Okay finally writing about last week. Phew here we go!
On the first day we arrived to Wipe Every Tear, and I was blown away by the joy and love the girls have! The 39 girls that live in the three houses, Hope, Faith, and Grace, came from very very hard backgrounds, but you would never guess that was their story if you spent time with them. They are full of joy, smiles, giggles, and are always open to a kiss on the cheek, a hug, or even to just hold your hand. They know the love of the Father in such a deeper way than me. We live in Faith House with 17 of these girls! It is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done, to live life with these women.
Last week we drove two hours up to Angeles City to visit the biggest city in the sex trade industry. I could feel the spiritual oppression as we drove in. There were so many people walking around with raggedy clothes. So much garbage on the side of the road. So much sadness in the faces of the girls and people who lived there. It struck me seeing older white men walking with their arm possessively around a small Filipino girl. A girl he most likely bought for her body. A girl who probably had a family to feed, and needed the money he was giving her. A girl who probably believed every lie he told her.
We arrived at the church we would be sleeping at and received our first big shock. We had been told about this church, how it was destroyed by a volcano explosion in 1994, and the roof was collapsed. We were told that it was a poor church and was being rebuilt to its former glory. Never did we expect to see what we saw. The church looked like an abandoned ancient castle. The cement walls were falling apart. In many parts there was no roof whatsoever. There was scrap wood everywhere, abandoned chairs covered in dust. But some areas did have a roof, and electricity, and air conditioning. They had bought bunk beds just for us to use! The place was hauntingly beautiful. It was destroyed, and lived just blocks away from a place filled with sin, yet it refused to die! Amazing picture of God’s grace and power!
That night it all began. We all got dressed up, the 7 of us on Team Reptar, and the 7 girls from Wipe Every Tear who came with us, along with Ate Becky and Coach Kenny, the founders of WET. We met beforehand and worshipped, allowing God to wash over us and protect us from what we were about to see, and to open the hearts and ears of the girls we would meet. All that day God had been showing me a number in my mind. I kept seeing the number 20 show up over and over again. So I thought, 20 girls were going to get in our van! I shared my vision and we got pumped. We set off to “Walking Street”.
Walking Street is a mile-long street crammed with bar after bar, nightclub after nightclub. According to research, this mile-long street has 15,745 girls exploited in the sex industry!! Almost 16,000 girls are being bought and sold for their bodies!!!! I want to shed some light on the “sex trafficking” misconceptions. When people think about “Sex trafficking” they think of girls who are kidnapped, drugged, and forced into brothels. That is not always how it happens. Our host Kenny has defined “trafficking” as “The exploitation of vulnerbility.” Many of the girls here in the Philippines are not captured, but they are tricked, manipulated, desperate, and exploited because they need money. Many of the girls have to provide for all of their siblings and parents, and with the money that the industry brings in, are convinced that selling themselves in the bars is the only way for them to make a living. Most drop out of school to provide for their families. In their desperation they go there to work. This does not mean that they are any less trafficked. Someone is still using their vulnerbility for their own gain. Someone is still buying these girls like they are animals. It is not right, and these girls deserve soooo much better! And they know that this is not the life they are meant to live, but most are stuck and don’t know a way out for fear of being killed, or someone demanding payment. It is hard for them to trust, for how many times they’ve been lied to.
So with that in mind let me paint a picture of our night. We strolled onto Walking Street, 7 American women, 8 Filipino women, 1 Filipino man (Pastor of the church we stayed at) and 1 American man. How strange we must have looked. Right away I was overcome with anger looking at all of the American, British, Australian, basically all the foreign men walking around, looking girls up and down like a prize that needed appraising, and walking into bars to find a girl to take home with him. The scene made me nauseous. First we went to a small bar that looked like a pirate ship. It was small and crowded. There were girls standing on a stage, crammed three deep, shoulder to shoulder, just standing there on display, as much of their bodies exposed as possible. Their faces were so full of sadness, my heart just lept up and I wanted to take all of them away from there. The remaining girls who’s shift hadn’t started, were sitting all up the stairs and on the balcony above watching. The seen looked like an auction.
The second bar we went to was one of the biggest ones. It was two stories tall, and had seats everywhere, along with pool tables. This bar was the hardest for me to be in. We sat on the second floor and as I looked down on the dance stage I was nauseated by the things I witnessed. Girls in the smallest bikinis possible just swaying back and forth on the dance floor while the men looked on with hungry looks. Men throwing money and the girls fighting over it like they were chickens fighting over food. I saw other things that I am not willing to mention out loud. It was so hard to see. I prayed for them. I prayed for the girls that God would show them his light. I prayed that they would take what we offered them, a free education and a hope for the future.
That night we returned back at 2am with our heads and hearts full. We spoke to a few girls each throughout our visit in the bars, but at the end of the night we were exhausted. I just couldn’t help thinking that this is real life! This is really happening! How crazy is that? I’m trying so hard to not be angry at those men. I am trying to so hard to remember that they are just as lost as the next sinner is. They are just as trapped in their addiction as the girls are trapped in their job. God created the men as well, and they are also his children. I try to remember this, but its hard when I see the injustices.
The second night was a lot different. We talked to a lot more girls outside the bars, the girls who stood outside to draw people in. We talked to a lot of them about our ministry and they were very excited. The fact that someone was offering them a better life out of love and not selfish gain I think really intrigued them. Many were not trusting. Many doubted that we could really do what we promised, which is completely understandable. We just prayed that they would take a chance with us! We did go into one bar that night. It was the largest bar on the strip. It had three stories, and girls up the ying-yang. It was easier to see just the girls as sisters this time around instead of looking at the atrocities that were being down in plain view. We talked to quite a few girls that night.
The next morning we waited. We waited for girls to show up and take the chance on us. And they did! We had 6 girls show up at the hotel to come with us to view the houses! 6 girls! After we loaded the vans up I realized one thing. God had shown me the number 20. 20 girls did not show up, however there were 14 of us, and 6 girls who showed up. That makes 20 people in the vans!!! Not only that, but there were only 20 seats in the vans total, and every seat was filled!! God showed me that His ways are different than mine! He also taught me that numbers really don’t matter. Out of 15,745 girls, 6 of them found an opportunity at freedom. If it had only been 1 girl our mission would have been a success! 1 girl is worth it all in God’s Kingdom!
