Olongapo-2

The Olongapo base is focussed on getting women out of the sex trafficking business. The program they offer is a 2 year and three month long training in witch they are discipled and trained in a trade. In this time they are also able to finish high school and start on a college education. There are currently 10 disciples in the program at various levels of completion. Our team has been getting to know these girls and their children. Most are single mothers with 1-3 children. We have also been trying to recruit new girls for the program. At night we enter the bars, order a sprite and begin chatting with the girls in groups. We have been able to pray for them and invite them to events we put on. We had a Bible study the other day where ten of the girls we got to know in the bars showed up. We played games, shared a testimony and got to share about the program run here. One of the girls is very interested and is on the verg of signing up. She is a mother of three and the only thing keeping her working at the bar is the money she makes there. You see, a girl is able to make in one night with no customers, the amount a male could working full time at an average job for a week. Many girls support entire families. One example is a girl I met who's father died, and her mother, grandparents, and her siblings were all left unsupported, so she went to the bars where she was able to provide for her family. We have a beach party planned for the bar girls tomorrow. Pray that many show up and will even sign up for YWAM Olongapo's program. We leave the Philippines June 2nd! A bit early, but we will be doing ministry in Hawaii as well to make up for the change in plans!

Olongapo

Our time in Baguio was special to us, and we learned much about ourselves, teaching and loving others. Our relationships with our contacts was able to grow deeper than usual because of the amount of time we spent there, just shy of 5 weeks. Our last weeks we conducted a second Discipleship Training Weeks and a VBS where we grew from 40 to 70 children in 3 days. But we as of yesterday we have moved south again to Olongapo. With the change of cities we also changed temperature. We have gone from a comfortable 25 to a ridiculous 35 Deg Celsius. I'm sweating a lot to say the least, but at least we don't have it as bad as the Bangladesh team, where it gets up to 50. We are staying at a YWAM base here, a restoration house for women formerly involved in the prostitution trade. So far we have just been getting to know the women and their children and exploring the neighbourhood. Some have only been here as little as a month, and some are now staff involved with one of the many ministries provided. We get orientation tomorrow when the leader of the base arrives back in the city.

Baguio City

What a interesting place Baguio is. Houses line the mountain sides and all the roads are winding. The weather is perfect here, staying around a comfortable 26 deg Cel. This past week has been busy. We ran our first of two Discipleship Training Weeks. We had around 20 consistent students, with others coming and leaving throughout the week. Everyone on the team got to share at least one lecture and they and they all did very well. Today we are running an entire church service, and tomorrow we begin another DTW at a new church. Thats all for now! Thank you all for your continued prayers!