We call ya'll the church ladies

Last night we went on club outreach. The first thing we noticed as we pulled into the parking lot was that it was packed...much busier than the usual Wednesday night crowd. We mentioned this to the manager as we entered the building and he said there was a "back up" on the highway (which I later found out was a massive car accident with a fatality and several others in critical condition causing GHP to close down all lanes NB and SB) causing truckers and others to pull off the highway. What made me extremely sad was that the unfortunate incident and worst day of someone's life was pushing people to go to a strip club to avoid waiting in traffic rather than taking an alternate route as many others did. Prayers to the people involved in the accident and their families.

We prayed before going inside that we would be able to have any time with the girls at all since it was so busy. It was a different attitude as we walked in tonight, all the tables were full of men and they stared at us confused as we made our way past the stage, past the bar, all the way to the dressing room. We usually don't make eye contact with anyone as we walk to the back but one man caught my eye and he looked away ashamed as soon as we locked eyes; it was as if he felt convicted immediately. I hope this sticks with this man and he thinks twice before he enters into a club again.

We walked into the dressing room, which like I said before is the size of a closet, There was one girl in there that I had never met before, but she knew my team leader and was instantly excited to see us. She has been "working" in other clubs and had not been there in a while. She said, "I was just talking about ya'll this morning! I was sayin' I hadn't seen the church ladies in a while. We call ya'll the church ladies." She laughs and says how much she loves seeing us and that there weren't any "church ladies" at the other clubs she worked in. We talked to her for quite a while which was very encouraging. 

Another girl came running into the dressing room while we were there saying she was on stage when we got there, but she just had to come talk to us. She was a girl we had not met before because she said was never there at the same time we were, but she had heard about us and received some of the gifts we had left in the past. She wanted to hug us and tell us how much she appreciated us coming and that us reaching out made her feel as though she was cared for and that God must love her. She ran out as quickly as she came in so we didn't get to have an in depth conversation with her, but we pray that we will be able to in the future. 

Last we had another girl come in to the dressing room saying that she also had just been talking about us earlier in the week with another girl from the club. We are so glad that we are causing chatter between the girls and provoking conversation that we hope is God filled. Please continue to pray for these girls as they are all on different journeys. 

First Street Outreach with Created

Friday night...time creeped on...9pm, 9:30pm, 9:45pm...I was getting tired and we weren't meeting to go on outreach until 10:30pm. I decided to take a quick nap, woke up and dragged myself out of bed (would have been easy to stay cuddled with my puppy) at 10:15pm, made myself some coffee and left to meet our 5 person team to go out to the streets. Thank God I didn't miss going on outreach.

Our 5 person team included 2 males-one driving, the other in the front passenger seat, and 3 females (myself and 2 others) to get out and talk to the women on the streets. Our driver is new to Gainesville and so he did not know the area very well; we used this as a way of just allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us and take us wherever He wanted us to go...and He definitely did!

We weren't driving around more than 15 minutes or so before we came across a woman, P, walking back and forth along a sidewalk in front of a homeless shelter. Our team leader recognized her right away as we got out of the car and approached her. She was being trafficked by her pimp in that area about a year ago before she disappeared. Per our team leader, the streets have been extremely rough on her: she looks about 10 years older, has no teeth, and has lost most of her hair. She seemed extremely jumpy and kept looking over her shoulder. She was really surprised that our leader remembered her and she said she was going to give away the food that we gave her to the "others" along with the toiletries. We asked what we could pray about for her and she only gave us a one word response, "safety."

The second person we came across was waving at our male drivers so we knew that she was "working" so we pulled over to talk to her. As we approached her and tried to talk to her it was apparent that she was a male dressed as a female prostitute. S/he did not want to talk to us, refused our gift bag, shook her head and walked away. We prayed for her/him.

At this point it is getting close to midnight and we drove down a new, and busier street. We witness a man yelling at and hitting a woman on the street corner. We slow down and turn down the street where she is being attacked. We weren't sure if the man was her pimp, or a john hurting her so we kept our distance at first. The man eventually crosses the street and walks away leaving the woman, T, crumpled on the ground crying as we approach her. It turns out that the man was her husband and her pimp. She was so sad and confused as to why her husband thought it was okay to sell her to other men for money. She said that she is tired and doesn't want to do that anymore and that she doesn't want her husband to "rape" her any more either. She said she knew that just because they were married, if she said no, then it was rape. She also told us that she used to have a job at Subway and was going to school before she met this man. We ended up taking her with us and drove her to a safe place where she could sleep for the night, as she was homeless. In the car, I was able to counsel her a bit about what abuse is and that she needed to stay away from her husband who was also her pimp. We were able to share the love of Christ with her by letting her know that God led us to her and that He wants her to be safe and healthy because He loves her. We pray that T is strong enough and able to stay away from her abuser in order to stay safe. We gave her our contact information and we also pray that she reaches out to us for further help. She was extremely grateful for our help in getting her to safety and the gift bag that she received full of food and toiletries.

We finished out the night by going to the homeless section of town to see if there was any activity going on there. It was pretty quiet.

One thing I realize is that NONE of us are immune from evil. The women we met on the street could be me, you, your sister, mother, daughter, or friend. In the economy we live in, we could all easily be one paycheck from living on the streets and getting trapped by a trafficker/abuser/pimp. I am thankful to God for where I am today and that I have the ability to help and counsel these women who are less fortunate than me.

What's a Hero?

