When I was in Thailand during month five of my Race, some of my teammates and I decided to go camping for one of our off days. Our plan was to stay the night at a campsite and to wake up very early the next morning to watch the sunrise. As soon as we got to the campground I noticed two cute little kids dressed in some kind of costumes. I noticed these little kids would go from tent to tent and they would sing and dance. At first I was like oh ok, they’re probably just trying to be cute or something. Then as it got darker outside, I noticed a car came and picked them up. I thought it was interesting since I assumed they were camping. Then came the morning, by morning I mean when my team got to the mountain it was about 5:30 AM and still dark. As I kept going up I saw those little kids again singing and dancing at 5:30 AM in the morning! But, this time there wasn’t just two of them, there were multiple spread out singing and dancing. Some of them had music playing. Some of them were trying to fall asleep while standing. Some of these kids couldn’t have been older than 3-4 years. Still I didn’t really know what was going on. Until a little later when I realized these kids were begging for money. I turned to my squad leader and asked her where their parents were. She told me their parents were the ones that were making them do this. My first reaction was to be angry and frustrated. What kind of a parent makes their 3 year old kid wake up at 4 AM or 5 AM in the cold to go out and beg? Then as I kept walking down the mountain I noticed some of the parents hiding behind bushes. They were hiding from the crowd while still keeping an eye on their kids. Then it hit me, the answer to my question above, a desperate parent. I have never been a parent, so I don’t know a whole lot about parenting. But, I think it is fair to assume every parent wants to be able to provide for their kids. Every parent wants to meet their kids needs and maybe even some of their wants. But, these parents weren’t able to meet any of their families need. So, they did what they thought was best: to make their 3 year old kid beg at 5 AM in the cold. I can only imagine the shame and guilt those parents feel. That day I went home and asked God for forgiveness for being angry and frustrated at the parents. Honestly, if I was in their shoes, I might have done the same thing.
Then came month 9, Zimbabwe. Where I was that told prostitution was a big issue in some of the cities. What is even more of an issue is these girls think this is their only option. These girls believe their God created beautiful body is only worth $1! Yes, you read that right $1! Go ahead and make a list of things you could buy for $1. If you’re reading this and you live in the States, you might be able to buy a candy from the Dollar Tree or something. But nothing more as far as I can think. How sad and devastating that these girls don’t have any better options. How sad and devastating these girls don’t understand they are priceless! How sad and devastating these girls are viewed as an object. Sometimes it can be easy to look at these girls standing on the side of street and for our first response to be judgement. But these girls are desperate to feed themselves and their families and they don’t know where else to turn. As sad and devastating this is, this is the reality of their lives. I hate it. I hate that they don’t understand their values. I hate that they don’t understand they are worth far more than silver and gold. I hate that I am not able to change their situation so they don’t have to sell their bodies. I hate that this is their lifestyle. I hate all the brokenness that exists in this world. I hate that most people’s response to these girls’ situation is judgement. But, I pray there will come a time where these girls would understand their worth. I pray for a time where a 3 year old kid doesn’t need to beg anymore. I pray for a time where every parent would be able to provide for their families. I pray for a time where love wins over hate and instead of judging, our first response would be to love and support.
