I’m currently in Cambodia after a fantastic 5 day debrief on Koh Samet Island in Thailand and an awesome bus ride from Bangkok to Phnom Phen. (when I say awesome, I mean long and bumpy and loud…welcome to travel in third world countries!) We’re just getting settled here and are living at a church called New Life in Christ. We’ll be teaching english classes at the church and partnering with an orphanage…but I’ll expound more on that in blogs to come.
For some strange reason Bangkok is still heavy on my heart and the faces of the girls I met at the Well are still at the forefront of my mind. I didn’t know I would find myself so attached and so passionate about their lives, their struggles, and their stories. So as an attempt at closure, I post this blog which is not my own, but that of Jim Larson the founder of the Well in Bangkok with his wife Judy. Please check out their stories and blogs on their website: www.servantworks.com/well
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She had no business barging into a Pharisee’s house, let alone bothering his honored guest. She was simply so overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude that social appropriateness was her last concern. She had already suffered enough shame that a little more wasn’t going to hurt, certainly not in this case.
Simon, the Pharisee, and his guests squirmed at the sight and sound of this woman sobbing uncontrollably, drenching his feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair.
We can understand their discomfort at a very strange situation. But most disconcerting was the fact that Jesus Himself didn’t seem to mind. What kind of prophet was this, to allow such a woman touch him so inappropriately?
It was a teaching moment; a chance to explain to a Pharisee what God is really after.
Jesus sets up a simple parable of a lender who forgives two debts, one large and small. Which debtor will respond with more love and gratitude? Simon took the point.
What kind of prophet was this, to allow such a woman to touch him so inappropriately?
“I suppose the one who was forgiven more.” But Jesus wasn’t finished. Turning His full attention to the woman, He asked Simon a far more pointed question.
“Do you see this woman?”
Hundreds of thousands of women in Thailand are trapped in its huge sex industry. “Toi” is a virtual orphan. Her mother died when she was a toddler and her father left home to become a Buddhist monk. With two children from a deadbeat father, and only a sixth grade education, Toi felt she had no other choice but to work as a prostitute.
“Am” has 4 children from two different fathers. The first is in jail for drug dealing, the second died last year. Her drug-addicted mom pressures her for money, even with so many children. On top of that, her younger sister also went to prison for drugs, leaving behind a small daughter for Am to take care of. With so many children crying for food, Am made the difficult decision to work as a prostitute.
“Plah”, 25, recently finished a nine-month jail term for a violent offense—she attacked a former boyfriend, probably high on amphetamines. Prior to that she had spent eight years working as a dancer in Bangkok bars, and was in and out of jail on drug charges. She has two children from two different past relationships.
“Do you see this woman?”
Prostitution makes people, including Christians, squirm and flee. Certainly part of that is for good reason—it is an ugly and dangerous business. But there is also a bit of Pharisee in all of us, judging sinful behavior without concern for the heart. Yet when we pause to look deeper into the eyes of the prostitute, we see an image of the living God dying for lack of love, often hopeless, driven to such a life out of desperation.
My wife and I moved to Bangkok last year because God showed us this very picture. We felt deep compassion, knowing how many were trapped in this life. Yet even so, when we first began meeting some of the women working in Bangkok’s hundreds of bars we were as nervous as anyone might be. But we quickly found them very ready to respond to our desire for friendship. Perhaps they know the game of false love so well that they recognize the real thing far quicker than most, and value it more. Some, like Am and Plah, have come to know Jesus, left the industry for good and are now in a work-study discipleship program begun by our ministry. Others like Toi are still in the business, but we consider them to be dear friends. Toi calls us “Mama” and “Papa”.
“Do you see this woman?”
She was a sinner, Simon was right about that. She had made choices. Indeed, the majority of the women we meet also know they are responsible, that even their tough circumstances do not justify compromising themselves and the men they serve. But that guilt only adds to their bondage. “I am no good because I do this,” we have been told. In fact, some see this life as all they are good for.
How many sinners go unreached because Christians do not really see their hearts? We see their behavior and back away uncomfortably, oblivious to the deep desire for love and significance that drives them to sin in the first place. The world is a cruel place, and adorable but mistreated girls and boys grow up to be prostitutes and drug dealers. Most of these have never had someone let them know they are important apart from feminine seductiveness or male toughness. So love-starved they are that when someone finally does look them in the eye and show that they are truly valued, even the toughest or most seductive exterior can melt completely away.
That woman at Simon’s house gave Jesus an amazing gift of love. Similar gifts await those who will follow Jesus in showing His forgiveness to those who don’t even know what forgiveness is. You don’t have to feel like a gifted evangelist. We sure don’t feel like we know what we’re doing, but we do know that any Christian can love, can show someone his or her unconditional value to God.
All we need to do is open our eyes.
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My eyes were truly opened during this last month of ministry. I saw things I never asked to see nor did I want to see, but I allowed God to take me there. I allowed Him to reveal His heart for these girls and this place and I’ll never be the same . . . only because
I’ve seen.
You can also “see” and you don’t necessarily have to book your flight to Bangkok tomorrow to take in all the sights and sounds of the city. There are things you can do even from your computer chair at home. Check out the
Well’s website
and read Jim’s blog and the stories of the girls he tells about.
Then contact their office in Illinois and order some Christmas cards or jewelry–you’re going to buy this stuff anyway right? Christmas is just around the corner! Why not support some women who have made it out of this horrendous cycle and are on their way towards a life of freedom in Christ instead of supporting WalMart?
Ok, this post is not meant to guilt-trip you into supporting a ministry, but rather to urge you to stay informed on these issues. The world needs people who
SEE!
