Here are a few highlights:
- The cashier who is going to cosmetology school finishes in 3 weeks. We are praying for doors to open for her.
- Amber asked who we are & why we were there. We told her we are from a church and wanted her to know Jesus loves dancers too. She said this morning she prayed and asked God to be with her even though her job is not the best of jobs. We prayed together and prayed for forgiveness, safety and prosperity and that God will always be with us, no matter where we are. Amber and the two other girls said they just really felt His presence and His energy. It was an amazing experience.
- Keisha asked us to pray for her family. She has a daughter, Brooklyn, who is 15 months old.
- Jasmine is pregnant and wants prayer for a good delivery and a healthy baby.
- Kristal asked if we would pray for her in general.
- Tashia asked us to pray for financial help.
- Annarisha asked if we could pray she would have peace.
We also went to a new modeling studio where Roxie is working and got to spend time talking with her. She's caught up on her bills and thanked us for our prayers. She said, "Your prayers worked!" We are planning to have dinner with her and her family this Sunday.
We went to a new club last night. It is 2-3 times bigger than the clubs we usually go to, and there were at least 30-50 girls in the club. It was crazy. The cashier and manager graciously welcomed us in and showed us where the dressing room was. In the dressing room, there were people everywhere. I've never seen a dressing room so busy. I walked over to a group huddled at a table filling out applications. A lady turned around, and it was the house mom we know from another club. She hugged me and was happy to see us again. While we were talking a girl walked up who did not look happy. I stepped out of the way.
The girl told the house mom something about how dare those ladies come in here telling us that Jesus loves us.
House mom: huh?
Girl: They shouldn't be coming in here telling us Jesus loves us and forgives us.
HM: What's the problem with that?
Girl: They shouldn't do that.
HM: why not?
When the girl realized she wasn't getting anywhere with the house mom (who is a Christian), she apparently went to a manager and complained because an older man walked up to us and said, "No soliciting."
"We're not soliciting."
"I said we don't allow soliciting here."
"We're not soliciting. We're giving the girls a free gift."
"What's in the bag?"
"Lip gloss or lotion."
"What else?"
"Reading material, an invitation to church and chocolate candy. Is there a problem?"
"Yes, you offended one of the girls."
"We apologize for that. We didn't intend to offend."
"I want to see that piece of paper that says Jesus and sins and stuff."
Amanda says "yessir".
"Don't call me sir!"
Amanda begins handing him items from the bag. He reads each one and finally loudly protests, "None of these say 'Jesus forgives your sins.'" Pretty much everyone in the room heard him. Kinda funny. I explained we didn't have enough to go around so some bags might be different from others. In the background the house mom is trying to tell him she's known us for years and that we've never caused any problems. He ignores her and asks how we got in.
"The cashier and manager let us in."
"We don't have a cashier." Huh? EVERY club has a cashier.
"Yes, there was a cashier. She has dark hair. She got permission from the manager sitting in the front area to let us in."
"There is no other manager or man in the front." Okay...
About that time a girl came running in acting crazy & everyone started laughing. The manager was not amused and was trying to get control of the situation. He asked us to leave. We again apologized if we offended anyone and left. As I was leaving, the house mom waved me over. She handed me her name and phone number and told me to call her.
It was a strange and crazy experience. We purposefully went to this club because a father contacted me to let me know his daughter was dancing there, and another man called to let me know his sister-in-law is a dancer there. We didn't find either girl there last night, but the house mom is there. She can reach out to these girls. Isn't it cool how God strategically places people in dark places?
We appreciate your prayers and support! God is so cool.
Piercing the Darkness,
Drenda and the PTD Team
