*WARNING- this blog contains information on a topic related to sex trafficking. Though it isn't a traditional missionary topic, it is one that NEEDS to be talked about. Just warning you…
Everyone on our squad arrived at their ministry sites safely! I think I had the most pleasant travel day in 8 months getting to Chaing Mai from Bangkok. Busses in Thailand are fantastic- we had plenty of legroom and A/C! A HUGE blessing!
This month I am with a NEW set of girls- and I am their LEADER! Here is our NEW team picture!
(above: Jenna, Sam, me, Natalie, Amanda, Olivia and Lauren in Bangkok)
Remember, Jamos and I are not together this month so that I can work with these women in the bars of Chaing Mai and he can minister to the refugees who are fleeing Burma (which borders Thailand in the north). He is in the midst of the jungle with the rest of the men from our squad!
Our ministry this month is called “Lighthouse In Action” (www.lighthousethai.com). They work in many facets (village outreach, college outreach, bar outreach, and with children) all to educate and prevent sex trafficking in Thailand and around the world.
Tonight we had our first walk thru the bar area here in the red light district. I had no idea what to expect from this or what emotions I would feel regarding what I saw. I have read the book “NOT FOR SALE” about human trafficking and this industry, but have never seen it first hand, fully aware of what was going on around me.
These Thai women come from villages- where they are told they will go work with restaurants in the city to make money for their family. So, their parents get money from these ’recruiters’- and off their precious daughter goes into the sex trafficking industry – knowing no different.
These women feel they have no CHOICE in life besides this lifestyle.
Let me try to set up the scene for you: it is around 9pm on a crowded street lined with bars and small street vendors. There are motor bikes parked everywhere and the smell in the air is a mix of incense from the Buddhist shrines and cigar/cigarette smoke. I am walking on the narrow sidewalk and to my left I see women. I see beautiful Thai women- they could be my friends, they could be my teammates or my sisters.
But, no.
They are standing there, waiting to be purchased by men, to be used for the night, solely to earn money for their families.
The men.
Husbands. Sons. Brothers. Uncles. Grandfathers. Fathers.
The men come in all ages, but the ones I kept meeting the eyes of, were my fathers age and older. Hair gray. Eyes weary.
Probably fathers themselves; my prayer as I walked past them, was that the Lord would remind them that these girls are someone’s daughters.
May they remember their own child in this moment- in Thailand.
These WOMEN are NOT FOR SALE.
Watching the interaction made me feel sick to my stomach. Seriously, this process is worth vomiting over.
The men -in a group or alone approach the girls- offer them a price – normally $12 USD buys them for a date at the bar and $75 USD buys the girl for the entire night.
Easy as that.
Disgusting as that.
Purchased for less than a tank of gas in the U.S.A.
Bought for the same price as a pair of SHOES.
The daughters & the sisters.
This month the goal of our ministry is simply to LOVE.
At night, we get to enter these bars, buy a coke for us and one for the woman working the bars. A smile. A pure spirit to them- with no strings attached for anything more.
We also get to “DATE” these ladies! Which means, in the day, if they are free and want to, we will invite them to eat with us, walk the markets with us, go get a pedicure with us- all to just show them what they NEVER get to experience, which is LOVE.
If you feel called to help in this time, you can donate to this cause. Obviously, going on dates costs money. I do not want finances to hold me back from ministering to these women. If they want a steak dinner, I want to buy them a steak dinner. If they want to walk the markets and eat street food, I want to buy them street food. I want to LOVE WELL.
If you would like to help me date these ladies in LOVE AND HONOR, I ask that you leave a comment- let me know how much you would like to donate and we can work out sending the check to my mom who can put it directly into my bank account, which will be spent WELL.
I also need your prayers. Prayers against spiritual attacks. Satan does not want us to love these women well. Pray for health, for safety, and for protection agains the spiritual forces of this dark world. They are active here in Thailand.
