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A typical street in a
Redlight district near Olongapo |
"Let my heart be broken with the
things that break God's heart"
- Bob Piercen
For many years, since his first YWAM outreach to SE Asia in
1995, Don has been associated on a part time volunteer
basis with the YWAM Olongapo ministry - located approximately
3 hours drive northwest of Manila, in the Philippines.
Ywam Olongapo began in 1984 in an attempt to reach out with
the love of Jesus to the thousands of young filipina prostitutes
in the hundreds of disco's, clubs and bars in the Olongapo/Subic
Bay area. Attracted by the booming economy as a result of
the huge US military presence there, these girls (sometimes
as young as 12 yrs of age) were often sent by their own parents
to find work in Olongapo, in order to support the family back
home. Tired, lonely and vulnerable, many of these precious
girls tragically ended up tricked, manipulated, or forced
into a life of sin and misery. The good news is that, over
the years, Ywam Olongapo has seen more than 500 girls choose
to leave the darkness and start a new life with our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
Inside one of the hundreds
of bars near Olongapo |
Since the US military officially pulled out of the Philippine
Islands in 1992, the number of prostitutes has decreased significantly,
however at the time of this writing there are still more than
1000 (registered) "Bar girls" within 20 Km of Olongapo
City. These girls service the foreigners who live there, come
to visit and/or more recently, newly dispatched US Navy personel
due to post 911 (Sept 11, 2001) and Afganistan deployment
exercises. These men (and even foreign lesbian women) come
to take advantage of the cheap alcohol and available young
women. Ywam Olongapo has committed to reach out to these girls
for as long as God Guides and Provides.
Through the years, Don has served the Lord in numerous and
exciting ways as a part-time volunteer of this ministry. Specifically
he's been involved in the following ways; Night club, hospital,
prison and street kids evangelistic outreaches... Teaching
guitar & piano lessons to the young women in the program
(and at times to their children)... Leading worship and bible
studies... Helping with building maintenance needs... And
really, just trying his best to be an example of pure and
Godly love to all those God brings into his life.
While Don is home in Canada, the USA, or even visiting other
Asian countries, he continues to represent Ywam Olongapo in
anyway he can - normally using his personal abilities, talents
and giftings to raise awareness, prayer and financial support
for the ongoing needs of the ministry. Many of us realize
that Christian ministry has become very "creative"
in these last days and Don has kept very busy weaving his
love and talent for music, golf, business, aviation and friendship
into the mission the Lord has called him into.
Former "bargirls" getting
ready for bible study at YWAM. |
At the time this website was being designed (April 2005) Don
was in the northern Philippines searching for land to begin
an exciting new (non YWAM) ministry of "Hospitality".(For
more details click
here). Actually, if you were to examine any 12 month period
over the past 13 years, you'd soon discover that since leaving
his aviation career to volunteer with Ywam in 1992, Don has
been almost anywhere but at home in Canada. **For those of
you who's first language is not english...this means that
Don is away from home more than he's there...! However,
those who know him best would agree, that he's thinking seriously
about settling down - and we're all hoping he'll have someone
special at his side when that happens...weaving his abilities
into the mission the Lord has called him to. |
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