You Make Me Feel Human
We met *Mia for the first time (name changed for privacy) in the club during our Outreach Night in December. We gave her a gift bag and shared that we were available to connect outside the club and provide support. "This is amazing that this exists, this is so sweet that you do this, I'd love to meet up with you guys," she said with warmth and openness. We offered to pray with her and she accepted. We held hands with her and spoke life-giving and encouraging words as we prayed. She said goodbye to us with tears in her eyes as she went off to start her shift.
EdenMade team meets with a woman outside of the club.
A few weeks ago my coworker, Lydia, and I met Mia for tea. She shared her story with us, about why she started dancing, and about her hopes and dreams for the future. She experienced a lot of abuse growing up and now struggles with the lasting impacts of that trauma. She has been having a hard time making ends meet and is completely on her own without family or supportive people in her life. She felt it was important to start therapy to work on healing from her trauma, so she started dancing to both afford therapy and provide for herself. She said to us, "I didn't feel that I had any other option, or at least I didn't see any other option." She then told us how hard it has been working at the club and that it wasn't what she expected.
She asked us if we knew of any success stories of women moving on from working at the club. We told her about a dancer we recently cheered on as she stepped away from the club fully and started her dream career. I could see hope flash across Mia’s face as she heard about another woman go on before her to her bright future!
Mia bravely told us about her hopes and dreams for her career and for her life. “I get nervous sharing about this because most people tell me that it’s impossible and that I can’t do it.”
As we talked with her, I was amazed by her bravery. I shared this with her, and encouraged her further in what I saw:
That despite all she has gone through, she bravely met up with two women she doesn’t really know with the hope that she’d find support. That she shared vulnerably with us about her story, taking a leap of faith that we are trustworthy people. That she continues to believe in herself despite what others say, taking steps toward her growth and healing. That she is courageously diving deep into her trauma history in therapy with the hope of healing and restoration. That she exudes warmth and kindness. And that I believed in her bright future too.
I was taken aback by her tearful response:
“You make me feel human, you make me feel seen. I’ve never met people who are as kind as you guys. I just want supportive people in my life that will care about me and believe in me. I am still amazed that this kind of support even exists. This is amazing.”
A week later I was texting with her to set up another time to meet. She shared, “I’m so much more available now because I don’t work at the club anymore, so everything is all different! Would love to hang out again, it was very fruitful.”
It is amazing to witness the tangible miracle that God has done in the life of this young woman. While many factors must align for a woman to be able to make a career shift, I’m amazed to see how connection and encouragement helped her make a bold and courageous decision that she spent so many months hoping to make! I can’t wait to hear about the bright future she is stepping into next!
