Unqualified

If you would have told me a year ago that this winter I would be sitting in a conference room with 100 other people that I had just met, most of them my age or older, getting ready to go into “Girly” bars in the Philippines, I would have thought you were crazy.  Looking around the room, with butterflies in my stomach, I couldn’t help but wonder,”God, What are You doing?”  Unqualified was the word that came to mind as I looked at myself and the other parents that would probably prefer to be heading to bed at 9pm rather than hitting the bar scene.  This wasn’t any bar strip either but a famous place for sexual tourism.  I was about to enter the unknown darkness with my husband and 20 year old son.  Our job was to go into these bars as missionaries with an organization called Wipe Every Tear  (http://wipeeverytear.org/).

Wipe Every Tear offers safe housing and an education for the girls that are trapped in this world of sexual slavery.  We met girls that are living in the safe houses already – girls with dreams, girls that giggle, girls that like all the same things my daughter likes, girls that now have hope.  Since coming to the safe houses they have been introduced to Jesus and the transformation is beautiful.  They now know the love of their Father and the joy pours out of them.  Some of these same girls would be our guides for the nights, only able to go into the bars because they are with us “tourists”.   The girl that lead our team was so humble and sweet, this was her first time out alone and she was as nervous as we were.  I felt like a mama bear in protection mode as we headed into the very place she left.  I couldn’t get over how proud I was of this brave young lady – no one was forcing her to go back.  She knew first hand how hard it would be for these girls to believe that this opportunity was for real.  The bars have a picture of the woman who runs the safe houses displayed in the back rooms of these bars with a warning not to go with her… putting fear in these girls that life with this woman would be worse than what they would be leaving.  Our guides bravely go in to tell their story and dismiss the fear that this is too good to be true.

Here is where we come in, the group of unqualified Americans completely out of our comfort zone.  To even get a chance to talk to these girls we need to step onto their turf, to choose a girl from the stage, buy them a drink and spend time talking with them about their dreams, their life, their future.  Most of the girls we talked to have children – which are welcome at the safe houses.  None of the girls we talked to ordered an alcoholic drink – they just wanted juice or chocolate milk.  None of the girls we talked to enjoyed what they did but rather endured it for the sake of their family.  Some were there because their parents sold them, some because they were lied to and thought it was a waitress job, all were from poverty and had no means to an education.  All were made in the image of God and deserving of dignity.

Our goal for the night was to bring God’s Kingdom into the streets, to offer hope to those trapped in some of the darkest places you can ever imagine.  God loves to use the unqualified, He shows that over and over in scripture.  It isn’t about my ability or lack there of, it’s all about the power of God.  These young woman that were willing to be our guides were evident of that.  Before we headed out to the streets THEY prayed over US.  God used the hands of girls that used to make money on the streets.  He used the hands of lady boys that have been groomed since early years to be used, but now are set free.  God showed his power and sent out a bunch of middle age parents and their young adult kids to love on the girls of Walking Street.  I’m thankful God chose to use me – an unqualified, middle age woman who was willing to say “Yes”.

PC:  Wipe Every Tear