13 Nov 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, Uncategorized, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #60

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #60 (Part 2) – November 5th 2009

Hannah Reporting:

Club 1:

I know we always rave about how good the food is but Thursday nights meal was unbelievable! I have never seen a meal go as fast as it did that night! We brought lasagna, amazing soft breadsticks, salad, beautifully decorated fall cookies, and homemade cheesecake! Normally at the end of the night there is food left over that we leave there for the ladies to take home to thier familes but tonight there wasn’t much left! Thank you so much to our awesome cooks who poor their love into these dishes. One girl V said “wow, this lasagna is awesome! it must have took a long time to cook” i got to share with her about how we have so many wonderful people who cook and pray and prepare food for them every week. She was blown away that women were actually preparing her meal, hours before we get there.

V is a very precious dancer, just barely 20 years old who I’ve been talking to a bunch lately. She quit the club a while ago because she hates working there. She tried to find another job but no one would hire her because she doesn’t have her GED. Hopeful Monday we are going to go take her to take her test. She told me last night that she desperately wants to stop dancing but she needs to pay $250 + money to insurance for her car and then she wants to quit again. The need for jobs for the ladies is crucial and severely needed. I talk to so many dancers who do not want to dance, but its the only job that will take them. Just be praying for that.

We met B who who was very excited to talk to us for quite awhile. B is from Casey county, she is 19. this was her 2nd night working. She drove 2 and a half hours and got a hotel for 5 days to dance in Louisville. He dads a preacher. She said she use to dance in Lexington, and met the group “quest” Who use to take food into the club that she danced at. She thought we were connected to them. We all got her number and are trying to set up a date to go to dinner soon. Prayers are changing these womens lives.

Hannah Dunn and the Scarlet Hope Team

Report by: Rachelle Starr

“where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” 2 Corinthians 3:17b

We have much to share this week…so I have broken it up into two seperate emails…

If you could only have been there….if you could only have talked with the beautiful faces God allowed us to…you would have no doubt that the Spirit of the Lord is real and evident in the lives that allow him to lead.

God opened up amazing doors last night in the club.  Our team talked beforehand about how we often forget the Spirit.   We pay close attention to Jesus and to following God, but when was the last time we really thought about what Jesus said about the one that will be coming that is great than He….The Holy Spirit is what guides us through each step of everyday..if we allow him.  Often that’s too scary of a commitment for us.  It’s hard to drown out the noise around us and focus on what the Spirit is telling us..but when we do, wow!   The Holy Spirit is something I don’t want to live without

We asked the Holy Spirit to go before us last night and out of many many nights in the clubs I have never felt his spirit like I did last night.  Both teams Club 1 and Club 2 had incredible Spirit led nights.

Club 2:

Last night’s meal was incredible!   The girls went crazy and at one point I looked up and they were all gathered around wanting to grab a plate to eat!   Lasagna, breadsticks, and salad to something for a crowd and it definitly made the night a lot smoother.   We had beautiful docroated sugar cookies and homemade cheesecakes that were amazing!!!   Thank you to everyone who prepared food for last night….God used that and blessed that meal over and over!  Our team Jessica, Valerie and I were stepping all over each other all night trying to serve everyone, but it brought a huge smile to my face as I realized what was going on.

After we had served the majority of ladies, Valerie and I went into the club next door to sit down and see how everyone was doing.   Jessica stayed behind to keep serving food as ladies came in.  Valerie wanted to share with TH the dancer that actually allowed us to be serving in that club.  TH recently got fired, because the manager said she caught her smoking marijuana and she fired her after 13 years of working in the club.  TH believe it’s because she’s black.

Valeries report for the night:

So last night we went into club 2.  I wasn’t really that excited about this club…last time i was there it was really busy, and we couldn’t really talk with anyone.  Man oh man, the Lord sure showed me!  ha I had three great conversations!  The first was with “T”.  She’s been in this “industry” for 13 or 14 years.  She has two children (16 and 12).  She recently got fired from club 2 and isn’t dancing there anymore. She still likes to go and hang out with all the ladies there tho.  She’s going to be starting a new job with her family in a couple weeks.  But she still is going to continue finding ways to stay in the sex industry. We didn’t get into much of a deep conversation, but it was a two-way convo!  and it was great to get to know her like I did!

