houston, Texas. And that’s where we’ll pick up the story today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Jean: Through all that, I ended up at the doors of the pregnancy center, not realizing that that were the doors. And Teresa said, you know, “Phyllis, can you help this girl?” And I’ll never forget, I walked into that center. (laughs) Man, and Phyllis looked at me and I was about five months pregnant and I sat down and she said, “How can I help you?”
Jim: And that was the first ray of hope.
Jean: That was, that was the first ray. How can I help you? But it wasn’t just, it’s not just the words, how can I help you? There was something in her eyes that I wanted. When I looked at her, I knew she knew where I came from. And I just stared at her, and I said, “I want what you have. I don’t know what it is, but I want what you have.”
Jim: How did she respond?
Jean: She said, uh, well, she, we went through the process of, because I was abortion minded and I was thinking of getting rid of my child. And she allowed me to hear the heartbeat. And when she convinced me to keep my son, I said, “Now what?” And the next word she said to me was, “I can’t help you, but I know a man named Jesus who can.”
Jim: (laughs) That’s awesome.
Jean: And I looked at her and I said, “I can’t trust a man. I don’t trust any man. But this man named Jesus, I’ll give him a try.”
Jim: You mentioned being pregnant and Phyllis helping you make a better choice.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: Having your child, but there was another child years ago.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: And I know you don’t talk about him much, but your mom and dad played a role in that. What happened?
Jean: Yep. Uh, so, uh, my son, so I had got raped, uh, and I didn’t make it home in time. Uh, and my father looked at me and said, “You need to leave.” And I said, “Okay, I’ll take my son with me.” And he said, “No, you take him, I’m going to call the cops.” And he says, “You go.” And at the age of two, I don’t really talk about my son. I’m sorry.
Jim: No, no. I mean, that’s the heart of it and, and the pain.
Jean: Um, I sat, um, and I’ll never forget my son was two years old and I was in the, in the bathroom and I sat on the toilet, and I looked at my son and I said, “I’ll be back, but mommy has to go.” And I, I left my son and that’s when I got deep into crystal meth because I didn’t have any hope anymore because that was my baby. Um, and so then my, uh, parents, uh, took full custody of my son. And then at the age of four, um, my dad looked at me and he says, “You’re dead to us. I’ve let your son know that you’re dead. And we want nothing to do with you. And you could call your son when he’s 18, but you can’t come around and you will not know where we’re at.” And I haven’t spoken or seen my son since he was four years old. And so, um, when I looked at Phyllis and I, when I was telling her that I was abortion minded, I had said to her, I said, “If it’s a girl, you can’t convince me to keep her because I don’t want my daughter to go through the same stuff.” I said, “But if it’s a boy,” I said, “I’ll keep him.” I said, “Maybe I’ll have hope and maybe it’ll be a second chance for me to be a mom and will replace my son.” And so, um, I remember I was in the program, and I was going to name my son all of the pimp’s names. And it was like eight men’s names and the, uh, pastor said to me, “No, um, you’re not gonna name him that. God’s gonna name him Jonah.” I said okay. So then we look up and we saw that they said, “Well, what about Nathaniel?” So Jonah Nathaniel was what I named my son. And then I came to realize that his name means new beginnings with God.
Jim: Jean, again, with all the loss that you’re experiencing, I mean, I just got to keep coming back to this because I, I don’t feel like I’ve got it yet, where you could experience beatings, somebody trying to kill you and shoot you, raping you, pimping you. It’s more than most of us are ever going to experience in our lives, even a little bit of that, if any. I, I am just like, “Girl, where in the world did you find any hope?” I mean, people that would have gone through your life, other people, it’s a dead end for them.
Jean: Mm-hmm.
Jim: They may have killed themselves.
Jean: Mm-hmm.
Jim: They did escape into a lifetime of drugs. They did end up in a dead end.
Jean: Mm-hmm.
Jim: Why not you?
