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Hello! New country, new blog! For five weeks, my team and I were in Angeles, Philippines, working with a ministry called Wipe Every Tear (WET), which focuses on providing opportunities and “outs” for women sex trafficked. They work closely with a church called, Church So Blessed (CSB). This church provided us with many additional opportunities beyond our primary ministry which included, jail (boys only), drug rehab, hospital, and tribe outreach. Here’s a little overview of what we did and some things I learned along the way:

Wipe Every Tear

Our primary ministry! Wipe Every Tear strives to reach bar girls being sex trafficked, or who are stuck in the industry. Before I get into what we were doing, I want to give some additional background on modern-day sex slavery and what it looked like in Angeles City. Before my time in Angeles, I was unaware of how trafficking can look, how common it is, and the history behind it.

Usually, when I would think of sex trafficking, I would think about girls being drugged, kidnapped, and forced into the industry. However, I came to learn that sex trafficking can look very different, and it is common for women to be forced into the industry in many different ways. The founder of WET asked that we watch the documentary, Nefarious: Merchant of Souls, which depicts modern-day sex slavery very clearly. Sex trafficking differs from country to country, but the documentary suggests that all victims are subjected to a range of psychological and emotional slavery. Corrupt political climates and poor socioeconomic conditions propel the industry, as it is continuing to grow around the world.

We lived just a few blocks away from the Red-Light Street, where Angeles gets its reputation for sex tourism. It all started in Angeles from a U.S. air base in World War II. Although American forces departed in the early 1990s because of a volcanic eruption, sex tourism continues to flourish in the city. People from all over the world, but most notably America, Australia, China, and Korea, visit and/or live in Angeles for sex tourism. 

Our team struggled with loving the men and not extensively judging them. The founder and others from WET made it a point to share about Ephesians 6:12. The goal of this verse in our context was to emphasize how our fight within trafficking is not directly against the men, but against deep-rooted issues and darknesses unseen. It was interesting that the men always wanted to talk to us, even though they knew we were there for different reasons. Some of the men we talked to had mixed reasons for being there; some had no convictions whatsoever, and some did.

  • A handful of our team talked with two men on the street, and they exclaimed they were there just for the great rehearsed dancing and entertainment at the cabaret show. They even mentioned the struggles of poverty they noticed but said that by supporting them and attending these shows, they were greatly helping their financial situations. Spoiler alert: we went into the bar they informed us was their favorite that same night, it was really crazy and sad! Not just a cabaret show.
  • A man we saw at the gym from California came over to talk and ask what we were doing in Angeles. He seemed very normal and was explaining his concerns about the stray cats and dogs. He went into telling me things to do in Angeles and how it is a great city; however, he is not the proudest of the reasons why he likes it and lives there now.

Anyways, back to what we were doing– every Thursday and Friday morning from 1:30-5 am, our team would serve breakfast to girls on their way to work or just ending their shift. In addition to sharing a meal with them, we got to converse, hear more about their stories, and tell them a little about WET. Their stories were all different but had the underlying theme that they were desperately trying to make money for themselves and their families. It was not their choice to be there.

This photo is from breakfast, moments before I got my phone stolen lol (from some kids we let in at the end)

At 11 am on the Thursdays, we had ‘fellowship’ at the Welcome Center (right above where we hosted the breakfast). Here, women were invited to listen to the message one of the pastoras would give, and then it would open up to whatever anyone wanted to share. While we were there, one of the ladies got a new job as a seamstress, and she was so excited about it! One mother working at the bars, whom we got close with, would bring her teenage daughter and courageously and continuously share more and more of her story. She shared about being a single mom from a night at the bar, the forgiveness she is working through from many people in her life, and the life she wants to give her daughter. Her daughter would also share, which was so heartwarming! She would share her dreams and how, after college, she plans to get a job, take her mom, and move somewhere peaceful and beautiful. It was very sweet. 

In most of the things we did, food distribution was involved. Once a week, we would partner with CSB and assemble 300 meals, with a Wipe Every Tear information card. We distributed them to the girls at the bars. Most of the bars would let us in, but some would just have the girls come to the door. The meals would go by extremely fast, with 20-50 girls at each bar. 