My last conversation i think was the most productive.  One of the girls, “C” has been in this club for 3 years now.  She’s wanted to get her GED for a while, but just hasn’t been motivated enough.  She’s decided that she wants to get into hair design school, who say she needs her GED first, so that’s motivating her a little more now.  She’s looking for a hostessing job that she can work during the week, and when she’s not at the club.  Please be praying that she finds something that will be stable enough for her to maybe quit the clubs.  She was just so broken and desperite for a girl friend.  I got her num, and we’re going to go to lunch soon.  I also told her that i would love to help her study for her GED.  So please also pray that this friendship will grow, and she’ll see the love of Christ through it!

and these are only my stories!  There were other miraculous things happening last night!!!  Our God Reigns!   -Valerie S.

I met several new girls that night and I have put together a couple of stories.   I’m sorry these are long, but God is moving and I want to be a voice for them:

New Dancer H:

I was able to talk witha  lady named H.  H is fairly new back on the club scene and is an older lady with 2 kids.   H asked if we were the group that helped D get the baby stuff since she adopted that little girl.  We said yes and she held my hand for a good copule minutes saying she couldn’t believe we would do that for someone we barely knew.  It opened an opportunity to share God’s Love with her and why we come in there each week and why we zlove these women.  She hugged me so tight and shared just a few things with me about her.

Dancer RX:

In the middle of talking with H, RX came up and started telling me that D wanted her to tell me that she was very soory.  I quickly said for what?  RX told me D originally had been very judgemental of us and thought that we thought we were better than her.  RX told me that when she was going to have an abortion and we talked to her about getting counseling, D was very upset that we would do that!  That we should of kept our nose out of her business.   RX said “I’m glad you didn’t because I think you all are great and I’m so glad that we know each other…your my friend”   RX said D told her recently she’s never met anyone like us and she is so thankful she knows us and that we take the time to Love her.

It’s not about us……the coolest part here in the story is that D is talking with RX about Love!   Love stretches far and wide and deep!  It’s amazing what Loving someone can do!

Dancer JE:
(Hannah talked a bit last week how the DJ wanted us to give JE spiritual guidance next time we came in…well this was the night..)

The next story that I want to share came as a surprise.   I had just gone back over to talk with Jessica and got a salad when the DJ from the other club came over and said “one of the girls needs to talk with you”  so I followed him back over and there was a dancer I had never seen before…JE…..I sat down and before I even actually could sit down she quickly said “what religion are you?”  I todl her I was a Christian…she quickly replied “yeah so, what denomination?”  I said “non-denominational”  she said well I was really hoping you were non denominational because I am a Christian too and I haven’t seen anyone do what you all are doing.  She went onto tell me about her story ….(JE and I talked for about half an hour…so I obvously can’t relay everything) but it was an annointed appointment …JE grew up in a Christian home and walked away from the Lord many many years ago and eventually lost her 2 kids.   She’s not married and doesn’t have a car.  Makes enough money to pay for her rent and that’s about it.  During our conversation which was full of “do you believe this…that…
type questions she told me with tears in her eyes that she hopes one day she can do what we’re doing for women in the club.  She said she often catches herself “preaching” to the girls but then quickly realizes what type of Christian she is because she’s not leading by example…she’s doin exactly what they are doing.   So she said she stops speaking about the Lord to them and tries to hold it together.

As JE was talking I truly felt the Holy Spirit moving and he brought once again (it seems to be a popular passage among these women) the story of Esther.  How Esther was brought up from nothing to be Queen.  I told her about this story and with tears in her eyes she broke down and said “I prayed a couple of nights ago that God would send me some Hope….God would send me something….and I turly believe it was you all..”  “God sent you to me because I haven’t felt like this in a long long time…she went onto say how much she misses going to church and wants to get connected again… I told her she could come with me this weekend and her eyes got Huge and said “really, I could really go with you?”

So we exchanged numbers and I’ll be picking her and her daughter up tomorrow morning for service.  We hugged for a long long time and told her I loved her and would pray for her!

I walked out of that place more humbled than ever and feeling as though I didn’t want to leave!

These women are desperate!

The amount of Love and seeds that are being planted and watered each week in that club is amazing to see!  Please continue to pray for Club 2 and the women within in it!   Pray God breaks down these walls!!

DJ – J:

Update real quick for some of you who know and now have met J, the DJ from Club 2.  J asked if he could come to Veritas up at Northside a couple of weeks ago, J got on the website and searched around for ways to get involved.   We said absolutely and offered to pick him up if needed.   He said he would get a friend to come with him.  The first week the enemy was really working on hard to get him to not come….his phone died and the pay phone he walked to to call one of us was out of service as well.   Last week he attempted again and after a 30 mile detour, he found it!!   He caught the very end of Veritas and said that when he walked in that place he instantly felt a positive energy (I like to call this the Holy Spirit    He said he looked at his friend and said “we’re coming back next week”   Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit revealed himself again!!  It brings tears to my eyes of pure Joy to know that He is working in so many lives!!!

