After a month in Cebu, there is still much to uncover and understand. Still, the Lord has continued assuring me of my place and purpose to be in the Philippines during this time, and I am grateful.
While the Philippines is like home to me, Cebu City is unfamiliar. The language, the culture, the food and the weather are different than what I have experienced in Manila and Baguio during my prior visits. Still, the people are Filipinos and I love Filipinos.
I am living in a gated community in the Tisa barangay, or neighborhood. Our three security guards, Luis, Arley, and Miguel, are sweet and watchful. The house is phenomenal, spacious and welcoming. Every morning, my route to work involves either walking or taking a tricycle ride down the hill to Tisa Market, near the main road. I attempt to board a jeepney that isn't already full toward my office; thankfully, there are six different jeepney lines that will take me there. After approximately thirty minutes in traffic, I walk into a great office with warm, determined faces, prepared for another day of challenges and triumphs.
And it is good they are prepared, for challenges and triumphs are large and constant. IJM's Philippines offices are currently working in the midst of a dark and relatively new form of sex trafficking--the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC). In the States, we typically refer to this crime as Cybersex Trafficking. Here, the office is supporting local law enforcement, judicial officials, and aftercare service providers in rescuing children, typically younger than twelve years old, from such horrific abuse. The challenges are many: difficulty in finding the children since the abuse is often occurring within their own or a neighbor's home, inflicted by family members or family friends, and often involving more than one child. Yet, the triumphs are also great, for rescuing these little ones and bringing the perpetrators to justice will punish the impunity of abusers and prevent more children experiencing such abuse in the future.
In my role as the Community and Church Mobilization Intern, I have attended multiple meetings with church leaders and aftercare center directors. Sometimes, these meetings are an opportunity to share about OSEC and IJM's work to fight it, along with an invitation to support with prayer, volunteers, advocacy, and potentially by partnering with IJM to create more aftercare services to survivors. At other times, we are discussing with a long term partner how to equip their newly acquired aftercare shelter to be a loving, safe home for clients.
Moving forward, I will be actively searching for opportunities that I may have to mobilize young adults in Cebu. My hope is to be able to organize an inter-denominational discipleship group that first studies the Scriptures in order to have a firm grounding in God's heart for justice and their calling as believers to pursue justice in their community. Then, any who commit to further involvement can be equipped with materials to advocat
e in their churches and communities, raising awareness and leading others in eradicating the crime of OSEC in the Philippines.
Please pray for this opportunity, and that I will remain open to other ideas and suggestions that may be better suited to IJM's needs right now. Also, continue praying for my adjustment. I haven't spent much time fully healthy since I arrived, encountering sickness, lice, and recurring issues with a prior knee injury. Most of all, please pray for the staff of IJM Cebu, a group of dedicated Filipinos who are courageously fighting for the protection of their children, and the integrity of their homes. Finally, I'm also glad to share that I was able to personally meet my Compassion child, Janice, and her family and I had such a sweet time with them.