Crowded bars, loud music, flashy lights, skimpy clothing, makeup, old men, alcohol. These are a few of the things that come to mind when I think of our ministry setting this month. From a distance it looks like just another party scene for tourists who are looking for a fun night after a day at the beach. When you look closer however it is a much different picture. Engaging in conversation, you see the empty eyes of women serving alcohol behind the bar. Desperate women trying to entertain the customers. You see men temporarily fulfilling their lonliness by using these women. To give you an idea of how the system works for the girls, some are employed by the bars for very little, making most of thier income based on the clientele they have for the night. In Thailand, tipping is not accepted, so very little is made on the drinks. Other women are not even paid for drinks, their income is only based on men “buying” them for the night. To purchase a woman for the night, one must pay the bar owner $9 and then they pay the girl whatever price they agree to. Many Thai women are found walking with white men on the beaches, riding on motorcycles through town, eating out at restaurants. These arrangements happen when a woman is purchased for a few days to weeks. Can you imagine being bought by a stranger and being at his beck and call for a night, much less one week? (I sat outside a mall one day watching hundreds of men walk by with a beautiful Thai women on their arm.) Some bars even have rooms in the back. There you sit and see a man purchase a girl, go into a room, and a while later come out with the woman heading back to the bar for the next “client.” In my support letter I quoted 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self- discipline.” I feel it’s so applicable this month. To go out and walk the streets confident in what I believe and what I know of as right and wrong. To believe in the power of our God. One who has power over the darkness of this place, who created this Earth and all that belongs in it, and who could destroy it in an instant if He desired. Power that he is inside of us and will protect us and guide us, who will give us the words to speak to the women. A spirit of love; to love the women but also the men down here as well. Afterall, our greatest command is to love, both the Lord and our neighbor beside us. And not to look on them with judgement, but with a desire for them to seek the Truth. A spirit of self- discipline in not letting what we see influence us to act as the world as well. And finally, not to let ourselves be overcome with discouragement. May this remind you to love those around you. To treat one another with respect as we are all equals and all precious in God’s eyes. Tell those you love that you love them because too much of this world is dying to hear those very words.
In conversation, one hears of 20 year- old women who are forced by parents into the bars to help support family back home. Brothers who are sent to keep tabs that their sisters are doing their job and showing up to work. Children who are left to live with grandparents, never to know their fathers and now without a mother because she has left in search of work. Women who tell you they enjoy their work upfront, but once trust is established, share of how much they hate it. And these are only the stories of the girls out in the open- air bars. For security reasons, this is as far as we are allowed to go. There are many more bars behind closed doors with women experiencing far worse things.
It is so hard to watch. There is so much wrong with this place, and the worst part is that everything is so openly accepted. No one comments about the Lady Boys (men who have had sex changes to become “women”) dancing on stages at one of the main bars. Rather, people crowd around watching, taking pictures, video, completely entertained by it all.