Jean: Why not me? Um, wow. I think that’s the first time somebody asked me that question. Um, why not me because (laughs) I’ve been searching and looking and looking. And then the woman at the well, right, where she goes, “I know a man who’s told me everything about me.” That’s when I said, “That’s me.” He, he told me everything about who I am, where I came from, even to the depths of my pain and why. People think that we d- people do drugs just because doing drugs… No, no, no, no. I did drugs because I literally didn’t want to feel the pain of the loss of my older son. I didn’t want to feel the pain of the fact that I had slept over thousands of men unprotectedly. Because of me being a heavyset woman, I needed to make the same amount of money as someone that was a Barbie in California, or whatever you want to call them.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Jean: And I had to match their money. So I needed to do things that basically put me in the jeopardy of receiving AIDS and HIV and stuff. And by the grace of God, I don’t have anything, you know? Um-
Jim: That’s amazing.
Jean: Right. I, I mean, I was hooked on the crystal meth, and I’m supposed to have no teeth. And those are all, these are all my real teeth and stuff, because for some reason there was… I, I can literally look back and see the hand of God just cover me and protecting me. There was drug dealers that would say, “After you do crystal meth go wash your mouth out and do this to your mouth and and all this so you could get all the junk out of it.” Like, so I would go get high and then go wash my mouth. And it was like, and I look back and I have dentist tell me your teeth are the best teeth I’ve ever seen…
Jim: (laughs)
Jean: … after a person who’s done drugs.
Jim: Wow.
Jean: Like, and I’m supposed to have scars on my face because most people pick their faces and I don’t have that. So I sit there, and I look at how God has covered me with the hope, that little spark that Phyllis showed me. And I’ve ran with it since. And I, and I tell women that are being prostituted now, I tell them all the time, I said, “What’s the worst case scenario? You try this man named Jesus out and maybe your life will change, or it’ll stay the same. What’s the worst, what’s harm to it?”
Jim: That’s a great challenge. What a good way to put it.
Audience: (laughs)
Jim: Try this Jesus out.
Jean: (laughs)
Jim: Let me ask you. Uh, Phyllis, uh, was, I believe, the director at the time of a pregnancy resource center, was she?
Jean: No, she was a client service manager.
Jim: So she worked at a pregnancy-
Jean: Yes.
Jim: … resource center?
Jean: Yes.
Jim: And in that context, that’s how you got connected to the work of pregnancy resource centers.
Jean: Kind of.
Jim: I mean, you became familiar with them.
Jean: Y- well, yes. So I just knew of that one but I did not know… I knew of the center that I go, I went to but I didn’t know if there was more. I just knew of that one.
Jim: Okay.
Jean: And then I-
Jim: And so how did that grow? Because now what do you do?
Jean: (laughs) I’m the director of a pregnancy center. (laughs)
Jim: (laughs)
Audience: (laughs)
Jim: Somewhere from… Yeah, give it up. Yeah. So somewhere from that day of looking in Phyllis’s eyes at that pregnancy resource center to today.
Jean: Right.
Jim: You, you, you become better informed about what they do.
Jean: Right.
Jim: When would, how much time did that take, and how did you get involved?
Jean: So Phyllis, uh, because I looked at her and I said, “Now what?” And I think this is where the narrative comes into play, where we break it. So I looked at Phyllis and I said, “Now what? I’m homeless, I’m pregnant, and you’ve got, uh, convinced me to keep my child. Now what?” And so she got me into a program. But because I said to her, “Now what?” That’s when I challenged her and she started a home called House of Hope New Hampshire.
Jim: From that conversation?
Jean: From that conversation.
Jim: Wow.
Jean: And so, it was funny because I was at the program I was, I, she had brought me to. And it was No- uh, December 6th and she spoke at the gala. And the next day, which was December 7th, I had my son, Jonah. And so the joke is, “Oh, because I speak this…” Phyllis goes, “Oh, because I speak so much that, uh, my anointing was so strong that you had the baby.” (laughs)
Jim: (laughs)
Jean: And, and so from there I went to Bible college and I graduated with my socialist degree in biblical theology. And I was walking to work one day, and the Holy Spirit said, “House of Hope New Hampshire. Cook.” And I was like, “Hey, Phyllis. I think I’m supposed to be working with you.” And so, December 7th of 2018, four years later, she had opened the home the same day my son was born. And so, uh, I went in, I moved in, and I became a living staff member, and so we’re working and stuff, but she knew that I was called, and I told her, uh, told her if we all agreed, I’m an evangelist. So, and she knew that her being a director and me don’t work together because she’s like, “Jean, you’re stepping bounds. I’m the director, you’re not.” I go, “Okay, Phyllis.”
Jim: (laughs)
Audience: (laughs)
Jean: And so-
Jim: “But you know I can run things.”
