On Thursday and Friday of this week, my team and I did cabin ministry and dance bar ministry. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. However, I was also incredibly excited. This is one of the many forms of ministry that I have fallen in love with, but it looks vastly different everywhere. It’s not the safest ministry, but it is amazing.
Cabin ministry
In Nepal, there are places that look like restaurants, but they are more than that. Cabin restaurants are houses of prostitution in disguise. We broke up into groups and headed out to another part of the city on Thursday afternoon. We were told to simply pray about where to go, and talk to some women when we got there. (That’s been about the extent of all of our ministry instructions for the month.) So we headed out with our translator. We walked down some alleys and prayed about which cabin restaurant to go to. God pointed a specific one out to me, but we continued to walk right by it. Then, a couple steps later, God moved in the heart of our translator and we went back to the restaurant I felt drawn to. The darkness was a little overwhelming at first. We asked two women to come sit with us, and we entered the back of the restaurant where the tables were blocked off by partitions. Standard procedure is that a man walks in, asks one of the girls from the parlor to come with him, they go to a partitioned table, order drinks, and well, you know what happens from there. So, we got back to our table with two of the girls and simply asked them several get to know you questions. Throughout the course of the conversation, we gathered that neither one of them wanted to be there. They hated this job, but they “have no other skills.” Both of them had run away from home and come to Kathmandu without a plan. One was 26 years old and had tried several other jobs without any luck before she started working in the cabin restaurants. One was only 18 years old and had gone straight to working at this cabin. Neither could read or write. We were able to get their contact information and both are now getting help to get better jobs and skills. We told them how much of an honor it was to hear their stories. We reminded them that they are both capable of learning the skills they long for, and we told them how beautiful, strong, and brave they are. Before we left, they actually let us lay hands and pray for them. I prayed courage, bravery, joy, and life over them, and I left knowing that seeds were planted that day that would be cultivated for the kingdom. They are both getting help now through partners of the ministry we are working with this month.
In the cabin restaurants, for the most part, women come in willingly and are allowed to leave whenever they want. However, most don’t leave because they feel stuck and have no skills to get a better job. They are mostly not controlled by pimps, unlike the women in the dance bars that we went to on Friday night.
Dance Bar Ministry
On Friday night, we split up into groups with a translator, and without many instructions, asked the Lord which bar we were supposed to go that night. The Lord had already told me that I was going to play the background, and empower my girls to step out in boldness that night. I simply sat and prayed for most of the night. I prayed for the women, I prayed for my team, and I prayed that the Lord would invade the space we were in.
When we found the bar, we walked into what seemed like a scene from Austin Powers with a Hindu influence. The stage had a background of a neon eye, from which the women emerged to do their dances. We divided up into three booths and took the time to pray about which women the Lord wanted us to talk to that night. It was obvious that the women had been told not to come talk to us, so we were each praying against that for about an hour before any of them sat down at any of our tables. In the mean time, I prayed for each woman as she danced with no hint of smile or happiness. It broke my heart. It was obvious they did not want to be there, and honestly, I felt powerless to help. One of the girls on stage looked like she was 15, and my teammate told me that she felt led to go talk to her if possible. Once again, my heart broke. I began to feel defeated. “God, what can we do here tonight?” He told me repeatedly, “simply pray.” So I did. The next woman to come on stage was the first one I had seen smile. “She loves to dance, but not here. Imagine what her dancing will be like when one day she dances for me. For my glory. I love to dance with her. She dances through her mourning, and one day she will see me there dancing with her. Then her vibrant smile will be amazing, and her joy will overflow.”
After this conversation with the Lord, I switched tables and sat by my teammate, Lindsey. I watched and prayed as she engaged in conversations with the woman who came to our table. This woman claimed to love her job, and informed us that it was a family business. Lindsey laughed and danced with this woman, and truly saw her for who she was. Not a dancer, but a woman deeply loved by her creator. She saw her as our sister, as a beautifully unique creation. I prayed for Lindsey and for this woman as Lindsey stepped out in boldness repeatedly through the conversation. The other girls on my team did the same. We all left that night knowing that we had each done exactly what the Lord called us to do. We left with confidence that even though this ministry looked very different than the day before, the Lord planted seeds through us, and we walked in holy boldness to be his vessels that night.
We are all still processing ministry from Thursday and Friday, but overall I am so proud of my team, and so honored that the Lord gave us the opportunity to partner with him in these ministries the last few days. I’m still praying for the women in both the cabin restaurants and the dance bars. Will you join me in praying that the seeds we planted continue to grow and that the Lord would fill the women with courage?
From here, we move on to remote jungle village ministry for the next nine days. We are going with no plan or agenda, simply asking the Lord for guidance as we go. We would appreciate your prayers, as always, as we embark on this next adventure.
**Fundraising update: I need $13,000 in my fundraising account by the end of the month. Will you help me stay on the field by simply clicking the donate button and giving?
