The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. – Isaiah 61:1-3
We have just arrived back to the Pacific
Hope after spending a very full week at YWAM Olongapo/Tamar Foundation in
the city of Olongapo. The Tamar Foundation is based at YWAM Olongapo and “provides
counseling, education and basic needs for women at risk and those who been
prostituted.” The Tamar
Foundation provides a live-in, two year discipleship program for up to twelve
women (and their children) and seeks to restore value and dignity to women
through sharing Jesus and equipping them with skills that will enable them to
gain further qualifications and employment that does not involve prostitution.
Tribal Church Ministry
On Sunday we woke up early and travelled by jeepney and on foot to a
church located in the tribal community. It took us about an hour and a half to
walk to the church (fortunately through beautiful scenery) and when we arrived
a group of us went to tell the villagers that church was starting. The majority of this church’s attendees are under 12 years old, so
for much of the service the majority of our team was outside leading the 40-50
children in actions songs and games while Joshua preached the sermon. After the service we helped with the feeding program, ladling chicken
noodle soup into bowls, tin cans, cups and anything else that the children and
adults could find to hold their meal. We finished the morning with lunch followed
by swimming in a nearby river. It was so refreshing after the hot walk, the church
service, and all the time in dirty, urban Manila.
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| Local children enjoying chicken soup |
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| On our way to church |
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| The amazing children in the kids ministry |
Teenage Guys Bible Study and
Mentoring
After dinner each evening (Monday through Thursday), the guys of the
justice team had a chance to spend time with a small group of teenage guys who
live at the base. Our guys used this time to get to know the teenagers, share
testimonies, and teach them based on Scripture and their own life experience.
This was a really great opportunity for these teens to be mentored by solid
Christian men, something they can’t always get because most of them don’t have
fathers in their lives.
Disciples Bible Study
Alongside this, our girls would get together with the disciples and
lead a bible study. The disciples are women who have previously been involved
in prostitution and bar work and are now part of the Tamar foundation’s two-year
program. As the emphasis of this ministry is ‘one person at a time’, each young
woman has started the program at a different time and is therefore at different
stages of the healing and restoration process. A number of our justice girls led
the bible studies with these beautiful women and taught on topics relating to
identity, spiritual warfare, and seeking Jesus. Our ladies also shared powerful
testimonies during the week, prompting questions from the disciples about
forgiveness, pain and healing. This presented an amazing opportunity for our
justice girls to speak truth into their lives, to share their own experiences
in relation to the questions raised, and speak hope and freedom in Christ. We
were able to pray and talk with each of the women after each bible study and
minister to them individually. On the first night, one young woman in her early
twenties (and 8 months pregnant) decided to give her life to Jesus Christ.
Christie and Mishelle were invited to pray for her (and her unborn baby) and
then lead her in prayer to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior! We are so
thankful that God gave us this small but significant part to play in this
woman’s journey of faith; it was a definite example of our Father partnering
with us and inviting us to be involved in the incredible work that He is doing
at YWAM Olongapo.
Bar Ministry
After the Disciples’ Bible Study each night we would spend some time in
prayer as a group before heading to an area called Barretto which is a well
known for bars and prostitution. Once there we separated into three groups of
four. A YWAM Olongapo staff member also accompanied each group because they are
familiar with the bar area and what bars we are allowed to enter. Our goal each
night was to initiate conversations with the waitresses, dancers, and mamasans
(the women who negotiates business between the customer and prostitutes),
invite them to a Bible study on the coming Friday, and get their phone number
so that the ministry can maintain contact with them. If we were not speaking
with the girls, we were praying for change and transformation in the bar and
the lives of those who enter it.
During this bar ministry time we learnt more of the nature of
prostitution in the Olongapo and the Philippines as a whole. Many young women
enter bar work due to poverty – they are either responsible for financially
supporting their family back at home or must work to provide food for their own
children. One girl told us that she came to work in the bars to support her family
who in Manila. Her family is unaware of the nature of her work; she told them
she is working in a restaurant knowing it would hurt them to know she was
involved in prostitution. Many girls do not think that there are any other
options for them: one 18 year old girl we spoke to had been working at the bar
for 3 months, and when asked what she hoped to do in the future she looked
confused and had no answer for what other job she could see herself doing. This
mindset is understandable when the prostitution industry in the Philippines is
the third largest in the world. Jobs in bars are more accessible for women who
have not finished their high school education or who are desperate and feeling
the pressure of supporting family and children.
But there is still hope and options for their future! This is the
message we brought with us into the bars: the love, hope, and provision that is
available from and in God. Through prayer we were prepared to go into the bars,
observe the oppression, darkness and injustice, and seek to bring love and change
to the people we met. This is true in one bar that Jules, Christie, Kyle, and Dan
went into. One customer approached Jules and Christie commenting that something
was different about them – they made him nervous. This led to conversation with
him and another man about their personal stories, their view of God, the bars
they were in, and the prostitution industry. This was a God-given opportunity
as we learned more about the brokenness, pain, and guilt that is present in
lives of the men who come into these bars and were able to bring truthful
answers to the questions they asked about ourselves and God.
We have so many more testimonies of how God provided opportunities for
us to speak with young women and present another option for their futures. One
group met two young women who had just begun working at a bar. They were not
happy with their situation and were interested in leaving. During that night,
these two women (at different times) packed up their belongings and came to the
YWAM Olongapo base with the help of the base staff. After conversation with the
base coordinator they decided that they wanted to return to their province, the
justice girls and two staff members then spent some time praying for the two
women before they left. It was great to see God at work in the
situation, both young women accepted Jesus Christ. Meeting and helping them was
a reminder of the potential for the conversations we have with those working in
the bars to lead to women making the decision to seek a better future and take
action to leave bar work.
Community Orphanage Service
During the week, we spent a couple of afternoons in a
Catholic orphanage and retirement home talking with the residents and singing
with them. This was an enjoyable and sometimes amusing time for us as we learnt
more about what life is like for the elderly who do not have family who can
take care of them.
Bar Ministry Bible Study
On Friday we returned to the Barretto Street bar area to host a bible
study for the women and lady-boys (young men who dress as women and find their identity as women) we had invited during the week. We had
no idea how many men and women would turn up, but we arrived with expectation
that God would prompt those who needed to come. God answered our prayers as we
had a group of about 15 men and women who we had met during the week come and
be part of the bible study. This time of ministry was a
brilliant example of how we have a God-selected team. Each person of the
justice team had a specific role to play during the bible study time: some were
praying, others were spending time getting to know the girls and guys who
attended, and still others led worship, gave testimonies or prepared and
delivered the message. It is awesome to continue to see how God has used such a
diverse group of people to share the gospel and minister to a broad range of
people during this outreach.
YWAM Olongapo’s guiding scripture is Isaiah 61:1-3 (see beginning). The
reason why they chose it is evident because it encapsulates their purpose so
well. This past week the justice team has got a taste of this mission in
action. We saw that as Christians we have the authority of God to preach good
news to the poor (financially and spiritually), to minister to the broken and
hurting people we meet, to speak about the freedom we have in Christ, and play
a part in helping men and women be released from the darkness of the profession
they are involved in. God equips and strengthens us to comfort and provide for
those who mourn and experience loss, to speak truth about the value God places
on each individual and to demonstrate the love God has for us practically.
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| The Justice team and those who attended the Friday Bible study |
Blessings,
The Justice Team
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