Just a Mirage

Bangla walking street, a 0.2 mile long stretch of road filled with over a hundred bars. By day it’s just bars and some shopping, but at night is another story. At night it’s bright lights, loud music, sex show signs being shoved in your face, women in bars all wearing the same uniform, men everywhere, women in boxes, and a lot of lonely people. It’s a mirage. It’s alluring. And it’s fake. But I get it. I get why people come. It’s fun, anything goes, if you’re lonely women are all over you, and you’re pretty much accepted for anything. But do you want to know what I see? I see old men still wearing their wedding ring and yet paying for a woman. I see men passed out at the bar at 4pm. I see no smiles on the girls dancing on the bar. I see the girl in the box drugged and spinning around a pole. I see kids walking down this road with their parents and seeing every part of this. All I can see is a lot of broken people.

I think it’s easy to have anger toward the men that frequent these places and I definitely find myself getting angry, but even then my heart can’t help but go out to them. How broken they must be to get to this place. I found out recently that there is a high amount of tourists that commit suicide here. That tells me these men are at the end. This is their last bit of living and feeling “love” before they end it all. They’ve lost hope. They’re lost and hurt. They are simply looking for love and hope, unfortunately in the worst place. They’ve lost their original design, and their identity and it’s turned them into something they were never made to be. God has called men to “love their wives as Christ loved the church”, to lead women, and to protect women. Unfortunately satan has taken this and skewed it. He has convinced these men that women are objects for their sexual pleasure, that they can control women and prey on them. It hurts to know that satan has ruined such a beautiful calling on the lives of these men to something that destroys themselves and women. I’ve had the honor of talking to quite a few men while I’ve been  here and I pray that God uses everything for his glory, that something I say or do sparks something inside them to search for Jesus. I pray that every man that walks these streets and all around the world would come to know Jesus and their God given identity.

My heart breaks for the women here. It’s not all sex trafficking, a lot of women choose to sell their bodies to make extra money, and I get that. It makes sense. You can sell one beer once, but you can sell your body over and over and over again. But the cost is so much greater than all the money in the world. These women are dehumanized completely. They wear these matching outfits that consist of matching crop tops or bras and booty shorts, or sailor themed lingerie. It’s like the bar owners are making their merchandise look the best it can so it sells. These girls are treated like an object and tourist attraction. You can buy a girl for around 1000 baht, which roughly 30 USD. Can you imagine being told that you’re worth $30? Having someone walk up to you, look you up and down slowly, and then proceeding to ask, “how much?”. Women are not products. She is not her price tag. These girls are incredible people. They have families and kids. They have cats at home that they love. They like spicy food and papaya salad.  We sit and talk with these girls every day. I can’t do much but I can love her. I can talk with her for 30 minutes about her cat, or her kids, or about how she wants to go back to her hometown, own a farm and start a bakery. I can give her a rose with no strings attached. I can smile. I can be a safe place for her. I can intercede on her behalf. I can tell her she is beautiful day in and day out and pray that one day she knows that she’s worth so much more than any price anyone could place on her. I can tell her she’s known and she is loved. I pray these girls come to know the love of Jesus, that they walk away from this life, or get saved from it, and I pray God restores every broken piece and convinces them that they are priceless.

Bangla street is a mirage of sexual fantasy, love, fun, opportunity, and hope. But reality is that place is empty with nothing to give but destruction. So until Bangla street shuts down and things are as they should be Jesus won’t stop. Jesus is here and the victory is here for the taking. So whether it’s me and my team or a whole different set of people, God is using us and He is doing a good work.