Emotional. Life-giving. Heart-wrenching. Incredible. Beautiful. It’s hard to sum up the week we’ve just had together with our parents. After seven and a half months of being apart, many of the racers parents travelled to the Philippines to join us for a week of ministry in Manila. We partnered with an incredible organization, Wipe Every Tear, whose mission is to bring freedom, hope and a future to girls trafficked in the sex trade (http://www.wipeeverytear.org). And that is exactly what we did. For two nights, we worked in Angeles City, the second largest sex tourism destination in the world. Within one mile, on a street known as “The Walking Street”, there are roughly 15,000 girls working in bars along this strip. When we first heard that we would be going out to the bars at night with our parents, bringing hope and light to the darkest of places, I think it is safe to say most of us were a little nervous. But even more, we were hopeful. And that is what carried us through.
I don’t think I will ever forget what I saw those two nights in Angeles City. The darkness pervading the street illuminated by neon. The smiles of the girls when they realized we were there just to talk, to offer them a hope and a new life, when most people just want to take from them. The zombie-like faces of the girls dancing on stage, just trying to numb themselves and make it through one more night. The way the girls eyes lit up when they told me about their children, the only reason they were still working in the bars. The way men in the bars looked at the girls as if they were animals, surveying their pick. The way we brought joy and laughter into the bars by joining the girls and doing the cupid shuffle. These moments are ingrained in my mind. For better or for worse. But despite the darkness and the depravity of that street, we brought so much light. We told girls about an opportunity to leave the bar. We told them about Wipe Every Tear. About how Wipe Every Tear provides FREE room and boarding, food, an education, and a weekly stipend. And it is theirs if they want it. After telling them about this organization, their eyes brightened again. They could hardly believe what we were offering. It’s almost too good to be true. But we reassured them it was real. We told them we loved them, and that on Friday, at 10:00 a.m. we were leaving from the America Hotel to go back to Manila, and offered them an opportunity to travel back with us to visit the Wipe Every Tear homes, or if they knew they were done, to pack their bags and come with us for good. To come home.
On Friday morning at 10:00 a.m., we left with 18 girls. 18 girls. And one girl brought her bags. These girls, they are my heroes. They are working in these bars, literally giving all of themselves, to provide for their families. They are sending their brothers and sisters to school. They are sending money to their grandmother. They are providing the funds to feed their family. They are truly heroes.
Of all of the ministry that I’ve done thus far on the race, this has been, by far, the most impactful. The most heart-breaking. The most gut-wrenching. But also, the greatest picture of the gospel. We went into those bars offering these girls a new life. We offered them love. We offered them a home. We weren’t asking them for anything in return. And all they had to do was say yes. That’s the gospel. God offers each of us abundant life. He offers us unconditional love. A love that is everlasting and all encompassing. A love that saves us from our own darkness and depravity. And all we have to do is say yes. All we have to do is invite Him into our hearts. What an incredible gift we have! I want to see the gift of Jesus with eyes full of excitement. Full of wonder as to why someone perfect and without sin, chose death on a cross, for me. And for you. Because the gift of Jesus is worthy of the greatest of celebrations.
This week is one that I will never forget. And for that I am so grateful. Because despite the brokenness and horror we encountered, we also saw God’s redemptive work in such a beautiful way. We saw it in the 18 girls that rode home with us Friday morning. We saw it in the fifty plus girls that have already been rescued thanks to Wipe Every Tear, and the way they led us into the bars, with such bravery and passion, anxious to tell everyone about the abundant life they are now experiencing. That’s the beauty of God’s redemptive work; bringing beauty from something once broken. But the work is not finished. Please join in prayer for these girls that were rescued, for the girls still working in Angeles City, and for girls all around the world that are being trafficked!
