Bar hopping has become one of my favorite activities. I mean it. I have come to really look forward to the opportunity to go out and spend time in bars. I, however, don't go to typical bars for the typical reasons. I don't go to get drunk or even to party (though I do dance and have a good time). When I go to a bar, I have a very specific purpose in mind and in the midst of the madness I am on a mission. My mission: to proclaim hope to the hopeless.

We had a team come recently and we decided to take them to hell. This team consisted of several World Racers and their parents, who had come to visit their children. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about taking parents bar hopping, but I also knew that God had big plans for this team and I was looking forward to seeing what God had up His sleeve. He did not disappoint. 

On our way to Angeles City where we would be going to Walking Street, a 1.5 mile stretch of road where anywhere between 12-15,000 girls are caught in the sex trade, I had a vision. I was listening to a song called "Shores" by Bryan and Katie Torwalt. The chorus of the song says "Freedom, take hold of my heart. Spirit of God come fill this place. Jesus, You're all that I want. Have Your way," and as this began to play, I saw myself standing on the stage of the second largest bar on the strip and I was singing this song over the people there. All of the people had their hands lifted high and they were worshiping and proclaiming freedom. This vision gave me excitement for what the next two nights would hold.

The first night we went out, my group decided that they wanted to go all in and go to the second biggest bar on the strip. 

De javu anyone? We walked into the bar and got set down, ordered our drinks, and I began to pray. Early into the night, I noticed a young lady on the stage who looked incredibly uncomfortable and I felt the Holy Spirit prodding me to call her up to talk to her. I tried to remind God that it was my group's first night out and it might be a little soon to call someone to talk to, but He had a plan and wasn't having my excuses. So I had her called up and began to talk to her. She was young, just entering adulthood and had come to Angeles seeking money to provide for her 5 month old daughter, her family, and herself. She felt trapped and that she had nowhere to turn. There was no other option.

See, human trafficking comes in different shapes and sizes. In Angeles, there is no one telling the ladies that if they try to run, they will kill them and their families. There is no need for that. Poverty is the chain that is wrapped around these ladies' necks. Poverty tells them "If you leave, you and your family will starve." When this is the threat, there are no dreams of someone banging down the door to rescue them. Who can rescue them from poverty? 

This is the fight that we enter into each time we enter a bar. These ladies want to run, to escape the hell they have found themselves in, but the fear of having nothing keeps them bound. As I spoke with my friend, and three other ladies after that, it was this fear, this chain that my team and I fought against. We told these young ladies who we were and that we could offer them a way out. Understandably, we were often met with looks of unbelief. We were there to offer them something they had given up dreaming about. We continued to pour out love on these daughters of God, our sisters, and letting them know that they were important and we were there for them. We invited them to meet us for lunch the next day to talk more about Wipe Every Tear.

Would they come with us to the safe houses? What would happen on night two? More to come soon!