In the morning as I slowly start to wake, I feel the breeze of the fan blowing against my face as it makes my white sheet wave along the rest of me.
I hear the gentle whirring of the three other fans blowing on my teammates in their bunk beds.
Out of our tiny balcony come the noises of morning traffic.
Mostly it’s motorcycles riding by.
There are vendors up and down the street selling all kinds of fruits, meat and sea creatures.
They stand under colorful umbrellas trying to keep out of the oppressive heat.
In Thailand people don’t yell, don’t talk or laugh loudly.
When you leave a store they “why” you which is a sign of respect.
Thai people smile at all times even when they are angry as it’s not appropriate to lose control of one’s self.
Phuket- the island we are staying on seems peaceful and calm.
It’s been thru much restoration as this is where the Tsunami hit a few years back.
In the evening (around 9 pm) we make a short ten-minute walk to the bars and a whole new side of Thailand instantly assaults me.
Here men dress and make themselves up to look like women.
They wear long bright feathers in their hair, have sparkling evening gowns on and are in high heels.
Some of them have physically transformed themselves to become women and they proudly show off their assets.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether you are looking at a man or woman.
These men are called “Lady Boys” and they are very popular around here.
As we walk down the road we are stopped every few feet by men who hold menus to your face.
These menus are filled with girls and lady boys that you can buy and pictures of porn demonstrating what you can order.
All around you are beautiful girls (16 or so and up) who are dressed very provocatively waiting in the streets for their next customer.
Many bars are open air and you can stop by at any to watch the poll dancers.
There are also many closed-door bars with blacked out windows and writing on the walls advertising the perversions going on inside.
We never venture behind closed doors, as it’s not safe.
We’ve made friends at one of the bars ironically called the Joy Bar.
We sit with our new friends and play connect four and jenga with them as they paint our nails.
We order coke so that we’re not wasting the girl’s time as they work on commission.
Our time is spent building relationships with them.
Eventually we tell them about the SHE ministry (Self Help & Empower) and if they are willing to leave the bars permanently they can come and work for SHE making jewelry.
We give them our cards with the SHE directions on them and some promise to come and visit us the next day.
Twenty-seven billion dollars are made in Thailand every year in prostitution.
And many cannot afford to leave the bar as they make a great deal of money of which they send home to their parents.
It is expected that children of Thais will work to support the family and many parents prostitute their girls at a young age.
It is said that 70% of customers that frequent these places are Thais but as I look around I can’t help but notice how many Caucasian men are wrapping themselves around these girls.
Most men I’ve seen are in there mid 40’s-50’s and it’s clear to see the lust in their eyes.
Every form of perversion is around them.
It is sick to watch.
There are also many married couples present and I often wonder what the women are thinking.
Wan (a former bar worker now working at SHE) goes with Esther and I to search for another lost looking girl.
As we walk, I’m aware of this girl with very sad looking eyes that we’ve passed several times.
I tell my friends we need to go back and talk to her.
Silently I pray that Jesus will get thru to this one.
We order more coke and sit down beside her.
Our Thai words are very limited as is her English vocabulary, so we turn to Wan for translating.
It turns out that this is her first night working at a bar.
Previously she had worked at a factory and now she is working to provide for her one-year-old baby.
I can’t help but notice her tummy that she tries to hide beneath a black sheer top.
Her face is made up and she looks like a girl playing dress up.
As we sit with her for a while her eyes begin to brighten.
She seems interested in what Wan is telling her about the SHE ministry.
We do not mention God or His love for her.
In Thai culture you must form a relationship first before such things are talked about.
So that will come later on.
For now it’s enough that we’ve made a friend.
Close to midnight we say goodbye to Non.
I’m hoping she comes by SHE,
if not I’ll be visiting her tomorrow night at the bar.
There are so many girls (roughly 2 million in Thailand) that work at these places.
It’s overwhelming and disheartening knowing we can’t reach them all.