Rejoice with us for the Lord is AMAZING!!!

Have a beautiful weekend,

Loving Him
Rachelle & The Scarlet Hope Team
www.scarlethope.org

01 Nov 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, Uncategorized, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #59

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #59 – October 29^th 2009

We should not fear those things which can destroy the body, but we are to fear the One who can destroy the soul…Matthew 10:28

Club 1

Reporting: Rachelle S.

Team: Natalie G., Amy B., Allyson H.

God brought to us a new delivery team member, Amy. We are super excited about her joining our team and know God is going to use her to reach girls we haven’t been able to reach. Gods timing and plan is always perfect. We are thankful he is growing and maturing our team!

15 dancers were working Thursday night. There weren’t a lot of customers so we thought we would have a lot of time to talk with the girls. But unfortunately . The mood of the night was pretty down and out. When the club puts a lot of girls on the schedule and then there are few customers the girls get pretty bitter and upset. Those nights are the nights that we just try to serve them, love them and most of all continue showing up building trust and security.

R was there working. R is from Lexington and is 19 years old. She absolutely breaks my heart. Her dad is a pastor in Lexington and has no idea that she is living in Louisville doing this. She talks about how much she loves her lifestyle and how much she needs the money. At the end of the night she talked to our whole team outside for quite a bit. She told us that she is living in a motel here in Louisville paying about $800.00 a month for that and she also maintains an apartment in Lexington that is $600.00 a month. She does that so her parents won’t know what she is doing and so that she can be near her boyfriend who doesn’t seem like a great influence. He just got out of jail and will be going to rehab for quite awhile starting this week. This girl is completely broken and seems to be sucked in so much into this industry that she has lost all Hope. Please pray for R…..she knows who Jesus is and now feels so far away from him that she can’t possibly be loved my Him again. We know that is NOT and that God deeply loves her and is heartbroken she has turned her back on him.

M the bartender is always super anxious to talk to us. While we were walking in she was already setting up the table for us to get the food all ready. She has been in this business for a long time and has a older man who pays all of her bills. Her younger sister is getting ready to have a baby and is very excited to help her with that. I can just tell M is so desperately wanting a relationship…she follows us outside and talks the whole way out ….we love talking with her and invite her to dinner…but she hasn’t been able to come so pray that this relationship will continue to grow and grow.

S who we have talked about a long time ago hasn’t been there in about 3 or 4 months. She showed up last week and this week and she said she had staff infection in her leg from getting into a fight with one of the girls in the bar. S has taken a turn for the worse and it breaks my heart to know that she is headed into a life of misery and pain. She doesn’t have a phone anymore so talking to her out of the club isn’t much of an option right now, but God has put this girl heavy on my heart, because he wants to rescue her!!!

There are so many more ladies that I could mention but please continue your prayers for the lives that we are meeting each week in Club 1. God is opening doors for us to be able to help many of them and get to know them and we need his guidance to show them the Love he has for them and the life he desires for them.

Club 2:

Natalie W. Reporting:

Team: Sarah F., Hannah D., Jessica L.

Last night was one of the busiest nights at the club since we’ve been there. We brought baked potatoes with all the toppings and dessert. The girls loved it. Since the club was so busy the girls didn’t have much down time to talk. There are a few things we need to be praying for. When we were leaving one of the DJs stopped us and said there was a dancer coming into work named JY who is in need of some help. Hannah asked him if there is anything we could be praying for and he replied “spiritual healing”. He said she will be there next week so hopefully we will get a chance to meet her. So just be praying for her and whatever is going on  in her life that God will heal her. Also be praying for J the DJ/bouncer he is very interested in coming to church but different obstacles keeping getting in the way to keep that from happening. He wants to come to Veritas this week so I got his number and we are going to find him a ride to get there. Just keep praying for everyone that we’ve met and haven’t met at this club. – Natalie W.

I spoke with Gracie, our AVON lady, and she was very appreciative of the food and excited that was going to Texas on Saturday to take her great grandkids trick-or-treating.

The bouncer, J, talked with us a bit but had a nice conversation with my husband, Jason, after the rest of the team had gone back to the church. He and Jason talked about service and politics and J seems very interested in getting more involved at Northside.