First United Methodist Church of Clermont asked me to be a part of their preschool children's "Heroes Program" as an adopted hero. 

"Each class is going to adopt a hero (policeman, fireman, military personnel, missionary etc) for the entire school year. Throughout the year they will send their hero a note of encouragement, craft project etc. to help share the love of Jesus and show their gratitude to you. Our goal is for the students to learn what it means to be a disciple, to share the love and Word of God, what it means to be a real hero, and the importance of gratitude."

I feel so honored to be asked to be a part of this program and share what it means to be a missionary and a warrior for Christ. This is such a neat opportunity and I am excited that missionaries are thought of in this way.

This invitation really got me thinking about what being a hero actually means. I looked up the definition and this is what I got:

he·ro

noun

1. 1.

   a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
2. 2.

   another term for submarine sandwich.

Sooooo....I don't feel as though I fit any of those descriptions (especially the "typically a man" or being a "sandwich" heehee). So, I looked into what the Bible says about heroes...

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:5-9

When a person is acting as a hero, they are doing what God called them to do and has allowed them the opportunity to achieve because of Him.

I realize that just as in Philippians, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God gives me my courage, my achievements are for His glory, and any noble qualities I possess are not of my doing. I am human and a broken person that has answered the call to follow Christ to which I have been given the title, hero.

What I know is that Jesus Christ is my hero. He is the only one who has never made a mistake, lived a sinless life, lived without fear, never possessed selfish anger, was not prideful, could not be outsmarted, loved everyone, both God and man, and He died for my sins. THAT is what a true hero is and does. 

CCC Mission Conference

This past weekend I was given the opportunity to speak at my church's Mission Conference about Bulgaria. Saturday evening we had the annual "Chili Cook-Off", I gave an update on my ministry, and then we listened to a missions keynote speaker. 

The theme of the evening was being thankful to God and I realized just how much for which I have to be thankful. I have such wonderful friends and supporters that truly show me what it is like to not be alone in this journey. Shout out to Katie Chatham that I want to carry around in my pocket as my personal cheerleader lol she and her husband know exactly what it is like to raise support (being that they were missionaries in Afghanistan) and have come alongside me to help in every way possible. It's always easier to raise support for someone else than it is for yourself, and when Katie introduced me on Saturday night she made me realize just how important community is and that it takes a village to bring God to the villages (heehee). I am so thankful for all of my supporters that are donating to my ministry to help these girls. If you are one of my donors, please know that you are appreciated beyond measure.   

Sunday morning I was able to speak during the Sunday school hour along with missionaries from Romania. It was really neat to be able to meet this family serving in the country that neighbors Bulgaria and I look forward to visiting with them when I get overseas. They are interested in knowing more about human trafficking and how they can get involved in helping the Roma (gypsy) women in their village. 

God is moving things along and even though I'm not in Bulgaria yet, I am making great connections and meeting the people God has intended for me to connect with before I go.

Club outreach-Hope

Last night we went on our club outreach. Every time we go we bring gifts for the girls and last night included in our gift bags were these handmade rings that say "Hope". We know that there is hope for each girl that we meet. We pray that they remain hopeful and know that they are loved and cared about. 

We met several girls last night and had some great conversations in their dressing room last night. Their dressing room is about the size of a small walk in closet, yet there were 7 of us in there and it was cozy. One of the girls kept saying how she loves it when we come visit them because of how peaceful and calm they feel while we are there. We know that is the Holy Spirit blessing the situation and helping all the girls feel at ease. 

H was not there, so I can only pray that she wasn't there because she is working even less at the club. I pray that she is well and not ill or hurt. We met another girl, T, that says she is interested in coming to church and we pray she contacts us to come to Greenhouse. We found out that another girl lives near one of our teammates neighborhoods so we pray that their paths are crossed outside of the club.

Please keep these girls in your prayers!

  

Hanging with the Creekside youth group

Last night I was able to spend some time with the amazing youth from Creekside Community Church. We talked about what human trafficking looks like in Eastern Europe and in the United States and we watched clips from the documentary Nefarious.

I felt extremely blessed to have been able to meet these girls and hear their hearts and help them understand what is happening in our world and how no matter what evils lie before us, God is bigger than them all and He loves His children.

One of the girls there, 16 years old, had not been to youth group in a while but felt led to youth group tonight by God. She has been praying about going into psychology and counseling and wants to work with women who are being trafficked. She had a lot of questions and we talked for quite a while. I'm hoping to be able to mentor her along her journey. Please pray for D that she stays on the path God has created for her, and she can distinguish between people who have her best interest in mind and those that do not,

Another girl there shared that 2 of her cousins were "in the life" and in desperate need of prayer. She said that learning about prostitution and trafficking opened her eyes and led her to understand what was happening. Please pray for her and her cousins.

Overall, this was a great experience and made me realize just how cool my job is as a missionary. I love being able to inspire others and share God's love. Missionary. Best. Job. Ever.

Pray for the youth

So far my time as a full time missionary raising support has been fruitful! Praise God I have had 4 new supporters join my team in the last week! I am currently at 62% towards my monthly goal with these additions! 

Tonight I am speaking to a high school youth group about the dangers of human trafficking, the signs to look for, and how to avoid getting trapped. I'm excited to speak with this group as I have not spoken to youth about this topic before. Please be in prayer that God gives me the words to use so that I can reach these girls with intent and that their hearts are touched for women and girls their own age that are stuck.