Jean: Yeah. (laughs)
John: (laughs)
Jean: So I, so she said, “You gotta get, you gotta get out. You gotta spread your wings.” And I said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” I said, what’s this Christian life look like outside of the program? And it’s out of the safety net like, you know? And so I went and worked at the hospital as an HR, uh, as a person and I was tired of it. And I was like, “This isn’t what God’s called me to do.” And I yelled at God. I said, “God,” I said, “you have called me to be, uh, in ministry full time.” I said, “If you don’t move then I’m not going to ask you ever again about this, but you told me.” And then it was a Thursday. (laughs)
Jim: That took a little guts.
Jean: That’s right. (laughs)
Audience: (laughs)
Jean: You should hear the conversations me and God have. (laughs)
Jim: (laughs)
Jean: He always wins. And so I’m driving to work and I’m furious at him and Phyllis sends me, um, a clip called Don’t Quit. And I was like, “Oh, okay, God. And then Friday, I said, “Hey, Phyllis, can I come see you?” And she goes, yep. So I go and see her. And I was telling her about it, and she was like, “Me and Mr. Bill,”
Jim: (laughs)
Jean: “… which is her husband, “we’ve been praying for you.” And she goes, “Wait, wait, wait, I got something for you.” And I said, “Okay.” And she goes, “Come with me.” So she hands me an application and I go, “What’s this?” And she said, “This is to be… You got to fill it out.” This is what she said. She said, “Fill it out now.” She said, “Make a copy and you’re going to be a director.” I was like, “Of what?” (laughs)
Audience: (laughs)
Jim: But I like the sound of that.
Jean: Right. And she was like, “Just fill it out.” So I’m looking at it and I take it, I get it. And I’m looking at it and the next day, that Saturday I wrestled with God because I read it and it said executive director of a pregnancy center. And I said, “Lord, I’m not qualified.” I looked at everything that they asked. I had to call my pastor I said, “What do I do?” I said, “How do I help wha… I don’t… Wha- I’m just Jean, like, what do I do?” And he was like, “What are you doing?” And I said, “I’m filling out an application to be a director of a pregnancy center.” He called Phyllis. He said, “What did you do, Phyllis?” (laughs) And she goes, “She needs to step out in faith.”
John: Isn’t it amazing how God can orchestrate events and situations towards something even greater than we could ever imagine? Today on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, we’re hearing the remarkable story of Jean Marie Davis who suffered for decades as a victim of sex trafficking. But God had a better destiny planned for Jean. And what we love about this story is the pivotal role that pro-life Christians played in giving Jean hope for a better future. Now, you too can have that kind of impact by becoming a pro-life advocate. And one way that you can do that is by joining us for SeeLife 24. It’s an event coming in mid-June, and we’d love to have you join us. Now, it’ll be a great opportunity for you to network with other believers, and to discover practical ways you can help save babies and their mothers from abortion. All the details for this live event and simulcast are at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast or call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. And now, here’s the conclusion of our conversation with Jean Marie Davis on today’s Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Jean: I said, “God’s called me.” I said, “I know God’s called me.” And I remember, um, this nonbeliever at my hospital had a dream. And when she shared the dream, um, the Holy Spirit fell on me and I said, “Okay, what does this mean?” And that Monday morning when I was driving to work, the Lord downloaded the dream to me and then, then he said, “Share it with your co-workers.” And I said, “Wait a minute. Okay.” And so the dream was this, that a woman was standing going through a file cabinet and a man was running past her in a military clothes going out the building. And the woman saw that man and she ran after him. And when she got outside that building, there were dead children that were standing there. And she pushed her way through the, the, those dead children and all of a sudden, she saw a parade coming down, and to her right, the trumpets was blowing. And I don’t know if you all know what trumpets mean. I’m a big trumpet person. I always- I alway- that’s always fascinated me when I became a Christian. Trumpets have three meanings. One, it meant going to war. Two, it meant victory. And then the other one was, um, uh, celebration that they’ve won the war. And so I saw that, and I shared that and it was a, you know, these are non-believers. So they were kind of shocked that I did that. And it’s a political thing and stuff. And then I, I quit. Well… (laughs)
Jim: (laughs)
Jean: (laughs)
Jim: Good way to go out.
