“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is F R E E D O M. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory //, being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
This month I had the pleasure of serving with my parents during Parent Vision Trip in the Philippines for a week as we partnered with Wipe Every Tear. The bulk of this ministry involves going into bars and being Jesus to the women that are prostituted there. We go in to bring them hope of a life beyond the bars and the hotel rooms. So this meant going to bars with my parents… Yes, both of them.
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t awkward to walk into a bar, with my Momma and Daddy, that was full of scantily clad girls twerking to earn a few pesos and appease the mamasans (the bar manager). It was awful, and so awkward. We entered the bar with R (a Wipe Every Tear girl who has been out of the bars 3 years and beginning her senior year of college for IT) and Ally (our new found Wipe Every Tear friend, who also hails from the Peach State) and I was immediately overwhelmed as we began to look for a place to sit. We had plenty of options due to the lack of customers from the rain. We found a few seats in the balcony and began talking to some of the girls and ordering them juice. The thing is that the girls’ drinks are double the price of the customer drink so they make commission off the drinks that are bought for them, and it buys you time to talk to the girls. Ally and Momma started talking to some of the dancers, and I decided to strike up a conversation with our waitress.
She was 32 years old with a toddler, and serving at the bar. I sat and talked to her the majority of the time, and the longer I sat and talked to the her I could sense her start to get more comfortable and share more of her life and ask me more questions about myself and what I was doing there. Over the course of our time at that bar her stern demeanor began to melt away, and I began to see a smile here and there. It was about showing her and the other women that they are seen and that there is hope beyond the bar. She wasn’t open to the information that R had to share with her about Wipe Every Tear, but we gave her a card, and I continue to pray that a seed was planted that night. I went back night two to see her, but it was her off day, and I remember she had told me she was going to see her cousin who was having a baby (It’s a little difficult to get everything straight between the loud music and language barrier).
When I wasn’t talking to our waitress, Ally and I danced (we did the Cupid Shuffle! Momma and Daddy included) and talked with some of the dancers. The awkwardness started to fade and I remember what Kenny told us about partying for Jesus. We were there to be Jesus to these women. We invited some of them to have lunch with us the next day and three of the girls showed up! One of them even brought her son. We were able to talk to them and love on them a little more.
While it was awesome going into the bars and being Jesus to the women in the bars, it was also incredible to build relationships with some of the Wipe Every Tear girls that went out with us. I now have some new Filipina sisters.
That was just night one of two! Stay tuned for Part 2!
