We don’t use the P word, these beloved daughters are not prostitutes, they were trafficked.
Trafficked- Exploitation of vulnerability.
That’s exactly why “The walking street” in Angeles City exist. In a mile and a half strip of bars, night clubs, and massage parlors. Recruiters will travel to the lowest provinces in the Philippines, they will promote jobs, great work in Anglees City, looking for pretty girls interested in a “future” and offering a paycheck that boast more than what their mother and father make in a year. The recruiters promise a way out, a way to provide for their families, a job that will pay enough to feed their 6 younger siblings or their own husband and 4 children. They travel to the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable, these recruiters manipulate and take advantage of the evident desperation. They load up cars, vans, and busses full of beautiful bright, happy girls and bring them here.
Last night I went to the “foreigner street” the “walking street” here in the heart of Angeles city. A street where only foreigners and Filipino women are allowed.
We knew before heading out for the night that the goal is to buy girls. Tonight we are buying girls….
We were all given $500 piso about $11 usd. This was supposed to be my food budget, jeepney travel money, and my money for the bar girls for the next two nights.
We’ve been preparing for this over the past two days, hearing stories from Kenny Schat the founder and CEO of Wipe Every Tear and Ate Becky about the notorious Angles City.
This is where the majority of my new friends my sisters my roommates at the Faith house, hope house and Grace house came from. This is where missionaries just like my team went to meet girls, to buy their time for the night, and to tell them the good news, to smile a genuine spirit filled smile, to hold their hands and tell them I LOVE YOU I REALLLLY REALLY LOVE YOU, and to invite them to come back to Quezon City to see that we are telling them the truth! That Wipe Every Tear really is true and good! That your housing, meals, education, healthcare, everything is FREE! You even get a daily allowance! All you have to do is say yes! But they have been trafficked and to say yes to this opportunity that already sounds too good to be true could be the biggest risk they have ever taken in their life.
The goal of this months ministry is to introduce freedom to these beloved daughters, sisters, mothers who have been trafficked and tricked into working in the sex industry.
It took us a good hour and a half to get here. We arrived at the condemned church that we will call home the next 3 days and were amazed at the beauty in the rubble. We then ate lunch in true World Race fashion at the cheapest place in all of Angles City, then we began our prayer walk to begin preparing for the night ahead.
We got back to the church, rested, worshipped, prayed, and prepared our hearts and minds for the late night ahead.
We partnered up in pairs and head to what is called the “walking street” no cars allowed, no photos really allowed, no Filipino men allowed, and I’m surprised I didn’t see a sign that said no Jesus allowed. And well we broke all these rules except 1… We don’t have a car.
Jo is my partner, my sister missionary, my body guard, and my tour guide to help navigate the 50+ bars available on this strip.
Tonight I learned for most bar girls their shift begins at 7pm, and ends at 4am if they weren’t bought for the night or for the month.
Our instructions or guidelines were, let the Holy Spirit lead you. Pray about which bars to enter and pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to the sweet girls who are desperate for a way out. When you have that feeling then you buy her a drink. Buying her a drink is buying her time, not only does she make commission off of it but she also doesn’t have to dance as long as she’s sitting & drinking with a “customer”.
Tonight I bought a girl at the bar. Never did I imagine that ministry would look like buying a dancing girl off a stage a drink so that I could tell her the good news of hope, freedom, and a future in Jesus Christ!
Her name is M, she’s 27 and has a 5 year old son named Ace. She is from a providence that is a day long boat ride away. She sends her paychecks home to provide for her family so that her siblings and her son can eat. The last time she saw her son was last September.
I began our conversation with a huge smile and matching hug. I introduced myself and asked the Holy Spirit to equip me to do the rest. The waitress came and asked us our drinks and I was instructed to order her a single ladies drink, it cost about $3usd and she makes 1/2 off of that.
The more we talked the more I realized I didn’t pick her, God did. She loved my hair and I loved her eyes. I asked her what her dream job would be and she asked me mine. That was the perfect transition to open the door to introduce to her why I’m here, where I live, what I do, and how she can come too!
Jo, my partner has been free from the bar scene for 4 months and she was ready to introduce freedom to this precious sister! We talked in code and kept our eyes peeled for the manager or Mamasan, the woman in charge of selling the girls. We told her all about what it’s like at faith house, how people in the united states fundraise and donate money every month so that she can go to school for absolutely free! We told her about how everyone takes turns cooking and how we sang karaoke for almost 3 hours yesterday. She gave Jo the nod, Jo passed her our number discretely ,told her where to meet us anytime and that we want her to come back with us to see the house, her future sisters and that it’s really real!
This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I beg God that she believes us. Anyone reading this, pray with us that she will take the GIANT leap of faith that it takes to step out of the bar and get in a van with us to see that what Wipe Every Tear promises is true.
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My final deadline of $16,200 is quickly approaching. I’m so blessed to be sharing this journey with you! Thank you for helping me GO, will YOU help me STAY?
Peace and Blessings from the field,
Beth Milam
#BethBeyondBorders #InAngelesCityAsItIsInHeaven
Then I heard the voice of The Lord saying,
“whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. SEND ME!”
Isaiah 6:8
