Awakening

Recently I had a vision of sorts go fleeting through my mind.  It was a scene from Beauty and the Beast.  The rose was dropping petals, signifying time running out.  People I knew, my church, my world of work, eat, sleep, was represented in gray.  Everyone was going through the motions, doing their duty but lacking in life/joy.  The vision I had was similar to that moment when Belle and the Beast realize their love for each other and are transformed.  That love transformed not only the 2 of them but all those around them.  I realized that this represents the church.  Time is running out, Jesus is waiting for us to recognize that He loves us and in return fall in love with HIM.  We have gotten so good at doing life/church by going through the motions that we have lost the joy.  It’s not too late.  I have witnessed first hand as God has been revealing Himself to young people (and old) and that love is transforming them.

As my kids were entering their teens I remember how discouraged I felt at the reports of young people leaving the church in greater numbers than ever.  I knew my own journey had left me disillusioned by the church for a number of years as I saw men that I had respected fall with huge moral failings that threatened to take down whole families.  The church is full of broken people that can’t be “fixed” with programs and good behavior.  It is only through the Holy Spirit transforming each person from the inside out that we will see change.  The Holy Spirit is a gift of love when we choose to follow Jesus.  Unfortunately, the mobs are still shouting loudly trying to cause division, keeping many from the love they desperately desire.  Even as young people have walked away from church, I have seen many discover the bigger, broader CHURCH through journeys like the World Race, YWAM, CRU or other adventures that have shown them the love of Christ in tangible ways.  There is an awakening that is happening as they discover the love God has for them and that is overflowing from them.  My hope would be that these young people would ask God where He wants them to give back this love that they have discovered.  I have personally met former prostitutes who are now beautiful brides of the King of Kings – transformed by the power of God’s love.  Safe places like Wipe Every Tear, Thistle Farms and many others are growing as the lady boys, prostitutes, drug addicts come to the table, with nothing to offer, and are loved.  The Bible says that man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart.  Isn’t it time that we do the same?

Our churches are dying.  You see it all over as buildings crumble, people are too busy to bother or tired of the drama, rules, performance.  But I have hope.  Since coming alongside the  young adults in our congregation and those who have gone on the World Race (including my son), I am excited to see the church alive and well.  I have worshipped alongside these young people and witnessed first hand the transformation happening as they understand the love of the Father for them.  I believe that as we open our church doors and welcome these tattoo covered, adventure seeking young people that we will discover that same freedom of being loved unconditionally.

I do believe that there is a time to repent (change).  I think that time is now.  Let’s let go of trying to live by rules that man has made, rules that hinder the Gospel message and not advance it.  Let’s let go of our pride that says we have this church thing figured out.  Let’s make room for change that can only come from a spirit of humble anticipation of what God may have in store for us as we invite the Holy Spirit into our homes and churches.  Let’s turn our hearts to heaven and listen to God’s voice.  Let’s do what He asks.  Let’s love as Jesus loves.  Let’s quit searching for the perfect church and commit to change within God’s church that He has planted us in.  God intended the Church to be US all along.  Let’s represent HIM well as we love as He loves.

Wake up Church!  Time is short.

Light in the Darkness

It has been about a month since our team of parents and World Racers entered the girly bars in Angeles City, a month since images of young girls trapped in the sex industry became permanently embedded in my mind.  The lies that they want to be there, or they enjoy it, or it’s what they chose, don’t hold up because I have personally talked to those who have left and those who doubt they could ever leave due to fear.  These girls have names and faces, children and dreams.  They have a heavy burden because they have been sold a lie that this is the only way that they can eat or live.  As if, the men who are abusing them are doing them a huge favor.  A lie that says they have no value, when in truth their lives do matter, they deserve to be treated with dignity and love.  They deserve a future, they deserve freedom, they deserve to break the cycle of poverty and abuse.

The problem to me is the enormity of the issue of sexual slavery.  The justice in me wants to torch the establishments that sell these girls, do away with the bars completely.  The truth is they would spring up again filling the void with more evil.  I’m all for the bars shutting down but if nothing good comes to replace them it would all be for nothing.  As you walk down Walking Street there are bars upon bars with lights flashing filled with partly dressed girls/women “entertaining” the tourists.  Part way down the street is a Hello Kitty cafe, completely standing out of place in this dark, oppressed area of town.  We stopped and laughed at the bright pink cafe with children and parents inside looking as out of place as we were in this street of darkness.  But honestly that obnoxious pink cafe gives me hope.  What if more businesses that were family friendly moved in?

