So…what happened as we spent our final days in Chiang Mai, Thailand? I don't think I could put it any better than Hannah did on her blog. So, with her permission, I've reposted her blogs here so you can read all about Rika*, Doi*, Gaye*, and Puhn*. (*names changed). Read on to find out how God has used the short time we've had here to change the lives of four women in the red light district…
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(from Hannah's blog "Break my heart as you heal theirs (Part 2)")
I have seen so much heartache this month. When “boyfriends” leave my friends at the bars they feel it. I stopped to visit Rika* the day after her “boyfriend” of 3 weeks left to go back to Canada. She laughed an empty laugh and said, “I so drunk already. Last night Michael* leave and I have big cry.” She clung to my arm and whispered in my ear, “Hannah, my heart hurt so much. I think I have broken heart.” When she explained this to a friend, she told Rika that it was her fault. You never fall in love with a customer, everyone knows that.
This idea of masking your feelings, of shutting the world out and hiding inside yourself was brought up by another girl, Puhn, from a different bar. One night we had already seen Rika for a bit and decided to go to a new place for the last hour of our ministry time. I saw the sign for one place and thought it would be good to try out. When we came back down the street it was a little busy and kind of crazy. As we stood awkwardly in front of the bar we were welcomed in by a peppy and friendly girl named Gaye. We met Doi, Puhn and Gaye that night. Doi, the older one, being in her forties and unable to speak much English, simply smiled a lot. Gaye was all over the place….laughing, drinking, calling to men on the streets, she’s full of spunk. Puhn is mostly behind the bar. She takes our orders of pineapple juice and hot tea. Steph actually gets milk with hers in a shot glass on the side!
These ladies are anxious to talk, but given the setting, topics of conversation are limited. After an hour we find out that Gaye is married to an 87-year-old English man and she has three Thai children. She wants to marry one of my brothers and keeps asking when he can come to Thailand. Anne has been volunteered to marry Doi’s son, who is currently 8-years-old, but she has to wait 20 years for him to grow up. Puhn, 35, has an ex-husband who is 74, with whom she shares custody of her 8-year-old son. She also has a boyfriend in his fifties who is from the States and has four children of his own.
Over time we pass by their bar, sometimes intending to go to places further down the street, but we are always overruled. They spot us instantly, even from the other side of the street and they yell to us, “Young sister! Young sister! Come here!” We laugh and go on in. Each time they open up a bit more. It’s incredible and by the last time Puhn actually asks us on a date! She says, “Just me? Can Gaye come too?” We say yes and ask if Doi is free as well. It’s like children laughing on Christmas morning, the excitement is in the air.
Anne, Steph and I went to pick them up from the bar last night, our last night in Chiang Mai. We came in and Puhn was using the mirror behind the counter as she sat to straighten her hair! Gaye comes over, gives us some water while we wait and goes to find her perfume. She changes dresses and both of them look for shoes. They call Doi, who is running late and laugh about how she’s usually slow to get places. Necklaces are passed around and belts added to their outfits. Gaye arrives, smiling as usual. We tell them they all look beautiful. We pay the bar fee for all three of them and set out on our adventure.
Puhn tells us we’re going to eat at the White House. I bust out laughing and explain to her that in America, the President lives there. When we get out of the taxi I’m met with a great graffiti image of Obama and a sign that reads, “The White House: Chiang Mai.” Anne and I immediately reach for our cameras amidst more chuckles. This will be fun.
Gaye, Steph and Doi at dinner.
Puhn, me and Anne.
At our White House dinner! Back Row from left: Doi, Anne, me, Puhn. Front: Steph and Gaye.
We sat down on the deck overlooking the river to eat and had just started to share Doi’s fish platter when the wind started blowing and tiny flowers rained down into our rice bowls and drinks. We fled for cover under the roof. I ended up across from Puhn, Steph was next to Doi, Anne next to Gaye. In the hours that followed we shared lots of laughter, different dishes, and stories. I found out that Gaye and Doi had worked in the rice fields before their days in the bars. There was a long time where I was completely zoned out except to listen to Puhn’s story. We talked forever about her life and then she brought it up. “When you work in the bar you have to forget your troubles. You put your problems behind you and go to work. You don’t share your feelings. You don’t talk about your problems.” I asked her who she could share her troubles with. Asked her if she had any friends. And then I told her what I’d been wanting to for weeks, “Puhn, when I have troubles I talk to Jesus. He always listens to me and takes care of me. Do you know Jesus?” She says yes, that her boyfriend from America is a Christian. She asks, “All of you Christian?” I tell her yes and we start chatting away about the gospel, about Jesus and Buddha, about heaven, karma, everything.
The Lord brings something to my mind…a drunken conversation at the bar with an older customer. I hear Gaye’s voice, “As long as he has a big wallet.” It’s countered by Puhn, “I care about his heart. If he have a good heart, his wallet doesn’t matter.” I reminder her about this conversation. “We all have bad hearts on our own, Puhn. It’s when Jesus lives inside of your heart, that’s when it’s good. When you have troubles and your heart hurts, and even breaks, Jesus can come in and fix it, make it new again.” She has already had a few drinks, but her eyes show intense concentration. She’s hanging on every word, trying to understand, to hear more about this Jesus. We talk about karma, how if you do something bad, bad comes back to you. “That’s the funny thing about Jesus, Puhn. When you do bad he gives good. That’s grace. He is always good no matter what we do. He loves you and thinks you are so beautiful.”
The night draws to a close as live music starts up and the girls sing along to a few of the songs. We leave the restaurant and all six of us pack into a tuk-tuk, laughing as we try to fit. When we reach the corner where it’s time to say goodbye there is sadness, but there are also many hugs and promises to keep up through email. Before she leaves I tell Gaye, “You are beautiful.” She looks away, with her eyes on the sidewalk. I tell her again and look into her eyes, “You are beautiful. You believe me?” Her laughing manner is gone and her eyes answer my question. Thank you, Lord. She knows it’s true.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
– Psalm 9:9-10
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. – Psalm 34:5