There was another team that came for 11 days who had a much larger budget that funded a 3-night getaway to Puerto Galera, which 17 girls attended! Sadly, our schedule did not align to go, but it sounded amazing and promising. We just found out that one of the girls who attended the getaway joined the Hope House on July 4th, praise God! They also supported a banquet for the girls we invited, their friends, and/or families. We attended along with over 100 people. It was nice to see some familiar faces at the banquet! We saw girls from the breakfasts we served and from our nights of bar outreach. Abby and Lillie pulled together excess funds for us to go inside the bars one night, and we called girls down for a drink and talked to them. 

It was often that we got restless and felt a little stuck while living in Angeles. There wasn’t much around us that we could do to get away from the corruption and heaviness of the city. However, twice during our stay, we traveled outside of Angeles to visit the safe house, the Hope House, and stayed for a few nights. The Hope House is where WET takes girls to live who have been rescued from trafficking. In the Hope House they provide for all of the girls needs and pay for them to go to school.  The Hope House was my favorite! It was refreshing to see the other end, and the hope there is in restoration. It was awesome just spending time with the girls and some of their kids, learning about their stories, and what they are studying now/ their dreams.

I also hosted a Beauty for Ashes event with the girls. The topic I chose was worth, which I debated, but I opened the bible exactly to the story I was going to use (John 8:3-11), which was a cool confirmation! To summarize the discovery from the story, similar to the woman in the story, at times we question our worth and believe others’ opinions of our personal worth and place our worth on temporary things like our possessions, career, actions, finances, etc. But the truth is, there is nothing we can do to make ourselves more or less valuable to God. I explained more in depth, and then I had them paint about their worth. We got to share at the end and discuss, and they did really awesome!

In addition to going to school, some of the girls at the Hope House are learning to make soap, essential oils, and jewelry. Here is a picture of us with our purchases. You can also browse/ shop their stuff here- TAYO Collective – Tayo

 

Drug Rehab

On select Saturdays, we went to a drug rehabilitation center to listen in on the services CSB would give. Depending on the day, we would have small group discussions or just talk to them as a whole group. Give testimonies, encouragement, prayer, etc. 

Hospital

One Saturday, we tagged along to do food distribution at a public hospital, which resembled the American perception of a third-world hospital. I was paired up with an older lady from church who goes to the distributions frequently, and she was so cool! She was in her 80s and insisted on carrying one of the bags with 40 food packs. As we went around to patients to give them meals and pray, she would ask what was wrong in Tagalog, give her prescriptions and opinions, and would translate back to me what she said. I was pleasantly surprised by the good advice she gave to the patients. After I complimented her wisdom, she thanked me and said that she tries to advise her children and grandchildren, but they are not as receptive. She exclaimed how they “already know,” but she said reminders are always good because they forget. She was so full of knowledge and such a caring, loving, and funny woman. I enjoyed picking her brain!

Tribe

Through CSB, we had the opportunity to visit two native tribes: one coastal and one mountain tribe. Unfortunately, I was sick and stayed home when they went to the mountain (Aeta) tribe. However, we stayed two nights at the coastal katutubo tribe, and it was very special. I shall make a separate post!

Debrief

This country, we all got together in Manila, Philippines, for a debrief. We focused on many ‘R’ words in this debrief: rest, recovery, rejuvenation, reliance, restoration, etc. It was very restful! Filled with lots of teachings, one-on-ones, love, and hugs! lol. Then we were off to Ethiopia! Not my first choice of a place to go because when you Google Ethiopia, they have travel advisories that strongly advise against non-essential travel. However, we have been here almost three weeks, and it has been amazing! I feel so blessed here and for the people we are partnered with.

Fundraising Update

Lastly, I am still raising the funds necessary for me to complete this trip! I am currently 44% funded, but still need to raise $11,100. I am so beyond grateful for all of the support I have already received, and I have faith that God will provide the rest of the funds. I would be so grateful if you would be willing to consider supporting me financially on this journey. If you have any questions about how you can support or want more details on what your money will go towards I would be happy to talk with you personally!

My donation link is below, please consider supporting 🙂

Donate to Ava Ikels for January 2025 World Race Expedition | 11 Months 25W0102 – Adventures in Missions (powered by ServiceReef)

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