Last night was a little slower as there was a Bruins hockey game but three women who we have built relationships with came over to chat. There were real connections made throughout the evening as one team member was able to use her personal life and history to speak into the women current life struggles, lives and past hurts. One woman was celebrating a birthday and this led to an opportunity for an invitation to a church picnic this next Sunday.
We also learned that we have a presence in this club because it was mentioned at least 3 times that one of the team members was missing. (only 3 team members were present instead of the usual 4). We asked the bouncer if he thought there was anything more the girls needed and he said, "No, just your presence." Repeatedly the women have mentioned how they love seeing us in the club. This is truly amazing. Also, the week before, one of the women who works in the club - she's only 19 - emailed one of the team members right after she got off work to say she'd missed seeing her in the club that night. She also asked to go to church with this team member. This hasn't happened - yet - but it is a big deal for this woman to be brave and connect.
The presence of the Lord is moving - keep praying.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
We've continued to see growth in our friendship-building during our time in the club:
Last week, we made the acquaintance of two new women with whom we hope to build friendships. Both of these women enthusiastically shared about their Christian beliefs and expressed a possible desire to pop in to church on Sunday for a visit. Each of these women were very open about their personal choices and even asked, "What would 'your church' think about that?"
This week, as we walked into the club, several customers at the bar made comments such as: "Are you 'church ladies' are here to do a Bible study?" (These and previous comments are very telling of where these men are currently with the level of respect they have for women in general, not just of the women who work in the club.) Regardless of the comments from the customers, we enjoyed our conversations with our friends. On the whole, they are hanging around and chatting with us for longer amounts of time every couple of weeks.
We continue to pray for God's protection for these women and that they will come to know his love for them.
Last week, we made the acquaintance of two new women with whom we hope to build friendships. Both of these women enthusiastically shared about their Christian beliefs and expressed a possible desire to pop in to church on Sunday for a visit. Each of these women were very open about their personal choices and even asked, "What would 'your church' think about that?"
This week, as we walked into the club, several customers at the bar made comments such as: "Are you 'church ladies' are here to do a Bible study?" (These and previous comments are very telling of where these men are currently with the level of respect they have for women in general, not just of the women who work in the club.) Regardless of the comments from the customers, we enjoyed our conversations with our friends. On the whole, they are hanging around and chatting with us for longer amounts of time every couple of weeks.
We continue to pray for God's protection for these women and that they will come to know his love for them.
Friday, May 27, 2011
The last two weeks have been great for continuing to just develop friendships. A couple of our friends are open to the idea of hanging out with us outside of Mondays. We just pray that the love of Christ will continue to be evident in our interactions and activities as we continue to seek to bless their lives.
In addition, we had another one of the male customers come to our table to find out a "real" reason we are there. Please continue to pray that we will have good answers for these men who are - at least on some level - challenged by our presence.
In addition, we had another one of the male customers come to our table to find out a "real" reason we are there. Please continue to pray that we will have good answers for these men who are - at least on some level - challenged by our presence.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Light Being Seen in the Darkness
April 25, 2011
Well, coming into this week we were given the impression by the owner of the other club that he was open to letting us start coming in. He said he’d been talking to the owner of the club we are presently in and that owner gave him a positive report about us.
Unfortunately, our fickle friend called while we were en route to our first club of this evening and said he doesn’t want us coming at all - not even to drop off gifts.
When we arrived at the club, we noticed one of the girls sitting outside - she wasn’t feeling well and was waiting for a taxi. So Laurel asked if she wanted one of us to give her a ride home. She gladly accepted and so she and Bonnie and I got into my car and we drove her home. This was a blessing because we were able to chat with her and just get to know each other a little better.
Bonnie & I arrived back at the club where Rachel and Laurel had been hanging out with the other women. Apparently 8 women came to work when usually only 4 work at a time. Because of this, all the women had a bit of extra time on their hands & were able to come and chat and receive the homemade blondies one of the sisters from the North Point Church made.
May 2, 2011
This week we met up and assembled our gifts - Laurel had brought jersey material which she showed us how to quickly convert into really cute scarves. When we arrived at the club, the bouncer just smiled at us and welcomed us. We sat at our spot and ended up getting to chat with a few of the women. The first woman who came over was the woman we drove home last week - she looked like she felt so much better this week! She continued to chat with us and share many details about her personal life.
One of the women we usually chat with came over to waitress at our table. She said she has now decided to only waitress and said, “no more stripping - I like having my clothes ON!”
Praise Jesus!
We also got to meet a new woman tonight. At first when she came over, she didn’t know who we were. So, as she was probably expecting us to be customers, she was in bubbly, business mode. We introduced ourselves and told her we were giving out the scarves and her response was VERY skeptical at first. She said, “Oh…how much do you want for them?” So we explained that we aren’t selling them - we come every week to bring gifts just because we want to bless the women. She seemed to feel a little more at ease at this point and stayed to chat with us for quite awhile, sharing some details about her own life and struggles.
