WHY

So many people don't get what we do... staying out 'til 2 AM (like last night), handing out roses and chocolates to men and women of the night.

My friend, Carole, wrote an excellent blog post about Midnight Outreach and you can (and should!) read it HERE.
This really happened.
And it's WHY we do it.

Where No Church Has Gone Before...

Stardate: 2009 AD

Actually, I can't say "no church" because I'm sure other churches have visited Bourbon Street, but probably not with the same mission we have tonight.

Tonight is Midnight Outreach Training in New Orleans with Church of the King.
We have actually done training with them before & this will be our 3rd time going to Bourbon Street. I smile when I think about my church and how lucky I am to belong to one who allows us to do this outreach. We are very blessed!

Training for this outreach is extremely important. We have rules and they are there to keep us safe as well as to protect the ministry we are trying to do.
As I've mentioned before, we don't preach at the girls or look down on them or make them feel small in any way. We don't gawk or point or act superior.
That is not our purpose.
We look them right in the eyes and smile and hand them a rose (and often, some other small gift).

The 1st time we visited the strip clubs on Bourbon Street, the ladies working there told us that no one had ever done anything like this before. They were very eager to talk to us and know why we would come down to that part of the French Quarter late at night to give them gifts.
We told them that we wanted them to know they are not forgotten. Some of them invited us to come back.

Attached to the roses and gifts are small cards that will point them back to Church of the King (a non-denominational church) and there is a phone number they can call if they need help.

Tonight, we will also be putting up posters in bathrooms for young women who are caught in the sex-trade industry. Bathrooms are sometimes the only safe havens for these young women and the posters will direct them to a hotline where they can receive immediate assistance.

I've been a part of some great churches who did good work, but I can't imagine any of them doing this.
It's time the church tore down its walls.
We are bringing the church to those who might never visit one, voluntarily.
I pray that some hurting girl will find hope tonight -- a glimpse of another life she never thought possible.
That is our mission.

Sometimes I Pause...

and hesitate to write another blog post when I know I've written something that needs to be read.
It's not that I don't want to write something or that I'm slacking on the blog thing; it's just that I want to make sure the previous message gets through.

I have had confirmation from at least 3 different people who told me my last post struck a chord with them.

One friend told me last night that she started to text yesterday (while driving) and remembered my post and decided to wait until she got to a stopping point.
I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

Perhaps that last post wasn't meant for any ONE person, in particular.
Maybe it was just a wake-up call for several people.
In any event, I'm glad I wrote it and I appreciate the positive responses I have received.

Today, I am recovering from another fabulous MIDNIGHT OUTREACH.
No matter how late I sleep on Saturday morning, it always wipes me out, but in a good way.
I feel like I've really DONE something the day after Midnight.

I don't mind being a little groggy or moving a little slow because I know that THIS MORNING, some girl -- somewhere -- woke up and saw her beautiful rose with the Healing Place Church card attached and right now, she is thinking about calling that number.

I don't mind because I still remember the girl who told us last night that she recently lost her mother and she was so touched by our little gift to her.

I don't mind because I may never know how God chooses to use those few simple hours we gave to further His kingdom.
There's no better feeling in the world.
That's something that should give you pause...

Breather

I'll post more about Disney tomorrow... today has been a long, but good, day.

Bought 100 roses at 8:30 AM, met with moms' lifegroup to dethorn & ribbon the roses, ran errands, came home and cooked an early dinner & then met for Midnight Outreach at 9:00.
Got home around 11:30 -- really, kind of an early night for Midnight, but that's ok.

I am off to bed!

Giving Your Heart

It has taken me most of the weekend to recover from Friday ;^) but it's a good kind of exhaustion.

As you know, Friday we had our Valentine's Midnight Outreach and we started bright and early, Friday morning.
I was at Sam's Club when the doors opened at 7 am to buy the 150+ roses for the outreach. Then, I met with a young mothers' play group at 9:30 to de-thorn and tag each one of the roses. We snipped thorns, tied on HPC cards, and curled ribbons for more than an hour.

I went home for a brief respite before I had to meet the rest of the team at a club we've never gone into before. This is probably the "biggest" club in the Baton Rouge area -- not in terms of square footage, but in terms of working girls and (sadly) patronage.
We have been trying to get in for several years, but all we have ever done before was leave the roses and chocolates at the door with the bouncers.

