Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles.� This statement is defiantly true from the moment you step off the plane. Everyone will graciously bow, smile, and say “sawadee krap� (hello). Everyone is overly generous when eating out at the local food stalls or trying to help you find directions to the mall.
Underneath all the smiles and facades are generations of pain and hurt. In some cases as young as six years old, girls are forced into an industry that sells their innocence– largely due to the extreme poverty of their families. So for millions of families they have a decision to make- save their family by selling their daughter (and some cases sons) or let the entire family starve. I would like to say that the latter is true but it’s not.
Walking down the streets in Bangkok, where we were earlier this month, or in the streets of Chiang Mai will show the faces of hundreds of young women being escorted by older western men. There are thousands of statistics that report on the numbers of men who come to Thailand to solicit sex, numerous statistics on how many girls are in the industry, and countless other numbers surrounding these issues. Well the last two weeks I have been struggling with all these numbers, these issues that are overlooked by society, and just outright disgusted with these men.
So a lot changed in two weeks. God has been teaching me more and more on forgiveness as well as thankfulness. Starting with forgiveness– God has forgiven me so He can forgive them. Yes, forgive the men that are buying sex with these girls. Forgive the families that sold their child. Forgive the owners of the brothels. Forgiveness is for EVERYONE.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
Learning to give thanks is something that we have been talking about as a group lately. 1 Thess. 5 talks about giving thanks in all situations. Well how do you suppose we give thanks in this situation? Well for starters, I am rejoicing that there are people trying to prevent girls from getting to this point, I am thankful that God restores and redeems, I am thankful that God has brought me here to see this first hand, I am thankful that I can pray for them, I am thankful for those that have left the industry, and I am thankful that God is in control.
Sometimes I write these blogs just to write but I am asking you to pray for these girls and this country. Here are some specific things that you can pray about:
-Pray for knowledge to those who believe that if you have HIV and have sex with a virgin, then you will be cured.
-Pray for the villages where these girls come from– pray for jobs and other forms of income so prostitution is no longer an option.
-Pray for the girls that are involved in the industry- pray that they would find a way out, pray that they would find a job to supplement the money needed to send to their families, pray for an indescribable change in their hearts.
-Pray for the churches and organizations that are running prevention and awareness campaigns, and those that are going into the brothels.
-Pray that there would only smiles
