We were all there for the same reason.
Every person in the “World Biggest Adult Playground” that night was trying to meet a need:
One woman hangs on the neck of a man twice her age, playing the part of a lover so he will pay. She hopes to pay off the loans that have been gaining 400% interest every day. The alcohol he buys her numbs the pain.
The man she dotes on expects her to fill the void in his heart. He’s longing to be heard. To be noticed. To be loved, even if it is counterfeit.
Another girl waits, her eyelids heavy with disinterest and apathy. As a man walks to the counter, she begins the show; face suddenly animated with exaggerated charm. The money she makes will go to her family in the village while she sleeps in her empty cubicle apartment.
I wonder if her customer knows he’s just a means to an end. Would it change anything if he could see through her fake smile and flirty eyes to the hollow reality behind the “love” she offers.
Another secretly prostitutes herself to pay for school. She’s young, but tells herself that it’s only for a few weeks. It’s the same story shared by many who have now worked the bars for years and years; addicted and disempowered by the routine and the fast money.
Then there was us. Four young American women and our Thai friend Thom. The bar was Thom’s reality until she was offered something else: a chance to work at Samaritans Creations, our ministry in Thailand. It was there that she met Jesus, learned skills such as sewing and jewelry making and now she goes back into the darkness of the bars to offer that same choice to others.
We were there that night to meet the need for Jesus.
The need that drives all other needs.
It was my first night in the bar complex. Neon images of whips and chains flashed haphazardly on all three stories of the building and everything was saturated with a sick red glow. Women and ladyboys in skimpy attire walked around or waited by doors leading to inner bars where only the men could go. We sat down at a table in the center area and bought a “lady drink” for one of the girls. It was buying her time so we could talk. Her name was Nam, the Thai word for water, and we explained that we just wanted to be her friend. We were there to represent our Father, and His love through Jesus Christ; to affirm her worth and inexpressible value in the eyes of God and to speak life into her life.
About halfway through the conversation, I was surprised to lock eyes with an older man from across the bar. He smiled and walked over, introducing himself in a thick Australian accent. Following some formalities and small talk, a weighty silence replaced the conversation. Uncertain of what to say after that, we wished him a good night and he walked away.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was like there was a spotlight on him and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t ignore him. So I asked the Lord what to do and I heard the word “provider.”
Excusing myself from our table I went and delivered the word that the Lord had given me, blessing him in prayer before returning to my table several minutes later.
It was a jarring experience to say the least. From the second that I asked to pray, his eyes caught mine and wouldn’t let go. With eyes wide open, I took his hands in mine and spoke to my Father on his behalf as I looked through the crystal blue of his irises into their very centers. I was talking to a son of God, he just didn't know it yet. And then I told him that the God of the universe loves him and is proud of him. At the word proud, his steadfast gaze dropped to the floor.
I don’t know what happened, but I believe that in the bar that night a loving Father touched His child and that man will never be the same again.
These are the moments that bring me such great joy. The unexpected situations that pull the grace of God into the most unlikely of places. The daughters of the King bringing His light into Nana Plaza, a center stage of the red light district in Bangok.
If the men knew that the women they bought and sold were daughters of the Most High, they would never dare to touch them. But if the men knew who their Father was, they would never find the need to in the first place.
Please continue to pray for human trafficking and prostitution in Thailand and around the world. When the people of God speak in faith, even the strongest walls of the devil dissolve like dust in the name of Jesus.
Sending lots of love as I get ready to go to Malaysia!
Xoxo,
Chelle 🙂
