They call these places “Cabin Restaurants”, but we all knew better. We were in a brothel.
Walls painted hot pink that had faded over time. The lights were dim. Plywood walls painted lime green that formed the small “booths” where you could order food as well as a woman.
Or in our case, a 16 year old girl.
She sat down with a big smile and a handful of Fanta’s and Sprite’s. We said hello and she said hello back.
We asked what her name was and she said “Saroo”.
When we asked for her age she waved for our translator to come to our table. The language barrier was tough to understand. Once our translator arrived she told us she was 16 years old.
I wanted to vomit.
At 16 years old I was eagerly awaiting the day to get my drivers license so I could go on late night Sonic runs with my friends. At 16 years old I lived for Friday night football games and sleepovers with my best friends.
But Saroo?
At 16 years old she awaits the next grown man to sit down at her booth so she can fulfill whatever his darkest, nastiest desire is at the moment. This is her life, a 16 year old girl.
For some odd reason, I accidentally left my toiletry bag in my backpack that I brought to the Cabin Restaurant with our teams today. God took this “accident” that I made into a blessing that overcame our language barrier and led to laughs and fun.
In my toiletry bag I had all of my makeup and a single tube of nail polish. We quickly learned that Saroo and her best friend LOVED to do makeup.
After painting Saroo’s nails, listening to Justin Bieber, and watching clips from the movie Tangled (we were literally in the booth with a child who loves the same music and same movies we loved-and still love- at her age)…I asked Saroo and her friend if they wanted to do my makeup.
They looked at each other and their faces started to glow at the opportunity that lay before them.
As I lay out my makeup they eagerly grabbed the blush, brushes, and the eyeliner.
You see, these girls dream to be a beauticians. They dream to do something–anything with their lives except their current jobs at the Cabin Restaurant.
By accidentally leaving my toiletry bag in my backpack, I think these girls received a small glimpse of a future that they will one day be able to grasp.
They did a fantastic job doing my makeup. I’ve never had such a dark “smokey-eye” in my life.
Today, 2 brothel workers did my makeup.
Today, 2 children of God did my makeup.
And we’re going back for round two on Monday.
