It is a typical Friday night in Chiang Mai.
This night marks our second experience in a Red Light District.
We start out prayer walking and scanning the streets.
Then find ourselves in one of the most spiritually dark places I have ever been in.
Seduction. Attraction. Lust. Fantasy. Sex. Alcohol.
And empty smiles. Longing souls. Desperate hearts.
Searching.
Then I saw her across the room. Gorgeous red dress, high heels, hair and makeup to perfection.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to go into that bar. I had to. Because I asked for an opportunity and God gave me one.
So, I went.
Into the Ladyboy Bar.
She introduced herself as Beyonce.
She has dreams of moving to Switzerland.
She would leave everything, including money, if she found a man who really loved her and treated her well.
She is mocked by both men and women on a daily basis.
She is wounded by rejection. And so much more.
She wears a mask of happiness.
And in that moment, she allowed me to see her pain.
Am I the solution? Absolutely not.
But that night, did she feel heard, loved, accepted, and wanted for something other than her body?
Yes.
We talked, we laughed, and I saw her.
As a person. Not as an item. Not a sex symbol. Not as a man dressed up like a woman. Not as someone who needed my pity.
As a person. With a heart. A heart created with the same desires as mine. A heart searching for love.
I don’t know what her redemption looks like. And it’s not my job to figure that out. I’m here to love. To love people who were created in God’s image.
And that includes Beyonce.
