In the heart of Live Oak, California, a transformative vision is taking shape at the site of the former Leo Chesney Minimum Security Women’s Prison. This nearly 10-acre facility, once a place of sorrow, remorse and confinement, is being reimagined as the Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise—a sanctuary dedicated to rescuing, protecting, and restoring children who have endured the unimaginable horrors of child sex traficking. Spearheaded by the Church of Glad Tidings, Peace of Heaven is partnering with established ministries like America’s Future, Troy Brewer Ministries, the MOM Army, Vet’s 4 Child Rescue, A.R.C. (Association for the Rescue of Children), Judges Rescue, Mission Safe Harbour, Safe House Project and anyone else whole-heartedly committed to combatting and quashing the multi-billion dollar heinous child sex traficking trade! This ambitious project alone will double the number of “Safe House” beds for traficking survivors in the US – and in doing so provide an answer to this urgent concern for any and all anti-traficking ministries. As the global child sex traficking trade surges – now rivaling even the international drug trade as the world’s most profitable criminal enterprise – Peace of Heaven stands as a bold, Christ-centered solution to provide rescue, refuge and restoration of these vulnerable young souls!

The Growing Crisis of Child Sex Traficking

Child sex traficking is a pervasive and escalating crisis, both globally and within the United States. The statistics are staggering: millions of children are exploited annually, with the trade generating billions in illicit profits. In California alone, the problem is acute. The state’s large population, extensive coastline, and proximity to international borders make it a hub for traficking networks. The shortage of safe house beds exacerbates this crisis. Nationwide, organizations like Safe House Project have launched 479 beds, yet the demand far outstrips supply. This is a proverbial “drop in the bucket” compared to the need. Practically speaking, the lack of safe house beds is the critical bottleneck in the fight against child sex traficking, and in California the need is particularly dire, and is compounded by systemic ineficiencies, as evidenced by the CPS’s colossal failure to protect children at the southern border. Accordingly, sex traficking survivors are often returned to unsafe environments or lost to the system completely, due to insuficient resources and internal corruption. Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise emerges as a direct response to this gap, tackling this shortage by repurposing the Leo Chesney facility’s capacity for hundreds of beds, offering a significant increase in local and regional resources, and offering a scalable model to provide immediate safety, housing, education and long-term healing to these precious souls that have been snatched from the jaws of a virtual hell!

Moreover, the project’s location in Live Oak—a small, tight-knit community with a history of resilience— enhances its viability. The city, which once relied on the prison for jobs and inmate labor, stands to benefit economically and socially from this revitalization. Community support, combined with the church’s call for donations and volunteers, ensures a sustainable foundation for operations.

Transforming a Prison into a Paradise

The Leo Chesney facility, located on Apricot Street in Live Oak, was originally opened in 1989 as a low- security women’s prison with a capacity just over 300 inmates. Named after a former city council member, it served as a significant employer and community asset until its closure in 2011 due to new state prohibitions forbidding the operation of private prisons in the state of California. Since then, the site has sat largely vacant, its potential unrealized—until now. The Church of Glad Tidings, guided by its 1987 vision statement “to provide a Christ-honoring solution to every urgent need,” saw in this facility an opportunity to turn a symbol of confinement, sorrow and hopelessness into one of freedom, joy and hope!

The transformation of the Leo Chesney site into Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise is both practical and symbolic. The existing infrastructure—dormitories, communal spaces, and secure perimeter— provides a ready-made foundation for a safe house, minimizing construction costs and expediting the timeline to operational status. The church’s plan is to reconfigure these spaces into a “paradise of beauty, love, and healing,” where rescued children can find safety and begin their journey toward redemption and complete recovery. The almost 10-acre campus offers ample room for additional facilities, such as educational centers, recreational areas, and therapeutic spaces, ensuring a holistic approach to recovery and care.

A Comprehensive Approach to Healing

What sets Peace of Heaven apart is its comprehensive vision for the children it will serve. Beyond providing immediate shelter, the initiative aims to equip survivors with the tools for a “truly blessed and productive adult life.” The program (outlined on the Peace of Heaven website at peaceofheaven.life) will emphasizes a multifaceted approach:

Education and Skill-Building : Children will receive top-tier education, from pre-K through post-12th grade, tailored to their individual interests and talents. This includes practical skills like carpentry, computer sciences, and videography, as well as creative outlets such as pottery, drama, and music. Unlike traditional rote learning, Peace of Heaven prioritizes fostering capable leaders and entrepreneurs, addressing the systemic failures that leave many American youth unprepared for adulthood.