At one point the manager stopped by the table and said they had a cake because it was one of the employee’s birthdays. So we each were blessed by a piece of birthday cake! Before we left, we made sure to leave little personalized cards on each of the scarves for each of the women we hadn’t seen that night, (including a birthday message and scarf for the bartender).
Well, coming into this week we were given the impression by the owner of the other club that he was open to letting us start coming in. He said he’d been talking to the owner of the club we are presently in and that owner gave him a positive report about us.
Unfortunately, our fickle friend called while we were en route to our first club of this evening and said he doesn’t want us coming at all - not even to drop off gifts.
When we arrived at the club, we noticed one of the girls sitting outside - she wasn’t feeling well and was waiting for a taxi. So Laurel asked if she wanted one of us to give her a ride home. She gladly accepted and so she and Bonnie and I got into my car and we drove her home. This was a blessing because we were able to chat with her and just get to know each other a little better.
Bonnie & I arrived back at the club where Rachel and Laurel had been hanging out with the other women. Apparently 8 women came to work when usually only 4 work at a time. Because of this, all the women had a bit of extra time on their hands & were able to come and chat and receive the homemade blondies one of the sisters from the North Point Church made.
May 2, 2011
This week we met up and assembled our gifts - Laurel had brought jersey material which she showed us how to quickly convert into really cute scarves. When we arrived at the club, the bouncer just smiled at us and welcomed us. We sat at our spot and ended up getting to chat with a few of the women. The first woman who came over was the woman we drove home last week - she looked like she felt so much better this week! She continued to chat with us and share many details about her personal life.
One of the women we usually chat with came over to waitress at our table. She said she has now decided to only waitress and said, “no more stripping - I like having my clothes ON!”
Praise Jesus!
We also got to meet a new woman tonight. At first when she came over, she didn’t know who we were. So, as she was probably expecting us to be customers, she was in bubbly, business mode. We introduced ourselves and told her we were giving out the scarves and her response was VERY skeptical at first. She said, “Oh…how much do you want for them?” So we explained that we aren’t selling them - we come every week to bring gifts just because we want to bless the women. She seemed to feel a little more at ease at this point and stayed to chat with us for quite awhile, sharing some details about her own life and struggles.
At one point the manager stopped by the table and said they had a cake because it was one of the employee’s birthdays. So we each were blessed by a piece of birthday cake! Before we left, we made sure to leave little personalized cards on each of the scarves for each of the women we hadn’t seen that night, (including a birthday message and scarf for the bartender).
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
4 April 2011
We arrived at our first location and were actually greeted with smiles by bouncers and one of the girls. She was with a customer at the bar but didn't hesitate to chat with us for a minute - even pulled out her iPhone to show us a picture of her child.
After chatting with her, we sat down at "our table." We hadn't been sitting for too long before the waitress with whom we've established a relationship brought us glasses of water.
Now, throughout the evening, a few of the girls came and chatted for awhile, but it was a slow night. I've chosen to share a different aspect of this particular visit with you:
A few minutes after we walked in a big burly guy came right over and sat down with us.
His rapid-fire questions came out like a machine gun: "I just like to debate, and I think what you're doing is really great but I just gotta know why you're really here? Why are you doing this? Are you really from a church? Do you look down on the girls for what they do? What do you think of me as a 'happily married man with a beautiful wife and beautiful children' for being in a 'place like this'?"
He didn't seem to want answers right away, nor did he seem all that interested in our answers, because he then went on to give hypothetical examples of what I can assume he believes are "gray areas" of right and wrong (eg: "This has never happened, but if someone ever hurt my kids, I'd go after them. Don't you think you'd do the same thing? Would you think I was a bad person if I did that?")
Possessing a particular dislike of debate, I thought I'd just listen and let Laurel and Bonnie take this one...
And then 30 seconds later one of the girls came over to say hi & chat. So Laurel & Bonnie let the man know that, while they would love to resume the conversation with him, they were going to chat with her for a little while. He responded to them, "You don't want to talk with me at the same time as her?"
So he turned to me.
Apparently he didn't get the memo.
His barrage continued with all of his questions containing at their core, "Do you judge me?" He even showed a couple of tattoos on his forearms and asked if I thought he was a bad person for having tattoos.
"No, I don't think having tattoos makes you a bad person - my husband has tattoos on both his arms.
My husband was also in the military.
And in war.
As for your question about whether I'd go after someone for hurting my child, I'd sure want to! However, I believe that is not to be my response - I believe that I am to work really hard to forgive, no matter how stinkin' hard it is."
"Come on! You're telling me you wouldn't go after a guy for hurting your kid? Ok, you said you don't have kids: How about if some guy hurt your sister? What would your dad do?"
