A few stories...

I have been here for a little over a month now. One thing that I am learning is patience. Waiting and trusting the Lord means sometimes you have to wait. However, I do want to share a few of the stories that I have heard or situations I have been a part of:

Bouncer next door- He comes in fairly regularly. He comes in a lot when I am here. Last Saturday, a night I wasn't supposed to work, I was here and he came in and played skipbo with me for a while. He started talking to me about his life and then brought up the topic of God. So i was more than willing to listen to his perspective. After explaining his views, he made a statement that has become a driving force in my prayers. he said "I just don't believe that God can work/do anything in a strip club." How this has stirred my heart. He may not believe that God can work in a club, but I sure do. Therefore, that is what i am praying for.

Dancer next door- She seems very independent and has a hard edge, but she is a tiny woman. Either way, she comes in a lot while I am here. Every time she comes in, I say hello and ask how she is doing. The 3rd time, she smiled when she first saw me working. The 4th time, she answered my question and asked how i was. The 5th time, she asked how i was before I even said anything to her. There has been a noticeable change in her demeanor whenever she is in here. The last time she came in, she started talking to me about dancing and what she thinks about it.

Surgery Man- I don't know his name, but he just walked in today and it was the first time i have seen him. He got his coffee and said he was on his way to surgery. I asked what he was having done. He explained that he is having ulcers removed and he has been throwing up blood. As he was headed out the door he said "My wife died, my daughter was murdered, my son drowned and my parents died...it has been unreal" and out the door he walked. I normally say as people are leaving "have a good day" but at this moment, I had no idea what to say. So i feebly suggested "stay warm." After kicking myself, I began to pray. I want him in here again. I want to be able to talk to him! Or i want someone to be able to talk to him or just be able to listen to him.

...to help direct prayers.

First time...

This past Friday, Me and two other women went to take our gifts to our neighbors. We had planned for almost 50 girls between the three clubs and soon found out that was an underestimation. There were, in fact, 70 girls between the our three little clubs along the street. Even that number will so be too small to include the new "high class" club going in on the left. We put a bath liquid item, nail polish or lip gloss, chocolate, and a free drink card in each bag. As soon as we had separated enough bags for the three clubs, we walked towards the biggest club. After walking in, we were warmly greeted by the doorman and the manager quickly journeyed to us. He began in conversation with one of us and next thing i knew, I was hearing our coffee shop advertised over the announcement speaker. The manager had taken it upon himself to send people from his club our way. (Umm, yes, of course you can do that!! Please send people to us from your club. You have no idea what you are doing :). After all three of us met him, we began to head out the door. The manager gently grabbed my arm and said that he wanted to talk to me for a second. I quickly replied that I had to help deliver the gift bags to the other two clubs and i couldn't stay. When Jamie turned back to help, he motioned her away as if to say "no, i just needed to talk to this girl (me)" However, i kinda reached toward Jamie and we trotted out the door together. Once outside, I breathed a huge sigh and said "thank you." We began to head towards the next club (the one with the least business) and walked in. After explaining why we were there, we walked towards all three of the girls that were working at the time. They were all sitting by the slot machine wasting time. When we handed them the box of bags we had prepared for that club, we saw their genuine smiles. They seemed genuinely joyful to receive anything from anyone. The last club we went into, we know the most people from. We went in and were warmly welcomed by the girls that new us. They smiled and gave us hugs.
Several of the girls have come in already and thanked us personally for the gift bags. How neat it was to be able to give them something without any expectation from them.
We are trying to do something like this once a month. We all three felt like the way was completely paved for us to go into all three of the clubs. What provision we had

...in the clubs :)