14 girls loaded in 2 vans and headed to Angeles City, Philippines for what would be a life changing girls trip. The day before we headed to the mall to buy dresses for our night on the town and went over our itinerary for the next couple of days.
After our 1.5 hour ride to AC, I was woken out of my deep slumber to find that we had arrived at what would be our residence for the next 2 nights; a run down church that had been destroyed by volcanic ash in 1994. It was absolutely breathtaking!
After settling in we all got dressed to hit the town. We hoped in a jeepney and headed to Walking Street. This is a 1.5 mile long strip of bars and hotels where there are over 15,000 girls who are exploited daily.
This was not your ordinary girls trip. We were here to do bar ministry. Our purpose in coming to Angeles City was to meet girls and tell them about Wipe Every Tear To offer them a way out. A place where they can come and get free education and housing, medical care and a safe place.
The first bar we went into was dimly lit with cushioned seats lining the wall, high chair tables in the center, a stage packed with girls dancing in stringed bikinis and a balcony where other girls looked on as they took breaks and awaited their turn on stage. These girls didn’t want to be here, they had to be.
In the Philippines there is a deep devotion to family and a huge weight of responsibility to support your family by any means necessary. Without the proper education which can be hard to get because of financial demands of the family many women are forced to find work in the bars. Or they are recruited by a mamasan; a female pimp who for some girls is their aunt.
The second bar we went into was called Shipwrecked. This time imagine a long narrow corridor with cushioned seating lining the right side of the wall and a long narrow stage with a mirrored backdrop on the left side. Music blasting, smoke floating in the air and men everywhere wanting to have a “good time.” That’s it.
I bought my first girl ever (in hopes of telling her about WET.) She ordered an Apple flavored San Miguel and I tried to make small talk with her only to realize she was having a nose bleed. That’s a term they use here when they don’t understand what you’re saying. I did learn her name, that she was only 20 years old and had been working at the bar for about 2 months. I told her about Wipe Every Tear and she had to get back to work. She too did not want to be there.
I know what you’re thinking, why work there? Why don’t they just go and find another job. I understand your thinking, yet unlike the Western world without a proper education there are no jobs. Back home you may not be working the job you dreamed of but you can find honest work that provides for your family (ie working at McDonalds). That’s not the case here. Working at places like McDonalds requires at least a high school degree which is hard to obtain because most girls because are forced to drop out of school at very young ages because of family demands.
There were multiple times where I found rage rising up in me towards the men I came face to face with at these bars. The depravity of this place was overwhelming. “How could a place like this exist? Why is this seen as acceptable?” Women are being treated as sole objects of pleasure and being sold at a price less than that of swine.”
In those moments of anger God not only broke my heart for those girls but also for the men. He reminded me of the great depths people can and will go just to feel loved, to feel satisfied, to fill the voids that never seem to go away. Instead of being enraged I was shown that most of these men may not understand the love of the Father. My heart became tender towards them. Instead of being disgusted I was determined to pray for them.
We went out another night for more ministry and in hopes of inviting girls back to Wipe Every Tear with us to check it out for themselves. The morning of our departure we woke up hopeful and expectant. 7 girls came back with us that day.
*photo from Wipe Every Tear*
Driving back to WET I saw physically what happens in the spiritual when someone chooses Christ and walks out of darkness into the light. I sat there with these girls and the director of WET in the Nipa Hut and watched as tears fell from their eyes because of what was being offered to them. A way out. And I watched as my own tears fell because none of the girls committed that day to staying.
How Christ must feel when He offers us life and we walk away from it. A new beginning and we choose to cling to the old, to the familiar even if it’s detrimental to us. Thankfully, like Christ who doesn’t give up on us but continues to pursue us, the staff at WET continue to go out and do outreach. They continue to toil because they know those girls are worth it. The amount of time it takes a girl to leave can take anywhere from an instant to years later depending on debt owed or courage needed but it is possible and I witnessed that this month…
Stay tuned for part 2!
Please continue to pray for the 7 girls that came to visit WET. That at the right time they will find the courage to leave Walking Street and other places like it. Pray for the thousands of girls still working, for their continued safety and that they too will choose to leave. Pray for the people that visit places like this for pleasure and that all involved would come to know the love of the Father.
