We've been doing it for two weeks now and soo much has happened! I hope I can give you a taste of it throughout this blog and be able to give you a glimps into my heart for these girls.. I know its a long post but bear with me.. its good :)
Last Monday was the first day we went out. I remember walking down the road thinking what in the world am I doing here. What right do I think I have coming in as a white American christian and sitting down ordering a coke at a bar to talk to some girls. I felt so out of place and unsure of how the night would go. In that moment the Lord reminded me that I have EVERY right to go and sit and talk with his children..his daughters. The first bar we went into was pretty empty and I met one of the girls working there, her name was also Marissa :) we hungout and played some pool with them and just talked. I was disgusted by the fat old white men that would come it. pervert. Thats the word that kept going through my head. We moved on then to a second bar and me along with two friends sat at the bar and drank coffee speaking with the manager all night. She was really sweet and explained how they are more conservative at this bar and dont have prostitution. They actually make a girl pay a fine if she leaves with a guy.. It was nice to hear that someone has some sort of respect in their bar but I was still saddened to look around and see the young looking girl waitresses in tight blue dresses flirting with the guys.
"Roxanne"
The next day me and a friend were walking around town randomly handing out surveys to gather statistics for the book we are making. We stopped at a bar and handed out one to the manager, she looked at it and read that it was about prostitution. She chuckled but agreed to fill one out.. What happened next was totally the Lord and so unexpected! We came back a half hour later to pick up the survey and instead of us just taking it, folding it up and moving on, she had us come in and sit down. Handing it to us she told us to go ahead and read it in front of her. "I was completly honest," she said "And we can discuss the answers if you want to." We were so shocked. We sat down with her and asked a little bit about her story. Her children were there in the bar with her and got to meet them. They were so sweet. As we were sitting and talking with her my heart began to go out to this family I didnt even know. And I told her just that. I placed my hand on her knee and began telling her how much worth she has..even if this profession may have stripped her of her dignity and worth..she is SO loved and so cared about. My friend proceded to tell her that NO man could ever put a price on her, and even if he tried it wouldnt be high enough. Tear began streaming down her cheeks as well as ours :) it was such a special moment :) and so unexpected. We explained to her why we are here and about the book we are making. She said she'd love to have a copy of it someday and that it was nice to know people cared. Calling us her three angels, we said goodbye promising that we'd stop by later that night.
The night for bar ministry we split up into groups again and me and my two friends went back to visit "Roxanne". She hungout with us the entire night in the bar along with her kids, just talking and building a relationship. It was so sweet. That same night we met some other girls who worked their who we invited to a beach day we were having on thursday
Thursday was BEACH DAY! :) all the groups who had been going out into the bars invited the girls they had met to the beach. We had so many girls come! It was such a fun day just getting the girls out of the normal routine and work focus that they are always in and just play games, dance and laugh :) "Roxanne" and the kids came as well and it was so fun to see the kids having a blast in the water. I talked to Roxanne a little and asked if she was having a good time, She told me that if was nice to see so many people who cared and she could tell we all had good relationships and spiritual relationships. It was neat to see how much she was processing what was going on around her. The next day a few of the girls from the beach came over to the place we are staying at and we played more games and talked. We planned on sharing the Gosple and praying for them but we were unsure of how to begin. But Gods grace was with us and with no effort on our part, one of the girl stood up and asked us for prayer for her friend that led us into praying for two others girls as well. we were amazed at the Lords goodness. While we were praying with some of the girls, the other girls had tears in their eyes, it was sweet to see how God was touching their hearts through our words. They had to leave and get to work so we said our goodbyes and promise to be praying for them.
Since that day at the beach, me and my friend Sarah have been randomly stopping by and visiting Roxanne and children at the bar. There's been good days where shes wanted to talk and then bad days when she seems more closed up and you can feel the spiritual warfare. As we get closer to finishing this book the devils schemes are becoming more apparent in trying to destroy these friendships with the women that we have been pouring into. I've gotten to go out to lunch with one of the girls and my friend and talk with her one on one and and we've printed pictures for them of them and their children. It so hard knowing we leave in a few days, I wish I had more time with these beautiful people but I am thankful for the relationship that have come out of bar ministry and I will always be praying for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment