Scarlet Hope – Journal Entry #63 – November 27th 2009
“I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God’s Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” On earth.†– Shane Clairborne
Club 1
Sarah Flannery reporting
Team: Natalie G. & Jessica L.
We want to give a HUGE thanks to Jill Warner and her family who prepared a feast for our friends in the clubs. Turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, carrot souffle, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and beautiful made-from-scratch desserts. Many of the girls commented on how this meal was “way better” than their own Thanksgiving meal the day before. Many to-go boxes were filled to the brim!
S – bouncer/bookstore staff – told Jessica that he wanted us to know how much he appreciated all that we do for them. He said many will not say it, but he wanted to be sure to tell us he was thankful for us!
Uncle B – The big guy was in great spirits and loved talking to Natalie about many different aspects of teaching – since she is in school to be a teacher.
St – We have worked with this dancer in the past. She has been on and off “track” many times and we have been sad to see her very high or drunk the last several times we have been to the club. She also seemed to avoid eye contact and conversation. Friday was a little different – she didn’t seem to be under the influence of any drug and was very talkative. Please continue to pray for her that we can begin to rebuild this relationship.
De – She is now bartending instead of dancing because she is pregnant. I call her the “cookie monster” because she always wants to know what we have for dessert. Looks like we have another Scarlet Hope baby on the way! Please pray that as the time draws closer, we are able to shower her with blessings and prayerfully ask God to deliver both she and her baby from this dark environment.
Ma – Bartender – She gave the team a thank you card for helping her last week with the last bit of money she needed for an outrageous water bill. She talked to me for a while about how thankful she is!
There seemed to be a new manager in the club last night, although we are not sure. He walked around with a clipboard and went into both clubs, behind the bar, into the DJ booth etc. He seemed to be talking a lot to J – the only manger we know of at this point. They all completely avoided us……not even making eye contact. Please pray for these men. We do not wish for them to see us as a threat to their business, so please pray that we come across as friends.
Thanks so much for reading, praying, encouraging, and supporting this ministry.
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Club 2:
Reporting: Rachelle S
Team Valerie S. Allyson H. Ruthie R.
Lord, you are so good to us. We are blessed to be your servants. That’s all I could think about as we prepared ourselves to go into the clubs. How we are broken people just like the women we go to Love. How God didn’t come to this earth to condemn us but to save us. This thanksgiving holiday made me especially thankful for that Love. God’s Love.
So this week we celebrated with a feast! Not just any ordinary feast, every single home cooked food for a thanksgiving meal you could possibly think of was made. We had several men and women in club 2 say they didn’t even get a thanksgiving meal. So this was a feast for them!
As we have mentioned before Friday’s are a very busy and loud night in the club. Music is always way up and the customers are many. So we serve, smile, and talk with the dancers as we can.
I met a new girl, ST. I asked ST if she would like a plate of food and with tears in her eyes said “no, my boyfriend just died†Not really knowing what to say, I hugged her and let her know I was here if she needed someone to talk to. She went on to tell me that he commited suicide by drug overdose and died while he was laying next to her. She hadn’t eaten in a week and showed me a picture of him in his coffin. My stomach sank to the floor and I did everything in me to just Love and Listen. She ended up eating her first meal in a week that night and she was sooo thankful for it.
Valerie had several conversations in the club and I thought I’d share a bit of her report.
“I went to club two again. It went well. i’m starting to feel more comfortable in that club. I feel like i was really partial to club one and the people there, but i’ve been going to club two now for several weeks and starting to like it there. 🙂
I saw the two girls i was hoping to catch up with. One, “A” i met last week when we went. I met her right before we left last week and didn’t get to have that much of a conversation. We talked about school, and her wanting to get her GED. So this week i was hoping to see her and get to know her more. See if there was anything i could do to help with her studies.
But the club was SOOO busy! I first saw her when we brought food into one side of the club, and told her i would come back in a couple minutes so we could talk. When i went back she was dancing with a patron. When she finished she came over and said hey. I asked if she’d had any food yet, and she said no, that she was about to go get some. She went to go get some food, and then disappeared….
When i went back to the other side of the club i saw “C”. I met her a few weeks ago. We had exchanged numbers, and have been texting since. we’ve been trying to get together for lunch but haven’t been able to.
It was nice to finally see her again and be able to catch up. She just got a second job. She’s a hostess at TGI Fridays. She’s not planing on leaving the club right now. Likes the money and people there. she says she has fun working there, she just needs a second job for extra money.
It was certainly a VERY busy night at the club on fri. And we weren’t able to stay that long because of all the business. But we had SOOOO much food, and did get a chance to see and catch up with the girls!†– Valerie S.
We hope you had a beautiful thanksgiving, and we are looking forward to Christmas.
Make the most of Today,
Loving Him,
Rachelle Starr & The Scarlet Hope Team
www.scarlethope.org
