You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Last week I had the opportunity to see my parents as well as meet the parents of some of my other squad mates. The evening before we were going to be reunited with our parents, we were on the roof of our hotel and we were getting a little briefing on what our week was going to look like. Kenny, the founder of Wipe Every Tear, the organization we were working with, shared with us his passion for getting young girls out of the sex trade, offering them a place to live, free schooling, food, and a healthy community to live in. Going into the week I was straight up terrified. I had never been to bars, let alone with my parents, and it all just freaked me out. But by the end of Kenny sharing and telling us a little of what we were going to be doing, I was overcome with peace. Jesus knew what my heart needed and He reminded me once again that He sees me, He knows me, and He loves me.
One of the coolest things happened on that hotel roof top. All us racers were in the middle of a circle surrounded by our Kenny and the other leaders and they prayed over us and over the week ahead. When we said the big “amen” we looked out over the city line and we saw hundreds of floating lanterns being set off. Now if you’re like me and you’re a huge Disney movie fan, you’re mind went directly to the movie Tangled. And you best believe I started singing the song, “and at last I see the lights”. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go watch Tangled and I promise you I won’t sound crazy.
As we watched the lanterns float off into the sky one of my squad mates spoke up and said, “Jesus is telling me that these lanterns represent each one of His precious daughters that will be set free from the bars”. As she said this, I got chills. It was an incredible image of freedom and it again filled my heart with peace about the week. From the very start, Jesus had big plans for our week.
Tuesday morning rolled around and to say I was excited is quite the understatement. We had another small meeting on the roof after breakfast and our parents were to be showing up super soon. As the meeting went on I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I was so excited and yet slightly nervous for some reason. The phone rang and we were told that some of our parents had arrived. They set us free from the meeting and I was probably the first one out of the room headed towards the elevator. When the door opened I heard them. The voices of the two people I had been so anxiously waiting to see. I walked around the corner, dropped my bag, and ran across the lobby and into their arms. The three of us cried (total shocker I know…) but they were all happy tears of course. With all the McFarland waterworks, hugs, and laughter, there was a lot of joy in that room as parents and racers were reunited.
Our ministry was based 2 hours outside of Manila, in Angeles City. There is a lot of darkness in this city. Picture a third world Las Vegas and you’ll start to understand a little of where we were. During the day it looks like a normal street and if you passed it, you would think nothing different of it. It all changes at night. Lights are flashing, people fill the streets, and the bars come alive. Within these bars you will find 15,000 plus girls that work every night from generally 8pm-4am. The majority of the girls that are working there have all been tricked into it. They are told that there is a waitress position open, their transportation is paid for to get there, and when they get there they are told that the position isn’t open anymore and they need to pay back their transportation fee. But, the girls are coming from impoverished areas so they don’t have money to pay it back, so they end up staying and working in the sex trade. They no longer have trust for people and they become trapped in this business.
Before each night of ministry we spent two hours in worship, prayer, and had sharing’s from racers about what Jesus has taught them/grown them in during their time on the Race. During one of our nights of worship we turned towards the windows, pulled the curtain back, and worshipped and prayed over the street we were about to go into. Jesus was so present and He was pouring peace over that room. He continued to remind us that His light was going to shine through us as we entered the dark place in front of us. He is the light in the darkness.
We got into our groups, prayed over our time, and out we went. It was happening. My first week in Asia and I was walking down a street getting ready to enter my first bar/strip club… with my parents by my side. As we were walking, I was wrestling with something that Kenny told us the night before. His words were, “don’t you dare say the name of Jesus while you’re in the bars”. When I heard this I was super confused. You’re telling me I can’t even mention Jesus at all while I’m talking to these girls? How the heck am I supposed to start a conversation with them? I wrestled with this until he explained that we just simple need to love. These girls will see Jesus through us as we love on them. We don’t need to shove a bible in their face or throw religion at them, our actions towards them will be the Jesus that they need at this time. That’s how it is in any aspect of life, not just in these bars. We as Christians don’t need to walk around shoving Jesus down people’s throats. We simply need to love them. A person that loves someone is much more approachable than a person who walks around with their bible 24/7 saying that people are going to hell if they don’t believe. That’s not what these girls need. They need someone that will truly love them and will simply talk to them, as a friend.
