Nearly 2 million people in Thailand have been forced into prostitution, making it one of the most popular places for sex tourism. So to me, it’s great that the WR is trying to make an impact in this country – a country that clearly needs to be shown love the way that God intended for it to be shown.
Therefore, to show you what ministry can look like in Southeast Asia, I wanted to focus on Thailand, because it’s one of the countries I’m most excited about. It should be month 6 (June 2015) for me. Now, I don’t know for sure if I’ll be working with sex trafficking or not. But it’s a possibility.
The first time I realized sex trafficking, and slavery in general still existed was at the Passion Conference I attended was in January 2012. At the conference, they were discussing modern day slavery. Passion shined light on an organization, called End It Movement (if you haven’t heard of them, you should definitely look into it.) The mission of this organization?
“Let’s be the generation to stand up for the 27 million men, women and children trapped in slavery around the world today. In brothels. In factories. In mines. On street corners. In homes. In the shadows, hidden. Yet out in broad daylight, in plain sight here in America. Stand with us. Raise your voice. Use your influence. Join the fight for FREEDOM.”
For some reason, sex trafficking was one form of slavery that really stood out to me. My heart broke as I heard stories about women who had been sold into prostitution. Their hope, faith, belief in the world shattered. I always questioned how I could make an impact on these women. Can I really change anything? I wasn’t sure how. I’m just a college student, and I’ve never seen human trafficking or prostitution up close and personal, but it didn’t feel like a problem I could ignore.
Then I found out about the World Race, and was excited to see that some teams get the opportunity to minister to girls who have found themselves trapped in the Red Light Districts around the world. When I applied for my route, Thailand was a country that stood out to me, because I had read several blogs about how racers have been assigned to focus on sex trafficking for the month. I finally saw a way that MAYBE, just MAYBE I can fight for freedom for these women.
So for you reader’s out there, here’s a blog for you to check out.
It’s written about a Thai girl, named Jo, who some racers found working in a bar in the red light district. The racers took her under their wing, and showed her that Jesus loves her unconditionally – regardless of her past.
http://kaleighward.theworldrace.org/?filename=i-cried-in-the-red-light-district
If you’d like to read more about Jo’s story – check out Kaleigh’s other blog here:
http://kaleighward.theworldrace.org/?filename=running-in-the-red-light-district
For those people who just love to watch a video, (I can’t blame you) check out how one WR team’s day to day life looked in Thailand. Their ministry included prayer walks, painting the walls for their contact, and bar ministry at night.
So this is potentially what my ministry can look like in Thailand. Does it feel like something you’d to support? If so, please consider clicking the “Support Me” link on the left hand side of the page.
2 Corinthians 3:17 – “… and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM.”