Well, on Friday afternoon, they actually let us come in to decorate the girls' dressing room! It was a pretty large room so we left balloons and roses and flower petals, chocolates and candy hearts and chocolate-dipped strawberries. And we wrote on the mirrors:

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM HEALING PLACE CHURCH"

We also gave them a bunch of gifts -- earrings from the Mom's lifegroup & cute water bottles and makeup cases that were left over from our Live The Dream Women's Conference.

We met a couple of hours later to go decorate the dressing rooms of our other two "regular" clubs, then met again at 8 pm to go to the clubs and hand out roses to the ladies.
It's always so amazing to me how warmly they receive us -- the incredible favor that is granted us. And it seems that we always manage to touch someone's heart.

One young girl who was getting ready to work, asked us, "Who are you all? Why are you doing this?"
When we told her that we were the church and we just wanted her to know that she was loved and valued, she was visibly shocked. It was her 4th day on the job. Who knows the long-term impact of that encounter?

To me, this is what Valentine's Day should really be about: Giving your heart -- a heart for Christ -- to those who have never known His love. It's about showing them they are VALUABLE and worthy to be loved. It's not about preaching or shaming or acting "holier than thou..."

It's about being the hands and feet of Jesus.

It's just one small part of the Servolution.

Some of the gorgeous ladies who worked so hard to get the roses ready Friday morning!

Alliece and I at S.K.

Decorating at G.C.

Live the Dream!

Setting up at K's

Alliece checking the decor at K's
Look what was still hanging on the mirror at S.K.'s!!!!
Pastors Dino & DeLynn's Christmas card!

Just a small part of the MIDNIGHT "Dream Team:"
Me, Alliece, Jillian, & Donna (Charity is taking the photo)

Sweet MIDNIGHT

TOMORROW is going to be amazing!

We have our Valentine's Midnight Outreach tomorrow night (What is Midnight Outreach? Click HERE).
As usual, we will go and give roses to the ladies who are working the clubs & walking the streets -- just letting them know that they are loved and they are valued, right now, just the way they are. But since it is Valentine's weekend, we will also be decorating the dressing rooms, much like we did for the Christmas outreach.

But, even more exciting:
Tomorrow afternoon, we are being admitted to decorate the dressing rooms of a strip club we have never been allowed to enter before! How cool is that?? We won't be able to go in and give the roses during business hours like we do with the other clubs (not yet, anyway), but the club owners have finally relented and are allowing us to come before they open to surprise the girls with decorations and gifts and candy.

I have to be up at the crack of dawn to go and buy 200 roses and a couple hundred carnations on THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY!
Please let me be the first one there!

I am sooo loving the movements my church has started... the culmination of which will be

SERVOLUTION WEEK

in April. We already have more than 70 churches signed up to participate! Talk about making a huge difference. This experience is going to be like no other.
If you or your church are interested in being a part, just go HERE to watch the video, learn more, & sign up.
You do NOT want to miss this!

We are "Reaching the World by Serving One."

I love HPC!

The Prodigal Blogger Returneth (Again)

Wow; the past 2 weeks are a blur!
I know many of you have wondered where I am -- why I'm not blogging or Twittering much.

In the past 10 days, I have sold & shipped approximately 42 items on eBay. My Spring selling is DONE!
Of course, I found out the juicy little tidbit below (see previous post) AFTER I had spent HOURS taking photos and DAYS uploading listings... the work was already done.
Actually, I'm glad because now I can focus on other things and not do my usual procrastinate-panic-sell routine.

I'm ready for things to get back to "normal," whatever that is.
I plan on posting more tonight, so check back later for a very interesting update re: MIDNIGHT OUTREACH.

OUTREACH = Reaching Out

Casting Crowns has a song titled,
"If We Are the Body,"
that includes the following chorus:

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way.

As Christians -- members of the Body of Christ -- we should be striving to be the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone we meet.
After a weekend of amazing outreaches, I am proud to say that I belong to a body (church) that really tries to do just that. Here, in pictures, is a brief recap of the last 3 days:

Friday night -- Midnight Outreach
HPC Shuttle parked in front of a local strip club.

Just a few of the goodies donated by Healing Place Women which we put in the gift bags for the strippers: "Live the Dream" t-shirt, sunglasses, water bottle, bracelets, nail polish, earrings, & candy!

Decorating a strip club dressing room -- rose petals & pot pourri, cookies & cupcakes, bracelets & toys for their children: Just a part of our evening!

