Hello from South Africa! WOW. This past season has gone so so fast, it’s hard to even believe that the Philippines is over and done. My time there was just wonderful and I am so so blessed by the memories and relationships that I am walking away with.

As you might know, my team and I were assigned to school ministry. That ended Friday, February 20th. That following Monday, we headed to Angeles City (north of Manila) for PVT, or parent vision trip.

YAY! I bet you can guess what that means… we got to see our parents for the first time in 6 months! And wow, it was truly amazing. My fellow squad mates and I have been looking forward to this week for so so long! PVT was around 5 days long of reunion, worship, teaching, and ministry designed to give our parents a glimpse of what our life on the race looks like.

The first day of PVT consisted of us traveling to the airport for our parent-racer reunion. It was so sweet, and the anticipation was high! We were stationed at a corner of the airport and the big group of parents came walking in. I started looking for my parents among the big crowd, and finally saw my Dad’s head poking out and immediately ran to the back to them! I ran into his arms and we were all crying. It was so so sweet. I was afraid that it wasn’t going to feel normal with them since it had been so long, but once we came together, it felt like no time had passed and I left last week instead of 26 weeks ago. With a lot of talk about the parent-racer reunions being difficult because “your child has changed so much”, it instilled a lot of fear that I hadn’t changed at all. I was fearful that this ‘transformation’ that racers go through on the trip hadn’t happened for me. But my parents expressed that they had noticed a lot of change in my life through my perspective, maturity, boldness, and other things that brought me a lot of peace. We spent a lot of our free time talking and catching up which truly filled me up and rejuvenated my spirit to take on this next season well.

They also brought me some goodies!!! Snacks like goldfish, frosted animal crackers, cheezits, and Girl Scout lemonade cookies made my heart very happy! They also brought me 2 of my shirts and a sweatshirt (I haven't had one since Colombia). I sent home quite of bit of my things as well which lightened my load a lot.

Other than the excitement of being with my parents again, I had some fun with a leadership opportunity this week! Myself along with Ariana and Big Ethan were chosen to help coordinate PVT parent-racer time. So from 5-8ish was delegated by us. We filled the time with teachings, testimonies, worship, and fun games we have played as a squad and wanted our parents to experience. This time was filled with so much joy, laughter, and intimate time with the Lord! A highlight for me was seeing all the parents enjoy the fun games we enjoy. Ask me about 'House Party' or 'Triggers' if you want a fun game to play at a gathering :). It was very fun to collab with these 2 friends and make this space fun for all! We all took one evening to be an emcee, keeping track of time, and being the point person for transitions and questions.

The 2nd night I was given the privilege to give a teaching on what I had been learning about living on mission. If you want to read what I spoke on, I posted a blog before this that has my entire script! I would recommend reading it, it gives as a good example and testimony to how God calls us to live on mission daily, no matter where, if your on a mission trip or not, or at work, etc.

Ministry wise, we partnered with Wipe Every Tear in Angeles city which is a ministry organization focused on the sex trafficking industry. Angeles City is home to the biggest Red Light district in the Philippines. This organization provides a way out for these girls that are basically slaves in the sex trade. There is a safe home for girls who chose to leave which provides free food, lodging, and free education so they can break the cycle! There is also a welcome center in the red light district for girls to get free breakfast after their work shifts. This is every Thursday and Friday from 2-5am. I got the opportunity to serve breakfast on Thursday morning with some other racers which as a really fun and life giving time serving and talking with these women.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, we went out to the bars from 8:30-12ish. Our mission was to spread the light and love of Jesus while also giving these girls information about the WET program as a way out.

Personally, I was not aware of how these bars are run until I got in there, so here’s a run down of how the nights went:

We stayed at a hotel right down the street from the actual walking street, so every night we would walk there with our group of about 4 racers, their parents, and 2 filipino women leaders. The street was marked with a sign that read “RED STREET”, in, you guessed it, big, bright, red letters.

From that point on, the streets were lined with so many bars. In the whole district, there are about 240 bars. Each with around 50 or more women employed.

We would walk down the street a couple times to get the feel because this was a very heavy place. Eventually, we would pick a bar to go into. When you walked past the curtain into the bar, there was a stage either in the middle or on the side with mirrors around it. Women, dressed usually in quite revealing clothing, were standing on it with a number pinned to her outfit. All the tables and booths were facing the stage. Besides in the dance bars and strip clubs, the girls don’t even perform, but act as “eye candy” in a way. When you sit down, you pick which girl you want to buy a drink for and you sit with her until she finishes her drink. You can buy her another drink, end your conversation there, or buy her for the evening.

Our purpose for being there was to give them a breath of fresh air and a break from their normal duties of being 'on show.' However, the main customers of these bars are men. Sadly, most of these men were foreigners. I saw the most white people on that street than I had the entire time being on the race. And a few of them stayed at our hotel.

When you walk in, you buy the girls time through drinks which often leads to something called a ‘bar fine’ which allows you to take the girl home for the night. I would often see one of the men in and out of the hotel rooms with a bar girl. Instead of taking her to a hotel, we would bar fine girls and take them to McDonalds for the evening for a hot meal. The bar fine was about 5,000 pesos which is around $100 USD.

You might be wondering, “why are these girls stuck in this industry? They could quit if they wanted.”

That’s not the case. From hearing stories from numerous women in these bars, they were tricked.

