[subversive underground] PROSTITUTION

*sent on Friday, April 7th to the faithful subscribers of the email newsletter called the [subversive underground].

PROSTITUTION by Keith Giles

Some of you know that I took a team of young adults from Soul Survivor out to minister to prostitutes on Harbor blvd in Santa Ana a few weeks ago.

It was a big step outside my comfort zone, and for most of us in fact, yet this is something that I knew I needed to follow Jesus in doing.
Here's what happened and what we learned from the experience.

We had the benefit of going out with a team from a ministry called "Side By Side" that had done this sort of thing before. Their pastor is a former police officer so he knows the streets very well.

It went well, in the sense that it was a first step into an unknown world for all of us.

We met and had a short orientation first at our church building. Then we drove down to the area where the girls usually "work" and split into four teams of four or five people and started out.

At first it was hard for me to recognize which girls were prostitutes or not...but eventually, by the third girl, I was getting the hang of it.

What I didn't like about the way we did this was that these girls were all too busy to talk very long. Imagine the worst possible time to try to have a conversation with these girls....and THAT'S the time we were there!

So, my group prayed for 3 girls, but only for about 30 seconds each...before the light changed at the corner and they had to cross the street.

Very frustrating for me.

SO...our plan is to go back and work in 2 phases. First, we'll go out again between 8pm and 10pm to quickly hand them a coupon for a free coffee/breakfast at a local 24 hour restaurant. We'll invite them to meet us at 6pm where we will buy them coffee and breakfast and just hang out and talk to them. That's it. Just hang and talk. No Bibles. No tracts. No "Four Spiritual Laws". Just coffee and breakfast and "What's your name? Where are you from? What's your favorite movie? Etc."

We plan to do this at least once, maybe twice a month, on a consistent basis. Over time we hope to build genuine friendships with these girls and build a foundation for sharing with them, as friends, that there are other options for them to get off the streets...if they're interested and if they're ready.

I think it's going to be much more effective than our "drive by evangelism" strategy with the other group.
-kg
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HOKEY POKEY

*the following was sent to the faithful subscribers of the [subversive underground] list on 3/28/06

HOKEY POKEY by Keith Giles

"You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out..."

We do this all the time in our spiritual life. We surrender to Jesus on
Sunday, and we take it all back on Monday morning. We mean well. We intend
to serve Jesus with our life, but the daily pressures of life wear on us and
we end up returning to the old patterns of life.

The good news is, God knows that we're dust. He knows we're weak. He
understands that the flesh is willing, but the maturing of our spirits takes
time.

"If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown
Himself."- 2 Tim 2:13

God is patient with us, and because of this we still have hope.

"...you put your right foot in, you take your right foot out..."

I've been tested lately about some of the same things I've been through many
times before.

Why does God keep putting me through these tests of faith? I look to the sky
and ask, "Haven't I already learned this lesson three times before? I
thought I passed this. Why are we having to go through this again, Lord?"

A dear friend reminded me the other day that God's purpose for allowing
challenges in our life is to draw us nearer to Himself. "We just want God to
fix it, or do it, or make it better, but God wants us to take His hand and
walk through these things alongside Him," my friend said.

Still, I'm weary of putting my faith into action again and again. I'm tired
of wondering if God will work this miracle and save my family (again), or if
this time we'll have to endure the pain.

God whispers to me, "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness,
and all of these things (food, shelter, daily needs, etc.), "will be taken
care of as well."- Matt 6:33

So, I do my best to seek the Kingdom of God. I try to focus on Him instead
of on my own challenges. But still I find myself drifting back to the
question; "What if this time God doesn't rescue us?"

"...you put your whole self in, you take your whole self out, you put your
whole self in, and you shake it all about..."

God wants all of me. He wants all of you. He wants my time. He wants my
heart. He wants my trust. He wants my entire life. He wants my "whole self
in".

Surrender to Jesus is, in reality, a gradual exercise in trust. It would be
wonderful if that one time I went down front and bent my knees on the altar
was enough. I wish it were true. Maybe for someone else it is true, but for
me, I must confess, I'm still daily learning to bend my knees, surrender my
heart, and trust Jesus with my life...with my entire life.

Maybe, in some strange way, the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

"You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That's what it's all
about."

Peace,
Keith
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