Men Pt. 1
While working in the Red Light District in Thailand, we have
been connected to a ministry called SHE. Their mission is to empower the women
working in the bars & prostitution by providing career training programs,
English classes, and creating a positive social networks for the girls to get
involved in. During our time here, we have built some of the most incredible
relationships with women working at the bars; it is amazing to see the impact
that this organization is having in their lives.
Ironically, while working for a ministry named SHE, my heart
was torn apart for the men I met in Patong. It was so easy to focus on women in this culture of sex
tourism; but unexpectedly, God really focused me on the “Demand� side of this cycle….He
called me to go out of my comfort zone and try to truly understand the hearts of the men – He asked
that I look at them with the same love & hope as I had for the beautiful
women of Bangla Road; that anger was not an option. This was not an easy task;
but God really wanted to teach me how to love ALL his people. In part one of
this series, I would like to
introduce you to some men I met in Patong….
Keith
Home Country:
Australia
Time in Phuket: 1
week
Story: Father of baby girl (1.5 years old) with
his girlfriend from Australia. Age 24. Recently caught his girlfriend cheating
on him; so fled the pain of his life and came to Phuket to get away. When I met Keith he was running from
the thai police, as we was selling illegal merchandise to make extra money
while on his “getaway.� He was heavily intoxicated, anxious, and hadn’t slept
in days. He approached us while
praying and inquired about what we were doing. After spending 2 hours with
Keith over coffee sharing our life stories he not only had sobered up, but
looked a little different in his spirit. God gave Keith a new hope for learning
how to forgive and give God control & power to heal his brokenness. Keith expressed an excitement and joy
in the renewed strength he could take back home with him. He prayed with us and
mentioned be felt a sense of peace and warmth come over him.
He gained a new energy and desire to be
a strong father figure, a renewed interest in being the one that was invested
and involved in his daughter’s life.
Prayer: That Keith will continue to look to God
for strength and not temporary fixes such as sex & alcohol. That he
forgives and doesn’t carry that burden with him. That God surrounds him with a
caring community that supports him. May he walk into full freedom….
John
Home Country: UK
Time in Phuket:
11 years
Story: John is
divorced and been living in Phuket for 11 years. Age 47. He helps manage a bar in Patong in the
red light district and has several girlfriends that he purchases regularly.
When I first met John, he mentioned that he felt as though he was doing a good
deed by providing for the girls.
He explained to me that most of the woman sleep in a cement room
together with all the other women and Ladyboys(men who dress like women) that
they work with. In a defensive
manner he says to me; “If I pay for their food and give them a hotel to sleep
in- this is a much better life for them than sleeping pack in together on a
cement floor.� I told him that I
wasn’t judging or condemning him and he looked very surprised. John and I
exchanged conversation and handshakes for the remainder of my time in Patong…
Prayer: That John will become a catalyst for change
in the bar system in Patong. That he will look to God to fulfill his needs and
not fear a true intimate relationship with a women, one that is founded on
truth. God give him strength and a renewed mind.
Robert
Home Country:
England
Time in Phuket:
20 years
Story: I met
Robert while playing connect four with one of the bar women. He sat at the bar with his hired
girlfriend looking void of all joy. He is 62 years old and his Thai girlfriend
is 23. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye and turn to introduce myself.
Simply being interested in who he was; and not wanting anything from him except
a good conversation seemed to surprise him. He opened up incredibly fast- he
had been yearning for genuine attention for years. He has been married twice, has 2 daughters (23 & 25 yrs
old) and has been living in the bar lifestyle for 20 years.
Prayer: That Robert
will meet people that genuinely connect with him, may he enter into
relationships that are based on genuine love and trust. I pray that his hope is
restored and that he finds the strength to reconnect with his family and invest
in his daughter’s lives once again.
Marcos
Home Country:
Germany
Time in Phuket: 2 weeks
Story: I saw
Marcos sitting at the end of the bar for nearly a week straight before I
engaged in a conversation with him. He was always alone; with the exception of
the attention he was soliciting from the bar women. He was around 33 years of
age, and had not displayed a smile the entire time I saw him. He looked lost
and lonely. We talked about his job & his life. He mentions “My job is S#it, Germany is S#it….I don’t want
to return to the s#it that is my life…..� He was running for everything. I shared with Him what I am doing, and parts of my life
story. He didn’t believe that I
was a Christian or a missionary- as he had assumed that all people who love God
are boring and judgmental. I let him know that he isn’t condemned or judged for
anything, that God desperately desires to know him. We prayed together before I
left the bar and as I left he says “I would really like to do what you are
doing some day….ya know, help people…..� I replied, “Marcos, you still can…it isn’t too late.� As I
waved goodbye I saw the first smile of the week.
Prayer: I pray that Marcos follows his calling
into a life/profession where he can used his desire to help others. That God
would provide for him financiall, physically and emotionally as he makes steps
towards that call. I pray that joy be restored in his life.
After 3 weeks of being
immersed in a district run by the mafia, seeing old men holding hands with
little girls, watching married men mesmerized by fleshly desires, witnessing my
friends who work at the bar get purchased for the night & not know if they
would ever return…..I became completely numb to this system. I did not realize
it at the time….but my emotions became mechanical and completely shut down…..
In Part 2 I would like to share how God revived
my heart from being dead & discuss the truths He revealed about
men….
