Before I left for the Race, someone told me to focus on one person at a time; to minister to the person in front of me. It is so easy to get overwhelmed when confronted by so much need all at once, so this advice has been extremely beneficial on my Race. When we arrived at Zion, our contact also suggested that we look for one girl to focus on so that we don’t get overwhelmed.
Focus on the one.
The first night that I went out to the bars I walked past the boxing ring, marking the center of the red light district, and prayed for where to go, who to talk to. I sat down with a group of Thai girls and started playing Connect Four with one of them. The music was blaring and she had broken English, but as we played the game, I asked her about her life.
Her name is Yang. She has two kids and her “husband” is sick with heart problems. Her family lives in Bangkok but she came to Chiang Mai to try to make money to send back to them. I asked her if she liked working at the bars and she said no. I asked her if the “customers” are nice to her and she wouldn’t answer. I told her that she was beautiful and she just shook her head. Eventually, she went to get some drinks and I started talking with a girl named Rin.
Throughout the month, Rin became my “one.” She has three kids- a seven year old, five year old, and a one year old. When I would go to see her on various nights, she would run to me for a hug. We played a lot of pool and laughed a lot. By the end of the month I had told her about Jesus, reminded her that she is loved and invited her to Zion. She never came to the coffee shop, but we had a great friendship and I pray that the Lord uses others to bring her to salvation.
That first night out at the bars, as I was playing pool with Rin I saw a large older man come up to Yang. She flirted and hung on him, doing her job. And he acted like she was his right away. He quickly whispered something in her ear and she got her purse. Before I knew it she walked over to me, gave me a big hug and said goodbye.
And just like that, she had been bought.
So many emotions came over me in that moment- anger being the first and the strongest. I stood there, holding my pool-stick and started to feel dizzy. The music suddenly seemed really loud and the reality of what was happening all around me hit me hard. I allowed my eyes to scan the room and my heart to feel the heaviness of that world. It was overwhelming how lost I felt.
I began to pray.
As I prayed, compassion diffused my anger. And any darkness that was trying to get on me in that moment was disintegrated by the light that I carry.
I prayed for the people…
- for the women in their tiny little dresses, holding up mirrors to look at themselves every thirty seconds
- for the ladyboys who just want to be accepted
- for the children selling flowers, missing their childhood, unable to go to sleep until they have met their quota for the night
- for the old women selling jewelry who feel like their beauty and worth are gone
- for the men, young and old, who are lost enough to fly to a foreign country just to buy what they think is love.
I prayed for the presence of the Lord to cover the darkness of that place.
And for the faith to believe that my prayers and the power of the Lord do make a difference.