When we went in to the club last night and began setting up food, I saw a gym bag sitting behind the counter. It said “FCHS Cheerleader” and then had a name embroidered on it. I went to school at FCHS and it really hit me for the first time that I may know one of the dancers personally. It was instant panic, but after a few seconds I had this overwhelming sense of sadness. I discretely placed my hand on the bag and prayed over it for whatever girl it belonged to. I was brought down to the reality that no one – not even those that seem the most privileged, most popular, have the most money, and seem to have it all together are immune to the darkness. Not me – not you. Not anyone. The enemy can suck anyone into his game and only the grace and love of God can save us. Sometimes I get too comfortable going into the club and last night was a great reminder that the sex industry ruins lives….destroys futures and families…..and needs God and needs people to help tear down the walls and build and restore the pieces that are left. – Sarah F.

Loving Him,
Rachelle & The Scarlet Hope Team
www.scarlethope.org
“we are to love people who don’t think and look like us, even our enemies”

27 Oct 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, Uncategorized, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #58

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #58 – October 23rd 2009     ” If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love,if any fellowship with the Spirit,if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same LOVE, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing outof vain conceit, but in humility concider others better than yourselves.”
Philippians 2:1-3

Club #1 : Hannah  Reporting

Wow. What a powerful statement, consider others better than yourself. This was an awesome reminder to me to always know and view these women as God’s perfect masterpieces’, and consider them better than our selves! GLORY to the God of the universe who is just doing so many incredible things in the lives of numerous dancers in the clubs. I just want to share a quick story about a girl D who actually works at the downtown club. It is a HUGE praise report because D was probably one of the toughest, cold, and hard hearted women we have ran into. She has a horrific past of drug abuse and a broken life.Well because of Gods amazing timing and purpose a situation arose where we were able to help her out with a few different needs. God opened a door to love D and later in the day we received this message from D “Hey I just wanted to say thank u thank u thank u, in all my life, I have never meet people as kind and giving as u guys are. You really touch people’s lives. You guys will always have a place it my heart. God bless you” Ok don’t all tear up at once! I was floored. I hope you are encouraged by that message from her. Everyone reading this is being used by God to help break down barriers, not only in D’s life but in the lives of so many other girls. I know that D has felt Jesus comfort and love through you folks and your prayers.

Brittany, Natalie G. and I arrived right on time at the club with our bins packed full of the most wonderful bean/ham soup, corn beard, roasted potatoes, and yummy pumpkin/banana muffins. The girls went wild over it all. I think one girl ate 6 banana muffins. Last night there were 4 new dancers who just started working there that night. They were all under 20 and two of them looked scared to death. We met one of them “DI” who told us about how her mom has breast cancer and that she wants to get a tattoo to show support for her mom of the pink ribbon on her chest. We offered her food but she said she couldn’t eat because she was nervous and thought she would through it up. There was so much great convo last night and this will be a novel if I don’t keep it factually so I’ll try.

“S” randomly showed up last night. Rachelle had been trying to help her for months but S disappeared awhile ago and we haven’t seen her again until last. I have to say it but she looked awful, it broke my heart. She was SUPER drunk and had a couple bruises on her legs:( We are still going to fallow up with her.

We talked to M for a while who really wants to come to the baby shower this Sunday with us. Then there was V who use to work at the club awhile ago, she quit, and just last night came back to dancing. She told me how she tried very hard to get any “normal” job but since she doesn’t have her GED, she cannot get hired anywhere. So if anyone knows of places that will hire girls without GEDs, please let us know. We have two girls right now who said they do not want to dance but they have to because they need a job.

Club 2: Reporting: Jessica

Team: Allison, Valerie and Mandy

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”   Tonight was a slow night for conversations with the girls. In discussion with the team, we all felt like there was a weird vibe. The music was loud and not many girls came over to get food. Satan is definitely throwing out distractions. We had one great conversation with J the bouncer/ dj at the club. He talked with us for a little while; he asked us if any of us attended Veritas, a young adult service at Northside Christian Church. Allyson said she did and he said that he has been invited to check it out and he plans on attending this coming Tuesday. Please be in prayer for J that he will take the time to check out Veritas and that he will have an open mind and heart. This is such exciting news to hear God is working bit by bit throughout this club. The team continues to see how God is making an impact in the lives of the dancers and the staff. It is obvious that God is starting to change lives therefore Satan is putting out distractions like the loud music. But God has big plans for this ministry and the people at these clubs, every seed we plant is important whether it is through smiling faces, consistently being there every week or through the meals we provide. One of the managers, K mentioned tonight that he appreciates what we do because it keeps the dancers bellies full when they are dancing.  I pray that not only do their bellies get filled up but also their lives with love of Christ.

