When soul meets body

Tonight me, Lina(intern), Maggie( intern) and Jen (staff) went out to Broadway and did a strip club outreach. We brought cute bags with makeup inside ready for 9 clubs. We prayed days beforehand and a few hours before going out, me and the interns prayed for about an hour. We prayed for the women we would encounter, the bouncers, managers etc and just that God would give us favor and open doors.

God blew us away.

We decided to go to the easy clubs first ( the ones we already had relationships with). I got the privilege of talking to a few women before entering the 2nd club with Jen. Let me rewind first though....Earlier that day i was having a pretty crappy day. Things just werent going as i wanted and i was finding myself filled with my own flesh rather than the spirit and i didn't like it. Luckily, we prayed before we went out and i think that really helped me to get into the right mind set and prepare me for what i was about to experience. Before, i was nervous....anxious and really almost wanted to cop out and say " i can't do this...its too much". But i persevered and went into the club with a peace in me. Yes..there was alot of nakedness, but you learn to look into people's eyes, smile and ask their name and that all goes away. If you know me though, you know how awkward i am and how much i do not enjoy seeing people without clothes. It goes without saying that God took me out of my comfort zone.

We also talked to many of the bouncers and prayed for them. What was interesting was that nearly ALL of them, including some managers asked us to pray they would find another job and one said " i feel stuck". It was apparent to me that not only are the girls in this industry feeling trapped, but the people who are running it are AS WELL. How huge is that?

We were able to pray for many of the women as well and Jen said she couldnt believe how much favor from God we had. We were able to go into clubs that usually they havent gone into. It was like a full on miracle. Every encounter seemed to reveal to us that God was present and with us and had intricately woven this night out before we had even prayed for him to. One bouncer we prayed for nearly cried. I'm serious. Lina told him he was worthy and that she saw that he had hopes and dreams and that God was going to get him out of the industry. before she had said this, he was closed off and seemed like he didn't care to be prayed for, but his eyes looked into hers and his whole face shifted as if he really believed what she was saying and he knew it was true that he was unhappy in this business. I almost cried. It was just so obvious that God was working on the hearts of these people. And to add to that, one bouncer we talked to didnt want us to pray for him at first and then we "accidentally" ( no accident here) ran into him later and he asked us to pray for his friend and then said God is too busy to answer HIS prayers. We told him that God is big enough to care and the look in his eyes.......man. It was just such a sweet moment. Like he really received that as truth.

All in all, it was a great night. We met alot of people and it was just good to realize that God IS good. Even at a couple of clubs, we didnt get to go inside but we trusted God was still good and one of those clubs happend to be the one where we prayed for the man who i mentioned earlier. If we had gone in, that conversation would not have happend. God's is sovereign. Period.

And i can't tell you how many people said "you made my night". It was just a great experience and i know this is an issue that most people don't talk about. But we have to go to these places and meet people where they're at. Obviously, its complicated at times, but the Holy spirit is in control. And i am MORE than okay with that.