I walked in to the bar. It was dark except for the colored spotlights pointed in one direction. There were black, leather couches all around the room, against the wall facing the same direction as the spotlights. There were tables in front of the couches and mirrors on every surface of the wall. The colored spotlights were magenta, blue, and red, lighting up the stage in the middle of the room, like an island. An island that existed for the pleasure and entertainment of the customers. An island that was constantly full of 10-20 young women, dancing for the attention of the men.
These girls had all ranges of emotions on their faces. Some were smiling, laughing, enthusiastically dancing. Others were frowning, scowling while dancing unenthusiastically. Still others were emotionless, unwilling to dance at all. They were all wearing different clothes: dresses, shorts, tank tops, t-shirts. All the clothing was black, form fitting, and too small.
These girls were trapped. I could feel it. Some of them knew it. I could see it in their eyes.
This was the first night of ministry for the Parent Vision Trip. My parents flew 8,000 miles to serve alongside me in ministry. Here we were. Walking in to our first bar in Angeles City, Philippines.
A lot of things happened before and during our bar time that could have caused us to go back to our hotel early. A lot of things were being used as distractions to keep our eyes off who we were really here for: The One.
I saw her. She was beautiful. Quiet, shy, young and her eyes were full of innocence. I called her and her friend down to my table. I was sitting on the end with my dad between me and my mom. I was able to talk to her while my parents talked to her friend. I offered them a drink: juice, milk, alcohol, whatever they wanted. They wanted iced tea. How sweet that my sisters wanted TEA! They felt comfortable enough to not feel obligated to drink alcohol.
We started talking. She told me about her family and her dreams for school. I started talking to her about Wipe Every Tear, the organization we were serving with. I explained to her that Wipe Every Tear helps girls get out of the bars. They provide housing, food, clothes, school supplies, allowance, high school and university education FOR FREE for any girl that wants to leave the bar. FOR FREE! She didn’t have to pay for anything. She could go to university and study Hotel and Restaurant Management, her dream. I could see her thinking through it all, but still unwilling to commit. I called over my representative from Wipe Every Tear, *Ela, a young woman who had worked in the bars before living in one of the Wipe Every Tear houses. Ela started talking in Tagalog to her, explaining more and inviting her to lunch and dinner with us the next day.
We were excited about the possibilities for these young women. The possibilities of them living their dreams, getting an education, and living the life they want.
The next day, she didn’t show up for lunch or dinner. I was disappointed. I wanted to see her and remind her how beautiful and loved she was. She was The One and she didn’t even know it yet.
We started getting ready for another night of ministry and Ela came to me and told me that our friends were coming with us to bar hop. I was beyond excited! The story wasn’t over.
We saw them outside one of the bars. Her long hair was flowing and she was wearing a black dress. She still had that same quiet, shy, innocent smile. My heart lept for joy seeing her. She wanted to spend time with us!
We walked into a bar, the same bar we almost got kicked out of the night before. We walked in, found seats and ordered drinks. This bar was brighter and full of girls dancing choreography in bright, short, form-fitting dresses.
My heart was being broken for all the girls around me that were stuck. I wanted to talk to all of them. But I sat back. She needed to be my focus. My heart was there for the girl sitting next to me. The One my Father told me to talk to. The One my Father longed for.
We continued talking. I didn’t want to push her; she was shy and quiet. I wanted to be a peaceful presence in her night so we spent a lot of time in silence. She spent time talking to Ela and her friends too.
Ela came up to me and told me that our friend decided to take a tour of the Wipe Every Tear house. She was going to leave and change her clothes and then meet Ela and our team at another bar where she would spend the rest of the night with us. The next morning we would drive to Manila and show her the houses. It was the best news!
She was one step closer to freedom! Jesus was winning. Fear and doubt didn’t win!
The rest of the story doesn’t directly include me. She left on the Wipe Every Tear bus while me and the rest of the PVT participants took another bus to debrief our time together.
I kept praying. Hoping she would choose a life of freedom!
I received news a few days later that she said “Yes.” She was being picked up from Angeles City and would be living with Wipe Every Tear.
*Rila is now HOME. On August 11, she said goodbye to a life of slavery and said yes to freedom.
Please keep her in your prayers as she continues to walk through healing, community, and experiences the love and acceptance of Jesus.
This wouldn’t be possible without YOU! I am so grateful for your support, encouragement, prayers, and love throughout this journey. Thank you so much for joining with me on this adventure and making it possible for me to serve women like Rila and ministries like Wipe Every Tear. If you would like to know more about Wipe Every Tear, check out their website at www.wipeeverytear.org.
*For their privacy, I changed their names
P.S. Be on the lookout for a blog explaining my next step in ministry after the World Race. Much love!
