Sex for Sale (Part 2)

300 Baht= $10.

Ten dollars. Ten dollars is the price to take away a human’s dignity. Ten dollars is the price to devalue another living being. Ten dollars to take something God created as beautiful and turn it into something disgusting. Ten dollars is what you receive to give away a piece of yourself to a stranger.

Some are forced to do this, some have no other choice, and some have chosen this. No matter what the reason is- emptiness is the result. As you walk down the street, you are called to by women and the lady boys- and if you actually can make eye contact, you see emptiness.

I’m not telling you this to be dramatic or just to write a blog that gets a lot of hits. This isn’t drama or just a story. This is reality for countless men and women. It’s reality to dance around in little outfits for lusting eyes. It’s reality to surgically alter yourself to become a woman. It’s reality to bribe a corrupt cop into turning a blind eye to your bar. It’s reality for the bar owner and pimp to be a cop. Here, reality makes you think there is no hope. Here, reality makes you think there is no way out. And it’s not just here in Pattaya. It’s everywhere. Did you know Ohio has the biggest sex trafficking ring out of all the states in the U.S.? This hopelessness is everywhere.

But glory to God, the Creator and Restorer of life. Of hope.

This week we went to a bar and just talked with women. We asked about their lives. Their names. We invited them to English classes. The Tamar Center invites the women to English classes and works to get them plugged in with the ministry. From there, women can work at the coffee shop, in the card making shop, or learn to work in the salon. This week we also worked with the ladies making cards. We asked about their lives. Their names. And so we started seeing hope. Hope is the opposite of empty. When you look in the eyes of a woman who just sold a piece of cheesecake as opposed to selling herself for a profit- that’s where you see hope instead of vacancy.  

Here’s one story. One woman we met told us her story and it was incredible. She came to Pattaya from the northeast to make money for several years. She prostituted herself and eventually contracted HIV. When the bar found out, they threw her on the street, so she returned to her home in the northeast. Her family did not accept her because she had “dishonored” them, so she returned to Pattaya with no hope. Somehow she found the Tamar Center and started taking English classes. They plugged her in with the ministry and there she met Jesus. Once she became a Christian, she realized that she needed to forgive her family and the men that gave her HIV. She returned home and told her family about Jesus and they all became Christians. She also had a chance to share with the communities about what happens here in Pattaya and raise awareness. She has had the opportunity to share Christ with her community and be proactive in preventing the girls in her community from following the same path. She has now returned to Pattaya and is ministering in the bars and to other women. She tells them her story and about the hope she has. Even though she has HIV and it seems like she has no hope, God is using her in amazing ways to change her life, her family, her community, and other prostitutes here. It’s amazing J.