My initial feelings about the Emerald City outreach began with excitement however, after I experienced the opportunity, I had a much different reaction. On one hand I was enthusiastic and wanted to learn more about the long term vision for this mission. On the other hand, I was extremely frustrated with what I had seen and experienced. I had a lot of questions, and some, I knew may forever go unanswered.
When I heard about the opportunity to get involved and serve the woman at Emerald City, I was excited because I had never been a part of this type of mission work. I was eager to see where maybe I could be utilized in such a unique setting.
There were four of us that went on this particular Friday night. We were surrounded with prayer and were encouraged just to be ourselves.
The girls we met that night were as normal as the four of us, but there were a few things that I felt were glaringly different: a lack of self respect/ self esteem, and education. The lack of these qualities became evident very quickly as we observed the girls, interacted with them, listened to them converse amongst each other, and heard them complain about their everyday frustrations.
I wondered what part of their life journey had caused them to push many of their beliefs/aspirations aside to begin this type of work. One girl in particular I spent some time talking to and found out we had some things in common (nursing being one of them). She was aiming to begin classes at a local college soon and shared an evident passion for the elderly population. She was married with two children, had grown up excelling in sports. A recent move had brought her and her family to Florida. Her husband was unable to get a job, and much to her husbands’ dismay, she began working as a dancer to try to fill the financial need.
Again, at what point do you as a female see dancing as the financial opportunity to get you out of the rut? Is it a lack of education? Is it a feeling that this job, as a dancer, is no different than working at McDonald’s? Is it the thought that you can make a profitable income? We learned from one girl that night that the income was less than desirable. These women actually pay the owner of the strip club to “dance”. The dancers are fined for arbitrary “rules" set by the manager if they don't please the customers. This does not sound like a profitable “win/win” type of scenario to me. Not to mention the constant scrutiny they are under by a manager and customers that treat them as less than humans.
These thoughts ran through my head and ended in frustration. I felt saddened at these women’s lack of emotional support from friends or family who allow them to be treated this way. Where was the encouragement in making them believe they are worthy of much more? I was also irritated at our society for making these women believe that this type of work is all right for them to participation in. Finally, I was perturbed towards the men that come to these strip clubs and treat these women in such an undignified manner.
The ultimate question for me was how do we help? Where do we as Christian woman fit into this scenario and where do we go beyond the donated food and workplace conversation? This opportunity originated from a humble heart listening to God’s cry for these hurting women. I believe initially, we can serve just as Jesus did by listening and discerning their true needs. I feel there is so much room for growth in the work at EC and I’m excited to see where the Lord leads.
Because of obeying this call, I believe God will continue to bless this mission (Matthew 5:1-16). It was my pleasure to play a small part and I hope to be able to continue to serve and brainstorm ways to help these women. His plan can fulfill them and it will be exciting to watch as it plays out in their lives.
By,
Elizabeth Sieracki
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