Bella Goose is a coffee shop in Wisconsin Dells, WI that is in the process of opening a coffee shop in Angeles City.  They are hiring former bar girls to be their baristas!  They are not just talking about the injustice of human trafficking but they are offering hope in a practical way.  If you want to be a part of this in even a small way I would recommend you join their coffee club.  Every month you get freshly roasted coffee sent to your home and 100% of the gross profit will go towards fighting human trafficking in Angeles City. ( http://bellagoosecoffee.com/) Bella Goose has partnered with Wipe Every Tear to help these beautiful girls start over with a safe home, education and a future.  What if more businesses took the risk and set up shop where these girls could work doing something that is not degrading?

It costs about $300 a month for each girl that comes out of the bars to live at the Wipe Every Tear homes – that covers a roof over their head, food, education, tutoring, care for their children and a small allowance.  They are learning to walk in freedom.  They are introduced to Jesus and discovering their identity as children of a loving Father.  The lies that they have no value are being erased. Their future is being rewritten and light is pouring in as they have a new found HOPE.  There is not a pressure to perform, these girls are experiencing the life changing power of the Holy Spirit as the staff of Wipe Every Tear  loves them – Just Love.  It has been a thrill to meet girls on the street and tell them about the opportunity to leave the bars and find life.  The houses are getting full as more and more girls are trusting that mercy really does win.  Please consider giving to Wipe Every Tear so that more houses can be rented and staffed for these precious people.

The last night that we were on Walking Street felt very heavy to me, this cloud of oppression pressed on me as the problem seemed so big.  Our team was just leaving the block walking towards the archway announcing “Walking Street”.  I saw 2 thin young sisters (maybe) coming from the terminal where the Jeepneys come to Angeles City.  They caught my eye because they looked different – long, leaner bodies, poor, dirty, brown teeth, a scarf loosely flowing over their heads, flip flops for shoes and one small plastic bag of belongings.  One looked to be in her 20’s, the other maybe 12, I wondered what their story was.  As they passed by and were in my peripheral vision, a man came out of the shadows towards them.  In a cheesy, loud, salesman voice he said “What do we have here?  I see Sexy and Sexier… come with me ladies I have just what you need.”  My heart pounded in fear as if the devil himself had spoken.  When I turned around they were already gone like a mist.  Those faces haunt me.

Every day that scene plays itself out in city after city all over the world – the vulnerable meet the face of evil.  The problem seems so big I just want to hide my head and try to ignore it.  Then I think of the sweet girls that I have met, the ones who have been rescued.  I know that every single one of their lives were worth going in and rescuing.  We can rejoice in that!  This is a war where mercy can win.  We need to be in battle for these girls through prayer.  Stand up in your city, fight against the slavery happening right under our noses.  Say no to pornography.  Fight for these girls as if they were your own daughters.

Ways that you can fight:

• Pray!
• Give to Wipe Every Tear or other organizations that are fighting human trafficking in your area.
• Buy your coffee from Bella Goose Coffee Club to help support girls coming off the streets.
• If you are one who wants justice:  give to International Justice Mission or get their updates so you can be aware of what is happening in the world.
• Raise awareness and don’t hide your head in the sand.
• Go!  If you are able to go on a short term trip with Wipe Every Tear or would like to serve on their staff – it will change your life!

 

This is my final blog on serving with Wipe Every Tear:

Part 1:  Unqualified

Part 2:Chosen

Part 3: Lady Boys and Love

 

 

 

Lady Boys and Love

Part 3 in a series of our time being missionaries with Wipe Every Tear.

PC: Brian Johanson

I can’t say that I had given much thought to what a lady boy was before arriving in Angeles City, Philippines.  We were here with a bunch of middle age parents and our young adult children. Our purpose was to go out to the girly bars and invite those who are being prostituted to a safe house to live.  The girls are young and beautiful and victims of an industry that is hard to even fathom.  Wipe Every Tear gives them an opportunity to get an education, which will break these chains of poverty.

Victims that I hadn’t thought about are called “Lady Boys” (This is a term that they prefer).  Lady boys have been groomed since they were very young to be women… gorgeous women.  Many were taken off the streets, some sold by family members with too many children to feed, all too young to have any choice in the matter.  Like the girls they have had to endure countless degrading “dates”, used and abused, only to get up day after day and do it all over again.   Wipe Every Tear has a house just for the lady boys who choose to leave the only life that they can remember and get an education.  Meeting a few of them has challenged my thinking in so many ways.

