My teenage friend, Jane (real name not disclosed for the sake of privacy) had just left the village to be with her fifty year old foreign boyfriend in the Red Light District for the next month. He actually has a family back home in Sweden and she doesn’t love him, but she keeps telling us that he takes care of her and sends her money often. It was sad because we have only been friends with her for about a week and a half or two. It was the last day that we were with her that she asked us to email her about who Jesus was so that she can research about him since she doesn’t understand everything we say. We exchanged emails with her.
Meow. No, I am not referring to a cat. Meow is my friend here in Thailand. Around the week that Jane was leaving, I met Meow along with her friend Liu, Jam, and Doy. They were sitting with Katy (our contact) about to begin their English homework. I was very excited to meet them because I love developing friendships with young adults. It just so happened that Katy was sick so I was able to tutor them instead. That sparked the beginning of our friendship for these past two weeks. Since then, I’ve had opportunities to help them out with other English homework, teach them dance moves, and share with them about how the Chinese language is pictographic, capturing the story of creation and Jesus’ redemption. (See link: ; they were studying Chinese as well in school.) My hope is that they would know their worth and that they won’t give up on their dreams when the work demanded to reach their dreams is difficult.
Jane had grown up from a broken family with divorced parents and a father who is an alcoholic. She doesn’t live with him when she returns to the village, but stays with her uncle’s family as a safer option. She has few friends here back in the village. It was not soon after finishing high school that she got caught up in the life at the Red Light District. It makes me think what if?. What if all she needed was a caring friend when it had gotten tough? What if all she needed a committed mentor? Those what if’s are important because people have the greatest influenced on our lives and we are always influencing in a way that brings growth or decay in the lives of others.
