There is no way to adequately describe Bangla Road. Trust me I know. I read the blogs, I saw the pictures from past racers, I "knew" what I was getting myself into this month. And then I showed up on the road.
The first time we went was during the day for a prayer walk. The ministry does this purposefully because it's easier to take in the first time during day light hours. During the day it just looks like a sleazy part of town with (literally) hundreds of bars, cheap souvenirs and all the Western amenities a tourist could want: 7-11, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. The weird part is you know it's sleazy. You can tell just by looking. Or at least I could. Surprisingly a lot of people don't. I can't tell you how many families I saw walking down the street, taking pictures, laughing, stopping to buy an elephant candle or slushie. I wanted to shake them and tell them to look. Really look. Instead I prayed my heart off for these tourists. Prayed for protection and eyes to see.
Outside one bar was a cage with handcuffs. People didn't even give it a second glance.
The next night we went in for ministry. This is the part I can't describe. This is what can't be captured in a picture or described in words. There's no way to really share what it's like to hear Adele's Rolling In the Deep being blared from a bar where 5-6 young women are dancing on top of a bar, wearing next to nothing and people are stopping to take pictures. Not in a "oh my gosh this is terrible, I have to do something" sort of way but in a "oh look how crazy fun this culture is" sort of way.
I can't really describe what it's like to see a white women pole dancing in a glass box high above the ground. I can't describe the fear that grabbed my heart when I saw a 4 year old Thai girl running around at 11:30pm at night all by herself. I can't describe the shock of those same families I saw during the day now walking around at night. I have had to avoid more strollers down the tiny alleyways then I have drunken frat boys. I can't describe the uncomfortableness of being invited to a Ping Pong show every three feet and knowing that Ping Pong show means live sex.
I also can't describe the instant love I feel for all the people down here.
I knew I would love the bar girls. That's easy, they are women who are stuck for various reasons selling their bodies multiple times a night. They need legit love. But what I wasn't expecting was my love for the men buying the women. I knew God had placed them on my heart but I didn't know what that would look like. What that looked like is in one bar my heart breaking as this midthirties white guy played connect four with a bar girl. I knew he was debating buying her for a part of the night. My heart hurt for him. I could literally feel the loneliness radiating off of him. He's searching for something more, just the same as I am, as that bar girl is, as we all are.
This happens again and again. I see these men sitting with women and all I can see is loneliness and sadness.
The weird part? I don't feel their loneliness or sadness. The ministry here has put in a ton of work covering this place in prayer. Every afternoon a group prayer walks the streets we'll walk down. As we walk we pray. Each night half the group stays back and prays while the other half is out. When I am out there I feel the joy of the Lord and His hope. He is in this place and there will be victory here!
So that's just a quick intro to life here! More to come soon!
