Witnessing the woman give her money to the blind man was the beginning to an eye-opening night. What came next helped us men realize what our girls have been dealing with this month and helped us understand the reality of the sex industry.
All of us guys spent time in prayer and decided to do a prayer walk through the red light district of Chiang Mai where some of our girls have been doing ministry. Before we even stepped foot into the district I had a conversation with a man that shows the desperate need for Christ in this country.
I was sitting in a little plaza with some of the guys and we were conversing with a couple of other men (one from Poland and the other from the States). Both of them were drunk and I listened to the guy from the States talk about how he hated being married and that his in-laws were a huge annoyance (he has been in Thailand for five years because he married a Thai woman). He talked about other random stuff and then his focus shifted to two young (they were clearly 13-15 years old) white girls looking at items on a market booth with their mom. He made some crude comments and implied that he would love it. One of us made the comment that they seemed a little young and his response was; “I just imagine they’re 18�. We gave disapproving looks and then the conversation shifted back into drunken randomness. It was sad to see a married man openly not care about his wife and the innocence of those girls. With that said, I did not hate him, but I felt sorry for him and I prayed for clarity in his mind and for the anger and pain to be lifted from him. It was only the beginning to what we would see in the district.
As we walked down the street lined with bars and massage parlors we could feel the darkness and oppression. There were prostitutes sitting in the front wearing provocative clothing and putting on a smile trying to entice us men in. We simply smiled, prayed, said “hi�, and then continued on. We saw middle-aged men openly making out with the girls with no shame. That was the thing. There is no shame here. Men openly walk down the street with the girls and don’t care what people think. It’s crazy!
We walked up and down the street a couple of times praying for the girls, for the men, and for the children that are subjected to this crap. Young boys would be selling food, gum and other things on the street like vendors at a baseball game. Is this the kind of place for a boy to grow-up in and be exposed to? Heck no!
Towards the end of our prayer walk we turned down a side alley that was lined with more bars. The lights were dimmed, the music was loud, and there were many pool tables and plenty of spaces to sit. The girls were changing their posture as they saw us coming, putting on a fake smile and giving us compliments. A sad sight to say the least.
As we continued to walk down this alley we saw one of the most heartbreaking things we have ever seen. To our left sat a heavy-set white man (in his 50’s or 60) on a small couch. He was surrounded by several prostitutes who were smiling and laughing with him. Humoring him I am sure. On his lap sat a 5-6 year old Thai girl. Sickening, yes. And believe me, it wasn’t the innocent looking male figure with a child. She had a bouquet of flowers in her hand that we assume were from him. She seemed happy but she probably doesn’t know any better. If you could see this atmosphere, you would understand that that little girl shouldn’t have been even close to this place. All I could do was look and pray. Pray that the little girl would not be hurt. That she would be free from the slavery and bondage of that place. Pray for the man that he would realize his actions and come back to his heavenly Father who loves him more than those prostitutes ever could. It is a sight that will be burned into my mind for as long as I live. A reminder that they need us. They need my prayers.
In addition to that, we saw many prostitutes that looked no older than 15 or 16 playing pool dressed in clothing no one should wear. So much darkness, so little that us guys could do in the moment. What we could do was pray and intercede for both the girls and the men. We could take what we saw and tell it to others so that they too could be praying. Nothing is more powerful than that!
I can’t imagine how our girls can witness this scene every night and still be strong enough to keep going. Tonight made me admire them and I thank God that He is giving them the strength and abilty to walk in those bars every night and bring the Kingdom.
I thank God for tonight. I thank Him that I was able to see our broken world without a filter and pray. Was I a little angry? Yes. But I mostly felt a peace and hope that God is moving no matter how dark it seemed. I did not hate these men but felt bad for them. They are in need of the love of Christ and they, like the girls, are children of the living God who He loves very much. I pray that they may find the way back to their heavenly Father who can rescue them from their dark place.
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer…â€� – 1 Peter 3:12
OUR GOD SAVES
