This month I am working at Samaritan Creations in Bangkok, Thailand. We arrived last week and started full force on our first day of ministry. Every month looks so different on the race, you never know what your days will be like, what kind of ground you will be sleeping on, or if there will even be a toilet provided for you. Well this month God has provided an abundance!!
In fact, I am writing this blog post from the comfort of a couch and a plate of pancakes in someone’s home!! That is right a real home!! This month we are staying at a Thai church called The Well church. We sleep in an air conditioned room with mattresses on the ground. We have a western toilet, clean shower and a washing machine!! I know these things are little but they are serious luxuries for us on the race. ( I am currently babysitting for my ministry host & loving every second because it is a treat to have a refrigerator and a kitchen to bake in!)
Okay, so a day in the life at Samaritan Creations looks like this:
Wake up 5:30 am
Leave 6:15 am
Arrive at the coffee shop 7:00 am
Quiet time with the Lord 7-8 am
Devotional time with the staff 8-9:30 am
Work on our projects and rotate in shifts taking care of the kids 9:30-12
Lunch at our same Thai street food lady 12-12:30 pm
Back to work 12:30-4pm
Head back to our neighborhood 4:15-5pm
Coffee shop or Thai boxing class 5-6:30
Grab dinner at our street food market 6:30-7pm
Team dinner 7-7:30pm
Team Time 7:30-10pm
As you can see we have a pretty marked out schedule which can be unusual for the race. Even with a tight schedule, I have really loved my time here in Thailand because I feel like I am getting a true perspective on what it looks like to run a business and ministry.
So what are we actually doing?
Samaritan Creations is a coffee shop/jewelry/clothing and accessories shop that restores, rebuilds and empowers women coming from prostitution in the bars in Bangkok. During the day we all have different jobs at the cafe. We work on graphic design, social media marketing, fundraising, inventory and organization, and baking for the cafe. Our ministry host has done a great job taking our specific gifts and putting them to use for different projects that need to get done for the business. Once a week we go to do bar outreach as a team and talk with the women who work in the bars and buy them drinks so we can hear about their life and how they got there.
The culture here is very different than what we know in America. The women in Thailand are financially responsible for providing for their whole family. The males are the spiritual leaders in the family and the oldest son gets sent to monk-hood where he will become a monk. However, there are fees to join monk-hood and the women are responsible for those as well. The daughters can be responsible for taking care of up to 10-30 family members at a time. So when we think about sex trafficking in the states we think of women getting “trapped” or “hustled” by pimps or men into the bars. Here in Thailand the traffickers are often times the families who send their daughters to Bangkok to work as a prostitute so they can make a large amount of money in a quick amount of time. This is not always the case, but there are a lot of girls who “choose” to come to the bars so they can provide. It is heartbreaking.
The girls can range from age 9 to 30 years old. Most girls take pills to meet the weight requirement and lie about their age to work in the bars. When we walk in they are barley dressed, dancing on poles and surrounding 50 year old white tourist men who are paying for drink after drink until they get to go home with a girl. When we talk to the girls about leaving their job, it seems obvious that they would prefer another life, but they have little education and have to provide for their whole family. We can offer other jobs back at Samaritan Creations but again, we cannot match the amount of money they make working at the bars. I hear over and over again that they feel stuck. When we make appointments with the girls to follow up about an alternate job, sometimes they show up and are eager to change their life. Other times they will get caught up with multiple customers from the night before and sleep through the day or shy out of a follow up. We go back to visit the girls again and will continue to pursue these women in a much different way than they are used to. We want to know them. We want to instill worth into them. We want to let them know they are loved and that they have a God who sees complete beauty and perfection in them. They are not worth the number on their dress or the amount of men that they sleep with. They are so much more!!!
My heart breaks writing this blog. I am still filled with anger and confusion with the culture of what women are responsible for here. I am frustrated with the men who choose to come to the bars. I am saddened with how these women see themselves and their situation… But I am REJOICED with the many testimonies that I have seen and heard from the women who are rescued and working at Samaritan Creations. I can’t wait to share some of the stories and redemption that I am surrounded by daily, which propels me to continue to do this work and fight for these women. I am so grateful to have a God who will pursue these women even when I am gone. A God who sees these women for exactly the beautiful creation He made them to be. If you want to check out Samaritan Creations further here is the website:http://www.samaritancreations.org
P.S. If you ever want to volunteer or intern for Samaritan Creations please reach out to me or the organization. The couple, Mike and Kay who run the organization are amazing!! They have hearts of gold that break for these women and the power of Christ. I like to think Kay is my Thai soul sister… a business woman, mom of three kids (one autistic), and so passionate about empowering these women!! I am learning SO much about business and ministry and how the love of God overflows into the Thai people. If you want to support this couple PLEASE let me know. They fundraise their salary and every penny of their ministry goes to the women and getting their kids in school. Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to read about my time in Thailand and my heart for this ministry!!