Jean: Right. Uh, but what’s really cool, um, is… Uh, and I think Robin was, was there this year at the March for Life. And I told Jeannie Mancini, the president of March for Life, I said, “The dream that the Lord showed me actually came to pass at the March for Life this year.” They had, so the day before the March for Life, we were at a press conference with the Congress and there was Jews that were there. And my f- my pastor, he’s a Messianic Jew. And there was Jews and I recognized them, but I didn’t connect dots. And all of a sudden I went up and I have shared my testimony and I said Jesus, uh, because he says if you profess my name before man, I will profess my na- your name before God. So I make it adamant to say his name at all times as possible. After I shared it, the trumpets blew. And I don’t know if you were there at the march or if you saw it, but they were playing drums and they were singing. And when the Jericho walls came down, what did they do for those days before? They walked around and they sang. They didn’t do anything but walk around, blow the trumpet, and sang. So the Lord brought me to a place where I sat and I, I was standing and I looked down and he goes, “Look at the bird eye view that I have or what my people are doing for the Jericho walls to come down. There’s going to be a shift that’s going to happen in this nation.” And I say, he goes, “Get ready.” And I said, “Well…” Now, I haven’t shared that with a lot of people, so I just- (laughs)
Jim: This is good. No, I mean, yeah. I think the shift is on.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: I mean, it’s happening.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: And people are changing their perspective.
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: Uh, Gen Z…
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: … are moving to a more pro-life position.
Jean: A- and I was telling some people because of the fact that they want somebody who’s real.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
Jean: They want rawness. This is the first time to be very honest with you, I’ve talked about my first son on an interview.
Jim: Yeah.
Jean: But apparently someone needed to hear that. That’s of the Holy Spirit.
Jim: I appreciate your courage that way. You know, Jean, the, the pregnancy resource centers are doing such great work.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: So let me give you a, just a minute to kind of summarize all the outreach that’s going on. Here’s what I want to respond to so often when I’m in Washington DC meeting with people who oppose, uh, the pro-life community. They’ll say, “All you do is care about the baby. Nobody cares about the woman.” And I will say, “That’s such a 1973 argument.”
Jean: (laughs)
Jim: Which it really is.
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: It, it did take time for the church to catch up to say, “We need a more holistic approach to helping women and their children.” But my goodness they far exceed any abortion clinic in helping women.
Jean: Right.
Jim: And so it’s almost like a mirror they’re reflecting in, right?
Jean: Right.
Jim: They’re accusing us of not helping women, but these PRCs really do.
Jean: Right.
Jim: Just quickly explain that.
Jean: So I can explain about my PRC.
Jim: Sure.
Jean: Uh, so I’ve taken the approach where we just don’t focus on the woman. We focus on the family.
Jim: That’s a great name, by the way.
Jean: (laughs)
Audience: (laughs)
John: We’re in favor.
Jim: I like that. Has a good ring to it.
Jean: Right. Right. Um, I’m very much for men, um, which is counterintuitive, right? ‘Cause I just said that I couldn’t stand a man. But I am very much for men being men, men being, uh, the men of God in the home, um, especially, uh, being a Black woman and knowing that abortion, which is murder, and I’ve told people this, let’s stop talking political talk and just talk straight. Because this generation needs just straight talk. So this murder that’s happening was for the Black community and for the Latino community. And because of that, the government has taken the men out of the homes and replaced it with the government being their baby daddy. So now that they have all these children and stuff, and nobody’s raising these children, we need to put men back into the home. But men don’t feel as if they are accepted for being men. And so women need to stand up and say, “No, you can be a man. It’s okay to be men.” And so that’s what our, our organization is focused on. Is, uh, at branches is we work together with the community. Um, the state of Vermont says that we don’t, uh, get along with our community. Well, I love to challenge the devil every time. So I went and, you know, I sit with the town and I talk with the police department and… I, uh, I’ve only been a director for 15 months. And I said, we’re going to do something different because Jean wants to set the standard. Um, right, we’re, as Christians, are called to set the standard. And so I said, “We’re going to open up to the community.” So, 160 people came to our first gala last year. Out of the 160, there was the second-largest hospital in Vermont, who is pro-choice, very liberal, who bought a table. The police department bought a table. There was 33 non-believers, four of them were pro-choice people. And two people got saved at the gala.
Jim: (laughs) I love that. Wow.
Jean: Right.
Jim: Good for you.
