Remember the time I went into an exotic dancer bar with my mom and/or dad?
Yeah, not many people can say that.
I now can.
The week that Mom was on the Race with me, we worked with Wipe Every Tear. WET offers hope and freedom to girls caught in the sex trade. They have a chance to live in a safe home away from the bars and go to school for free.
I had never been into an exotic dancers club. Upon walking into the first one, I was overwhelmed at the number of women crowded onto a prop boat and milling around in the lobby. There were some military guys throwing around bills equivalent to 50¢. There was loud music. There were mamasitas walking around, making sure everything was in order. As soon as we sat down a crowd of girls surrounded one of my squadmates. The night had begun. Our purpose was to get to know the girls and gauge if they were ready to escape the bar life. Then we’d introduce our contact into the conversation and invite them to visit the safe house with us later that week. Sometimes we had the privilege of meeting the girls for lunch the next day.
Let me tell you, it was amazing to see the parents in action. Over the course of 2 nights, our group went into about 6 bars. In each one the parents didn’t see scantily clad girls or prostitutes. They saw daughters. Tears formed in their eyes as they thought of the lives these girls were forced to live. Instead of the bars being a scary place to enter, they became something to look forward to. Who will we talk to this time? To how many daughters can we offer hope and freedom?
On our 3rd day in the city, we took a chartered bus back to the safe house. We had invited so many girls to come back with us and see for themselves that what we offered was real. They girls could come see the house and then head back to the city by the evening. The bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until 10am, but when I went downstairs for breakfast there were already girls showing up. When the bus pulled away from the hotel, there were 17 girls and 1 little boy on board with us. Never have I been so happy to squish so many people onto a bus!
3 girls ended up staying the night. 3 girls left their bar to return to live at the safe house within a week. By the next week 1 more girl had returned. By the end of the month 4 more said they were on their way. WET reported in a status that because of our work in the city, they did not need to send their workers to the bars to speak with the girls. They just keep coming on their own! Praise Jesus!
As the racers and parents worshipped together, someone had the vision of music on the street we had walked. Below is a video of the song Come Away. We envisioned Jesus walking down the street lined with bars, calling out to the girls to come away with Him.
He has a plan for them.
It’s gonna be wild.
It’s gonna be great.
It’s gonna be full of Him!
