During our second night out into the bars I looked up to the third floor and noticed on a section of the walkway there was a ladyboy doing the makeup for a crowd of ‘women’. “She” had all of her makeup lined on the ledge, and a stool sitting infront of her for her line of customers to sit. For some reason I felt like I needed to go up there, so I grabbed Dre and we darted up the two flights of stairs to the top. With every step higher I felt a heaviness coming upon me, but I knew I needed to continue through this darkness. Once we made it to the top I quickly made friends. The ladyboy doing the makeup was named Non. Non is 35 years old and has been working in that area, doing makeup for all the girls and ladyboys for 10 years. Our conversation that night wasnt too lengthy, but I was able to stand next to her and talk with every girl that was getting her makeup done. It was wonderful and heartbreaking. I talked to girls who ranged from 18-39 years old and have been working there anywhere from 2 days – 10years.
One of the women I had talked to was 39 years old and had only been working there for 1 month. I had no idea what happened a month ago to cause her to come to this, but through our short conversation I learned that her wounds extended many years back and had never healed. She told me about her daughter who died when she was only 3 months pregnant. This memory came back when I told her I was 22 years old, because her daughter would be 21 if she had lived. Its obvious she has never grieved that loss, and if she is still holding on to that, I cant even imagine was else is bottled up inside of her. Our conversation ended when her makeup was done, probably only 5 minutes. But when she got up from the chair to go to work she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I told her that God loved her and I would be praying for her, and then she was gone.
Four nights later we returned to the bars. I wanted to go back to the third floor because not only did I feel some odd connection with Non, I knew her area was a great spot to be to be able to talk to a lot of women. When I returned to the third floor I walked directly over to the line of women waiting to get made-up for the night and tapped Non’s shoulder. She turned to face me with a huge smile and when I asked if she remembered me, she instantly squeeled “PA-ME-LA”. I was so excited that she remembered my name (because apparently it is a hard one here in Asia). We only spent about a half hour up there that night, but it was just enough to make more of a bond with my friend and meet some more girls.
I returned to the bar again the next night. Knowing it would be my last night, Tara gave me some eyeshadow she had bought for me to give to Non. We made our way upstairs and I presented Non with the gift. She took it as me wanting to get my makeup done (and since this was the third time she had asked to do my makeup), I said yes. There was a line of girls waiting to get ready for work, so I told her I had plenty of time to wait. After about an hour of talking with some other ladyboys, I sat down infront of Nan and let her do my makup. Now, I dont even wear makeup at home, none-the-less on the race; but here I found myself, on the third floor of a notorious prosititution area, getting my makeup done by a ladyboy. It was hilarious and slightly ridiculous, but it made Non so happy.
When she finished she handed me back the eyeshadow I had given her, not understanding it was a gift. But when I put it back in her hand she was so excited. At the end of the night Tara and I had moved with one of our conversations across the way, but Non yelled across the balcony for me to come say goodbye to her. She had to leave to go take care of her mother and gave me a big hug. Our little bond means so much to me, and it was hard to tell her that we wouldnt be back. But, I told her that God loves her and I would be praying for her. I joined Tara at a table with three ladyboys who were taking a break from work. Our conversation was brief before the headed back to work, but 10 minutes later they were back at our table. We ended up talking to two ladyboys, Lucky (on the left) and Beer. 
Beer (as the name suggests), was a little under the influence but still able to share her story. She told me she was from the country and had 5 brothers. She was the youngest, and since her mom always wanted a girl, decided to raise Beer as a girl. Now, at the age of 30, she is trying to make money to support her parents. Lucky is only 25 years old and is there looking for love. She used to have an “American husband’, but after living with him for a year and enduring a lot of abuse, that relationship has ended and she is back in the bars looking for a man who wants to take care of her. Tara and I talked with them for about an hour, and even relocated ourselves to chairs next to their ladyboy club when they got in trouble for not being at work. Beer didnt speak English as well as Lucky, so our conversation faded, but she stayed around us until we left. Lucky spoke wonderful English and Tara got into this amazing conversation with her about Jesus. Lucky had actually read the Bible, but thought Buddah had something better to offer. She couldnt understand how God could love everyone, even people who did very bad things. She had no concept of the idea of grace, and has become so broken that she feels there is no way to fix it. I sat there praying as I saw Tara’s eyes well up with tears for this ladyboy. We were able to speak truth over Lucky (except for our 5 minute intermission when she had to go dance for the men in the club, while we prayed that she wouldnt get ‘chosen’), and we ended the night by praying over her. It was absolutely incredible. God is working in Lucky’s life, and I am so happy that we were able to share the love of Jesus for one brief night.
Beer (as the name suggests), was a little under the influence but still able to share her story. She told me she was from the country and had 5 brothers. She was the youngest, and since her mom always wanted a girl, decided to raise Beer as a girl. Now, at the age of 30, she is trying to make money to support her parents. Lucky is only 25 years old and is there looking for love. She used to have an “American husband’, but after living with him for a year and enduring a lot of abuse, that relationship has ended and she is back in the bars looking for a man who wants to take care of her. Tara and I talked with them for about an hour, and even relocated ourselves to chairs next to their ladyboy club when they got in trouble for not being at work. Beer didnt speak English as well as Lucky, so our conversation faded, but she stayed around us until we left. Lucky spoke wonderful English and Tara got into this amazing conversation with her about Jesus. Lucky had actually read the Bible, but thought Buddah had something better to offer. She couldnt understand how God could love everyone, even people who did very bad things. She had no concept of the idea of grace, and has become so broken that she feels there is no way to fix it. I sat there praying as I saw Tara’s eyes well up with tears for this ladyboy. We were able to speak truth over Lucky (except for our 5 minute intermission when she had to go dance for the men in the club, while we prayed that she wouldnt get ‘chosen’), and we ended the night by praying over her. It was absolutely incredible. God is working in Lucky’s life, and I am so happy that we were able to share the love of Jesus for one brief night. Being able to go to the bars this past week has been an overwhelming and heart-breaking experience…and I LOVED it. There is so much darkness and heartache, and the men and women who work there need to know the love of Jesus. “The Well” and other ministries are doing a wonderful job with going into the bars, but there is such a huge need. The Lord is working and it was incredible to be able to be a small part in it. My prayer for these women and ladyboys is that the love of Jesus would consume every part of their lives, that truth would be undeniable, and that they would learn to walk into their true identies in Christ, knowing that there is no shame, but only love, being offered.
