Soi Tiger, Soi Lion, Soi Sea Dragon, Soi Eric, Soi Gonzo, Soi Crocodile, and Soi Easy:
These are all the names of roads that come off of Bangla Road, a road in the heart of Patong, which is part of Phuket, Thailand. Now, what is so special about all of these roads? Well, each road contains bar after bar and girl after girl stuck in the sick cycle of prostitution. In total, Bangla Road contains 200 bars in its small stretch and more importantly 1,000 women that think this is their only option for making money.
Last night, my team, which now just includes the four girls of PLJ, went down to Bangla Road for our first night of ministry. During the day, our contact led us through the many bars, and we had the opportunity to pray for the girls, the men, and just the people of Patong as we walked. This first night, it was raining, and I guess the number of people walking the streets was way down, but it was still a lot to take in. During the day, I had kind of felt led to go to Soi Lion, and it turned out the Real Life team who was joining us for the night wanted to start on that exact street.
Through the rain, we made our way to our first site. The Real Life girls who led us brought us to a bar partway down the alley of Soi Lion, and we encountered many of our first bar girls. Quite a few were dancing on the table, and many others were welcoming us in. One look at these girls, and I just wanted to rip them from the life they were living. They were so young and sweet-looking and adorable. Many of them reminded me of girls I’ve ministered in the past in a Bible study I help at. One girl came to me, and we played round after round of Jackpot, a popular game at the bars. She was in her fourties, and it turned out she thought this life was exciting (which was true of many other girls I met). It just broke my heart. I asked her about her family, past jobs, and if she would rather have a different job, but all I really wanted to do was look her dead in the eye and tell her how much JESUS loves her and how JESUS has so much better for her. But I guess, we need to start from the surface and go deeper in our future trips. It is just so hard.
After about 20 minutes, we had to move on to a new bar. We have to do this so we don’t overstay our welcome and so that the owners don’t catch on. It was hard though because I felt I was just starting to get past the surfacy-type discussions.
We moved on to a few bars in Soi Eric, and I had the chance to play a bunch of Connect Four (remain undefeated) with two girls and more Jackpot with two others. Through all the conversations, I could see how the girls may feel trapped. I mean, yes, I see how this life could be alluring. The girls become part of almost a sisterhood and get the chance to get all dressed up and have the attention of many men. However, I can also see how so much pain is masked behind their smiles. They may say it is exciting, but deep down, I could see in the eyes of one girl in particular, that she had so much sorrow. These girls slowly are becoming mere tools rather than beloved daughters who can love and laugh and love.
We will have the chance to return to these bars probably four times a week in the next three weeks. Please pray for divine encounters. Please pray that we have the chance to go deeper with the girls we have already met AND be led to those girls that desperately see the need for more, the need for real love that only God can give. Pray we can find the girls that will be willing to leave this behind and instead come to the jobs that our ministry has set up for them. Pray that they SEE Jesus in us, in our smiles, in our love, and in our compassion.
The funny/ironic thing about the first street we went to being called Soi Lion is that Satan himself “prowls around like a roaring LION looking for someone to devour.” Satan is alive and well and is prowling all the streets of Patong. He wants nothing more than to kill and destroy the lives on the men, women, and lady boys that call this their home. BUT, remember, Jesus is also a LION, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” And this LION, JESUS, is so much greater! This is the lion we need these girls to find!!! Pray hard for us, and follow the LION that is the way, the truth, and the life!!
