August 31, 2006

Last night (8/31/06) we went to the strip clubs. I believe this was our first time to go on a Thursday night. We wanted to see our favorite manager, Kevin, who now works the last half of the week. We took approximately 74 gift bags containing earrings, candy, scripture note, tract, and a business card for the church (Spring 1st). We gave away all of the bags. We didn't make it to one of the modeling studios because we were out of bags.

At the first club we were met by James' brother, Philip, who was working the parking lot. He greeted us with "I think I'm coming to your church this Sunday. I'm planning on it at least. We'll talk about it when you come out." He opened the door for us, and we went in the club. A cashier and waitress were in the foyer. They were happy to see us. We went in the club, and there were quite a few girls on the floor, and one girl was on the main stage. We worked our way through the floor, stopping to talk to our favorite djay along the way. We haven't seen him the last several visits. He was happy to see us and said he was hoping to take a vacation soon to Montanan where he is originally from.

We went into the dressing room where there were at least 8 more girls. They were very open to us and thanked us for the gifts. As we were leaving the dressing room, the girl who had been on stage staggered into the dressing room. Her eyes were glazed over, and she kept running into the lockers and into a girl standing beside the lockers. She appeared to be on the verge of tears. I finally was able to get her attention to give her a bag. She smiled, thanked me and took the bag. I thought I heard her tell a girl that she couldn't do this anymore, but maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part...

As we stepped out of the dressing room, a new manager approached us and asked what we were doing there. I told him that we come in all of the time. He asked what our purpose was. I told him that we want the girls to know that we love them. He kind of stood there for a moment and then asked if there was something in the bag for him. My mom told him the bags contained earrings. He laughed and said he didn't need a bag after all. We told him he could take a bag for his wife, girlfriend or mother.

He replied, "I don't have any of those."
"Yes, you do. You have a mother."
"Well, she's more like a dad."
"There's candy in the bags."
"Okay, you got me there. I'll take a bag."

We laughed, thanked him for allowing us in the club and left.

Philip greeted us in the parking lot and asked if the address of the church was in the bag. We told him "yes" and showed him the card. He said he really needed to come to church because things just weren't working out like he was currently doing them. We told him we looked forward to seeing him in church and walked to the van.

Our favorite valet guy was in the parking lot of the 2nd club. He was happy to see us. As we walked into the club, there was a new cashier who was taking money from 4-5 guys who had walked in before us. She looked at me and said, "You're from the church, aren't you?" "Yes." "I am so sorry about last time when I didn't let you in. I didn't know who you were. The owner said to let you guys in. I am so sorry for what happened last time. Please go right on in." I have no clue what she was talking about because I had never seen her before. Maybe she was the one who initially refused entrance to my mother on the daytime outreach. We went inside, and there were a few girls sitting around. I saw one girl seated with a guy, and they were talking. She was looking at me and sort of smiling. I wasn't sure if she making fun of us to him, or if she was wanting me to come over. I went over to her. As I approached, she broke into a big smile and said, "Thank you for coming. It's so good to see you." She got up and hugged me. She was genuinely happy to see us. I told her we loved her, and we praying for her. She said she loved us, too. The rest of the girls weren't very talkative. They rarely are in this club. James is still working the dayshift there and doing okay.

The third club was very busy, but the girls rushed the door to meet us with hugs. We saw several waitresses we hadn't seen in a while. The female bartender came up to me to show me her pregnant belly. She was so excited to see us. Kevin gave everyone hugs, as usual.

One of the big guys at the bar stopped my mom and said, "What are y'all doing?"
"Giving gift bags to the girls."
"Why?"
"Because we want them to know that someone loves them."
"Oh, you must be a church."
"Yes."
"Sounds like something a church would do. Why do you do this?"
"Because everyone needs to know that someone loves them."
"Well, aren't you kind?" he said sarcastically.
My mother chose to ignore his sarcasm and responded kindly, "I hope so. It's always nice to hear that someone loves us. Don't you think so?"
"Yes."

As they continued their banter, he began to soften and sincerely said, "You guys are doing a great thing. I respect you for that." My mom thanked him and walked away. I was in the dressing room while that conversation took place. I had brought Chassie, our Schnoodle, in the club with me. She was in her purse. No one had seen her. While we were in the dressing room, I showed the 2 girls what I had in the purse. They squealed with delight and wanted to hold her. Chassie is always reluctant to go to other people, but she let this one dancer hold her for quite some time. The girl cooed over her and held her close to her heart. Chassie reached up and licked her face. The girl broke into a huge grin.

About that time a waitress walked in. This waitress can be nice one minute and rather caustic the next. She saw Chassie and wanted to hold her. I told her Chassie might not want to come to her. Chassie was already trying to come to me. The waitress grabbed her. Chassie started struggling and trying to get back to me. I grabbed Chassie and told the waitress that Chassie didn't want to be held anymore, and I started putting Chassie back in her purse. The waitress walked out. I turned to the dancer and said, "As you can see, Chassie won't go to just anyone. She let you hold her for quite some time. You are a very special person. Chassie picked that up." She just grinned at me.

As we were leaving the club, my mom was talking to another waitress. The waitress said to me, "I'm up to Exodus!" I hesitated for a minute trying to figure out what she was saying. I realized that she was reading the Bible and had made it to Exodus! She was so excited! I told her how excited I was for her and how good she looked. She has a totally different countenance. She pointed up towards Heaven and said, "That's why." She had asked my mom if gambling was a sin. My mom told her that the Bible doesn't specifically state that gambling is a sin, but my mom doesn't do it because she doesn't like throwing away money. The girl said she is a dental hygienist part-time and didn't have enough money to pay bills. She bought a $2 lottery card and prayed over it. She won $174. She said, "God blessed me with that money so I could pay my bills." My mom encouraged her to continue praying and believing God to help her pay her bills. We prefer that she doesn't gamble, but that's something she will work out with God. She's a baby Christian. She's only doing what she knows. The Holy Spirit will guide her as she lets Him.

We got to spend some time talking with Kevin outside in the parking lot. He is doing well. He hugged everyone goodbye. It was like a family reunion.

When we walked into the last club, the cashier immediately picked up the intercom and asked for "J.D." The voice came back, "Is it the church ladies?" He looked at me. I was laughing. He sheepishly grinned and responded into the intercom, "Yes." The voice said that someone was coming. The cashier said no, he wanted J.D. About that time, a large man rounded the corner and asked what he could do for us. For some reason he didn't want us going through the club. He said he would take the bags and distribute them to the girls. We gave him the bags and left. This club usually has a lot of illegal activity going on. I believe they don't want us seeing all of that so maybe God is protecting us. Who knows. Seeds are still being planted.

Again, thank you for your continued prayers and support. Our next outreach will be in October. We went 3 times in August so we are taking a break in September.

I want to thank Norma, Nancy, Sybil, Bill and Wes for their continued faithfulness to this ministry. I couldn't do it without you!