Her story didn’t start like the others. Ann* didn’t have a bad relationship with her mother or a broken home. She remembers being happy as a child in the little village where she grew up. She remembers feeling loved by her parents. And yet, her story is still one of bar work, selling her body, and brokenness.
Thailand is famous for its sex tourism industry. Cities like Pattaya, Bangkok, and Chaing Mai feature “adult entertainment” streets that have become destinations for travelers. Many of these streets feature bars where women dance on stages with very little clothing and wear numbers on their chest. Men can walk in, buy a drink, sit with a woman, and pay the bar price to take her out and have his way with her. I’ve witnessed this. I’ve watched it happen. It shattered my heart and made me angry. It’s real, and it happens every single day.
Like so many women in Thailand, Ann followed her sister into the bars because it was the only option they felt they had to fulfill the obligation to provide for their parents. So she sold her body. She slept with foreign men and felt like she wasn’t worth anything. But her story doesn’t end there.
Ann’s friend told her about an organization called Samaritan Creations, a place for women to leave bar work behind and step into a new life. At SC, women are given practical skills training and are introduced to the love of Christ. Their lives are transformed and their hearts are renewed. Ann and the other women now hold stories of hope, stories of restoration, and stories of redemption.
For my ministry in April, I had the unique honor of hearing each woman’s story. I was able to watch their faces transform from brokenness into light and life as they spoke of Jesus. I was able to trace the pursuit of Christ in their lives as they told me about their hurt and pain and how it had caused them to know something was missing. More than anything, I was reminded day after day of the redemption that Christ offers each of us. He meets us in the middle of our mess and walks alongside us as he transforms our lives with his love and grace.
Human trafficking and the sex industry has been on my heart for a long time, but now it is different. The stories I have in my brain are no longer just stories. I’ve witnessed this happening in real time. I’ve watched men by women and take them “home.” Now, the stories are attached to faces.
Now, the stories are beautiful, wonderful human beings who sat across the table from me and reminded me of God’s love.
Please be praying for the people ensnared in Thailand and around the world. Pray that Christ will redeem their lives and restore them. Pray that the men will see the error of their ways and repent. Pray that a revolution will hit the streets of Thailand and the Buddhist chains that have held the land for far too long will be released. God’s doing something big in Thailand, and his redemption is about to spring forth.
If your heart is for those trapped in sexual work and slavery, please consider giving to Samaritan Creations at http://www.samaritancreations.org/ . They also have jewelry and crafts for sale, and each piece comes with a story.
*Name changed for safety and privacy.
Thailand is also so alive with color. I had the opportunity to go to a local market, and the spreads were incredible.
