I’m quite a prude myself, so walking into Sexpo with my head held high was something no short of a personal challenge. Obviously I’ve never been to an event quite like this and wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I strolled through the aisles trying to find the XXX Church stall.
What I did find, which did surprise me a little, was the ability to forget where I was at times. I felt relieved that our stall was set up opposite the Hair Extension crew and not something slightly more....fitting...for the occassion. After an hour or so, it was easy to think one was just hanging out at Showbag Central in Sideshow Alley – until you took a closer inspection of the “showbags” and rediscovered precisely where you were.
I found the people in Sexpo to be quite open to Jesus loving Porn Stars and we turned into a bit of a novelty ourselves. The sign was a massive hit with plenty of punters looking to pose ala “Japanese Tourist” infront of it. (Let’s face it, even the crew working the stall were caught out with the peace sign across their fingers every now and then when the opportunity arose).
Some people would scoff at us and walk past shaking their heads, but I found most people were really good about it. Every so often a group of people would come squeeling around the bend flailing their arms around in excitement; “Oh my gosh! We heard about you guys in the paper and we’ve been looking EVERYWHERE for you!” Those guys would always stick around for a chat. Then there was Graham, who we made friends with on Friday. He took 5 bibles, one for himself and more for his mates. He spent the whole day there but came in every few hours to say Hi and keep us updated on what else was going on. By the days end, he came to say he was going and how he’d enjoyed hanging out with us, and he wanted to show us the portrait of himself he’d had painted by “Picasso”.
“Picasso” is a gentleman who paints portraits not using a brush or his hands... After seeing Graham’s portrait I couldn’t believe the talent of this guy! If he can paint like THAT using his appendage... imagine what he could do with a paintbrush! Such talent – it’s crazy! But my hat went off to him for novelty!
I loved talking to people about why we were there. The shock on their faces would melt into sincere appreciation and they’d leave telling us what an amazing job we were doing. Some people didn’t really want to talk about the bibles or Jesus, but I’d try make friends with them and just chat to them about whatever. It was good, they’d leave smiling, and wave each time they walked past, and of course, they had their bible in their hands and our stickers all over their clothes. It was great.
The best thing I took away from this experience was the feeling of being re-energised. After my first shift I felt an overwhelming sensation of inspiration and a fire rekindled inside of me. I loved being a part of something like this. It was an amazing opportunity to shine God’s light in a pretty dark world and it just shows His love for those people by the favour we were shown. Even in the muck, a seed can be planted, and that is awesome.
check out xxxchurch.com for more details if you are intregued.
Here's me and some of the crew with the bibles we were handing out :)
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