Written on the mirror in lipstick:
HEALING PLACE Loves You!!

Different club; same idea.

Saturday morning: Baton Rouge Dream Center
Christmas Outreach!
We had a huge turnout & it was so much fun!

Cookie decorating, face painting, spacewalks, & more!

Never heard the final count, but not long after this pic was taken, even the balcony was full!

BRDC Kids-In-Action getting ready to go onstage for a short Christmas program.
They were awesome!

"Sista Bling" holding a dance contest & giving away 26 bicycles!!!!

We have a winner!

Saturday night & Sunday morning:
HPC Highland Kids-In-Action doing their
Christmas program:
"Could It Be?"

Could it be there's more to Christmas, than presents under a tree?...

Followed by a great message by Pastor Dino titled, "Simple Christmas."
(check out his blog for more great pics!)

Natasha as Mrs. Santa Claus

And while the entire weekend was great fun, real work was also done: Families were helped, children were fed, hope was restored, & about 70 (SEVENTY!) decisions for Christ were made.

What an amazing testimony to our community!

T'was the MIDNIGHT Before Christmas...

THIS Friday night marks a very special MIDNIGHT OUTREACH for us:

We will leave that afternoon and go to the strip clubs and decorate the dressing rooms for the girls. We will hang garland & ornaments & leave gifts for each of the girls. We are giving them chocolates and earrings and make-up & more...
Additionally, we are taking toys for the girls to give to their children on Christmas day.
I am SO excited to be a part of this!

We will then meet up again late that night to go do our usual rose-hand-out.
If you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, go HERE and HERE.

I can think of no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by showing Christ to those who feel unloved & forgotten.

What are you doing to prepare for THE holiday?

Midnight With FlowerDust

100 Roses for 100 Girls...

Dean, Me, Season, & Anne (FlowerDust)

In case you can't read it, it says:
"We hope this small gift
brightens your day.
It is a simple way to say God loves you
-- no strings attached.
Let us know if we can help you."

healingplacechurch.org

We give each girl -- stripper, prostitute, mom, grandmother, barmaid, etc. -- one of these beautiful, long-stemmed, red roses with this card attached.
How lucky am I to be a part of such an amazing church?

This next picture is just for fun because it clearly shows that I have had WAY, WAY too much caffeine! ROFL!
Seriously, I almost look manic.

No more Red Bull for me!

Before MIDNIGHT

Next week we are having a special Midnight Outreach.
The awesome Anne Jackson (FlowerDust to the blog world) will be joining us. I'm so excited to meet her! It's really great to have her join us on one of our most significant outreaches.

I will go next Wednesday and pick up the roses -- 100 long-stemmed, red roses -- to pass out to the ladies we encounter Thursday night.
I am thrilled to have been given this responsibility; the roses are symbolic of the message we want to send to these girls:

You are LOVED.
You are VALUABLE.
You are a daughter of the KING (and therefore, a Princess!).

To see the look in their eyes when we hand them the roses is priceless.
If they've never experienced our version of a "drive-by Jesus," they look at us incredulously, and with unguarded curiosity.

Who are you?
Why are you doing this?

We are Healing Place Church.
Because you are loved.

And you can see in their response -- by the look in their eyes -- that they just might believe you.
That is our hope anyway.

And that's what it means to be
"A Healing Place for a hurting world."

HIS story In The Making

Ok, so you probably get the play on words in my title name (Her Story -- history -- get it?).

But I think that our lives should be all about adding to
HIS Story:
Making a difference in this world and showing Christ to those who think no one really cares...

Last night was another amazing night of MIDNIGHT OUTREACH.

We met at the church around 9:00 to pray and Alliece was telling some great stories to a couple of newcomers... then, when she prayed, she asked God to "give us more stories."
Did He ever!

Last night began with the realization that one of our "usual" strip club stops was shut down. There was a police raid a while back and apparently, there was some "not-so-legal stuff" going down in there, so they are closed for business.
We headed a short way down the road to another "usual" stop.

This club is an interesting story, in and of, itself.
You see, we've been informed by his bouncers that the owner is a practicing Satanist.
Um, yeah.
A Satanist, strip club owner who allows the Church to come in and give roses and chocolates to his employees.
Wait, it gets even better...
There is another strip club further down the road that we have been trying to get into for ages (no luck). Last night the Satanist dude comes out to greet us and fill us in on the closed strip club's details... then he asks us if we are going to _______?
Alliece tells him no, they won't let us in.
Get this: He CALLS the other strip club and tells them to LET US IN!
After a year of trying to get in, we finally got to go in to _______ and they seemed glad to see us! We gave the working girls roses and make-up kits and gave all the bouncers and managers chocolates and gum.