Jean: Right. Right.
Jim: Yeah, totally. Well, and I wanted to, to just close with that. When you look at that, there has to be some sense of divine poetry.
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: That you have moved from this place…
Jean: Yep.
Jim: … to this place.
Jean: Yep.
Jim: A place of death…
Jean: Right.
Jim: … into a place of life.
Jean: Yep. And that’s what I did with one of the girls that I saw on the streets. I got her in the car and told her to throw away her cigarette and get in the car. And she had just did, um, crack and then she was like, “I’m hungry.” And I had food and I said, “Eat.” And she goes, “I don’t understand why I’m hungry.” I said, “I know why you’re hungry because I was in that same pool.” And then, uh, you know, I told her I said, “Oh, yeah I used to do crystal meth.” And then she’s like, “Really?” And I said, “Oh, yeah. I used to be a prostitute.” She’s like, “I’m a prostitute too.” And I said, “Really?” I said, “Are you done with that life? I know a man named Jesus.” And so those are the type of things that I do. I go-
Jim: No, it hit me. You know who you are? Is Mary Magdalene.
Jean: (laughs)
John: (laughs)
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: “I know this man named Jesus…”
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: “… and you have to meet him.”
Jean: Yes.
Jim: I mean, how awesome.
Jean: Yeah.
Jim: But what a tough way to go. Let me ask you just to end with where we started because I think now people better understand when you say, “I had to go through all this…”
Jean: Yes.
Jim: “… so someone would not have to go through it.”
Jean: Right.
Jim: Just say it in your own words again.
Jean: Yes. Genesis 50:20, “What was meant for evil, God turned for good to save many lives.” I’m an overcomer by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony because I went through something so that the next woman doesn’t have to.
Jim: Wow. That is so beautiful. Well, Jean Marie Davis, I have so enjoyed a very tough story. And I’m so grateful that you’re willing to share it with us and share it with the world.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: So thank you for that. Thank you for your life. Thank you for your sons.
Jean: Yes.
Jim: And I have really enjoyed meeting Jonah, who’s with us and, uh, God bless you.
Jean: Thank you. God bless you.
John: What an incredible two part conversation with Jean Davis, a former victim of human trafficking. She was rescued out of that nightmare by God’s grace and the work of a pregnancy resource center. And, uh, now Jean is involved in that same kind of ministry. And, uh, this is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller.
Jim: John, I’m so thankful for the great work that pregnancy resource centers, or PRCs as they’re known, are doing all across the country, uh, like what happened with Jean. These centers are ready and willing to help transform a woman’s life and give her a better choice for her pre-born child. And the work doesn’t stop with saving a baby. Focus on the Family wants to help PRCs to develop a holistic strategy where women who choose life for their child can get extra services and training like finding a job and a place to live and connecting them with medical personnel and so much more. Of course, we need the entire Christian community to get involved. That’s why we’ve established our See Life campaign to spread awareness about pro-life issues, recruit advocates for life in today’s culture, and empower friends like you to support a PRC in your local area.
John: Mm-hmm. And there are two key ways that you can join our pro-life team here at Focus. One would be to give generously to Option Ultrasound. Another would be to sign up to attend or watch our SeeLife event in June.
Jim: That’s right. Your financial support of Option Ultrasound helps Focus equip pregnancy medical centers with training and machines so they can provide free ultrasounds to women who are considering abortion. Over and over again, we’ve seen hearts changed and babies saved because a woman sees her child on the screen. And for a gift of $60, you can help save both mother and child from abortion. So thanks to some generous friends of this ministry, we have a matching opportunity going on in May and June, where any gift you send to Focus on the Family for Option Ultrasound will be doubled. And I can’t think of a better investment than that.
John: Mm-hmm. I’d agree, Jim. We do hope you’ll make plans to attend our SeeLife event on Saturday June 15th. Uh, you can join us in person here in Colorado Springs on our campus or you can join virtually through our live stream and all the details about SeeLife and how you can donate to Option Ultrasound are at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Or call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY, to learn more. Well, coming up tomorrow, how a simple prayer game of gratitude can transform the heart of your child.
Sarah Holmstrom: But we go back and forth thanking God for little things, you know, in her room and she kind of turned to me and took this deep breath and she said, “Mom, for some reason this game really does make my heart feel happy.”
John: On behalf of the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
