Last night (3/17/09)

Last night we went to the strip clubs and handed out gift bags to the dancers.  Each bag contained a picture frame, an invitation to church, an encouraging note on God's unending/unconditional love, and chocolate candy.

We were able to spend time in the dressing rooms talking to the girls.  Diamond told us she wanted out and had applied to be a flight attendant.  

Two of the modeling studios were closed.

Probably the highlight of the evening was seeing James.  If you've been reading the blog or archives on the Piercing the Darkness website, you'll know that several years ago the club owner told James (a club manager at the time) if he wanted to keep his job, he would go to our church to get help for his alcohol problem.  James has struggled with alcohol for many years, and we lost touch with him when he was fired from the club.  The club later hired him back as a janitor on the day shift.  ANYWAY, James was leaving the club as we were walking up.  He said, "This is good timing.  I need to make a change.  What I'm doing isn't working.  I'm going to call you." We made sure he had our contact info and told him how much we missed him.

Please keep James in your prayers.  He has a new girlfriend who seems to have her own alcohol/drug addiction problems.  Plus, James' brother isn't doing well either.  

We had a lot of good conversations and pray that we were an encouragement to the girls.  Many told us how much they appreciated us coming in.

Drenda and the PTD team

Last night (2/10)

Last night we went to the strip clubs and took gift bags to the dancers. Each bag contained a cuddly teddy bear, an invitation to church, an encouraging scripture and chocolate candy.

Last month we took the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. Ashley told us she read it in 2 days and loved it. Red, a deejay, told us he gave the book to his wife. She later texted him that she read the book and loved it. He even saved her text message to show to us.

Lenore has been dancing for 5 years and wants to get out of the business. She says she has a background in fashion design and hair. We'll give her some of our contacts who are in the hair business.

Christie has 5 boys who live with her mother in Miami. She's been dancing for at least 3-1/2 months.

Little Mama and Percy have been sick. Percy was at home because he was too sick to get out. We prayed for Little Mama outside the club.

We went to a new club. It's the same building that previously housed the club that burned. It's been renovated and looks very nice. The girls were happy to see us.

Another girl has been married for a year and has a 1-year old son. She said she's dancing to put her husband through school. She's 19.

We ran into a girl who spoke very little English. Fortunately, Laurie was with us and translated. This girl pays $80 to go to an ESL class. Laurie's church has an ESL program that is free. Laurie is providing details on time, location, etc. to her.

We had a new team member join us last night. Her name is Vicky, and she told us about a lady in her Bible study group. This woman moved to Houston 14 years ago and noticed the billboards up & down I-45 advertising the various adult-entertainment venues. She began praying that her sons would not see the billboards. She felt impressed that she should not pray that way, but instead should be praying for the girls. For the past 14 years she's been praying for the girls in the clubs up & down I-45. Her prayers paved the way for this ministry. I can't wait to meet this lady and thank her for her prayers. No telling how many lives have been touched because of her prayers (and yours).

One of the dancers showed up at Laurie and Amanda's church last month. She says she attends a church in the north Houston area, is getting baptized and is out of the business. Go, God!
As always, we couldn't do this without you!! Thanks for your prayers and support!

Drenda and the PTD team

Last night (1/6/09)

Last night we went to the strip clubs and took gift bags to the dancers.  Each bag contained the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.  If you haven't read this book, I HIGHLY recommend it.  The bags also contained an invitation to church, an encouraging scripture and candy.

It was a very interesting night, and we had a lot of long conversations with the girls and guys. One girl from a higher-end club is now working at one of the lower-end clubs.  She said the club where we first met her was "getting too crazy".  She didn't elaborate, and we didn't push it. I gave her the phone number to a recruiter in case she is ready to leave the business.

Crashawn just broke up with her abusive boyfriend, but she talks like she might get back together with him.

Keisha is a former dancer and is going to medical assistant school and graduates in July.  She was inebriated, and we encouraged her not to drive home.  She couldn't believe we were there doing what we do.

Big Bo said his son's custody issues with his baby's mamma have greatly improved.  He thanked us for our prayers.

One of the cashiers is reading Victoria Osteen's book, and I stood and listened to her, the manager and a dancer discuss how awesome Joel Osteen is and how much they like his book and his preaching. Joel, if you're reading, you have a loyal following in one Houston strip club. Go, God! 

As we were leaving a modeling studio, a man pulled up in a SUV, stared at us and drove on by.  We got in the van and didn't think much about it other than he was probably a customer who was being delayed.  After I got in the van, I heard my dad talking to a man at the back of the van.  I jumped out of the van and went to see what was going on.  The man introduced himself and said he was with Redeemed Ministries.  I said, "My pastor just met with you on Monday."  He responded, "You're the one!"  Redeemed Ministries is a ministry to victims of human trafficking.  When he saw our van, he thought we were transporting women.  We were -- just not in the way he thought.  It's okay.  We thought he was a customer.  :)  He got to meet the team, and I'm sure we will be doing outreaches together at some point.

At the last club, a couple of guys stopped Tammy and asked what we were doing.  She told them.  They thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen. They asked what church we were from.  Tammy told them we all go to different churches but come together to do this ministry.  They were shocked.  They couldn't believe different churches could work together.  Again, they thought that was the coolest thing ever. They asked for extra bags/books to give away to their friends.

Only God can put all of this together.  Thanks for your prayers & support.

Drenda and the PTD team