As we entered our first bar, Jesus made it very clear to me that I was there to be friends to the girls I would talk to. We sat at our table for a little before we chose a girl and I felt really uncomfortable looking at the girls. They weren’t wearing a whole lot and the whole bar scene was a lot for me to take in at first. But, Jesus whispered to me, “Look at them. They are no different than you, my child. They are my daughters. I love them just as I love you. You are no greater, they are no less. Just love them”. When my mindset changed from “how much of Jesus can I tell these girls about in this short time” to “how much can I show these girls that I care about them and genuinely want to become a friend that they can trust”, Jesus did some pretty cool things and His light was radiant throughout every bar that we walked into. Not because we are beaming human beings, but because we have the Holy Spirit inside us and He was shining through us. He became the light in the darkness. My view of these girls went from seeing them as bar girls to seeing them as girls just like me. The situation might be different from mine but, a person’s situation doesn’t define who they are. Jesus does not view these girls as “bar girls”. He views them as His precious daughters who He loves with the same sweet love that He loves you and me with. I am equal to a bar girl. I am no greater, and they are no less.
Each girl we talked to, we would share about Wipe Every Tear and all that they offered but we also invited them to have breakfast with us the following day. One thing we were told is that Filipinos will almost always say yes to things because it’s the nice thing to do but, they rarely follow through. So, when one of the girls would say yes we would be excited but we couldn’t get our hopes up. It was so challenging leave each bar for two reasons: one, I didn’t know if I would see the girls I met again, and two because I knew once we left, they were going back to work and there was a high chance they would get called down by the men there. The following morning, my parents and I were at breakfast at 8:00 sharp just in case any of the girls showed up. After some time passed, we were pleasantly surprised when the first two girls we met came walking in the church. We told them we were excited to see them and they told us that they had to keep their word and didn’t want to not show up. My heart was so happy when I saw them. And, seeing them outside the bars was just another reminder that they truly are just like me. If you saw me walking in town with them, you would have no idea that they came from a bar just a few hours ago. Their lives at night are so different from mine but, that doesn’t change how I few them and it definitely doesn’t change how Jesus sees them. Whether they are in a bar selling themselves to try to make any kind of money or walking down the street in jeans and a t-shirt, Jesus sees His daughters as beautiful, flawless, and worth it. Jesus died for them just as much as He died for you and me. We are no greater, they are no less.
Throughout our two nights of ministry I heard many stories from many of the girls in the bars. My heart broke as I listened to each girl open up and share small parts of their life with me. A comment made by one of the girls I had a conversation with has been heavy on my heart since we left the bar she was working in. I was telling her about my family and I pointed and told her that my mom and dad were with me and then I showed her a picture of my two sisters and told her a little bit about them. She was listening so intently and when she responded, my heart dropped. Her words were, “I envy you and the family you have. I come from a very broken family”. Over the past few years one of my dear friends, Mackenzie, and I have had multiple hour long conversations where we talk through our confusion, frustration, etc. on why we were born into the amazing, loving, godly families we were and other people, like these bar girls, were born into the families they were. If we are no greater and they are no less, than why is my life “better” than these girls? Why were they born into a broken family while I have a family that supports me in all that I do? How is that fair? It’s something that I have wrestled with and still can’t say that I understand why this is the way it is but, what Jesus is teaching me a lot about is letting go of things I can’t control and trust that His way and His plan is best, no matter what. I don’t get to control what kinds of families people are born into but Jesus does and He has a perfect plan for everyone, whether I can see that plan or not. He watches over His daughters caught in the sex trade and He never leaves their side. He holds their hand through the hard times and He will walk them into freedom; in HIS timing.
To end our time in Angeles City, a few of us racers decided to go to one of the bars that was more of a club. We went in and made our way to the middle of the dance floor and broke out some of our obviously great moves and just had a great time with our Filipino girls that had been our leaders all throughout ministry. It was such a great time with them and with each other and for sure a fun way to end our incredible yet challenging days of ministry.
The following morning we headed back into Manila, back to our hotel. Along with inviting them to breakfast, we also told each girl about the opportunity to come back with us to Manila to see the houses that Wipe Every Tear has for them and check them out. We had 6 girls and 2 ladyboys come with us; we were stoked to see them all come. **Ladyboys are people who were born as men but they believe that they should’ve been women so they work very hard at their appearance and often times, you can’t even tell that they are ladyboys because they look so much like women. A quick little story with them; when we first heard about them, it was hard for us to refer to them as girls because clearly, God created them to be men. Kenny shared with us how he used to struggle with the same thing until he talked to a ladyboy and she told him that God referred to her as a girl. Jesus doesn’t judge her; Jesus loves her. If Jesus loves her, then I am called to love her. It’s just that simple; we just have to love.** These are 8 girls who want a way out and trusted us enough to come on our bus and see if what we were offering was real. We don’t know if they will end up moving to these houses or not but, what we do know is that now they have seen for themselves that it is real and we know that in God’s timing He will work out His perfect plan for each one of them. All we can do now is pray and trust.
