Proud Supporters of Thai Tatoo Artists of Tomorrow
Tonight we went into the streets behind where we’re staying at the SHE ministry site and spent a couple of hours playing with the kids who live in the neighbourhood. We painted their faces and then they painted our faces, hands, arms and legs (we literally became living colouring books).
Besides being a lot of fun allowing an entire mob of Thai children to decorate our faces does more then give their parents an evening off. Building relationship with these kids and taking the time to get to know them now gives us the ability to provide alternatives long before they are ever faced with the need to work in a bar.
I have now spent several nights visiting the many bars of Bangla road and what surprises me again and again are the ages of the women. Most of them are my age or a little bit older, a few are younger than I am. Almost all of them share the same sad eyes and story. They choose to work there because they can’t find work anywhere else. Poverty or the impending threat of poverty drives them to it. Many women have children to support while others are just struggling to take care of themselves.
All of the women are truly beautiful in a way that completely surpasses their physical appearance. God loves these women SO much, he looks on them with compassion, grace and complete adoration. His heart breaks for them and he yearns to give them a way out. He sees everything that happens to them and even in the darkest and most dire circumstances he is there with them, guiding them into the light.
I will forever be thankful for my time here in Thailand getting to know the women of Bangla but it is time to move on. I leave for Cambodia on February 3rd.