In the Philippines, it is extremely rare to get any job without a college degree. For example, you cannot work at Starbucks without one. This creates a huge problem and feeds into the cycle of poverty in this country, leaving families in desperation. These bar owners are aware of this and take it to their advantage. Lots of girls without education are reached out to on social media and offered a high paying job that requires no schooling and provides lodging. And that offer is just too good to pass up. They are told its waitressing and are loaned money for the transportation to get there, as many of these girls lived in different provinces, islands, or cities. When they arrive to the location of work, most were surprised about the work they actually were going to be doing. They couldn’t leave if they wanted to because now they owed their managers money back for the transportation it took to get there and are trapped until they can pay it back.

“Oh, so a few shifts and they can leave and go home.”

No again. Most of these bar owners are very shady and selfish and will keep adding on random things to a girls debt. These bars also have lots of rules. When the girls can leave, what they are allowed to wear, and that they have to live in the bar (usually in quarters upstairs).The girls also have a commission that they have to reach each night. And it’s not a low number. That means a LOT of drinks, or a night out with a random man that would cover the rest. They are trapped in this continual cycle of prostitution that seems un breakable.

In some cases however, girls decide to stay for the sake of their families. Many girls expressed that they do this job to send money to their children, parents, or siblings to send them to college to provide them a better life than what she had to live. It’s absolutely heartbreaking either way. These women are in desperate need of help, and so providing this way out through the love and grace of Jesus is so crucial.

Outside of a logistical/background standpoint, my experience with this ministry was really life changing. I truly loved it a lot! If you can recall, back in Colombia my squad and I went to do outreach in the Bronx, which is “everything wrong with Colombia on 1 street” which consists of very very high drug addiction, homelessness, violence, and more. Going there, I was terrified. But walking to the red street, there wasn’t much fear in me at all. I walked with lots of confidence from the Lord which truly made my experience amazing. However, in the first bar I was totally prepared to just be in the background and let the adults do the talking. But our leader asked me “okay so who do you want?” So I picked a girl and carried the majority of the conversation. And it was amazing! She was in a long, white and purple dress with a jacket, which is very very modest for this setting. It was her 4th day on the job and she looked so uncomfortable and scared. She is 31 and has 2 children back home. I asked her about her dress and if she picked it out. She replied “I wear this so no one will pick me”. That was heartbreaking to hear. The men in the bars typically pick the girls that are wearing more revealing items. Personally, that seems like a smart move, protecting yourself from being used. But in the long run, that puts you in even more debt if you don’t make your commission for the night. It’s a terrible, practically unbreakable cycle.

Later that night, we decided to go into a bar that was a lot less modest than the last one. It was a pole dancing/strip club. The girls wore practically nothing. It was hard to even look at them. But the hardest part for me was watching the men. Before we walked into that bar, I watched a group of middle aged American men peek in the curtain, make a face of approval to their friends based on the level of nudity that was beyond the walls. It was disgusting. I was filled with a lot of bitterness, disgust, and hatred for those men. The thought that they were most likely married with a wife and children on a “dudes” vacation did not settle well with me. I got pretty worked up, but that was something I truly needed to bring to the Lord. Even though I very very very much disapprove of their choices and how they affect their families and these filipino women, they are still Gods children and He calls us to love them anyways. They are trying to fill a very deep void in their hearts that truly cannot be satisfied by anything but the Lord. Some of the boys on my squad got a change to talk to some of the men which was a great way to share God’s love beyond just the bar girls.

Personally, the last night was my absolute favorite! I became very comfortable walking up to random girls outside of the bars and inviting them to the WET programs, asking how they were, and just being a smiling face. It was a lot of fun and I very very very very much enjoyed that. These girls are so so sweet to talk to! After we were finished in the first bar, my group stood on the street for a minute while 2 girls from the bar came out and asked more about the program. Long story short, we invited them to come to McDonalds with us. And they came! They were 18 and 19, one had a child! It was so fun to talk with them, it felt like I had known them for a while. We laughed so much together walking and sharing a meal together. One of the girls and I bonded over music, she had a treble cleff tattoo behind her ear that I asked about. She played the clarinet and was in marching band, so we talked about that for a little bit. Then, we walked them back to the bar, which was closed, meaning they couldn’t make their commission that night (meaning more debt) so we walked around some more and payed for their time. It was hard seeing them walk back onto that dark street, but I trust that the Lord will use this night to lead them in the right direction.

It definitely was not on my bucket list to go to bars and strip clubs with my parents on this mission trip, but the Lord has taught me a lot about the vastness of his love and that it should be spread to every person no matter the circumstances.

On a different note, Friday was our adventure day! My parents and I went on a hike to a waterfall in a huge valley. It was a long, bumpy ride down and a fun hike through open grassy areas, trails, and a stream! It was so beautiful, both the views and the weather! We spent the rest of the day at a local cafe for lunch, journalling, chatting, and reflections on the past week. We also went to an American Veteran Cemetery that was right across the street from our hotel to see if we could find a family friend.

Being with them was so life giving and was a true testament of our heavenly Fathers love! If my earthly parents love me enough to give up part of their lives and money to come and see me all the way across the world, how much more does my heavenly love me? It is truly amazing and what a wonderful example of Christs love our parents could show to us that week.

Thank you for reading this blog about my time with my parents, it was truly an amazing time. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about that week and the ministry that we got to be a part of! Or any questions at all. Andddd see you so so soon! Less than 2 months until I come home, and a little over 5 weeks until I come back to America?!?! So crazy. Thank you all again for your support and love.

~Ellie