I don't know if it's actually true or not, Bangla Road being the darkest street in the world, but it's the darkest street I've ever been on. Bangla Road is located in Patong Beach, Phuket, in Thailand. It's a walking street lined with bars, tailoring shops, and strip clubs. It's the secular Westerners dream of a place. It is filled with drinking, smoking, drugs, and sex. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand but they seem to make an exception for it in Patong. SHE Ministries sends all girls teams to Bangla Road to minister inside the bars, to show women and men that God has a bigger and more delightful plan for their lives.
Since we are an all-guys team this month, we've been asked to stay on the street. We're only here for one night which is probably about all I can take. It makes me angry. It makes me sad. It makes me more sad than angry. I am so sad that Western culture is being defined by men and women who choose to visit this street. I am sad that these women feel that selling themselves is the only way for them to provide for themselves and their families. I am sad that there aren't more Godly people doing anything about it. SHE is one of the only Christian NGOs working on Bangla Road. Mark, our contact, estimates that there are over 2,000 girls working on Bangla Road. That's 2,000 lives that are being ruined every day. That's 2,000 bodies that are being used for evil.
Satan is using Bangla Road. Unfortunately for him, the battle has already been lost. He's already losing the battle. Since SHE has been working on Bangla Road and praying continuously they've seen one very large bar go out of business and another burn to the ground! He's seen girls come out of the bar and work for SHE. He's seen girls that so close to coming out of the bar but then get sucked back in, too. He's met other prayer warriors like a woman who sits on the corner and sells bracelets every night and prays ALL NIGHT LONG for Bangla Road. God is doing big things on Bangla Road. SHE is a bright shining light in the darkness.
As we prayer walked down that road last night, I had to try very hard to contain my anger. I thank God that my anger was transformed to sadness. I thank him that he answered my prayer and allowed my heart to break for the people on Bangla Road – not only the prostitutes and the transvestites, but also the tourists, the people "purchasing" the prostitutes, and the pimps themselves. I found myself equally sad for all of them, praying that the Holy Spirit would descend on the place and fill it with light so everyone would know that Jesus loves them regardless of their past or present.
