Empowered to Empower

When I immersed myself in jiujitsu back in 2013, I centered my life on it. I adjusted everything; giving up many things to get the most out of the sport while I still could. What drove me was love and gratitude. I loved the Philippines so much and I viewed jiujitsu as my way to create a positive impact on our country. I was also so grateful to everyone that supported my journey and winning competitions was my expression of that gratitude. When I won my first world title in 2014, I just knew that there was a bigger reason for all of it. That the victory had to lead to more good. But I didn't know what or how exactly. In 2015, I won my second title and I sought for more reasons to fight. Love and gratitude were good reasons, but somehow, I just sought for more. 
 
It was in November of 2015 when I came across an article on CNN entitled "Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times". (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/americas/freedom-project-mexico-trafficking-survivor/index.html) It was the story of a 12-year old girl from an impoverished area in Mexico who was lured into a relationship with an older man who was actually a pimp. She was raped 30 times a day on average! She'd have clients that were judges, priests, pastors, policemen, people in power! By the time she was 16, she came up with a rough estimate of 43,200 rape cases she experienced! Click on the link if you want to read the entire article. That article literally set up a raging fire in me. I was so infuriated, disgusted, sad, and just overwhelmed! I stayed up all night looking at articles on human trafficking, child sex trafficking and sexual abuse. That day when I read the article, I promised to myself that I would do something, anything in my capacity to contribute to the end of this appalling issue. But I had no idea where to start. 
 
Finding Purpose…
In December 2015, Mara Lopez Yokohama, a friend of mine, gave me the book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. When I started reading the book, I got to the first chapter and had so many questions already in my head. In the past, I lived by Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of existentialism: "existence precedes essence." I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that our purpose and existence were already planned out by a Creator long before we came to be. 
 
In the same month, I met Monica de Luzuriaga, the mother of two young students from our Jiujitsu Manila classes. Monica and I talked long after one class, and I found out that her family were also studying Purpose Driven Life. Monica’s family shared a heart and passion for the very issues that also plagued me, especially after they adopted a girl who had undergone a similar kind of suffering. I then met Monica's husband, Robby, and they both became my mentors (disciplers). Monica and Robby formed a Dgroup (discipleship group) amongst our team's martial arts practitioners. Some were already Christians while others, like me, had not experienced God's saving grace. 
 
In our Dgroup sessions, I addressed every question I had from my readings, and they were able to answer everything. I further understood the different points in the book, and the more I understood, the more I saw the beauty in the truths that were shared. There was one night, when I couldn't sleep because I was just conversing with the Lord, and I suddenly thought of my deepest sins and asked Him for forgiveness. I can't explain the feeling, but I just knew that it was grace and mercy that He granted me that night. And then another night in February 2016, Monica explained to me the whole love story of God our Father. How He offered His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, for us to have hope of salvation, and that through Him, and Him alone, we can all be in communion with the Lord throughout eternity. I knew these things since I was young, but I never took them to heart as I did that night. Monica prayed for me, and I accepted Jesus Christ as my one true Savior. 

Healing through jiujitsu?
Since then, my life has never been the same. It wasn't necessarily the circumstances that changed, but my perspective of everything. Little by little, things started to make sense. God gave me the gift of jiujitsu to be used for His greater glory; as a way for me to share His Word. It was my platform. It became clear to me that the blessings that He enabled in my life were to be used to serve children who had undergone sexual abuse and exploitation. It was my avenue to make them feel God's love that He longs for them to experience. When that was clear, I couldn't just sit back and know. I had to start doing something about it. I continued engaging in research, consulting experts and exploring, and then Robby invited me to volunteer for an organization that he was building, Philippines Without Orphans (PWO), a national movement to see all Filipino sons and daughters thriving in a safe, strong, and loving permanent home. That was when various opportunities to minister for the Lord started to open up. I started teaching jiujitsu to Cee, Robby and Monica's adopted daughter, who bravely and willingly took on the challenge of learning jiujitsu despite what she had been through. Under the guidance of her parents, and in consultation with experts, I came up with a specific curriculum that considered possible trauma triggers. Through that experience I gained a sister in Christ, and with her help, I was able to come up with a system that could be used to help even more women and children with similar experiences.
 
Wolfpack meet Safe Haven!!
It was in one of the events of PWO that I met the Snellgroves and the rest of the Safe Haven crew. When we met, it felt like God putting certain puzzle pieces together. The Snellgroves were very much interested in my proposal to help the children in their home flourish through jiujitsu. With the rest of the women from our team, Atos Philippines (also known as "the wolfpack"), we met the lovely girls at Safe Haven and got to know them and introduce them to jiujitsu. We were amazed at their bright smiles, warm hearts and genuine enthusiasm. We loved them right from the start and made a commitment to share our passion with them and to empower them through it. When the initiative began, so many generous hearts got involved, with the Lord's abundant provision. It was overwhelming to see companies like Under Armour Philippines, Diet Diva PH, Hyperfly Asia, Lute Lifestyle PH, Highlands Corned Beef, Ikiro PH, and many of our teammates, friends and families come together to make everything possible. We started teaching the girls on Sundays at Jiujitsu Manila, co-led by one of our mother wolves, Jessica Cuenca. A few months after, the boys of Safe Haven started to join us, and the men of Atos Jiujitsu Philippines stepped in to help with the training. 
 
During one of our goal setting sessions, it was awesome to hear that some of the kids wanted to join competitions already to become world champions and eventually, black belts. What really struck us though, was that some even wanted to teach jiujitsu in the long run. Aligned with what Safe Haven instills in them, that was really our goal from the beginning; to empower them in such a way that they can empower others who have gone through similar kinds of suffering. It's amazing to see that girls and boys who have been through great challenges can see beyond themselves and think of how they can be of service to others. These kids are real champions on and off the mats.  
 
It was, is and will continue to be a real pleasure to share jiujitsu with them. These kids show so much talent, skill and heart throughout their training, that it drives and motivates us in our own journeys. We've witnessed the progress of each of their beautiful souls, and all credit is given to the Lord our God who works through each of us, using us as instruments to share His love for the children of Safe Haven through the gift of jiujitsu.