Then we headed to the inner city to look for prostitutes and to show love to the community.
We came upon a street where a man had JUST been stabbed in a fight. The fire truck and paramedics showed up right as we did and we ended up staying on that street for a good 45 minutes or so.
While there, we were able to hand out roses and chocolates to the good people sitting out on their front porches and in their yards (at midnight, no less) and gave them fliers inviting them to the Winbourne campus for church. There were kids running around everywhere so we invited them to Vacation Bible School and gave them free chocolate and gum as well.
The cool thing was that while we were there, we "found" a lady who used to come to Ladies' Thrive all the time, but whom we hadn't seen in a while, and Alliece "found" a young prostitute that she had lost track of a while back.

All in all, it was a great night and I think God more than honored our request for "more stories" to tell. All I could think about was how each of these people -- the strippers, the prostitutes, the pimps, the drug dealers, the homeless, and the poor -- each one of them are an integral part of the bigger picture, the bigger story:
HIS story.
And I feel honored to have been allowed to play some small part in that...
THANK YOU, Healing Place Church, for giving us the opportunity to participate in such an amazing outreach!

Prince Caspian @ Midnight

The movie was even better than expected!
TOTALLY worth the loss of sleep. ;>)

Last night, I took Nadia & Natasha and we met Carole and E, Alex and Austin, Tori Ohlerking, Andrew Friedriches, and Tori's friend for the MIDNIGHT SHOWING of:

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

Note: this movie is a tad intense, so it might not be suitable for younger children. I doubt I would take anyone under the age of 8 or so, but certainly, each child is different in what they can handle.
We LOVED it and can't wait to see it again!

When You Start to See Leprechauns...

it might be time to go home...
Monday was St. Patrick's Day and the MIDNIGHT Outreach Team decided to extend our ministry once again to the New Orleans area. Church of the King, whom we partnered with last month for the Valentine's Day outreach, invited us to join them on Bourbon Street to pass out green carnations to the strippers and prostitutes and chocolates to the men. (Check out the pics on Carole's blog!)

Can I just say, Monday night made Valentine's Day look BORING!
Bourbon Street was jam-packed, wall-to-wall- with people.
We arrived just as a St. Paddy's parade was ending and the throng of people made movement nearly impossible. I've never been to a Mardi Gras parade in the Quarter, but if this was any indication of what it's like, I never will!

Unfortunately, BECAUSE it was so crowded, the club owners and bouncers were more reticent to let us in the clubs than they were on Valentine's Day. You could tell that they were tired and a bit wary of anything out of the ordinary...

The cool thing was that the clubs where we DID make contact with the girls, our gifts were met with surprised joy. And SOME of the ladies remembered us from when we were there before handing out red roses! They seemed glad to see us back. =)

One of the young ladies from Church of the King went in to a strip club with me and Charity. Charity signaled for her to give a flower to the girl who was dancing on the stage. When the girl caught her eye, she asked what the flower was FOR.
"It's for YOU."
"Yeah, but WHY? What do you want?"
"It's free; It's for you because we care about you."

I almost cried when I heard her retell this chance encounter.

For those of you who might think this stripper outreach thing is a waste of time, let me tell you:

When you see the eyes of those (usually very young) women as they take the rose from your hand, you know that it's important.
And when you realize that many of them will go home and awake the next morning and see that rose -- a reminder that SOMEONE cares about them,
-- that SOMEONE does not look at them as a piece of meat,
-- that SOMEONE does not judge them or condescend to them -- and they read the card that invites them to the church that was willing to meet them where they are right now -- then you know it's making a difference.
And it's never a waste of time.

You IS In An Area!

This past weekend was INSANE.
I don't think I've sat down to reflect on any of it for more than a couple of minutes!

Friday night was our monthly MIDNIGHT OUTREACH here in Baton Rouge.
Vincent Bellipanni and Craig & Hope Boutte joined us for a night of seeking and reaching the lost and hurting in Baton Rouge... and it was anything but ordinary.

Now, I'm sure you're probably thinking: "How could giving roses to strippers and prostitutes and chocolates to bouncers and pimps ever be considered ORDINARY, anyway?"
But as Pastor Alliece says, when you're doing this kind of ministry, EXPECT ANYTHING.