–

Jessica

Loving Him The Scarlet Hope Team ~

18 Oct 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, Uncategorized, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #57

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #57 – October 15th 2009

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14-15

Often times I sit back and think….what am I waiting for?   People are dying and going to hell, people are starving, people are homeless…people are hurting.  These people are God’s children and it is our responsibility as his church to go and love each one of these people, to help break down the barriers that are holding them back from seeing Jesus and then letting them know who Jesus is.

I love what Francis Chan say’s in Crazy Love….”until we get our own universe we have no room to question “why God” lets things happen.   He is asking us and placing before us his children and saying, why are my children dying, starving and hurting and what are you going to do about it”

Thursday was great.  It started out with our team spending some time talking about just what we discussed above….our hearts are being changed by God’s love for his people, and to see that on a daily/weekly basis is amazing!

Club 1 report:  Reporting Valerie S.

Conversations were good at Club 1, this club has such a huge turn over in girls it’s different every week.

So not much happened last night.  As you know it was really slow, and there weren’t that many girls that came out from the back.  So, i ending up sitting with B and talking.  This is my third week in a row going to club one, and each time i always end up sitting and having a conversation with B.  I was a little sad i didn’t see either of the girls i have been talking to the other two weeks.  But maybe God needs more time to open up their hearts before we talk more…   So, B and I mostly talked about traveling, school, and jobs. Nothing that exciting. He did mention how he thought it wasn’t right for married guys to go to these kinds of clubs, even though he thinks it’s ok for single men….I wasn’t expecting him to believe it wasn’t ok for married men.  It was a nice chance for me to challenge him on his thinking.  I don’t know what God has planned for this man, but I look forward to seeing whatever it is!

Club 2:  Reporting Rachelle S.

V the bartender had called earlier during the day on Thursday.  She was very excited that we were coming in and wanted to ask if she could talk to me for a bit.   V started crying and telling me about her past with drugs.   She said she literally every single day can’t live without them and knows it’s killing her.  She said that when she was 14 years old her mom gave her her first drug, her choice…meth.
V is 40 and has been addicted to drugs ever since.   We talked a lot about God and I challenged her in seeing what he had for her life.   She asked if we could help her get into a rehab.   So Hannah and I have been working with her and she is hopefully going to be placed in a medical detox program this week.   She has kids and wanted to make sure they were taken care of before she went, even though we told her we would take care of them.   She has talked to us every single day and is very excited to go to rehab and get well.

V said she can see herself speaking to groups of people about God and helping girls in this industry.  Her heart is to have a home for women in the sex industry to be able to get healing from their pasts and find God.    It was so awesome because V called back about two hours before we went to the club and asked what she should read her bible.   I took a minute to think about it and she said what’s that girls name in the bible….. and at the same time we both said “Esther” …that was the book that God wanted her to dive into ..to show her that from nothing ..there are possibilities with only HIM…where she has the opportunity to change the world.    I believe wholeheartedly God has an amazing plan for V.   Please pray for her as we help her through rehab!

K is a young girl that a couple of us went to dinner with on Tuesday night.  It was great to get to know her and Hannah got to spend quite a bit of time talking with her in the club.  We have helped K put in several applications for a new job, as she is sooo desperate to get out of this industry.   Just to look in her eyes Thursday night broke our hearts.   She was on the verge of tears just being in that place.    Please pray that God will provide an opening at one of the places she has applied.

J the bouncer/DJ from the club came to us this week and told us he is about to be evicted from his apartment.  J has gotten a few months behind on his rent and needs help.   We have been talking with J a lot about his life and challenging him to consider going back into the army.   Which he says he would love to do.     Please pray for J and us as we try to find the best way to help him.

God is moving in this ministry and doing some amazing things!

Please keep praying that he will continue to reveal his plan to us as we help these beautiful people one by one.

Serving Him,
Rachelle Starr & the Scarlet Hope Team
www.scarlethope.org

09 Oct 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #56

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #56 – October 8th 2009

So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

Club 1 – Reporting: Sarah F.  Team: Rachelle, Kamille, Valerie
The club was pretty busy last night – lots of customers compared to usual! The food was well-received as everyone seems to like ribs and potatoes…good ‘ole country cooking. I love the look on their faces when we pull back the silver tray cover to reveal the home-cooked food. “Wow! – we are eating some REAL food tonight!” Although the conversations were few because the dancers were pretty busy, we feel like the Holy Spirit is definitely working in the hearts of some of our friends in Club 1.
 

