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  BANGLA ROAD
 

     Welcome to Bangla Road. This is the location where hopelessness and Victory are colliding. This street is stationed just off the West Coast of a touristy town in Southern Thailand. In Patong, this street is the most popular red light district, aka. hub for commercial sex. There are over 200 open bars with approximately 1200 girls. They are all working on a street that is approximately 6 ½ minutes long if walking. The majority of the girls you will find working in these bars have come to their last string of hope. Most have moved from Northern Thailand in hopes to provide money for their families, as all other jobs have closed their doors on them. These girls make their living from selling special drinks as well as selling themselves to male tourists every single night. Our ministry as we visit them, is to offer them another option. The organization we are helping provides special training in English, Baking, Jewelery making, and hotel managing. There are dorms provided for those who lived at the bars as well as childcare.

     This road is a battle ground. The enemy has such a strong grip on every corner of this road, but the light is invading. I am usually not one that feels spiritual oppression, but on one night in particular I felt it’s heaviness to the core. I literally felt like there was weight on top of me, like gravity wasn’t as free as it usually is. There was hopelessness everywhere I looked. Particularly in this girl’s eyes:

   Looking into those eyes I see pain pushed so deep that all feeling has been lost. I see despair, loneliness and feelings of worthlessness. The sign she is holding is for a brothel. The words “pretty ones” and “ugly ones” are typically terms used for the younger verses the older prostitutes. The ones working here probably all share one thing in common, those eyes.

   More than usual, that night I noticed the men grabbing the women or touching them for extended periods of time all around me. I heard stories that I never wanted to hear and didn’t seem to have any depthful conversations with anyone. I rode in the bus home that night feeling the heaviness grow. “Why am I even doing this?” “Why are we spending so much time and effort in a place where people have chosen to be?” “These women are experiencing hell on earth, and when they die, what more do they have to look forward too?” Everyone seemed to have had a pretty rough night, and for the most part, our spirits were low. I didn’t think any of these thoughts were spiritual, I just though I was facing reality. Just for future reference, Danielle, every time you feel like its not spiritual remember this verse:
“For our Struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:12

   It was late, but before I went to bed a few of us girls got together and prayed for each other. As I prayed for the others, I instantly started feeling the heaviness come off me. By the time they were done praying for me, it was all the way gone and hope was once again restored in my heart.

   I am in the midst of a battle, but I must remember that I am not alone. My thoughts trail back to the vision God gave me in Ireland. It was at the beginning of this crazy love adventure with Him. The vision was of me riding on a great white horse. I was dressed in a long beautiful gown, riding behind my beloved King Jesus, I was His princess . I remember Jesus telling me that He was going to be taking me through a thick forest full of the unknown.

“Trust me, Danielle, I love you more than life itself , whenever you ride with me there is always hope and always victory on the horizon.”