March 13, 2007

Last night (3-13-07) we went to the strip clubs, and it was nothing short of AWESOME! This was definitely a night of "firsts". We had 14 ladies (3 of which were first timers), 2 men and gave out 90 bags. We ran out of bags and didn't make it to 2 clubs. Two of the first timers are praying about starting similar ministries in their churches in Kingwood and Groves. Seventy bags contained a small clutch purse with clear pockets for photos and also some jewelry that had been donated from an accessories store. No, the jewelry had never been worn. It hadn't sold for whatever reason so they donated they jewelry to us. Thanks, Ann! The jewelry was a HUGE hit. Twenty bags contained small stuffed animals. All of the bags contained a short devotional article, invitations to both Consuming Fire and Spring 1st, a pen with the Need Prayer number, and chocolate candy. Because we had such a large group again, we split into two groups (a first). One group went to our usual clubs, and the other group went to some new clubs. It was quite a night for both groups.

Yesterday we received a letter from Ami who is in prison (a first). As many of you may recall, her boyfriend worked the parking lot of Club1. He asked us to contact her in prison and give her "encouraging stuff to read." We sent her Joyce Meyer's book "Battlefield of the Mind", some notepads, and a card signed by all of the team members. After we put the bags together, I read her letter to the team. Ami was very grateful for the book, but she was more grateful that some "church ladies" took the time to write to her. She knows she is loved. Ami said she has gotten to know God while in prison. We pray that she continues her relationship with the Lord once she gets out in mid-April. Other than her boyfriend, we are the only ones who have written to her. She asked that we continue to pray for her. Ami also asked for the study guide to go with the book. One of our team members volunteered to buy the study guide. Thanks, Amanda!

At the end of our prayer time, Jenny said that she got this "picture" while we were praying. She said there were two HUGE warrior angels who were walking behind us every step of the way. Even after we exited the club, the presence of the angels lingers behind and things continue to happen in the spiritual realm after we're gone.

It was POURING as we left the church.

Here are some highlights from Group 1:

Club1 - As they walked in, three drunken men walked out. One said, "Wooo! Pretty ladies!! What are you guys? A church or something?" They answered, "Yes, we are." He thought they were joking and responded, "I'm a pastor! I must be at the right place!" They gave him a bag and told him it was a gift from their ministry. He said, "You really are a church??!!" They told him, "Yes, we really are a church" and walked inside the club. Candace asked for prayer for safety when she goes to see her 5-yr old son this Thursday. Crystal has been cutting herself. The girls prayed with her that she & God would deal with her internal pain.

Modeling Studio1 - Lisa went inside (her first time to do so) and noticed some decor from Thailand. Lisa lived in Bangkok for a short period of time and worked with prostitutes. When the girl came to the door, Lisa spoke to her in Thai. The girl was surprised, responded in Thai and then asked how she knew Thai. Lisa told her about her history. What a connection! As they were getting in a van, a man walked up and asked, "What did you do to the girls inside?" My mom responded, "Nothing." He asked again. She told him that they had just given bags to the girls. She asked him if he wanted a bag for his wife. He said he did. They gave him a bag, had a little more small talk, and drove off. As the van was driving off, one of the team members noticed the guy running behind the van trying to wave it down (a first). When the van pulled over, the man said, "I lied to the lady. I want to apologize for lying to her. I don't have a wife." He began to tell the team of his cocaine addiction and feelings of being "nothing". He pulled out a bag of a white powdery substance. The team tried to get him to give up the bag, but he wouldn't. The team got out of the van and circled around him and prayed for him. They told him he could have a fresh start. They left him with a Bible and lots of encouraging words -- definitely more than he expected when he first stopped to talk to them.

Group 2 highlights:

Once we got to the first club, it stopped raining. It never rained again until we were through and headed back to the church. Go, God!!!

We went to higher-end clubs. The manager was sitting in the cashier's box with the cashier and a waitress. We told him we had gift bags for the girls. He told us he couldn't let in sellers. I told him they were free. He said he couldn't let us in anyway. I asked if I could leave the bags with him. He said, "No. We're a sexually-oriented business." I said, "I know." He said, "We have cameras watching our every move." "I know." "No, you can't do that." "Can I give bags to the two ladies standing here?" "No." The girls looked at him like he was out of his mind. You could tell they wanted a bag. I thanked him, and we left the club. I was discouraged, disappointed and not too happy. I don't like to be told I can't do something -- especially when it comes to this. It was quiet in the truck on the way to the second club.

As we walked into the 2nd club, there were 2 girls in the cashier's box. Both were excited to get a bag. The cashier jumped up and told the dj to call ALL of the girls (dancers, wait staff, everyone) to the front door. Suddenly, the team was swarmed by women. Even the girl who was on stage dancing saw what was going on, STOPPED dancing, raised her hand and said she wanted a bag and jumped off the stage. Debs, of course, was getting their phone numbers. One girl said she wanted to take us to eat the next time we come. It's great to have girls from Ireland handing out "St. Patrick's Day" gifts. It really opens the door for conversation. Jenny is from Sweden, and the cashier's best friend is from Sweden so they connected. The cashier even called her Swedish friend (who lives in Louisiana, is going to LSU on a golf scholarship) to ask her what part of Sweden she is from. Karen spent a long time talking to one girl whose name is Victoria. She's in college studying health & nutrition, is 20 yrs. old, and she may have cervical cancer. She has to go back for more testing. She and her boyfriend just broke up because he didn't want her to dance and she didn't want to stop dancing. Many of the girls commented how "weird" or "strange" that a church was in there, but that it was a good kind of weird. Stephanie, the cashier, has a five-month old baby and just ended her relationship with the baby's father. She said all of the girls in her club have a good head on their shoulders but almost all are headed down the wrong road. When people called Stephanie on the phone, she would tell them the church ladies were there giving out bags because they need help. I told her we all need help. Everyone (especially us) thought it was cool that we were in there.

The other club we went to had some of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. They were very receptive to the bags and to us. One of the girls is from South Africa. Debs told her she might be going to South Africa in May. The connection was made, and the girl began to tell her about her life in South Africa (wealthy white family who had to leave because it was becoming too dangerous) and told Debs all the places she should go while there. The rest of us were in the dressing rooms talking to the girls and to the house mother. We had free rein in this club. The irony to me was: The very first night I started this ministry 7 years ago, this was one of the clubs we went to. They allowed us in, we went to the dressing rooms, the girls were snorting coke, and the management asked us to leave -- which was okay since we had already given out all of our bags. They never allowed us to come back or leave bags for the girls so we stopped going. Seven years later...God is FAITHFUL.

As always, I'm amazed, humbled and in awe of who God is and what He is doing. He doesn't care that people are in strip clubs or have cocaine in their pockets. He still wants them to know He loves them and has a plan and purpose for their lives. When I was buying the gifts and bags for last night, the checker asked me what I was going to do with "all of this". It's not often that someone is buying 100 identical items. I told her I have a ministry into the strip clubs where we give gift bags to the dancers. She said, "Huh. Wow. A church usually doesn't go to strip clubs." I said, "No, but isn't that where the church really needs to be?" She said, "Yes!"

I encourage you to reach out to someone that you know needs to hear an encouraging word. You don't have to go to a strip club, but just do something! There are plenty of hurting people in your neighborhood, at your work, at your hair/nail salon, or in your church who need to hear THE Good News. It may require sacrificing time or pride to talk to someone -- do it anyway. Remember that it's not about us -- it's about Him and them.

Thanks for your prayers and continued support. God is so cool!