Therapeutic Support : Recognizing the deep trauma inflicted by traficking, the sanctuary will offer the “best possible medical, psychological, and spiritual healing modalities.” This trauma-informed care is essential for helping children reclaim their sense of self-worth and security.

Life Skills and Independence : Daily activities will include training in food preparation, animal husbandry, and equestrian disciplines, blending agrarian and technical education to prepare survivors for a healthy and self-suficiency adult life.

A Loving Environment : Above all, Peace of Heaven will seek to create a “heaven on earth” atmosphere, where children are surrounded by beauty, love, and a supportive community—elements often absent from their prior experiences.

This holistic model not only addresses the immediate need for safe housing but also invests in the long- term well-being of each child, breaking the cycle of exploitation and vulnerability.

Cultivating Partnerships with Like Minded Ministries

The Church of Glad Tidings has partnered with many of the best and most respected Anti-Traficking Operations in the World to bring this vision to life. This collaboration enhances Peace of Heaven’s capacity to identify and rescue traficked children, leveraging the expertise and experience of veterans like Mary Flynn O’Niell of America’s Future, Pastor Troy Brewer of Troy Brewer Ministries, Bazzal and Tina Baz of ARC, Craig Sawyer of V4CR and Seak Smith and her MOM Army! GT’s Senior Pastor Dave Bryan is the visionary behind it all. He lives by the principle that “None of us is as good as ALL OF US!” and is an advocate of the adage attributed to President Harry S Truman, ”We can do anything as long as nobody cares who gets the credit!” Pastor Dave and his “partners” have already committed to making Peace of Heaven a global model, inspiring similar refuges worldwide until child sex traficking is eradicated completely from our world! And that is EXACTLY why they have planned an anti-traficking conference at GT in Yuba City to rally like-minded “movers and shakers” to cast a vision for the
fulfillment of an ancient biblical prophecy in our day! – The complete destruction of The Whore of Babylon who is said in Scripture (Rev 17 & 18) to “make the kings of the earth rich through her “traficking in human souls!” Too big of a vision for you to grasp? Not for these radicals! They are committed to “show up in the show down” and “seize the day!” Unlike the faint-hearted who have no confidence in doing exploits, these courageous Christian warriors’ response to a great promise is simply, “Why not HERE? Why not NOW? Why not US?!” They are not cowering in the shadows, but fully expecting to ERADICATE the cancer of pedophilia and child traficking from the known world in this generation!

A Model for the Future

Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise is not just a local solution; it aspires to be a blueprint for addressing child traficking globally. By transforming a former prison into a sanctuary, it demonstrates how existing infrastructure can be repurposed to meet urgent humanitarian needs. Its emphasis on education, healing, and empowerment offers a replicable framework that other communities can adapt, amplifying its impact. The Executive Board of Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise envisions a network of such refuges, each contributing to the collective goal of ending traficking.

Challenges and Critical Considerations

While the vision is inspiring, challenges remain. Funding such an ambitious project requires substantial resources, and the church’s reliance on donations and partnerships will be tested. The transformation of a prison into a child-friendly environment demands careful planning to erase its institutional feel and replace it with warmth and hope. The assembly and galvanization of a volunteer army of soldiers, security oficers, teachers, coaches, trainers, cooks, janitors, maintenance staff, pastors, counselors, psychologists, doctors, nurses, and LOVING MOMS, GRANDMAS GRANDPAS and prayer intercessors in a colossal undertaking and dependent upon God’s Divine Favor!

Nevertheless, the urgency of the crisis outweighs these hurdles. The sheer scale of child traficking, coupled with the lack of safe havens, demands bold action. Peace of Heaven’s proactive approach—rooted in faith, community, and practical solutions—positions it as a vital step forward.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

The Peace of Heaven Children’s Paradise in Live Oak, California, represents a beacon of hope amid the darkness of child sex traficking. By converting the former Leo Chesney Minimum Security Women’s Prison into a children’s sanctuary, it directly addresses the urgent need for safe house beds, offering rescued children not just shelter but a pathway to healing and a brighter future. As of March 19, 2025, this project is a work in progress, fueled by the Church of Glad Tidings’ unwavering commitment to provide Christ-honoring solutions to every urgent need!” It calls on individuals, communities, and policymakers to join the fight—donating, volunteering, and advocating—to ensure that no child remains trapped in exploitation. Together, we can transform prisons into PARADISES and captives into CAPTAINS… and ultimately, eradicate this evil from our world!

Source : Andrew Magazine
www.andrewmagazine.com 

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