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June trip to the clubs

We took 170 gift bags containing travel cups, an encouraging scripture, a card with a number to call for prayer or other needs, and chocolate candy.  Highlights and prayer requests:

• Lizette has a new baby.
• Adelade has a tumor.
• Kim and Amena want happiness in their lives.
• Deejay looking for designer job. 
• A new girl in training brought in her niece and mother as a waitress.
• Mimi's father died & her mother filed for bankruptcy.
• Sandra & Yvonne are sisters and requested prayer for their middle sister, Veronica, to make better choices.
• Christy wants prayer for everything.
• Olivia's daughter & husband are traveling. Pray for their protection while they are on the road.
• Milene requested prayer to understand why things are happening in her life.
• Claristica had an illness that put her behind on bills & wants prayer that she can recover from her debt problems.
• Jeremiah, 2 year old son of dancer, needs overall prayer.
• Homie's brother died. We've known Homie since the beginning of this ministry. He's had a tough couple of years. His 20-year-old daughter committed suicide, and his wife left him.
• Angel wants to find a good church.
• Mylee wants understanding as to why things happen the way they do.
• Elizabeth's husband left and took everything out of the bank account so she had to get back in the business and now works 2 jobs.
• Cassidy asked for prayer but for nothing specific.
• The last time we saw Natasha, she asked for prayer to find a nursing program. She happily announced she is now enrolled in one, is taking online classes and doing volunteer work so she can get out of the business.
• George, a club owner, found out he is cancer free. He's believing that God is in control because he needs a kidney transplant in about 10 months. George is hoping to recover his investment in the club so he can get out. His daughter has 3 kids and is involved in ministry at Lakewood Church.
• Alexia has stopped dancing and is waitressing. We're trying to help her find a job, but she has 3 felony drug convictions.
• Rosa's daughters are missionaries in Columbia. She has a son who is 5 months old. Tammy remembered Rosa from a previous club Rosa worked at. 

We had a lot of good conversations and prayed with several girls. A new team member commented she was surprised at how nice and welcoming the owners are. In her mind she had vilified them -- as most people are prone to do. She quickly realized the owners have the same issues the rest of us do: death of family members, sickness, divorce, etc.  They need prayer, too.

Please pray for the girls and club owners when you think about it. We're seeing baby steps towards getting out in many of them.

Drenda and The Team

Last night (2/15/2011)

Last night we went to the strip clubs and took gift bags to the girls. Each bag contained a soft, furry teddy bear, encouraging scripture, invitation to church and a box of Valentine candy. Here are the highlights:

• Amy requested prayer for her 15 year old son who is giving her a hard time.
• One girl let us know she no longer is a dancer. She's now waitressing.
• Prayed with 6-8 girls in the dressing room. One of the girls who was obviously high on something and rather loud was crying by the end of the prayer.
• A dancer approached Kim and asked if she was there for the bachelorette party. Kim responded, "Are you new?" "Yes." "We're the Church Ladies who come every month." "Oh." The girl quickly walked away. LOL
• Martrisha asked for prayer because she needs help in school.
• One dancer recognized Norma from another club where the girl used to work. I think it's great that Norma is recognized.
• A young man (26 years old) hugged the team as they passed out bags. As he hugged Vicky, he told her his mom had been a dancer when he was growing up. She was an addict, and he appreciated everything we were doing in this club.
• Olivia asked prayer for her daughter Annabelle.
• A dancer requested prayer for her mother who has MS.
• One dancer thought we were there to reminisce about our days as dancers. When she realized who we were, she apologized. Again, LOL.

When I walked in to the first club, the door girl was on the phone. As I handed her a bag, I felt like they were talking about me, but blew it off and went inside the club. When I came back out, the door girl asked me if I remembered Amber. I didn't remember the name, but as she described her, I remembered. The door girl had been on the phone with Amber, and Amber wanted me to know that she was out of the business and trying to get on her feet and wanted to thank me for what we do. I told the door girl to give Amber my number and tell her if she needs help with her job search or business clothes or wants to talk, to call me. The door girl is letting Amber stay with her while Amber gets on her feet.

I spent quite a bit of time talking to one of the owners of the clubs. He's owned clubs like this for 23 years. He has a wife and kids. I asked him what his wife thinks about it. His response:  "What do you think? No woman wants her husband doing this kind of job."

When you think about it, please pray for the girls (& owners). They have the same needs we do:  troubled kids, sick family members, marital issues, help with school work, etc.

Drenda and the PTD team