around at tables, waiting for male customers to come their way. Fast forward to a week later, at the same bar that you’ve become familiar with, from recognizing frequent customers to knowing who the new girl is. You’re here this time to visit two close friends, who upon seeing you, brighten up and break into huge grins as warm embraces are exchanged all around. You’ve brought them photo albums with memories of a week spent together, and t-shirts that remind you of their style. The next two hours are spent catching up and making jokes; you forget that you’re interrupting their work since the bar has become a backdrop to the friendship that’s been forged. You dread leaving them each night. Spending time with them has been the highlight of your days; saying goodbye will undoubtedly break your heart. 
ch, given we had a limited time to meet girls and make any sort of impact, having spent the first week with the rest of the team helping the Garden of Hope (visit Melissa’s blog on our week there) and the second week having a mega water fight in the city for Songkran Festival. It was truly God’s anointing and blessing by placing two amazing women, Da and Ploy, in our paths. These were the two bar girls we connected with that first night as we made chit chat and played Connect Four with them (interestingly enough, this game is found on the tables of most bars, serving as menu holders and ice breakers). I’m not even sure how we progressed from small talk to arranging to meet up for dinner over the weekend. All I know is that the shift from seeing them as bar girls to friends or even sisters was effortless. Lindsay and I were above and beyond excited to hang out with them any time, day or night, and they were just as open to our invitations, offering both time and ideas. Da and Ploy were set apart from the beginning. They’re young in age and in work experience at the bar, so befriending them was easier, whereas the older, seasoned women have more of both an investment and skill in attracting men. Da and Ploy are also fast friends, having only known each other for two weeks at the bar, and bonding instantly. They cling to each other as lifelines, sensing in one another the characteristics of quality friends – loyalty, fairness, kindness, generosity… Fittingly enough, Lindsay and I are also new but fast friends. The four of us were individuals with separate lives only months ago and were now like sisters, a testament to the power of divine intervention.
Ploy is one of the most mature 22 year olds I’ve ever met, growing up fast due to tough circumstances.. her father died when she was ten, forcing her to sacrifice education to raise her two younger brothers. At 19, she was on her own, working in the city in order to support her family. She’s only been in the bar for a few months, after coming to the conclusion that it’s the quickest way to reach her goal of opening her own supermarket. Everything about Ploy is understated – she’s short, wears no makeup and is plainly dressed, which is unusual considering her job is to entice men. She doesn’t stand out but she’s fierce like a lion. She has such a strong determination to provide for her family. Her younger brothers are her greatest loves.. she has never been in a relationship because she hasn’t found a true gentleman worth giving her heart to. When she smiles, her tired eyes crinkle and her dimples appear. She’s light-hearted and makes you laugh often. She’s also extremely smart – undefeated at Connect Four, she picked up on all the strategies after watching others play. Considering she’s never been to college or had the chance to learn English, she holds her own in conversation. It didn’t surprise me when we were at a waterfall and Ploy managed to scale the rocks like a billy goat in dress shoes, while I slipped wearing my pricey Keens!
Da is the cute one, petite and endearingly sweet. She seems innocent and naïve, someone you want to hold tight and protect like a younger sister. Although she’s only 23, her age and youthful appearance belie all that she’
s been through. A single mom of a three year old daughter, she worked hard at a guesthouse for years, basically running most of the operation. Her most recent stint was as a nanny. We were surprised to find out that Da had only been employed at the bar a week before we met her! She had only recently moved into her own apartment, and since her nanny position ended, she needed a job that paid enough for basic living costs. That’s when she was introduced to the bars and to Ploy. Da also doesn’t fit the bar girl mold – she dresses in t-shirts and jeans, keeps her face bare of makeup, and doesn’t give men any attention. She sits there bored and disinterested; it’s obvious she’s not there mentally and doesn’t want to be there physically. She’s so new to the industry that Lindsay and I have hope that she’ll abandon it just as quickly as she began. Da extended much love and hospitality almost right away, driving us home on her motorbike, inviting us to meet her family, and even cooking a three-course Thai meal for us at the guesthouse. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her friends, sharing her life deeply and openly, and we were honored to be part of it.
We had a whirlwind, packed but fun week of getting to know Da and Ploy.. 
a Korean bbq dinner, picnic and hike to a waterfall, meeting Da’s family, a Thai cooking 101 class (amazing tom yom soup, pad see ew and mango sticky rice), introducing them to email and bowling, shopping, and watching a movie. After full days, Lins and I would visit them nightly at the bar. For a few hours, we served as distractions for them. I think they looked forward to seeing us and being treated as friends and not as prey. I’ll never forget our final night together, bowling with some of our other squadmates and their bar girls, thanks to Darci’s generous supporters treating all the girls to a fun night out. Da and Ploy were so happy, dancing, laughing, posing for pics as they bowled for the first time – they were just girls having fun without the weight of the world on their shoulders. Their joy was contagious.
It’s hard to put 110% of your heart into such a short-lived relationship, not knowing whether you’ll see them again or 
whether your impact has been as great as theirs. But having them say that they’ve never known friends like us and not knowing why, and being able to tell them it’s because of God’s love, is worth ever tear and heart wrenching moment. I’ll never forget Da and Ploy. I hope and pray that they’ll realize that they aren’t damaged goods, but hidden treasure, more precious to God than silver or gold.. that they are greater than their current circumstances.. that their identity is not in being a prostitute or a bar girl, but in being friends, daughters, sisters and a mother.. that their fate isn’t to be wrecked by men but to be wrecked for the ordinary.. that I love them more than words or pictures can express.