It only took two nights in the bars for my eyes to be open to the dark world that these girls are trapped in. If you would’ve asked me two weeks ago how I felt about even thinking about going into bars with my parents I would’ve told you that I was about to have the most awkward experience of my life. But, after it happened, I couldn’t have been more proud of my mom and dad. I am so blessed to have parents that are willing to take a week off work to fly around the world to meet me where Jesus has called me, in a place where they were stretched so far out of their comfort zone (and they weren’t alone in that, many of us were out of our comfort zones as we first went into the bars). I saw them put their full trust in Jesus because they knew they couldn’t do this without His strength and guidance. When we started getting into the flow of things, they did so great. They engaged in conversation with the girls, they asked questions, they showed the girls that they truly cared and that they wanted the best for them. They loved those girls so well. I’m so thankful that they were able to be a part of this eye opening, life changing experience with me. Even though we stayed in nice hotels with air conditioning, took super nice transportation too all our places, and all that fancy stuff, it was fun to show them a little bit of what my life has looked like the past 7 months. I still think they should’ve had to stay in tents, use squatty potties, and take cold showers to get the full experience but hey, I’m not complaining about sleeping in real hotel beds for a week with hot showers because anything with a real bed involved is a racers dream. Praise Jesus for blessing us racers with a week of luxurious living.
I know that got a little lengthy but believe it or not, that’s the short version of what the week looked like for me. I still haven’t fully processed everything that I experienced but I have found that writing helps me start to process things. So, sorry that you have to suffer with my long blogs but I do what’s best for me to process the things that Jesus teaches me and walks me through, as well as the parts of the world that He opens my eyes up to. If you want to hear more about this ministry or any other stories from this past week or any of the past 7 months, we’ll make a time to meet up when I get home.J Sharing stories over a computer screen is something I’m not a huge fan of, but I am more than happy to share them when we can sit face to face.
Here’s a quick ministry update for all you lovely people. For the months of March and April we are having all squad month. This means that all 40 of us are living at one contact and we do ministry together. We are blessed to be working with KIM, Kids International Ministries, and we are living at their beautiful base (see pictures that I am posting today to see just how much of a blessing this place is… it’s incredible). Ministry is very relaxed here in the way that we get to make our own personal schedules. They have a variety of options such as helping at a birthing clinic (we’ve had three girls get to deliver a baby; super cool), they have their children’s home which is similar to an orphanage, there’s construction where they’re building houses for families in the community so they don’t have to live in their small makeshift shacks anymore, they do feedings twice a day every day, there are community swimming hours (we have a pool with two waterslides and a high jump… I told you this place was cool haha) where we bring in 10-15 kids that live outside our gate in to swim for an hour at a time, and so much more. They are very big on making sure you are working in an area that you are gifted in and if that means creating your own ministry, they will do all that they can to make it happen. Some of us are starting a sports ministry where we are going to coach soccer, play volleyball and basketball, and things like that. My schedule is focused on the toddlers at the children’s home who I have completely fallen in love with and am looking forward to building relationships with them over these two months and I swim with the community girls every afternoon, and starting here soon I will help with the sports ministry. It was a hard transition going from the week with my parents into life here at KIM but it has gotten much better. I have built relationships with people here and even though some days are challenging, I am loving it.
Prayer Requests
- Please please please pray for good health within my squad. We have one girl who was in the hospital for a few days and is slowly starting to recover from Malaria that she got in Africa. Along with that a few other sicknesses that have been around among us are pink eye, upper respiratory infections, head colds, and the one that everyone has become so familiar with in the past week… lice. So prayer for good health would be so appreciated by all of us here so we can be at our best to do ministry each day.
- Prayer that I would continue to make Jesus my priority each day. Being here has shocked me back to what life at home will be like in the way that there are constantly things going on and there are so many distractions around me. I am working at continuing to make my quiet time my number one priority each morning before my day gets started. If you pray a simple prayer for me to have a hunger for more of Jesus each day and a desire to live for Him in everything I do, I would be so blessed by that.
Thank you for sticking with me through this lengthy blog and thank you for faithfully continuing to support me in prayer as I continue on this journey. I only have a short two and a half months left and as excited as I am to be home, I know that Jesus has me here in Asia for a reason and I am stoked to be here walking through every day with Him leading the way.
Peace and Blessings,
Jules
