Pinky Promise. Honestly you may be wondering, what is that? Very few people have heard of this organization and what it stands for. I heard of this group from a friend back home who happens to be the vice-president. In present times, it is so hard to be living a godly life and to grow spiritually. Sometimes, a person may feel out of place and do not want to be “that person”. The one labeled as “holier than thou” or “the Christian one”. There is such a negative connotation and stigma surrounding one’s religiosity. However, there are communities where a person is welcomed and accepted, like this one. Essentially if someone is a young Christian woman with aspirations of being more strongly rooted in your faith, Pinky Promise is for you. The organization is comprised of the typical club officer positions. The president is Falinka Cherry, the vice-president is Wadeline Louis, and so on and so forth. Hearing about all things from Wadeline back home, made me more eager to join this club. I joined in one of their meetings in order to truly see what they are about.
This organization is just one of many under the same name nationwide. Heather Lindsey is the founder of the Pinky Promise Movement. Some of the goals they aim to achieve include: “Committing to Jesus Christ, and believing that He died for our sins, rose again and reconciled us back to God, believing in the power of the Holy Spirit, refusing to give our bodies to anyone outside of marriage, guarding our hearts by monitoring what we see and hear”, among other things (Lindsey). This background is the basis and the guiding principle in all activities that they engage in. Pinky Promise FSU is just modeled after the national movement.
There is no one particular location where they meet, but they meet once a week. Throughout the city of Tallahassee, they congregate and engage in different activities. I happened to see how they conduct their bible studies. Connecting with the Holy Spirit is heavily emphasized, so the “fun” activities are not the priority. Since it is only a group of women, everyone is much more open to talking about their lives, struggles, and things that are on their mind, opposed to what would happen if men are present. Our location was at the president and the vice-president’s apartment. Although I was a newcomer, I felt so welcomed. The refreshments, the praise and worship music playing softly in the background, and all the side conversations added to the peaceful ambiance. At this bible study tears were shed, hearts and minds were open, and new perspectives that I have never thought about. We talked about the subject growing popularity—sexual assault. With the rise of the Me Too movement, there are more and more cases regarding sexual assault coming out of the woodwork. This topic that was once so taboo, is now more out in the open. A young woman who could not be no more than 20 years old described her experiences. From the ripe age of seven until she went off to college, she was molested by her next-door neighbor that would babysit her after school. She was too ashamed, too afraid to tell her parents; this is why it persisted for so long. This allowed me to do some self-reflection. I take advantage of the fact that my parents have sheltered me and protected me from anything like this. My first encounter with Pinky Promise had me engaged in a deep way to say the least. They also have other activities such as reaching out to the community of Tallahassee through sharing the gospel, they participate in rape prevention and self defense classes offered by FSU police, they help feed the homeless, among countless activities.
The most important aspect of this organization is one word: God. This club would not have come into fruition if this was not the main purpose. Since they are so intentional in all that they do, a person interested in joining must attend three meetings prior to being added to the GroupMe. It is more so “sacred” and not just any regular person can be in it. You have show that you are ready to work and contribute to the organization. For us regular non-members, we can see what Pinky Promise is about through their Instagram page. What I found kind of funny is that their name is a play on words. Their page swarmed with the color pink in relation to their name. You see a sisterhood through girls holding hands, smiling. Little does the outside world know the emotional bond that was formed through a power that is bigger than them.
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