Valerie had several good conversations. One of the managers, B, talked to her about “other dimensions” and galaxies beyond our own. He also made a joke about how we (referring to the women) were made out of ribs! (Since we brought ribs for dinner)  He, of course, was referring to the literal interpretation of God making Eve out of Adam’s rib. He had told Rachelle in previous conversation that he was a minister. So please be praying that whatever relationship he had with God is being grown and/or repaired. Also please be praying for dancer R, who is a preacher’s daughter, that she opens up more and gets to be more comfortable around us when we go in the club. She’s hot and cold when it comes to us! Dancer L has an 11 month old baby and is currently pursuing a GED, so also keep her in mind when you are praying for the dancer’s who are looking for a way out of the club scene.
 

Kamille talked with bartender M about her family life situation. She seems to work and continues to see no wrong in working there. She said last night that she would dance again if she had to, but she doesn’t really want to if she can avoid it. She also spoke about how the private dances worked. Not all the details are pertinent to report, but one in particular was startling to us. Apparently some of the dances also include a take-home porno DVD. This is concerning because it continues to “feed” the sexual addiction by keeping the customer consumed at home as well.
 

Rachelle spoke with S – a very outspoken dancer that entered into the area “Queen” contest. She traveled the area dancing at many clubs and did some unspeakable things to earn the title and she did it for FREE. Please pray for this daughter of God who is finding affirmation in the flesh of this world instead of through God.
 

When we were leaving the club a dancer TR came to me for no other reason than just to chat. She had already eaten and said her belly was full but that she would take some home for later. TR has been at the club since before our first night over a year ago and has been a tough one to get to know. Most night’s she seems totally uninterested in conversation but last night we talked about working out, nutrition, body image issues, and how busy the club is around the holidays. She mentioned that Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the busiest days of the year, but that she spends time with her family instead of working. I got her number and said that we would call her next time we all got together to hang out! Thank God for some real conversation with her!

Club 2:  Hannah reporting:  Team Allison, Jessica and Ruthie
Awesome awesome night is all I can say. Thank you again to everyone who has been praying for us. God is answering prayers everyday in this ministry. WE have talked before about how sometimes it is really hard to connect with the girls at this club because the music is always blaring loud which makes it hard to connect. We met a few new girls and had some awesome conversations!

Ruthie and I had an awesome conversation with V regarding a friend of hers who was addicted to Meth and is now sober. V went into great detail about how she cares for her friend so much and is so glad she is now sober, but her friend is draining her to extreme measures because she needs so much support and help right now. V said she is drained from helping her friend and is overwhelmed because she has her own problems and kids to deal with in her own life right now. Ruthie and I asked how we could also help her help her friend and she had expressed how her friend just got a studio apartment and has no furniture at all. So if any of you folks have any kitchen tables, coffee tables, lamps, side tables, tv, home decor, ect, please contact me 760.333.0856 and we will come pick it up from you.
Ruthie also said that V’s son woke her up Thursday morning and said “mom are the church ladies coming tonight to your work?”  She said yes they’ll be there…he said “will you tell them thank you for sending home sweets for me”  I thought that was the sweetest thing it brought so much joy to know that through a cookie God can be seen!  Love it!
I met a new girl “K” who has only been dancing there 4 days. K has 4 children. She is 25 years old. She works at a UPS store during the day and has been dancing at night because her children’s dad is very abusive and is 44 years old and is nowhere in the picture. She didn’t go into detail but she said that he “did not treat her right” and was very bad to her. I told her I was so sorry that he mistreated her and that we love her and God loves her and we want to help her and she deserves the best. I got her number and she said she wants to go to dinner Tuesday night with all of us ladies. We are trying to plan another “girls night out” this Tuesday so please keep that day in your prayers that Satan would have no control over them or that date and that nothing will come in the way of them being available to come hang out with us. So far 4 dancers have confirmed. V said she wants to try and come, and there is another girl “c” that we have been building a friendship with who said she wants to try and come too. God is so big and mighty and glorious and gracious! All praise and glory are to Him. We are all so unqualified to do this and we know that we are desperate for his guidance and direction in every step.

Loving and Serving Him,
Sarah and Hannah & The Scarlet Hope Team

06 Oct 2009, Posted by rachelle in Blog, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #55 – Continued

Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #55 – Club 2 report only – reporting Kamille Bayless, Team: Valerie Snyder, Hannah Dunn and Ruthie Ross

I Peter 4:8 —  ”Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
Man, we all need our sins covered by Christ’s love!  I know I feel the love of the Lord in the strongest way by other’s that love me despite my sins. May I yield to the Spirit daily, so that He can love supernaturally through me.  For without the Spirit-led life, I cannot love the way God loves.  We love these girls!