We encountered cross-dressers and an apprehensive police officer who unexpectedly gave us a brief, "police escort" to our intended target.
And who could forget the enigmatic, street-walking woman who encouraged us with quoted scripture?
Basically, she told us to keep it up -- to not be afraid for "no weapon formed against us" would prosper -- and let us know that we were in the right place, at the right time with an enthusiastic:
"You IS in an area!"

You know, I have been scared walking in to Cortana Mall before.
I have been frightened while stopping at a deteriorating gas station in the middle of nowhere.
And I have prayed fervently (under my breath) when approached by unseemly characters who appeared to be straight out of "Deliverance," but I am constantly amazed by how UNFEARFUL I feel when doing Midnight.
I know that we are following the heart of Christ and I believe that God has His hand on us when we enter this particular "mission field."

It's truly indescribable; you kinda have to be there.
And when you get there, you'll know it.

Midnight On Bourbon Street

Where to begin?
Sleep deprivation and physical exhaustion are nothing compared to the whirlwind of thoughts and memories of last night...

Yesterday -- VALENTINE'S DAY -- was phenomenal.
Midnight Outreach -- where we show the love of Jesus to strippers and prostitutes and anyone who thinks they may be "forgotten," -- is always amazing, but last night was almost indescribable.

Our day started out in Baton Rouge where we visited some of our usual stops to give roses and chocolates to the ladies. But our "usual" route was diverted when we learned of a young woman who was in tremendous emotional pain. We drove to Scotlandville just to see her and let her know that SOMEONE does care. This woman is living in deplorable conditions with her two very young children. As my friend, Carole, said: "A 'CONDEMNED' rating would be a step up for her building." While we could not change her physical circumstances, Jesus showed up and changed her spiritual circumstances. Donna and Charity prayed with her & this morning she attended our "Ladies Thrive" weekly meeting. I can't wait to see how God moves in her life...

After visiting a couple of local strip clubs where we left boxes of chocolates and roses and balloons in the dressing rooms, we headed to New Orleans.
We partnered with a church there -- Church of the King -- and went to "train" them in the art of Midnight Ministry. I think Alliece said it best: What we are doing is taking the church to the streets. We are letting them know that someone does care; they are not forgotten.

And then we hit the streets of the Big Easy.
Talk about a field ripe for harvest!
Bourbon Street was surreal.
Surrounded by so many lights and music and smells, but also by so much pain and loneliness.
Our trepidation and hesitancy quickly disappeared when we realized that this was going to be a whole new ballgame: Here, there were no suspicious bouncers blocking our way. The only suspicion we encountered was from those who thought we were selling the roses... They couldn't believe they were FREE. It's not common to get something for nothing in this town...

Here, on Bourbon Street, the clubs WELCOMED us in! The ladies eagerly accepted our roses and chocolates and our supply of 300 roses was depleted in less than 20 minutes. So many of them told us how much they appreciated it -- how NO ONE had ever done anything like this before -- how glad they were we had come...

For some, it may have been the only "Valentine" they would receive.
For many, we may be the only Bible they ever read.
As one of our group quipped, last night we did a "Drive-By Jesus," and I can't think of a better way to spend this holiday of LOVE.

We arrived home around 2 AM -- exhausted, but ELATED -- by what God had done.

My pics were taken with my cell phone, so please forgive their quality. CAROLE has some MUCH better pictures from last night over at her blog; be sure to check them out!
For more about Midnight Outreach read here.

De-thorning the roses and tying each one with ribbons and cards...

Getting Ready to ROLL!

A picture of some of our group with one of the club owners!
She was SO nice and SO appreciative of what we were trying to do...
We definitely made a connection here!

PAST MIDNIGHT

Another incredible Midnight Outreach last night... it's so amazing to watch God lead!

You know, it was cold and rainy and I was thinking, "Hmmm... will anyone even be out tonight?"
Our first stop was at a local strip club and as we walked in taking roses to the girls, I couldn't help but notice the difference from the last time we came to this same club. Before, we could hardly walk through the crowd due to the throng of patrons, and before, every stage was in use. Last night, the club was almost empty (well, compared to before). We quickly passed out roses and went back to the van, but Pastor Alliece remained behind for a few minutes talking to the girl working the door. She knows Alliece from previous encounters and last night, she really needed someone to talk to. She is dealing with all kinds of health and financial issues and is desperately looking for a new job. Alliece prayed with her (discreetly) and then we were on our way. I couldn't help but think SHE was the reason we entered that club last night.

