Tony Campolo tells of a time when he was speaking in Honolulu, Hawaii. Campolo lives on the east coast of the United States so his body was six hours ahead of Hawaiian time. At three o-clock in the morning it felt like nine o-clock to him. Awake and hungry for breakfast, he found himself in a “greasy spoon” caf\u00e9 in the small hours of the morning.<\/p>\n
As he bit into his doughnut, eight or nine prostitutes walked in. They had just finished for the night. Their talk was loud and crude, and it was difficult to avoid listening in. He heard one tell the others it was her birthday the following day. “What do want from me? A birthday cake?” was the sarcastic reply. “Why be so mean?” she replied, “I was just telling you. I don\u2019t expect anything. I\u2019ve never had a birthday party. I\u2019m not expecting to have one now.” When Campolo heard this he made a decision.<\/p>\n
When the women left, he went over to the caf\u00e9 owner, a guy called Harry. “Do they always come in here?” “Yes,” said Harry. “Including the one who sat next to me?” “Yes, that\u2019s Agnes. Why do you want to know?” “Because I heard her say it\u2019s her birthday tomorrow and I thought we might throw her a party.” Pause. Then a smile grew across Harry\u2019s lips. “That\u2019d be a great idea.”<\/p>\n
Half past two the next morning. Campolo had brought decorations and Harry had baked a cake. Word had got out and it seemed as if every prostitute in Honolulu was in the caf\u00e9 \u2013 plus Campolo, a preacher.<\/p>\n