It was a joy to welcome Valerie to the team last night!  It’s neat to see God’s timing in all of this – because right now it’s a very transitional time in the clubs, many new girls coming and many of our friends leaving. The necessary time we spent in prayer for the new delivery team started us off for a great night!

From Valerie:  Last night was my first night helping out the ladies who serve in Scarlet Hope.  There were four of us who traveled to a club where there were several dancers working; even though there weren’t that many patrons. Once we got there and set up our food the dancers were so excited to come and get their plates!  I and one of the other Scarlet Hope ladies sat down and spoke with two of the dancers.  One of the girls, L is 22 years old.  She really didn’t talk much.  She continued to get up, walk around, and then sit back down.  However the other girl, R is 19 yrs old.  She had just gotten out of a 6 night stay in jail.  I don’t know why she was there, except that it had something to do with her current boyfriend – who is also the reason why she is now in Louisville, instead of in Lexington.  R grew up a preachers daughter with one older sister; growing up she felt like everything was a set of rules.  The one thing that really stuck out and has stayed with me from our conversation is how she views her sister.  She kept repeating that her sister had “turned out perfect”, and how she had…not. Her sister is married, with a 4 month old baby, and is a teacher at a Bible college in another state.  She did mention that she does still have a relationship with her family, however she didn’t say to what extent, or how good a relationship it is.  I can’t wait until next week, so I can sit down and get to know her some more!  I really feel drawn to R, and hope that we can build a connection and good friendship.

From Ruthie:  Last night was different because most of my time in the club was talking with a man, not one of the dancers. B, who has been there every time we have gone in, was talking non-stop. He has shared with us in the past that the girls really love that we come there to spend time with them and serve them.

At first I was a little frustrated, because I wasn’t getting any time to talk with the girls, but I quickly checked my emotions. B shared a lot of past hurts and I even got to challenge him a little on why he doesn’t think it’s wrong to be in the club. Our primary focus has been with the girls, but I know the men in there are hurting as well. It reminded me that we are there to share the love of Christ, no matter who it is with.

Another one of the girls shared about being a “pastor’s kid”, and how she felt like the black sheep of the family. She has a Biblical foundation. Pray that we can be a light and remind her of that.

From Hannah:  We had some awesome conversations with 3 girls tonight! God was totally in the club! We had so much time to sit and chat with some girls who we haven’t seen in a few weeks.”S” is just barely 19 and told us a heartbreaking story about how her mom doesn’t like her and won’t let her dad see her. She is dating a guy who is 6 years older than her, who won’t work; he lives off of her money and depends on her to pay for his court fines and living expenses. She says she would like to break up with him but she said no one ever comes over to her house and she doesn’t want to be alone. She, like all the other girls in the club, don’t know what real friendships are. I also talked to “M” for a while. She is the bartender on one side of the club. M said that she’s been there 3 years. I had asked her how come she doesn’t dance and if they ever try to make her dance and she really said some powerful stuff about that topic. She said she danced when she first started there. But she explained that there was no way possible in her sober mind that she could take her clothes off in front of people so she started drinking heavily every night just to muster up the courage to dance because she was so desperate for money. She no longer dances and kind of made a joke about all the dancers presently working, how they are always “jacked up” on either drugs or alcohol because “this work cannot be done sober” She no longer dances, just bar tends. They do ask her to dance sometimes but she refuses. She has two young children. She works two jobs to support her kids and her grandmother. We are trying hard to hang out with all these girls outside of the club!

God provided many opportunities for longer, uninterrupted conversation!  It was very slow, so the girls were able to sit and talk for an hour at a time. They were SO excited when we arrived and told us that were all so hungry. The food was wonderful, and they all loved it.  I have been disappointed at the fact that I haven’t been able to continue to build on relationships with some of the girls that were there in the beginning – but the praise is that they are not working at the club anymore!  Please pray that we will continue to cover each of them with prayer, and that the Lord will bring them to the minds of those of us that felt connected to them when God allowed us to enter their world.  So, when I walked in and didn’t see one girl that I knew real well, I was questioning how this night would go….. Expecting a lot of surface talk.  But oh no!  God orchestrated it beautifully and we were able to reach depths with several girls in one night.  ”S” is another sweet girl that is so young and has had it so hard in this world.  Her parents have never wanted much to do with her, and she was raised by her grandmother… her father entered her life a few years ago and she lit up about that!  But then, he got back together with her mom and her mom didn’t allow their relationship.  Considering her circumstances now, which Hannah described, she just doesn’t really have anyone.  She makes her life decisions based on not being alone.  Broke my heart, she is sweet and friendly and would jump at the chance to have a real friend.  Lord, provide opportunities for that! She in one of many cases similar, as you have read.  May I make practical decisions in my daily life that have eternal consequences….. such as making a call to them instead of a comfortable friend, taking them out for dinner instead of watching a t.v. show, praying for them more intensely and regularly praying for my health and wellness.  You know?  The Lord is teaching us!!!  May we love with agape love as a response, until it becomes a feeling…….. may the Spirit of God mark our lives so that what we do is not human!  How else will they know it’s God?  Only when we have nothing to do with it  :)
Thank you for the food, prayers, financial support, time and faith in God to change lives!  We trust Him to multiply our efforts as only He can.

