Sadly G.G. has since shaved
his beard and no longer wears the pointed hat but I had the pleasure of getting
to meet G.G. a little bit yesterday as he welcomed me into his home. G.G. is an
incredible joyful man, as are most of the Karen people I have met are, but
sadly his family story is a tragedy all too often told in the villages of
Northern Thailand.
G.G.’s daughter was 18 when
she gave birth to her son Wan Jet, which means 7th day, this past
summer. The child was conceived out of wedlock and the father of the child fled
shortly after conception. She gave birth to the child in the village, stayed
with the child one month before leaving to go “work in Bangkok”. G.G. did not
agree with her decision and wanted her to stay and raise her son. Since she
left 4 months ago G.G. has not been able to get a hold of her on any of the
numbers he has for her. G.G. age is getting to him and he is in a lot of pain
from a tractor accident several years ago. G.G. is doing his best to raise Wan
Jet without his mother so please be praying for him.
G.G. did not say what kind of
“work” his daughter was doing in Bangkok and I don’t want to assume the worst but
rather use this as an example of what often happens.
Our girls from our team are
scattered all around Thailand working in the bars trying to get prostitutes
out. From all the stories they have told and all the conversations I have had
with the locals, the girls in the bar are usually either trafficked in from
B/u/r/m/a (and other surrounding countries) or come from the hill tribes,
usually being forced by their families at a young age to go “make money for the
family”.
It saddens me when I play
with the children in the villages knowing statistically that a number of those
little girls will be forced into that horrific life. But stories like these
from our girls give me hope.
It all began with a dream. A dream to become a nurse. A dream to help people who are suffering with illnesses and give them a hope for a better future. That was the dream of a girl working the bars in Patong when she used to live with her family right outside of Bangkok. But then reality set it that she was going to be the one to provide for her family, she would be the one to send her sisters to university for a good education, that her own parents would send her 12 hours away to sell herself in order to provide. And this girl, being selfless, turned her back on her dreams to live a life of instant gratification for men and lifelong torment for her. Does she want this life? Absolutely not!
This is the woman we have been building a relationship with. She is 22 years old and works every night in the Bars. Her sense of humor lights up the room and her joyful spirit is an inspiration. People naturally flock to her and want to be around her. I know that is how we have felt about her! So day after day of going to the bar to see her we asked her what a perfect day would look like for her. She told us lunch, a movie, and then karaoke. We told her we would love to do that with her and we will take her out to do that. She agreed! New years eve day was going to be our day to show her a good time outside of the bar. A day to feel human again and free. 
We wrote on her hand before we left the bar that night to meet us at 11am back at the bar. So yesterday we got there at 11am like we said we would. 11:20 rolls around and no show, a thread of disappointment ran through us but we did not lose hope. We decided to call her, no answer. 10 minutes later the phone rang… it was her! She said she got held up with a customer but was on her way and wanted to see us! We couldn’t help but jump for joy, while at the same time our hearts broke. Broke for what she has to be put through everyday because her family sent her to do this thing. Around noon she came down the street. She saw us and had a huge smile on her face. We asked her how she was doing? She told us she was tired, especially since she just spent the last week in the hospital with dengue fever. But we were determined to have a good day and spend quality time with her. The day started with some authentic Thai lunch at her favorite place in Patong. After we went to the mall and were going to see a movie. She was supposed to clean the bar at 2 and she told us she would call her boss to see if she didn’t have to come in. That way she could spend the day with us. He told her no, that she had to come clean, especially since her customer didn’t keep her as long as the rest of the girls from the bar. Again disappointment ran through, but still a sense that God had His hand all over her and her life. We walked her back to the bar, gave her a hug, and see looked at us with longing. Longing to stay and just feel alive, feel as if she doesn’t belong to a man for a price, rather a human being who is truly worthy of love, time, and genuine affection. We told her we would come back to the bar tonight and see her then. She agree and off we went.
