Really great news you guys, I’m doing a 2 for one deal on blogs right now! So you get 2 blog posts for the price of one!!
On a real note, I wrote my Malaysia blog a couple of weeks ago but hadn’t been able to get it uploaded, and a lot has happened since then. So I want to get you guys all caught up!
At the end of our time in Malaysia we got to go to Kuala Lumpur for a few days to debrief our time there, and learn who would be on our new teams and what new roles people will be having! So as of now I am doing logistics for my squad, which means that I am helping book transportation and accommodations for future debriefs, and some other logistics stuff, which is AWESOME! I am also on a fully new team, which we found out about at debrief. Below is a picture of me and my team when we arrived to our house in the Philippines.
We are stationed in Angeles City in the Philippines and we are working with an organization called Wipe Every Tear (aka WET). There is a lot to tell about what we are doing here, it’s quite different than any of the other ministries we have done so far on the race. Angeles City is known for its rampant sex tourism, and there is a lot of human trafficking that goes on here. The Philippines has an incredibly high rate of poverty, so what happens to these women is that pimps or “mamasons” will go into the slums on different islands and convince these young women that there are incredible opportunities in the city. Then when the women get here they are essentially trapped because they are now in debt to whoever brought them here.
The ministry that we work with does a lot for these women. It starts with different ministry employees or volunteers going in to the red light district and going to have conversations with the women who work in the bars. They will invite the women to different events that Wipe Every Tear hosts, such as free breakfasts at the welcome center, banquets, and “getaways.” The ultimate goal is to foster relationships with these women so that they can move them into the ministry safe house, which is in another city a couple hours from Angeles. Once the women are living in the ministry house they are required to go to school, which is paid for by WET. So all of the women currently living there are working towards getting their GEDs, or college degrees! My team is mainly working the different events that WET hosts for the women, as well as prayer walking the red light street. We are hoping to be able to join the ministry when they go into the bars to talk to the women, but this has an additional cost that the World Race cannot cover. If this is a ministry that speaks to your heart, I would love to talk to you more about how you might be able to help us financially.
So obviously the ministry that we are doing here is pretty heavy, and the city that we are currently living in is a pretty dark place. It is honestly hard to escape the reality of what is going on here. Everywhere you look there are couples walking around with pretty large age differences. A lot of the men here just look so lonely and lost. The whole city is filled with bars, clubs, adult stores, and hotels that can be rented by the hour. In a place with so much darkness it is so incredibly important that we cling to the truth and the light of Jesus.
My team is doing a bible study together and yesterday we started 1 John, chapter 1. 1 John 1:5 says “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.” The truth about this ministry is that it is so incredibly dark, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within me, me and my team have the ability to shine light here. When we think about Matthew 5:16, Jesus calls us to shine our light. An image my team has been talking about is the idea of bringing a lamp into a room that is already lit, in that room the lamp is not going to do much. But, if you bring a lamp into a room that is completely dark, that light will illuminate the room. In this season, and in this ministry assignment it is our job to shine the light in this darkness. As we get deeper into this ministry I would be so grateful if you would come alongside my team in prayer.
Please join us in prayer:
- That we would not be overcome by darkness here, and that my team would continue to walk in the peace and joy of the Lord.
- That our team would walk in unity, with love and support toward one another.
- For the women and men in these streets to come to know Jesus, and to be rescued by the love and light of Jesus.
- That Wipe Every Tear would have the ability to talk to the right girls in the bar, and to see success in their ministry.
In the few days we have been here, God’s grace has been so prominent on this team. Every single one of us is walking in joy, and reliance on the Lord. I wanted to share some sweet moments that I have caught over the past week and share them below.
Thank you for reading and for following along with my journey, I am so grateful to know you all.
God bless you and keep you,
Amanda
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