A year and a half ago, I went on a Passport trip to Bangkok, Thailand with a team of 11 girls. While we were there, we stuffed dolls, made jewelry, and cut fabric alongside women who came out of sexually exploitative jobs and situations. Samaritan Creations is a ministry in Bangkok that seeks out women working in the bars, and spends time getting to know them and their stories. These women are then offered a chance to live at the ministry and have a stable job where they are genuinely loved and appreciated. Each morning begins with a bible study and worship, along with prayer over whoever needs it. Then English class begins, with each woman taught at their skill level. That goes on for an hour, and then fun classes begin, including ukulele lessons, dance, and art. If a woman has a young child, we would care for them while she studies and works; older children are sent to school with the help of Samaritans. After lunch, work begins with sewing, beading, and stuffing until 5 pm.
Once a week, our team goes out to the bars to meet with women who work there. We break into smaller groups, each group with one of our Thai friends as translator and guide. We choose a bar, sit down, order a drink, and then order a drink for a girl so she will talk with us. Many of the girls who work in the bars do so to support their families back in the villages, and a lot of the time those family members are in debt that is almost impossible to get out of. Working in the bars is one of the best paying jobs in Bangkok, if a woman is bought each night. So she feels stuck in this cycle of helping her parents, but selling her body. Most women when asked say they enjoy their job, even love their job. But their eyes tell a different story. And Jesus has a different story for them, if they would only say yes to Him.
“Patpong is one of the largest red light districts here in Bangkok. During the day, you may miss it if you blink but at night it comes to life. It was during our second week here that my group (Lyndie, Shannon, and Chaney) had the honor of meeting T. We had gone through the routine, sat down, ordered a coke, and began talking with her. She seemed a bit confused at first as to why a group of white girls just came into the bar to sit with her and buy her a drink. In talking, we learned that T (age 19) has two twin sons who are four years old. She told us she did not like her job and she has only been working there for one month. When she spoke about her sons, her face lit up and her whole deminor shifted. It is in talking about what she loves that her beauty was revealed to us. We closed the meeting with a prayer for her and hoped she was really understanding what we were saying. After that meeting we were able to visit her again. She was so excited to see us walk in again that she practically threw herself off the stage to come and give us all hugs. She told us that she couldn’t stop thinking about our group and that she was hoping we would come back to see her. She has recently been contacting us to hang out with her. This is where the real relationship will begin to build. We are praying that there will be an opportunity to spend time with T soon and share more of Jesus’ love with her.”
Blog post by Mandee
Thailand really changed my heart and showed me what really following Jesus looks like. It was the hardest three months of my life, but I would do almost anything to go back to that place and that time again. Below is a video I made last year, but never posted, and links to blogs written by my teammates and myself while we were there.
