Dance Bar

On one of our last ministry days, before heading East for the next week, we went into the tourist area of Kathmandu called Thamel. At night all the shops close up but the “dance bars” open for business. Dance bars are exactly what the name suggests. From about 9pm till 12am the women/ girls who work there dance in, at least by Western standards, modest dresses (e.g. tube tops and spaghetti straps). They dance, pretty badly I might add, to music while customers come to drink and talk with the girls that catch their attention. After 12am however the bars close and only remain open for high paying customers who pay to spend the night or a few hours with the women. All eight of my team as well as four Nepalese went to Thamel.

We did a prayer walk down a road with many dance bars and asked God which bar we were supposed to visit that night. After many signs and confirmations we knew which bar we were to visit. In this act alone it was cool to see how God still talks to us and answers prayers. One girl got the color purple, another got the words “new and used” and lastly one boy and a girl both got the name “moon”. We found a new dance bar with a girl dressed in a purple dress on it and knew that was the place we were supposed to be at. Armed with Nepalese New Testaments and tracks we went in. Our goal was to talk with some women in four different groups. We were supposed to get their name and phone number if possible and find out if they were working there under their own will or if by force.

We ordered cokes and invited girls to talk to us. It was slow going at first, but I was able to talk to a girl who was 24, the same age as me, named Renna*. She could not speak much English, but through an interpreter I was able to discover that she worked there because as a single mother she had to support her small child and younger siblings. Like many others her story is basically the same. Due to being uneducated and without skills, women in Nepal have next to nothing in terms of availability of jobs that will pay enough for them to support themselves and others, as a result many are forced into prostitution. Given the chance many of them would get out of this profession in a heartbeat but for many the opportunity just does not come. By going into the dance bars and getting this information from them we are able to provide an opportunity towards freedom for them, and bring the presence of God with us. As I was talking to Rasmi all of the other groups were also able to get phone numbers and information that can be used to help these women. One group was even able to lead one of the women to Christ right in the middle of the dance bar!

While we were in the bar one of the team members went outside to get fresh air and to be away from the loud music. He met a drunken guy whose name was Moon. He was able to buy the guy some tea and talk to him about Jesus as well. After we talked as a group and discovered that although the bar was new, the women had worked at other places before, the words we received earlier “new and used” made sense. That was our final sign and God fulfilled that as well. As we left I was able to give my New Testament to one of the men who worked in the bar as a server and hustler, he readily accepted the bible from me. What struck all of us was how hungry all those in the bar looked for the presence of God. We could only do so much to help them and bringing the word of God was something that helps people more than we realize sometimes. This form of ministry can be hard but in the end it is so worth it because we know that God’s power is stronger than that of the enemy, and even the smallest forms of service are better than doing nothing at all.

*Indicates name change for protection.