Fast forward about an hour... We are driving around trying to find someone, anyone, working the streets. They have apparently been run off from their old territory, but (like Alliece said), it's not like they all made a career change just because the cops showed up. So we drove around desperately praying for God to show us something -- to open our eyes to their new locations.

Driving down a dark, residential street in northern Baton Rouge, we spotted a woman walking in the rain. We pulled up beside her and offered her a rose. She asked if she could have 2 more for some other ladies who were in the house, so Alliece stepped out of the van and came around to talk with her. The woman (aged in her 50's or 60's?) had just been thrown out of the house by her daughter (again) and had nowhere to go.
A homeless grandmother.
As Pastor Alliece told her about the nearby Dream Center and how we could help her, the woman began to cry. She told Pastor Alliece that after her daughter had kicked her out, she had been trying to drink herself to death.
She was literally trying to kill herself with alcohol. Alliece and Charity held her and prayed with her for some time and got her name and information. I hope she comes to the Dream Center so that we can minister to her more!

We found a few more people to give roses to -- and a new idea for our midnight outreaches: Hospital emergency rooms!
But the majority of our evening was spent looking for any sign of the elusive prostitutes and especially the underage ones who we so desperately want to get off the streets.
As we drove around, I kept remembering Alliece's words regarding their similar ministry in another state: in the beginning they just prayed for FAVOR and for God to lead them to where the people were. And they thanked God for the day that would come when they would be able to make a connection with these women and when they would be allowed to enter those clubs... and when that day finally came, they were just in awe.
I thought about that and all I could see, staring out the dark, rain-splattered windows was the possibility of what could be.
I can hardly wait.

If you are wondering what it is we do, exactly, you can read my first MIDNIGHT post here: MIDNIGHT OUTREACH

God bless Healing Place Church for allowing us to do this important ministry. We truly want to be a HEALING place for a hurting world.

MIDNIGHT

Up to 80% of strippers were raped or sexually abused as CHILDREN.

Up to 60% of exotic dancers suffer from severe depression and other psychiatric disorders.

ONE IN FOUR (!!!!) children becomes a victim of sexual abuse (isolated or repetitive) before their 18th birthday.

The average age of a beginner prostitute is between 14 and 16 years of age and fully 42% of all prostitutes begin hooking before the age of 18.

Up to 95% of prostitutes have been raped or sexually abused AS A CHILD.

Every time you see a pornographic photo of a woman, every time you watch an exotic dancer perform, every time you pass a hooker on the street or in a hotel... You are looking at someone's LITTLE GIRL.

NO little girl dreams of growing up to be a stripper.
NO young girl aspires to become a prostitute.

This is someone's DAUGHTER.
A LITTLE GIRL who, at some point in her life, was violated physically and/or emotionally.
She is not an OBJECT or an ILLUSION.
She is just like YOUR DAUGHTER or YOUR MOTHER or YOUR SISTER.
She is someone's daughter or mother or sister.

Last night, for the first time, I participated in HPC's MIDNIGHT OUTREACH.
We left around 9:30 pm and hit various bars & strip clubs around the greater metro area. We gave the working girls roses and other gifts and we gave the bouncers/owners/managers chocolate.
This is NOT what you may think.
We do NOT go out to preach to these girls. We do not criticize; we do not chastise; we do not look down on them... We don't tell them they could do better or that they need to come to church or that what they are doing is wrong.
WHY?
Because they already know that.
Our SOLE PURPOSE is to tell these girls (and guys!) that God loves them -- that WE love them -- right now, right where they are.
They do not need to DO anything or BE anything more than they already are to receive this love.
And what they are is a precious CHILD of God who is hurting more than you or I could ever know.

Not too long ago, I asked God to break my heart for the things that break His.
I think He has answered me.
My heart ached last night for those ladies I saw. As I looked into their eyes, I could sense an unspeakable desperation. Some eyes appeared vacant -- a telling sign of the drugs that kept them going. Some would not look me in the eyes at all.
One girl stopped dancing and leaned down to thank me and as I looked into her eyes, I thought, "Dear God, she can't be more than 16 or 17 years old! This is somebody's child!"

But they are all children.
And my heart is broken.

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
-- lyrics from HOSANNA by Hillsong