Ministry opportunities in the Philippines have been
abounding for our team! Because we are an all women’s team, we have had the
opportunity to work with an organization called Samaritana that empowers women
in the sex industry to find other areas of work and helps them become healthy
emotionally, spiritually and physically. The ministry runs a day program that
educates the women and teaches them basic life skills along with some job
skills so that they can find other areas of work.
Prostitution is a life of secrecy for these women. Many of
them have families that do not know about what they are doing and they are
forced to lead double lives. At night they travel to a different part of town
where no one will know them or
recognize them. They either work in bars or on the street and some of the
largest customers are construction workers that earn less that $1.25 a day
themselves! The common reason for going into prostitution is that it is quick
money and because these women come from poverty, it is a very attractive choice
with very costly consequences. Prostitution is often a trap that is difficult
to climb out of alone.
One of the things Samaritana does is raise up leaders among
the women that have come out of prostitution that then go reach out to their
friends, former coworkers and women who are still working as prostitutes. Every
Thursday, these leaders go on home visits to see the women that are their
friends and former graduates of the program as well as new people they have
met. I got the chance to go on some home visits one week. The experience was humbling. The first
woman we visited had what was considered a very nice home. She had running
water and two rooms that measured about 10’x10′; one room for sleeping and one
that was a kitchen. She was so excited to have us in her home and she prepared
a meal that she insisted on sharing with us even though she had two young
children that also needed to eat. She poured us an RC cola and sat down to talk
with us. I did not understand much of what was said in Tagala but I could
clearly read the joy on this woman’s face as she talked about her new job
selling cosmetics. Later I learned that she had gone into prostitution when her
husband was unfaithful and was not providing for her and the children. Now that
things in their marriage were healthy again she had pursued another job to maintain
financial security on her own.
Visiting these women, learning their stories and hearing
their struggles has been an awesome opportunity for me to see the Lord’s work
of redemption and the absolute joy that it brings. I was once again confronted
with the fact that I approach ministry as if I have something to give. Once
again God gently reminded me that I have so much more to learn than I have to
teach. These women appreciate their freedom in the Lord like no one else I’ve
ever seen. I pray that some of that realization would soak into me as I glean
from their wisdom and sit at their feet.
