Hanging out in bars. Sitting next to pole dancers. Laughing with prostitutes. Talking with transvestites.
In just two weeks, these things have all become normal to me.
We are in a tourist town. The beauty of the beaches in and around Phuket make it one of the top honeymooning destinations in the world. And just like any other tourist hotspot, there are shops, businesses, and bars that pop up all over, ready to fill the demand that the visitors bring. Unfortunately, in Phuket, one of those demands met is for the commercial sex industry. Some of the people you see
strolling down the streets are families or young couples, but you also see groups of men that came to experience more than the beaches. Sometimes it makes me frustrated or angry to see them, but then God gives me eyes to look deeper. Many are lonely or hurting; many are searching for any version of love or acceptance they can get. You can see it in their eyes…. they are desperately searching for something more.
The many Thai girls that fill the bars are not there by choice. Even though many of them are not held against their will or tied to contracts, they continue to be trapped by finances or family situations. Families in distant parts of Thailand or countries nearby wait for the checks that their bar girl sends them, with her sometimes being the sole provider for the whole household. Not all the girls that work at the bars are prostitutes, but because they often need the extra money, many of them eventually go down that road even if they did not start out that way.
I wish I could tell you the stories of every person I have talked to during my time here. The bright-eyed girl who had only begun working at the bar 2 weeks ago. The man who spent his days working construction and his nights waving flyers for inappropriate shows just to provide for a family he rarely saw. The beautiful girl who would jump down from pole dancing to give me a hug and would start taking shots early in the night so she would be drunk enough to deal with whatever that night brought. The 18-year-old boy who went by “Brittany” and idolized the lady-boy that was training him to be a tour guide. The sweet older woman who had spent the 10 years following her husband’s death working in the bars to put her last child through school. The stories go on and on.
Something God has made obvious to me is that He is present on the streets of Phuket. Prayers are being poured out on those streets almost every day of the week. The light of our Savior is penetrating the thick darkness every time one of us walks into a bar. Progress is being made, and through the work of SHE and people partnering with them, things are not as bad as they used to be. Even a short conversation with my friend Danielle, who worked with them a year ago, showed how much things have changed for the better and how Satan’s hold has loosened. It is sometimes disheartening to be in a place so thick with lust, evil, and brokenness, but that’s when you have to remember that in the battle between good and evil, we are already on the winning side. No matter what things look like at the moment, you just have to fight the good fight and remember that there is no real competition, and we know Who triumphs in the end.
