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| Our last night at Samaritan Creations they had a very special goodbye for us |
However, our last night in Bangkok we decided to buy a dancer and take her out to eat. Similar to the servers in bars, a customer will select a dancer he wants and she will accompany him. Dancers receive a higher salary than servers but must go out with customers, whereas the servers can choose not to. After we had witnessed the very visible unhappiness of dancers previously, we hoped to talk with one. No bars were open, though, due to a Buddhist festival. Which is how we decided to stop when we saw a dozen or so prostitutes outside a hotel.
As groups of men came by to select the one they wanted, two of us approached a woman and asked if she wanted to go with us to dinner. The price for an hour was close to $70, and she didn't seem too interested. We talked to another. Same price, as determined by the pimp (who was an older woman) standing next to her. This woman, though, seemed to curiously wonder why we might want to just buy her dinner and talk with her, and looked like she longed to find out. But we walked away, not expecting that high of a price.
While walking away, I kept picturing the way she looked at us. Is not a soul worth any price to save? I reasoned that if I only knew the result of the conversation it would be an easy decision whether or not to invest that money. What a great expression of love it could be, to buy her dinner, listen to, and care for her, rather than use her for sexual pleasure.
So we prayed. God, keep that woman there if you want us to take her out; otherwise, take her away. We walked back.
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| The ladyboy we purchased. Pray for his growth as a believer! |
She was gone. I was ready to leave, but the girls pointed out another girl. I agreed and we walked up to the ladyboy (which I assumed based on his height) and took the 21 year old to McDonalds. We got to know him and how he was working to support 8 family members still in his hometown and hoping to save money for college. He didn't like the job but felt he had no choice due to the money. He felt ashamed and often wasn't treated well once a customer found out he was a guy. We shared the love of our Father and that Christ came to forgive his sins and make him new. Growing teary-eyed, he prayed with us to receive Christ. We gave him the number of a woman involved with a ministry for ladyboys in Bangkok and encouraged him to call her the next day.
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| Trying to keep the kids occupied while we talked with an adult |
We witnessed a lot of heart breaking circumstances in Bangkok. Women feeling trapped and resorting to selling themselves, others enjoying the money that comes with those jobs, broken men searching for intimacy and fulfillment as customers of these women, neglected children in the slums, and people attempting to reach enlightenment through "making merit" by buying alms for monks or giving money to temples.
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| A spirit house, outside most homes and many businesses with the idea that the nicer they are the more likely that bad spirits will live in them instead of their homes. Incense, drinks, and fruit are offered on them. |
Yet hope exists. We saw women transformed by Jesus Christ and living with joy at Samaritan Creations, children experiencing the love of God at the slum church, and other signs of the kingdom of God transforming places of darkness. May that continue.
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field." -Matthew 9:37-38
