If you’ve been following the January and June teams on the World Race, you may have read about Nana Plaza – it’s one of the Red Light districts in Bangkok, and ever since hearing about this area from the January and June teams I have wanted to go there, to minister there, to love on the girls caught in the sex trade industry. When I found out that my team would be going out to Buriram instead of staying in Bangkok I was a little disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to minister there. So when the race was announced for today and the leaders said we could have 4-5 from each team race, my heart did a little thump because I knew those who weren’t racing would be going to Nana…so I volunteered to not race with my team, and instead to do an “ask the Lord” ministry time with the other “leftover” team members.
We headed downtown after lunch today, and I thought I was prepared for what the area was going to be like. I’ve been in large international cities before, smelled the smells, seen the sights, been harrassed by the vendors and beggars alike…but I hadn’t been so deeply affected before. My heart broke as I walked down the street and saw white European or American men sitting at bars with little Thai girls trying to sell themselves to them. My heart broke as I considered the image of American men that Thai women must have – it’s fact that a majority of white men that go to Thailand go there for the sex industry. I became angry at the men for being there, angry at the girls for flaunting themselves, angry at a government that sits idly by because this “industry” brings in billions of dollars per year. I could see the hurt in some of the girls’ eyes, like they didn’t want to be there doing what they were but felt like they had to in order to provide for their families. I was frustrated that at three o’clock in the afternoon on a weekday this business was taking place right in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t do anything about it except pray and cry out to God for freedom.
I started to shut down as we walked past bar after bar and saw the same thing over and over again. I didn’t want to cry in the middle of the street, especially in broad daylight. I wanted to scream at the men to get out of there, scream at the women that there is another way to make money, that there is another way of life. I wanted to scream at God – “Why are You letting this happen?” But all I could do was pray – for freedom, for changed hearts, for opened eyes.
I ended up talking to one of the June racers about how I was feeling, and she understood completely – she said most people feel the same way the first time they go in to the Red Light district for ministry. But then she started talking about other feelings, things I hadn’t even thought about. She said it was easy to be angry at the men, to want to kick them and scream at them…but the hard part is to have compassion on them , to love them, to see them as God’s children. The reality is that everyone I saw today in Nana plaza is a child of God, whether they know it or not, and they are all broken and looking for something to fix their brokenness.
I still don’t understand why this happens, or really have any way to “fix” the problem, but I do have a deeper understanding of the heart of God…and that made the incredibly hard day worth every minute.
Oh, and if you’re wondering…my team came in last in the race (sad!) but said they had a ton of fun doing it. I haven’t really talked to them about what the race all included, but I’m sure they’ll be posting blogs about it at some point…so I’ll keep you informed. And maybe next month we’ll win…but we’ll still have fun either way.
