HUMAN TRAFFICKING: the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor; a modern-day form of slavery; and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world and is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest, after the drug-trade.ual exploitation or forced labor; a modern-day form of slavery; and the fastest growing criminal industry in the world and is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest, after the drug-trade.
Get
this though, what we’re seeing here is women who have purposefully
come to Phuket from poor towns all over Thailand. They just want to
make some money and take it back home to live with their families. They choose to work in the bars to draw customers in and potentially go home with men in exchange for money. They aren’t slaves for the most part. You may think, “Well if
they’re choosing it, then there’s bigger issues at hand than what I
can deal with.” Excuse me? Have you met Jesus? Has He radically
changed your life? Okay then, you should be able to muster up
all the “leverage” you need to talk to someone about coming out
of that lifestyle. If you think you need a
little more than Jesus to seal the deal, then I’m tempted to
wonder…have you really encountered
Him?
I’ve
been wondering, “How can I do this ministry? I’m only here
for a month. I need more training, resources, courage…” Here’s
the thing I need to remind myself. SHE Thailand is the gateway out.
They’re staying here for the long haul, they’re trained, they’re staffed, and they do this all the time. Ironically, all I’ve heard them
say is, “Cover this in prayer and listen to the Holy Spirit.
It doesn’t really work any other way.”
That’s
it. I’m not responsible for dragging anyone out of a bar, leading
every single woman to Christ, finding her a new way to make a living,
or an answer to how she’ll feed her fatherless child. It doesn’t
sound like much, but I’m just being myself, covered in prayer before,
during, and after, being the love of Jesus that I already know.
Mark and Sharon run SHE and they work hard to put things in place for
women who choose to leave that lifestyle behind. But they can’t do it
all. There are 1,000 + women working on this one road in Thailand.
What is needed are workers, people who will carry love, the love of
Christ, to each woman. That’s why AIM sends Racers all the time.
The
pressure is off. I can totally do this.
The
LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of distress.
Those who know your name will
trust you, for you have not forsaken those who seek you, LORD. Psalm
9:9-10
