I’ve been in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a week now, and I am so glad that I took the leap of faith and got on that first flight out of the country. My entire squad is staying in dorms above Zion Café, a ministry in the city run by Emmi, founder of Lighthouse in Action. I must say, we are 100% spoiled at this location; we have showers, coffee, amazing food, wifi, and our own beds! This has all made for a smooth transition into the race; however, we know that these are not normal conditions that we will encounter in the months to come.
This first week, we have been we have been preparing ourselves for the next 11 months instead of jumping right into ministry. We have spent time bonding as not only a squad, but also as separate teams. We’ve had lessons in the Thai language, Thai culture, and we explored the city through a 5-hour long scavenger hunt. Tomorrow is our first day of ministry, and my team will be working at the bars. That’s right, bar ministry.
Prostitution and sex trafficking is extremely prevalent in the tourist cities of Thailand. The US Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as “a form of modern-day slavery, and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit human beings for some type of labor or commercial sex purpose.” Many times, girls are tricked into sex trafficking by lures of false promises of well-paying jobs. The girls leave their rural towns for the city in anticipation of earning higher wages for their families, but instead they become victims. They are often manipulated into believing that they owe a debt that they must repay, and so they think that they cannot escape.
Can you even wrap your head around the fact that this actually happens in the world today? Can you imagine if you were one of the girls being forced to sell your body? At the present moment, it doesn’t seem real to me. It feels like the plot of an extremely twisted horror movie.
But this is real, and it’s happening in the city I’m living in. Our goal in ministry this month is to reach out to these girls in the daytime while they are cleaning the bars, and during the night when they are working. We want to build friendships with them and SHOW them (not just TELL them) that they are loved and cared about. Believe it or not, we won’t be preaching the gospel to them directly. These girls are already filled with fear and distrust, so relationships must first be built with them. Colin and Phil will be building relationships with the customers; the men who buy the girls every night at the bar. Teams will be back at the Café, interceding for us through prayer, while we are at the bars.
I’m sure that my heart will be shattered by what I experience. I will feel hopeless and lost, like there’s nothing that I can do to change the situation. But the reality is, I am so under-equipped to handle this. There’s literally nothing that I can do. But with the Lord’s spirit within me, he can accomplish anything through me. Who knows, if I can display Christ’s love to even one girl through my actions, then her life could be changed as she is filled with hope.
Please pray for my team as we step into this ministry for the first time tomorrow. Pray that we may be warriors for the Kingdom, that we can fiercely combat the darkness that we encounter. Pray not only for the victims of sex trafficking that we will meet, but also for the customers who buy the girls and the pimps who control the girls. Pray that their hearts would be awakened to the pain and destruction that they are causing.
