Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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Pattaya, Thailand: there are so many words to describe this place. I can see why so many people come here for vacation, the beaches are absolutely beautiful.
 
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It is also a hot spot for sex tourism.

We are working at the Tamar Center, a ministry through YWAM and it is located right in the middle of a major red light district. When we first walked on soi 6, I could feel the heaviness of the darkness that goes on. Even in the morning there are women sitting outside the bars inviting people to come in. By mid-afternoon it is full of traffic from girls to sex tourists, street vendors selling food and regular tourists walking by on their way home from the beach.

On our first day here we took a walk on the beach and as we started our walk I prayed that God will give me His eyes and I was reminded of these lyrics from Brandon Heath:

Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the one’s forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what’s underneath…

So, as I was walking on the beach, I looked into the eyes of all the people that I saw. In the eyes of the girls I saw fear, hopelessness, sadness, shame, loneliness, brokenness… In the eyes of the men I saw a wolf-like hunger and it kind of scared me. I also saw loneliness.
 
I saw a lot of other things that disturbed me, as well. I saw an old western man probably 70, walking with a young Thai woman, probably in her mid 20’s. The man was walking with a stroller and inside was a precious baby child.

A few days later I was thinking about all the things I had seen and I thought back on that image and as I was beginning to get sick to my stomach, I thought of Ruth who was a young Moabite and Boaz who was an older Jewish man. He was her redeemer and through their son would come King David and eventually the Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

I do not know this couple, and it’s because I don’t that I can’t pass judgment on them. Instead of seeing something disturbing though, maybe their story is similar to that of Ruth and Boaz and not one that is completely perverted.

Most women in Pattaya are not forced into prostitution, but they have chosen it, because they see it as the only way to support their families. They come hoping for a good guy to fall in love with them and provide for them. This man probably sees his girlfriend/wife as her redeemer, and my prayer is that this child will have hope in a better future. A life much different than it’s mothers.