This wasn’t my first time in a dance bar.
And it wasn’t the first time I felt the overwhelming amount of darkness as I walked down the hallway, aware of the heartache I was about to enter into.
We were escorted to the private room we rented for the next two hours in a local KTV Bar. They attempt to disguise the purpose with an innocent title of “Karaoke Bar” when in reality everyone here knows that most of them are designed for access to prostitutes. I don’t know if a room has to be bought specifically to get their services, but it was our best option to reach as many girls in a short amount of time. We rented out a large room and purchased 10 Khmer women for the next 2 hours at $2 a piece.
We entered the room and spread out amongst the couches, leaving enough space in between each of us for the girls to sit. Moments later, the door opened and the line of girls dressed in short, revealing skirts/tops and faces layered with makeup began to file in one after another. I wondered in this moment whose heart was beating faster, our’s or theirs? We literally just purchased prostitutes and they unexpectedly walked into a room full of a weird amount of male and female foreigners, as opposed to the typical man waiting to receive satisfaction for his lustful desires at a cheap cost. The look on their faces was expected. They were shocked and I think a bit confused.
We asked each of the girls to introduce themselves before coming to sit on the couches with us. Some of them looked like teenagers or in their early 20’s, which we later found out a lot of them were. Joe (an American who lives in Cambodia full time with her family) stood in front of the room and was completely transparent with our intentions for the night.
“We are so excited to spend the night with you girls. We are purely here to have fun and hope deeply that you end your time with us feeling loved.”
We danced awkwardly and sang karaoke to Michael Jackson and Shakira, hoping to help them relax and have some fun. They were hesitant to join us at first and I think a bit unsure if we truly had pure intentions of just spending time with them. Eventually, we returned to our spots on the couches and bought each of the girls a soda to drink at $2 a can. (The reality didn’t hit me until after the night came to an end that the cost of a soda is equivalent to the price of a woman’s services for 2 hours.)
Her time, her body, and her soul are worth two whole dollars. Two!!!
A few of our Cambodian friends got up to share their testimonies of how they came to know Jesus through similar lifestyles full of a lot of darkness. We played some worship songs on the guitar after the girls shared their stories and watched a softening take place in the eyes of these innocent, broken and lost young girls.
They were engaged and curious. Some even tried to sing along to the songs.
Through broken english and a khmer translator, we begin to hear these women’s stories. Some had children. Some had lost their parents. Some were very young and living under the pressure of negative influences. The majority openly expressed that this lifestyle was the only way they knew how to survive. Joe extended the invitation for us to take down their name and number and pray for each of them. I don’t know if they fully understood the weight of our offer here, but I do think they understood the reality of hope, their worth and the possibility for a different way of life, even if they didn’t know what it was in this moment. Because nearly every girl in the room raised her hand in the remaining time we spent with them. They requested prayer for a new job, for a way out.
With about 5 minutes left of our 2 hour time slot, one of our men took a great leap of faith and expressed he had something to share with these women. He made his way to the front of the room and stood in front of these women with hesitation yet courage like I’ve never seen before. He shared part of his story and read lyrics from a song that changed his understanding of worth, belonging and love in Jesus during a really dark season of his life.
They went something like this…..
I see shattered
You see whole
I see broken
But you see beautiful
And You’re helping me to believe
You’re restoring me piece by piece
What was dead now lives again
My heart’s beating, beating inside my chest
Oh I’m coming alive with joy and destiny
Cause You’re restoring me piece by piece
There’s nothing too dirty that you can’t make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean.
With tears streaming down his face he reassured these women that they are cherished by God. That no matter how broken or dirty or lost they may feel, God cleanses each of them with his mercy. He told them that even though they don’t know him, he loved them. That we love them. That they are worthy of something more than this life they are living.
That’s the reality of it all. No matter how lost we may feel, no matter what amount of sin we choose into, or shame we carry as a result, God cherishes us. Part of Jesus’ mission on earth was to seek out those considered to be outcasts, untouchable and disposable by society. Through his deep love and compassion for them he sought to remove those labels once and for all. I am honored that God lead us here tonight to remind these women that He labels them as loved, honored, worthy, beautiful, valued and cherished.
That’s how powerful God’s grace is. That’s how steadfast His love is. That’s how faithful his promises are. Nothing we do can separate us from his love.
Nothing.
