I'm gonna do my best to control my 'word vomit' because I already have a tendency to ramble a lot and I feel like there is a lot to write about from last night so bare with me :)
Last night was a huge new step for us! While Jen has already been working on developing relationships with people in the area, Bible studies, women's homes, pregnancy centers, etc, we had also had a desire to have relationships with the churches in the area. So it was really exciting last night to be able to conduct a training class at a church that is just blocks from the track!
Quite a few people showed up and nearly all of them (about 17 of us) joined us for outreach afterwards. Jen did a superb job at teaching the class all about the game, what to expect on outreach, and how else we can team up in this area.
During the class, someone had asked how many girls we have seen get out of the game and what the statistics are. As Jen started to explain how tough it is for girls to get out, one of the girls in the class raised her hand, motioned to the girl next to her (I believe it was her sister) and said, 'We are living proof that you can get out.' She herself was in the game from age 13 to 28. As she continued, it came out that her dad was a pimp (now a Christian) and her husband was too and is now training to be a pastor. Praise God! Sometimes I doubt if we are really making a difference and if these walls can really be broken down. When it comes down to it, I doubt how big God is. I can't speak for the rest of the team, but boy did I need to hear this girl's testimony! At that moment I was pumped for outreach because I was reminded of how powerful Jesus is!
We split up into four groups and took different parts of the track. My team was Katie, a new girl Ali, and I. The other teams seemed to have pretty crazy nights with a lot of meetings with people, but we only met two. But those two people made the night worth it!
The first girl we talked to, M, we had to chase... oops! We had parked pretty close to her but she started walking pretty quickly away from us once we started walking towards her. She was at least over a block away, as we were speed walking, when I started praying that God would turn her around. And she finally did! We finally caught up and got to talk to her. She was so appreciative of the gift, but wouldn't let us pray for her ('I already pray a lot.') We started talking more and got mixed answers as to how long she had been out there. As we were ending the conversation with her, I told her that there is a phone number in the gift bag if she ever needs anything or needs prayer. The number wasn't good enough. She wanted to be able to reach one of us. So not only did she take my number, but she actually gave me hers! I am praying she will actually answer when I call and that her phone doesn't get turned off...
The second woman, T, we kind of found by surprise. We were driving down the track and a truck kept driving next to me. I didn't look over to see what the people looked like, but when I would speed up, they would speed up and when I would slow down, they would slow down. I finally turned quickly down a street so they couldn't be near us, and there was T! We got to talk to her and pray for her for quite a while. She has two daughters around the age of 40 (she did NOT look old enough to have a 40 year old daughter!) and she really needed money for her gas payment. She said she often woke up in the morning wishing she hadn't woken up. Katie got to talk to her in more detail as I watched the same truck pass by us a few times. As Katie continued the conversation, I prayed quietly that the truck would leave us alone. By the time we finished praying with her, the truck was gone, T had tears of thankfulness for God sending us to her, and it was time to meet up with everyone else.
Please pray for M, that she will answer her phone when I do make contact, that she will be open to a friendship that will eventually lead to her letting God change her life.
Please pray for T, that she would know that prostitution is not the only way to pay her bills, that God DOES care about what happens to her, and that we will see her again.
Please pray for the area and the people in the churches stepping up. That these relationships with flourish as they become more active in reaching out to the girls.
Please pray for our team, that we would continue to be unified in Christ, holding each other accountable, and trusting each other as we do God's work together.
God is so good! He is a big God!
Summer Speed
1 year ago