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 The reality of what’s going on here in Thailand (but definitely not limited to Thailand) hit me as we walked through the mall in Bangkok last week.   I had read countless blogs about past teams experiences in Thailand prior to coming but seeing it firsthand has been like nothing else. 

As we made our way through the busy mall, I saw older, white men walking around with very young Thai girls around their arms wearing next to nothing. To be honest, it’s been hard seeing this and not moving to judgment within the same breath. Yes, some of the couples are in relationships, but it’s easy to spot the ones that are not. They walk around in awkward conversation and I can’t help but stare. I’ve been trying to move into constant prayer for both the men and women as we make our way around the city. 

We’ve been told that women from northern villages move to the city in hopes of finding a foreign husband that will take care of their family’s needs. Often times, they don’t find that husband but instead find themselves working in the bars and prostitution soon follows. Sadly, many of the girls are not working in the bars because they were forced (although this is the case with quite a few); they work there because they can’t find that kind of money in any other ‘career’.  Another part of the story is that because the economy is so bad right now, business has been increasingly slow.   This is really good news and an answer to a lot of prays, however, it leaves the girls in a position where they’re acting even more out of desperation to make any money they can. 
 
Lost. That’s the one word that comes to mind when I see men walking around seeking out women for all the things that they feel they can’t find anywhere else when the one place they should be looking is up.   The city streets are filled with old men going from bar to bar and girl to girl. Many of the tourists here leave their families back home as they look for love, or lust I should say, in all the wrong places. Many of the girls here wind up pregnant which the men never know about or the girls (or ladyboys, in a lot of cases) are HIV positive which the men may even bring back home with them. 

The Lord’s really put a passion in my heart for these men and women.  To see this going on literally right in front of me leaves me feeling helpless as I continue to look to the Lord for guidance and hope.  I know prayer is the biggest thing I can do to fight this, but sometimes it feels like it’s not enough. I pray for the women – that they would find freedom from the bondage they find themselves in and that they will find the Lord to guide them out of this lifestyle. I also pray He will guide them down a path of forgiveness and righteousness. I pray that the men find a freedom and love that only Christ can provide.

As we made our way down the busy streets of Pattaya on Saturday night, all sorts of thoughts were flooding my mind. We walked down 6th street which is a side street packed with bars and girls spilling out onto the streets inviting anyone who looks their way up for a drink. We made it to a building halfway down the street where we were meeting with a group of people from another organization that does bar outreach. 

Together, above all the crazy nightlife and prostitution, we prayed and worshiped the Lord. The sense of peace that took over was more than I could have ever imagined knowing where we were. I know God has control in all situations. I trust Him. I know He loves the men and women of Pattaya more than I could possibly imagine. I know it breaks His heart a million times more than it breaks mine to see what I’ve seen.  

If something seems impossible, I know God’s got it.  Please pray for the women and men of Thailand. Our squad is doing outreach in bars all over in Thailand and we need your prayers for protection and for God to provide the words to speak and the people to speak to.  I know this isn’t a hopeless situation.  God put us here for a reason.  I trust He’ll use us as His vessels to do His work. 
 
 Love and miss you all! <3