I didn’t want to let her go. How can I let her go knowing that I may never see her again? These are the thoughts that ran through my mind at the end of the day. My time in Baguio has my mind going a million miles an hour. How do you put experiences like these into words for others to understand? Well, I’m going to try.
For the past three weeks Team Radiance has been working alongside Kalinga Crossover Ministries. We have been working with the prostituted women of the city. I have met so many precious “beloved” women during this time. I have seen many places and faces, heard many stories, and fallen in love with souls I will never forget. My heart has grown yet been broken at the same time.
Crossover had an info fair and a women’s rights seminar scheduled during our time here. The office is in the Baguio Health Department building which is the same place the “beloved” come every week for routine tests. We were able to set up our information tables outside the clinic and talk to them as they went in and out. As well as getting the information out and getting sign-ups for the seminar, we also planned to do a women’s day of pampering called Beauty for Ashes. The table I ran was the one informing them of these two days. It amazed me how many women were nervous about Beauty for Ashes or couldn’t understand why we wanted to do this for them. What was the catch? None and that was a new concept for many.
The night before the seminar I went with three other people and visited 17 bars/clubs/massage parlors, whatever you want to call them, inviting them to our special days. I will never forget the feeling I got every time I walked into an establishment. Looking at the faces of the “customers” turned my stomach like nothing I ever felt before. But when I looked into the faces of each woman, my heart cried out to bring them hope; hope for a future. The only way I knew to do that was to love. It’s amazing what a smile and a hug can do. Being an American helped because they all wanted to meet us, but my nationality is just a tool the Lord used to open doors for us.
God prepared our every step. Not one establishment turned us away from talking to the beloved. To have the opportunity to go into the back dressing areas or to a private room and have the managers call every girl in so we could speak to them is not something you would see anywhere else. The blessings were pouring out and I am humbled by the chance to witness it.
Our event came, my station was painting nails, which also including hand lotion and a hand massage. From the beginning there were hesitations because their nails were dirty, so I included an additional cleaning step. Towards the end I had two precious women come over who I knew from the past two weeks of visits. After cleaning the hands of one I began painting her nails when she said to me, “my hands are so black.” My heart sank to think of how she saw herself. How do you begin to respond? “Look,” I said comparing our hands, “our skin is the same color, created by the same loving God, but (turning her hand over) you see this fingerprint, that is what makes you so special; so unique.” She smiled, and I knew that she could probably count on her unique fingerprints how many times she had been called special/unique. 
To be able to tell these women about a God who just wants to love them and nothing else was amazing. Their eyes gave away that they had never heard of such a God before. They knew not of this Savior who forgives sins, no matter how bad we think they may be; who has a plan for a better life for each of us, and loves us no matter what we do. It gave me great joy to share this hope with them.
As the beloved left at the end of that day Team Radiance was at the door hugging goodbye. The two that I cried with came to leave and as I hugged each one I had to fight back the tears. The tightness of their hugs told me so much about the day they had and the love they had experienced. How do you share experiences like these and then let them go with the understanding that you may never see them again?
