On a typical Thursday night, as we entered a Reno strip club to serve the women a tasty selection of hors d’oeuvres, we bumped into a woman we had never seen before. A bit shy and timid, she told us her name was Lisa. “I’m new here,” she said quietly as we fixed her a plate of food. As we continued talking, she told us more of her life story. She explained with tears in her eyes why she felt she had to be there, as well as all the reasons why she knew she shouldn’t. As my teammate told her about God’s love, I silently prayed that the Holy Spirit would continue guiding and convicting this young woman.
As the months went on, the Lord allowed us to continue our friendship with Lisa. Because Lisa had begun to trust us, we were some of the first people she told when she became pregnant with her son. While at first she was terrified at the thought of caring for a child and considered terminating the pregnancy, God gave us many opportunities to speak Truth to Lisa. After giving her a baby gift one night, Lisa burst into tears and told us she knew this was her baby and she would be his mother.
Four years later, I can see how God has used the ups and downs of Lisa’s journey to continuously draw her back to Himself. God had been calling Lisa to repentance and into a relationship with Him for many years, and we at Scarlet Hope Reno were given a front-row seat to watch it unfold. Last fall, Lisa finally surrendered her life to God and was baptized. Just a couple of weeks ago I got to watch Lisa’s now four-year-old son attend Vacation Bible School where he heard stories from the bible and sang songs about Jesus. Not only has God completely transformed Lisa’s life, but he is breaking generational sin as Lisa’s son grows up learning about his heavenly Father who created him and loves him.
I want to invite you to take a front-row seat with me to see the miracles God is performing in Reno’s adult entertainment industry on a daily basis. Whether you can give of your time and join our outreach team or give of your resources and make a donation, please help us Reach Reno so that “all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other” (1 Kings 8:60).