06 Oct 2009, Posted by joshstarr in Blog, 0 Comments

Journal Entry #55

Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant..”

Jeremiah 1:6-10

I’m so thankful that God gave Jeremiah these words and this comfort so we can know that as a Christ follower when doing his work he will always provide us with the words to say. A lot of times we say to much. Don’t we? I know for myself we ramble on and on in uncomfortable situations, but I have say that saying nothing and allowing yourself to be present when someone needs an ear to talk to, speaks more than words themselves. Thank you Lord for that! Don’t let words and the uncertainty or the uncomfortableness of “not knowing what to say” stop you from leading someone to Christ.
Club 1: Report to come.

Club 2: Reporting, Rachelle Starr – Team: Mandy L., Natalie W., Natalie G.

It’s always quite a bit to take in when your first starting to serve in the clubs. Mandy and Natalie G (as well as Valerie who went to Club 1) are our newest team members! We are so blessed to have them serving with us and are excited for them to be apart of God’s work with in Scarlet Hope.

Club 2 has proven to be still a bit of a challenge. There is no getting out of the “church lady” term. That is just how they relate to us. It comes with a bit of a stigma and other times it comes with great welcoming, because they know we are a safe place for them to come to. I prefer Jesus Lover but that’s just me. Anyhow.

There was a new girl there named JN. JN ignored us for most of the night, said she didn’t want to talk or eat and that was that. By the end of the night she stopped us and said “i really want to thank you all for doing this” I thought…hmm she wouldn’t even eat our food or talk to us. So I thought it must be something else. So we talked for awhile. I could sense a lot of sadness in JN’s eyes, so I just listened. That’s it. I asked her maybe 2 questions and from that she opened up about a lot of things that had happened in her life.

JN’s husband killed himself in February this year. A lot of you might of heard the story of the police officers in Clarksville getting shot. Her husband after a 12 hour stand off took his own life. She said that 6 months prior to this outrage her husband left her for another women. He refused to divorce her, but wanted to stay with this other girl while being married to JN. JN decided to go to radiology school and continued doing that until the day her husband killed himself. She had so much hurt in her eyes…as she told me the story her eyes swelled with tears. I asked JN if she would like to get together and talk outside of her work. She said she really had no one and that would be great. We exchanged phone numbers and hopefully will be spending some time with JN.

JN is broken. She’s in need of Christ’s love.

V – the bartendar was there. V is going to rehab the 2^nd week in October. This is a huge step for V because she’s been battling drugs for a long long time. She has a 10 year old little boy and she said she just can’t live like this anymore. Pray for her as she goes through this detox and rehab program. God will sustain her!

J – the bouncer/DJ. J continues each week to tell us that he wants out of this industry. So I just flat out asked him what’s stopping him? He said well to tell you the truth….I have 2 warrants out for my arrest in Texas. I wrote two bad checks and I owe the courts $700.00. He said he doesn’t have 700 and barely gets by on what he makes at the club. I asked J if he’d be interested in letting us help him with budgeting his money so he can save that up fairly soon. J said as soon as those warrants are off his record he’s going straight back into the army. Probably a good place for J. J said he wouldn’t stick to a budget because he loves to smoke and eat. So we told J that where there’s a will there’s a way and when he wanted to help himself, we have resources to guide him a long. He told me that he’s only 26 now and he has until about 30 to get his act together. I looked at J and simply said “J, who say’s your guaranteed tomorrow..” J respectfully looked at me and said “yeah, your right…”

God is moving in several individuals in that club! The manager told us that the girls are declining in their club which is causing business to go down. They told us they have been robbed every day last week so they know that people are getting desperate. We pray that God one by one closes these doors. But Lord I pray that you help us to encounter as many girls as possible, so we can show them YOU.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God is changing lives one by one.

Loving Him,

Rachelle & The Scarlet Hope Team