(This was written by one of the team members who delivered some of the Christmas baskets to the strip clubs on Christmas Eve):
"I had the privilege of getting to deliver gift baskets to 2 different area strip clubs on Christmas Eve with another woman from our church. We first headed to a club at about 1:00 pm that was tucked away deep in an industrial park. We almost thought we had taken a wrong turn as it seemed no one would want to go back in this area except maybe the driver of a tractor trailer or maybe a freight train. But there is was, a plain looking two-story building with the club name on it.
We went in with two boxes of gift baskets and entered into a bar area once we opened the front door. No one was there so we headed into a back room where we found a man behind a counter. He had a strong accent and didn't seem to speak English very well but he gave us a look that communicated a mix of "What are you doing here? and "Can I help you?" We explained that we had called ahead and the manager said we could drop off gift baskets for the girls working there that day. He said he had no idea of what we were talking about and asked for more explanation--he seemed to be hesitant and nervous about letting us leave the gifts there. When we finally said the word "free" his disposition completely changed and he then began apologizing for his hesitation. He showed us where to put the baskets, apologizing several times more and thanking us for the baskets.
We left there and headed to the next club. This club I knew well as I had been part of our team when we used to go in weekly to meet with the women. However, we were not sure of how we would be received as this club had told us we couldn't come in anymore. With a bit of nervousness, we opened the front door. The bouncer stopped us at the second door and asked us why were were there. While we started to explain, a large man with a stern disposition also come up to us. We told them we were part of a ministry that collected items for gift baskets and we wanted to bless the girls that were working that day be leaving them for them. The second man said he didn't know anything about this and you could tell he was eager to get us out of his club along with our gifts. But the bouncer quickly stepped up and said, "Let's see what you have here." When he saw that we had coloring books, he said, "I know someone who would like these!" Then he said he could show us an area where we could leave the baskets.
He proceeded to take us into the club. Just steps past the front door, a woman was on her face on the stage "dancing" for several men that were seated around the stage. There was a lot of activity--it seemed so early. The bouncer took us to an area I had never seen before--tucked off to the side of the club, behind the bar, there was a mini-stage, maybe about 12" by 12" with poles and seats around it just like the main stage. He said we could leave the gifts there and then ushered us over to the bar where several "dancers" were sitting and watching us. "These ladies brought you guys some gifts!" he told them and I'll never forget the look on their faces. It was the same look I had remembered when we use to go in each week. It was like they were saying, "You came for me? You really came for me??" They seemed shocked and elated at the same time and thanked us over and over again. We told them, "We just wanted you to know someone is thinking about you today and someone cares about you." The bouncer ushered us to the front door and I fought hard to tuck away my tears tha were coming fast.
Powerful. Truly powerful. God had shown up that day to a place where few would ever want to show up. And we got to be His messengers. Truly a privilege."
