Author and speaker Barbara Johnson writes:

I had just finished speaking at one of the last Women of Faith (WOF) conferences in 1998, challenging the audience to really think "What Would Jesus Do?" in their everyday situations. One way I apply the WWJD principle in my life is by distributing buttons inscribed SOMEONE JESUS LOVES HAS AIDS. A moment after leaving the auditorium, that button would speak volumes.

Running to grab a bite to eat before heading to my book table, the WOF director, Christie Barnes, headed me off. Her eyes were big, and she was talking fast. A prostitute, hiding from her pimp, was upstairs threatening suicide. She insisted on talking to me!

For a moment, I thought Why me? but quickly gathered five women to come with me to the locker room where the prostitute had been taken. A suicide unit, emergency personnel, and police were on their way. Christie filled me in as we walked, concluding with the fact that the prostitute had full-blown AIDS. How will the other women react? I thought. I'm sure they've never been near a prostitute, let alone one with AIDS!"

She was about 35 years old, dirty, and smelly from sleeping in a dumpster. Her pimp was trying to kill her because she wanted to stop turning tricks. The jagged scar on her face and the bullet hole in her leg were evidence.

The first thing I did was give her the button. As she held it tightly, we talked about how Jesus could give her a new heart and life. Within minutes, she was praying to accept Christ as Savior.

Now began the real WWJD action. One woman scrambled to get soap, shampoo, and towels; another ran upstairs to grab a WOF t-shirt and sweatshirt from the booth. As everyone disappeared. I sat the prostitute on a stool in the shower to start cleaning her up. An inspiration hit me—Maybe while I was scrubbing I could baptize her, too! —but then I saw a fresh gaping wound down her chest.

"We need to get you a doctor," I said.

"No," she insisted. "I just need to get out of town."

By the time we were done (with my head half soaked and frizzing from the shower's spray), enough money had been scraped together for a bus ticket out of town.

My helpers gathered around us and we prayed. Their genuine love for this woman from the street brought tears to my eyes. The prostitute was in a win-win situation. If the pimp caught her and killed her, she would be safe in the arms of Jesus. If she made it to her family in Chicago, God was giving her a brand new start. Either way she was a winner!

Someone called a taxi.

"Wait!" she said. "The button!"

Pulling her filthy shirt out of the trash, she removed the button. Proudly, she pinned it on her clean sweatshirt.

We ran outside to catch the cab. Before she rolled up the window, I gave her one last hug. "If you get to heaven before you get to Chicago, you can polish the pearly gates for me."