So I Baked Christmas Cookies for Strip Clubs....

My former classmate from elementary school, Michele, was much more politically conservative than me, but we shared a Christian faith. She had commented on Facebook that we should care about people at least as much as we care about animals. I made no apologies for Creation stewardship and care for endangered species, but maybe she had a point. My Mom and I shared a passion for wildlife, especially wolves and bears supported by Defender's of Wildlife, but Mom also had recently moved more toward people-centered charities like St. Jude's. Maybe I, too, needed to be more balanced in caring for people as well as animals.

I had always thought that human trafficking was one of the greatest evils in society. What were people of faith doing about it?? Like all modern people, I went online and googled the topic, discovering, to my amazement, that a local organization dedicated to stopping human trafficking and sexual exploitation was meeting for prayer in a local church. I messaged them and was invited to the next session with instructions to "park in the back of the church and knock on the door to the prayer room."

I felt like I was gaining access to some clandestine underworld as I drove around the substantially-sized church building in the dark, searching for the correct door with a secret combination lock. What was I getting myself into??? Yet, I followed the directions and found myself in a carpeted room filled with comfortable stuffed arm chairs and foot rests positioned in a circle. I was surrounded by normal, ordinary-looking people...a female pastor, an outreach team leader (at the time a pastor's wife who was later ordained herself), a man, and a number of women of various ages and backgrounds, representing several area churches. Announcements and confidential prayer requests for the organization and for the (mostly) young women to whom the outreach team ministered were shared and then there was a time of prayer.

I started to gather information about the organization. A few years ago number of mothers felt called to minister to those being exploited and trafficked in the local area. At first they met in the truck stops where many with addiction problems start prostituting themselves. Then, realizing that the dancers in strip clubs were often involved in prostitution or were trafficked, these ladies became involved in ministry at local night clubs. Dubbed "the church ladies," the all female outreach team visits several strip clubs one night a week and brings the young women home-baked treats and a meal, baked by other volunteers. They aim to simply show non-judgmental love to the people at the clubs, and, when a young women asks for help and/or wants to stop working at the club, they assist her. Their help can take many forms...helping a young woman flee a pimp or find an addiction recovery program, assisting with child-care needs and child custody issues, teaching soft job skills and writing resume's, finding affordable apartments and furnishings, budgeting for groceries and cooking meals, etc. Sadly, many of these young women start working at strip clubs shortly after high school and, especially those with a history of abuse and/or mental illness, never develop healthy "adulting skills."

I must admit that I thought a bunch of "church ladies" visiting strip clubs with a crock pot and cupcakes seemed a bit weird at first. I kept envisioning Dana Carvey as the judgmental Church Lady.

However, as I continued to attend the prayer meetings, I witnessed the wonderful and often lifesaving love and support the outreach team provided to these women. When I signed up to bake a treat one week, an outreach team member suggested I bake chocolate zucchini bread. Zucchinis were plentiful in season, so I found a decadent recipe with espresso powder on the King Arthur flour page. Each serving had to be separately wrapped in disposable packaging that could be left at the night club. This concept challenged my eco-consciousness, so I found small brown wax paper bags and decorated them with leftover stickers from charities. Later I found myself baking Christmas cookies and purchasing mittens on Etsy for Christmas bag distribution.

Why are the home-baked goods important? One of the leaders described the reaction of a dancer when, on an especially busy week, the outreach team brought in pizza and supermarket cupcakes. The young lady licked the icing and said, "I guess the church ladies don't love us anymore!" The team never again brought anything less than homemade to the night clubs.

I must also admit one Christmas I was growing jaded about the number of fuzzy socks, candles, and ornaments requested for my personal work parties and church gift exchanges. It all seemed to me like consumerism destined for landfill.

Yet, despite the so-called sugar daddies and boyfriend/pimps that pay attention to the dancers, some of these young women commented that our gift bags were the only Christmas gifts they had received that year! I saw the bottles of body wash and hand lotion in a new light.

After the ministry was able to help a trafficked woman get to safe recovery program, I was delighted to contribute a few cleaning items when she transitioned to an apartment cleaned and furnished by the volunteers. Likewise, the "church ladies" have hosted baby showers for expectant mothers, witnessed baptisms, and assisted with funerals.

Yet, the monthly prayer meetings in which we seek divine direction and wisdom form the foundation for the ministry. Not only must the young ladies gain healthier views of themselves to escape exploitation and addiction, but there are always predatory forces sabotaging their progress. So, even my chocolate zucchini bread can be a force for good!