“I miss high heels!â€� My teammate Hope exclaims as we all get ready to go out for the night. Dragging stilettos around the world isn’t exactly missionary-esque, so even when we “dress upâ€� we still wear our Chacos or Islanders.
What girl doesn’t love shoes, really? I’m not always the girliest girl ever but even I have a small passion for shoes. My husband may call it an obsession…but this is my blog so I’ll just call it a small passion! It’s something that a lot of girls have in common. Even on the World Race when we stroll through a mall wearing our unwashed pants and stained t-shirts, we still stop to gawk at the stores full of neon pumps, sassy wedges, and flirty flats. Shoes are all over Bangla Road…Jimmy Choos, Gucci, Prada…or at least some cute knock-off of these brands. Shoes are something I have in common with the girls here on Bangla Road, too.
Over the past few weeks I have begun to see these girls in a new light – they are indeed just normal, every-day girls. One afternoon we went out to lunch with a few bar girls. They showed up in jean shorts and tank tops…an outfit I would wear if I had it with me. And after lunch they walked and laughed with us on the beach, giggling as they barely escaped the incoming tides. Later we came across a playground and the girls jumped at the chance to do the teeter-totter with us. Just normal, every-day girls.
It’s been said before but I don’t mind saying it again…these girls on Bangla Road are just like you and I. They are someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s best friend. They like pizza and getting their nails done and playing on the beach and they love shoes just like I do!
It’s actually hard for me to believe how alike I am with some of them in personality but how different our lives are. It’s difficult for me to accept that although we are so similar, I have the freedom to do and say and go where I want while they are tangled in this web of lust, lies, confusion, and deception. God why me? Why have you allowed ME to live the life I live while these girls are trapped in Bangla Road? I’m not worthy of this, God. It’s not fair.
I’ll probably never understand exactly why God chose to put each of us in our respective places. Maybe He knew I’m not as strong as these girls, I couldn’t overcome the adversities they are having to deal with daily. Whatever the reason is, I do know this – a line from a Brooke Fraiser song,
“Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead.�
***If you would like to be involved in helping rescue women from sex trafficking here in Patong, check out the website of the organization I’ve been working with this month. Click here to visit the S.H.E. Ministries site. There you can find a list of specific prayer requests, purchase jewelry to help support women getting out of the sex trade, financially support S.H.E., or contact the Biddell family about coming to visit them and work along side them in Thailand!