In my own life, I have lived in the prison of performance – wearing the mask, playing the part, trying, trying, trying to look and say all the right things to be accepted.  Freedom came when I stopped looking at all the rules of religion and found my identity in the ONE who created me.  The same thing is happening in these sweet girls and lady boys as they are introduced to a relationship with Jesus – one without strings!  When Wipe Every Tear walks into the bars they have one mission:  Just Love.  The only “love” that they have ever known up to this point has been one of performance, one that does not last.  Jesus came to give life.  As I have been praying for these precious brothers and sisters in Christ I have been confronted with my own legalism and false doctrine.  We live in this broken complex world and yet I can want quick fixes that would only work as bandaids.  The Holy Spirit moving in and replacing all the lies one by one is the only hope for broken people.  God has been working on my life for over 20 years and He is still revealing truth to me.  The lie that I fight often is that I am not good enough.  Meeting these lady boys who are new in their relationship with Christ, seeing the freedom and joy they have, has transformed me in ways I never expected.  God has wanted me to know all along that he has only been interested in my heart!

I am confident that God will bring healing and a new identity to all of His children.  I’m praising Him for rescuing those who were lost… myself included.

God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.  I Samuel 16:7

• .Part 1 Unqualified
• Part 2 Chosen

 

 

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

 

 

Anticipation

Exciting news – In just 9 days my husband and I will be getting on a flight to take us somewhere warm!!!  We have been invited to a Parent Vision Trip (PVT) with the World Race.  Our son Kyle has been on the gap year race since August and is currently in the Philippines where we will be joining him.  We arrive a few days early allowing us time to adjust from jet lag and explore Manila.  The PVT time will be 5 full days with our son, we have missed him.  After our time we’ll head to another island for an amazing getaway near the beach overlooking the China Sea. This is what I have been looking forward to, dreaming about, planning and preparing for.  There are still 2 kids at home which makes planning a trip like this a little more complicated but truthfully once we are on the plane it’s just Drew and I – Woo Hoo!!!

I can be somewhat of a Pollyanna (always looking at the bright side of things) but if I’m honest it’s more that I can avoid thinking about things that are unpleasant.  I like to daydream of how my son has changed and getting to hug him after all these months.  I like to ponder what book I’m going to read sitting on the beach.  I can’t wait to meet the other parents and live life on a mission.  There are always the unknowns where it’s best just to have the attitude to be flexible and try not to have expectations.  Bring my own toilet paper and Dramamine and whatever else that will help my comfort level.  I’ve been practicing my squats for the squatty potties and thinking of excuses not to try some of the foods I’ve heard about, anything to avoid thinking about what we will be doing while we are on our mission.

We will be working with an organization called Wipe Every Tear – their purpose is to go out on the streets and rescue girls out of prostitution. Today I have seen a number of hashtags bringing attention to human trafficking.  January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking prevention month.  Up until today I have been pretty good at avoiding thinking about the girls that we are going to meet.  My heart breaks because the situation these young girls find themselves in is way more complex then just making a choice – they have no choice.  Poverty is real and evil is real.  Evil will do whatever it can to steal innocence and fuel addictions.  I avoid thinking about it because I wonder what can I do?  I’m a fifty something white woman who works at Trader Joe’s when I’m not driving someone around or keeping my home running.  I’m ignorant to what true poverty is really like – I’ve seen it as a spectator, I’ve smelled it, I’ve photographed it because I don’t want to forget.  Poverty has just been a moment passing by me, I have never had to live in poverty.  I have never had to make a decision to let just one of my kids go to school, or to sell a child into slavery because there are no other options.  I’ve never even had to go a day without food.  So what do I have to offer?  I guess I will find out. I’m pretty sure God is going to show up in a powerful way.  I’m nervous because I know that meeting these beautiful girls, hearing their stories and showing them love is going to change me.  I won’t be able to look at the problem of human trafficking again without seeing their eyes, knowing their names.  It won’t just be a cool hashtag that makes me think for a second – it will be a friend that comes to my mind, someone’s daughter, someone made in the image of Christ, someone who deserves to be set free.

Wipe Every Tear is a Christian organization that meets practical needs of these girls who are trapped in a cycle of poverty/prostitution.  They offer a place to live and an education, something that will empower these girls to have a better life.  That is great but what really changes these girls is the hope they find in Jesus Christ.  If you would like more information about Wipe Every Tear and their ministry please go to their website:  http://wipeeverytear.org/