As I prepare to leave Thailand in just a few short days, I wish I had a storybook ending to write about. I wish I could tell you stories about how we built strong relationships with girls on Bangla Road and how we saw the Lord bring them out of the bars and are now seeing them be transformed by His love.
I am walking away from this month with lots of stories. But the stories I have don’t have storybook endings; not just yet. I know and I trust that God is working. He is pursuing these girls and He will never stop pursuing them, no matter whether they choose to come out of the bars or not. They are His beloved creations and He loves them so deeply. He let me have a glimpse of His love for them this month, and that small glimpse has changed my perspective forever. It breaks His heart to see their broken lives, and He wants so much more for them.
As I prepare to leave Thailand, I have struggled with what I haven’t seen almost as much as I have struggled with what I have seen. It was hard to see all of the immorality, perversion, lust, drunkenness, confusion, brokenness, and shame. These have been hard for me to see and hard to deal with. My heart has broken over and over for their stories and their broken lives. But I always hoped to see the opposite; I hoped to see the redemption, the restoration, the hope and the fulfillment of something more for the girls I have gotten to know and love. As I walked away from Bangla Road for the last time last night, I struggled with the fact that I haven’t seen those things that my heart desires so much for them. I had to consciously choose to walk in victory, because my heart felt discouraged and defeated. Discouraged that the girls I love were still standing behind the bar counters as I walked away from them.