"Well, again: I know what he'd want to do - and you better know that he'd want to go after anyone who hurt me or my sister. But I know my father. And I can tell you without a doubt that my father would work - really hard - to forgive. Because that's what he believes God wants him to do. Don't get me wrong, it would not be easy, and he'd sure be tempted to hurt anyone who hurt us, but I know my dad."
This was not hypothetical.
I'd love to be able to write that I had a brilliant answer for this man. I didn't. But I know that no matter what I said, it wouldn't have mattered to this man, because he's angry. He's hurt. I don't know this man's name. I don't know why he's going to strip clubs. I don't know why his son has cancer. I don't know what has given this man such anger, or more importantly, hurt, but I do know that he is broken.
And that he had tears in his eyes.
This man needs arms wrapped around him; he needs Godly men to bolster him and say, "You are a big man, you are strong, you are capable of many things. But your arms are tethered: you are powerless in this situation. Let us bear the burden with you and share with you the truth about the God of the universe and our warrior-king, Jesus Christ. Surrender your child, your sexual addiction, your anger over to Him - He will not turn his back on you."
Please pray for this man - this broken man - and his son. Perhaps the Father will listen to the prayers of his children on the behalf of this man who admitted to believing the OT, but not the NT because, "it just doesn't make any sense."
After chatting with her, we sat down at "our table." We hadn't been sitting for too long before the waitress with whom we've established a relationship brought us glasses of water.
Now, throughout the evening, a few of the girls came and chatted for awhile, but it was a slow night. I've chosen to share a different aspect of this particular visit with you:
A few minutes after we walked in a big burly guy came right over and sat down with us.
His rapid-fire questions came out like a machine gun: "I just like to debate, and I think what you're doing is really great but I just gotta know why you're really here? Why are you doing this? Are you really from a church? Do you look down on the girls for what they do? What do you think of me as a 'happily married man with a beautiful wife and beautiful children' for being in a 'place like this'?"
He didn't seem to want answers right away, nor did he seem all that interested in our answers, because he then went on to give hypothetical examples of what I can assume he believes are "gray areas" of right and wrong (eg: "This has never happened, but if someone ever hurt my kids, I'd go after them. Don't you think you'd do the same thing? Would you think I was a bad person if I did that?")
Possessing a particular dislike of debate, I thought I'd just listen and let Laurel and Bonnie take this one...
And then 30 seconds later one of the girls came over to say hi & chat. So Laurel & Bonnie let the man know that, while they would love to resume the conversation with him, they were going to chat with her for a little while. He responded to them, "You don't want to talk with me at the same time as her?"
So he turned to me.
Apparently he didn't get the memo.
His barrage continued with all of his questions containing at their core, "Do you judge me?" He even showed a couple of tattoos on his forearms and asked if I thought he was a bad person for having tattoos.
"No, I don't think having tattoos makes you a bad person - my husband has tattoos on both his arms.
My husband was also in the military.
And in war.
As for your question about whether I'd go after someone for hurting my child, I'd sure want to! However, I believe that is not to be my response - I believe that I am to work really hard to forgive, no matter how stinkin' hard it is."
"Come on! You're telling me you wouldn't go after a guy for hurting your kid? Ok, you said you don't have kids: How about if some guy hurt your sister? What would your dad do?"
"Well, again: I know what he'd want to do - and you better know that he'd want to go after anyone who hurt me or my sister. But I know my father. And I can tell you without a doubt that my father would work - really hard - to forgive. Because that's what he believes God wants him to do. Don't get me wrong, it would not be easy, and he'd sure be tempted to hurt anyone who hurt us, but I know my dad."
Now, although he was big, he wasn't threatening. But he definitely seemed to be seeking for something. I kept praying, "Lord, what do you want me to say?" Then, his eyes started to get watery and he finally settled in on his real question:
"IF God exists, why is he allowing my child to be battling cancer?"
This was not hypothetical.
I'd love to be able to write that I had a brilliant answer for this man. I didn't. But I know that no matter what I said, it wouldn't have mattered to this man, because he's angry. He's hurt. I don't know this man's name. I don't know why he's going to strip clubs. I don't know why his son has cancer. I don't know what has given this man such anger, or more importantly, hurt, but I do know that he is broken.
And that he had tears in his eyes.
This man needs arms wrapped around him; he needs Godly men to bolster him and say, "You are a big man, you are strong, you are capable of many things. But your arms are tethered: you are powerless in this situation. Let us bear the burden with you and share with you the truth about the God of the universe and our warrior-king, Jesus Christ. Surrender your child, your sexual addiction, your anger over to Him - He will not turn his back on you."
Please pray for this man - this broken man - and his son. Perhaps the Father will listen to the prayers of his children on the behalf of this man who admitted to believing the OT, but not the NT because, "it just doesn't make any sense."
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