Soho Night Live

So, my life is getting crazy. We've been given the keys to a cafe in Soho, and we've opened it up to the nightlife in that area. It has a very heavy spirit of homosexuality and prostitution. the cafe is across from an adult shop, and next door to a brothel. It is heart breaking. We open the doors every wednesday, friday, and saturday with coffee, tea, cakes, art on the walls, and live music downstairs. Me and Jordan have put our artwork up on the walls, in place of some other creepy stuff that was there when we began. We paint outside every night to draw people in and we put people out on the streets to start conversations. The area is Satan's playground.
Right now we have several teams working with us. the DTS from April who spent three weeks in Poland recently; individuals from England, the US, Argentina, the Philippines and Chile; a family from Sweden; a team from Sweden; a team from Norway; a team from Chile; a team from Orlando; a team from Columbia; a team from Korea; and a team from South Africa right now. All these people have come to work with us to reach this area, while it's full of people for the Olympics. Most if not all of them are some sort of artists. It's craziness!
So last night was insane. We had spoken to a prostitute on wednesday, and she had given her life to Jesus and was radically changed. She was saying she could feel the spiritual atmosphere, and that she felt so much better with us than with anyone else she'd been with. We sent her home on the bus with kisses and hugs. Unfortunately she came back last night cussing us out, and telling us she didn't need Jesus, with new scars on her legs and chest. Satan has such a strong hold on this area. There have been many other people we've met who've told us they sold their souls to the devil, that they can't be saved. It's very intense, and sometimes really scary. We always have a guy standing outside with us while we paint.
The best conversation I've had yet started with a young guy coming up and asking if we just saw a prostitute chasing a black guy down our alley....which there had been! It was ridiculous. But we got talking, and he's an Irish guy who happens to be a classical pianist. He was very intellectual and asked all the hard questions about faith, including why God lets bad things happen. For some reason, I put my foot in my mouth and gave the worst answer ever, but Lexie and Heather came to the rescue and he stuck around a bit longer. He was on his way to hang out with some friends, but ended up talking with us for over and hour, and even coming back later. It's always really difficult when you meet people who were raised in religion, whether it be Catholic or some form of Christianity, and have given up on it. But he was very open and understanding of us. He said once that he was so impressed that young women were out there by choice speaking out on their faith, when the whole world is against them right now, and it must be the hardest fight we've ever fought. He is so so so close to getting it, but he's seen so much hurt and can't understand why it happens, and I don't know how else to explain it other than man is fallen, and our world is full of sin and bad things. Hopefully he's coming back tonight to play for us.
It's always really cool to come inside the cafe from painting and see all of my team mates having discussions with all types of people. We had a pair of friends from Latvia come in and hang out for the whole night. They had been on their way to find somewhere to party, but all the clubs were gay, and no one was dancing. So they "happened" upon our cafe. They are wine distributors living in London, one of them a musician as well. So we invited them downstairs, and Rheanne was with them most of the night. When they left, they told her that they felt so accepted, that they didn't have to be anything but themselves with us. I was so encouraged! Because that's exactly what we're going for. To show people that we are not religious, we're not bible-thumping, soap-box screaming people. We are regular people, who live an extraordinary life but the grace of God.
The only bad thing is that we attract the worst people. Like last night, some of the guys were playing on the sidewalk, and someone threw a bucket of water out the window and got them soaking. It happened three more times that night, even though we weren't loud. And one of the guys from the apartments next door came out, swearing like a sailor and telling us to beat it, almost starting a fight with the guys Chris was talking to at the time. The old guy made it down the alley and we let it go, but he came back a minute later with two police officers. They knew that he was not stable (high out of his mind) and so they sent him upstairs to him apartment. They chatted with us for a while, joking about the kind of people we attract because we're missionaries. They asked us to keep the music inside, and keep the wild conversations down, then went and talked to the old man. After they left, he came down and walked the alley twice more, fuming. But we didn't get any more trouble from him.
God really turned the night around for me. On the bus ride there, I was feeling really ill and just wanted to go back home. When we arrived at the cafe, one of the Norwegian team members was actually sick, throwing up and stuff. But once I got painting and got into the spirit of loving the people, Jesus worked on my body and heart and kept me awake and healthy. It's really sad when an early night is 3am, but that's what last night was. Getting back to the church, washing my hair, and getting in my bed by 4am was sweet relief.
In other exciting news, I've made a commitment of two years at this base, in the arts house, being a full part of the ministry and this family here. I've never heard from God so strongly about direction. Thankyou all for your prayers and thoughts during this time. It's continuing to be amazing, as more and more teams come through, reviving our spirits and strengthening our resolve to make God known.