Way outside my Comfort Zone

Our first night of outreach in Thailand was with the MST Project. I found myself at Nana Plaza in one of Bangkok's red-light districts, and I felt pretty awkward & unprepared for the evening. The sights, sounds, lights, crowds, noise... everything about the place was pretty overwhelming. I knew that we were just a few blocks from NightLight, and that much of the jewelry I sell is made by girls who once worked right here. But we weren't there to talk to the girls that night... MST stands for Male Sex Tourist, and we were there to talk to the men.

When I first learned of this project last year, I was stunned. Why on earth would someone want to go to the bars, to reach out to these men? Weren't these men the enemy? The ones who destroyed the lives of the girls I worked so hard to help, the ones who created the demand for young, beautiful girls who exist to satisfy their needs... these were pedophiles & disgusting men... yes, definitely the enemy.

The following was written by one of their staff members, and pretty clearly explains the WHY behind what they do~

"I believe that some of the men who come to Thailand looking for sex are hurting and in need and are trying to fill that need & hurt with love and intimacy. Yet, the love and intimacy that they seek in a red-light district is not the answer. When I first started this ministry there were a few people who told me that there was no hope for these men, that they were better left alone or ignored. But where is the compassion of God in that? I do not look at these men for where they currently are but rather for where they CAN be with a transformed heart... I believe that it is our responsibility to go to these men, when very few will, and bring the love of God to them..."

Wow.

Most of the men we talked to were not interested. Some were curious. Some antagonistic. And one young guy seemed a little embarrassed, maybe we reminded him of his mom & sister back home? And then we met Tom*. He was an older man, from the USA, and seemed to really want someone to talk to. Superficial conversation soon changed to deeper things & Tom shared with us that he comes there often, looking for friendship, for companionship. He told us he is lonely & that he comes, even though he knows this isn't the answer. As our time with Tom ended, cell phone numbers were exchanged & plans for coffee or lunch another day were made. I stopped and prayed for Tom, right there on the sidewalk in the red-light district of Bangkok, that he would find what he is looking for, the love that he is seeking.

Wow.

I am grateful for the chance we had to meet the MST team & to see God's love extended to men that I would never choose to extend it to. I was convicted. I was challenged. And I hope that I was changed.

*Not his real name

Thoughts about Thailand (Part 1)

My time in Thailand opened my eyes to a number of things, which I will attempt to write about over the weeks ahead. One of the issues I really couldn't get my mind around is the connection between human trafficking & prostitution. Where, exactly, is the line between them drawn? Or is there a line?

Some of the items we sell are made by women who have left the Commercial Sex Industry in Thailand. These women were not locked up, not chained to a bed in a brothel. They were free to walk away from what they were doing, so by definition, they were not "slaves". People have asked me why I sell these things... and questioned the connection between these organizations and those working with survivors of trafficking. After all, these girls were clearly not victims, since they had "chosen" their vocation. I often struggled in my attempts to find an answer to these honest concerns.

Now, I can't wait until the next person asks me, because I think I have some answers for them...

Thailand is a Source, Transit & Destination country for Human Trafficking, with Thai girls ending up all over the world. A majority of the women & children trafficked into Thailand are from Burma, Laos & Vietnam, and these are clearly victims. But what about the Thai girls who have CHOSEN to work in the bars?

Thailand has an estimated 2 million prostitutes. Pattaya alone has a multi-billion dollar sex industry, street after street is lined with bars & massage parlors. Everywhere you look, there are older American & European men walking hand in hand with young, beautiful Thai girls. These girls could walk away from their profession if they chose to, and you can't help but ask yourself why they don't?

Most of the girls we met were from Northern Thailand. They come from rural areas, where there is much poverty, little education & very few opportunities for young women. And without exception they work to send money back home to their families. In Thailand, a daughter is expected to provide for her parents, and it is often the family who sends their daughter to the city, to Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket, to sell themselves in the flesh trade. I personally cannot understand how a mother or father could do this, but that doesn't change the fact that it happens everyday.

These girls will tell you that they chose what they are doing. But if you ask them what their other options were, about the other things they could have chosen... they will tell you they had none, that the Sex Industry WAS their only option.

I do not believe any little girl dreams of being a Prostitute when she grows up. I also do not believe any of these women really CHOSE what they are doing... it's more like prostitution chose them. Yes they can walk away, but to what? Poverty. Hunger, for themselves & their families. The shame of not providing for their parents.

I am so proud to sell jewelry made by the beautiful women at NightLight Designs in Bangkok & SHE Thailand in Phuket, as well as the greeting cards made by the girls at the Tamar Center in Pattaya. I am so blessed to be able to stand with these organizations, as they work to offer the women a CHOICE! Because when they are offered a real choice, perhaps for the first time in their lives, they are finally able to walk away. They actually DO have a choice now, and I applaud those who are choosing FREEDOM!

Leap and the Net will appear...

"Leap and the net will appear"...I read that once, a long time ago & have never forgotten it.

So often, we know what we are called to do. We know that next step we are supposed to take. We know what God is asking of us.
And yet... we hold back. We hesitate. Second guess ourselves.

Why??

Because we don't see the outcome... where that first step is going to take us. We don't know if there will be a happy ending. If anyone will join us... or if the journey will find us alone.

And yet, the truth is, if we never take that first step... there will be no journey at all. No ending... happy OR sad. And we will never know what God could have done with our lives, if we had just trusted Him.

I want to learn to just leap... believing that the net WILL appear. To take that first step, even if I have no clue where it will take me. To trust that I will NEVER walk alone.

I made the commitment to blog at least every Sunday. I wanted to write about human trafficking tonight... but this is what's on my heart. Perhaps it is my own heart longing to be free, from a different kind of slavery. To be free to follow His voice.

~Today there are more than 27 million slaves in our world. That is more people than were extracted from Africa during the 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.” (Kevin Bales- Disposable People)
~According to a CIA report, 700,000 to 2 million women and children worldwide are victimized by traffickers each year.
~The UN estimates that around 4 million people a year are now traded against their will to work in some form of slavery.
~Trafficking in human beings is now tied with illegal drugs as the 2nd largest money making venture in the world, after illegal weapons.

Slavery. Human trafficking. I expect these topics to be discussed in history books... but as current events? In the year 2010?
When faced with the staggering reality of these facts, I ask myself the question, “What can I do?” What can ANY of us do to fight this evil?

TRAFFICKING IS REAL
SOLUTIONS EXIST
JOIN THE FIGHT

Why am I doing this??

Since writing is one of my absolute favorite things to do, it only makes sense that I would eventually start blogging. And since the issue of human trafficking is what I am most passionate about (aside from Jesus) it also makes sense that this is what I would write about most frequently. So... welcome to my blog! I hope you come back often & that God uses this to encourage you to find your voice in this battle!