For sensitivity and safety for the women we have met this week I will not be using any of their names and the two bars I talk about will be called Bar 1 and Bar 2.
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Monday morning this week, I sat in an enclosed alley of 33 bars with my team as we prayed over what happens here in the red light district of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Here is an excerpt from my letter to God that morning:
“2/16/15 at 9:45am: …the stillness around me eerily sits in anticipation for what the night ahead of us holds. Even the tin roof above has gaps where the light enters, making everything appear gray, lifeless. The tables we sit at will soon be filled with prostitutes, pimps, Bar moms, and Johns (men who buy the women). Each bar is decorated with different themes and perks, such as satellite tv’s or pool tables. The bars, whether vacation themed or sex themed, all seem to be centered around escaping. From whatever hurts, abuses, lies, and crushed dreams the tourists and business men are running from….10:30am: The bartenders begin opening their garage doors to organize their tables and mop up last night….they stand at the entrance to their business making sure nothing needs adjusting.”
Three days later I am back in the same seat, looking at the same bars with a new perspective. God is already here. He didn’t need me to cut the rope with giant scissors and pave the road for Him to enter this place. No, He was already here, waiting for me. It was Him sitting next to me on Monday morning. It was Him who took my hand and walked with me into the neon lit strip smelling of alcohol and incense the first night. He sat next to me with the same hurt in His heart as I watched prostitute after prostitute grabbed at, fondled, and purchased. He laughed with our group as we played an intense game of connect four with two of our new friends we ‘purchased’ for a small bit of time.
This week our time is spent in morning prayer walks around the bars and red light district, going to the bars in the afternoon and helping set up and getting to know the girls and bar moms, and then going out at night to create relationships with the girls, bar moms, and even the Johns. In order to spend time in the bars, we buy water or sodas.
Our first night out, Sean, Kris and I visited Bar 1 and bought two of the girls a drink and some waters for ourselves. Then we got to play pool with the two girls for the next 30 minutes. It was fun and allowed them a break from flirting with men. Then we visited Bar 2 where we had met some girls earlier during day bar ministry. The second night out, a small group of us returned to Bar 1 and ordered waters for ourselves and the same 2 girls from the first night. We played connect four and asked them questions about their lives, their families, where they have traveled, their favorite thai food. Something I noticed that night was when Johns would walk by they would look over to another girl who worked at the Bar who was looking at her phone. They would throw a quick smile and then look down disgusted and thankful that he didn’t come over.
Something God has been teaching me through this experience is that His grace covers and extends to all. I realized when I got here that I did not have any desire to extend love to the Johns and Pimps. But, just as the women desperately need literal freedom from their chains, the men who buy and sell the women desperately need freedom from the captivity that they are lost in. There would be no need for supplying if there was no demand. We watched a documentary on trafficking around the world when we first arrived here, and something that really impacted me was an interview with a former pimp. In it, he praised God for setting him free from that life.
During worship last night, a squad-mate was talking about when God called out to Abraham and said you can find me in the wilderness. The word wilderness literally translates to chaos. I can find God in the chaos. I found God in the chaos this week. He was there before we arrived in Thailand and He will be there moving, dwelling, and working after we leave.
With Love,
Shelby
