Thailand's Sex Trade

Most of you know my heart for Thailand; especially for children in need, young mothers and vulnerable women. This is where my heart and desires for ministry come from.

As I have said previously, I have been trying to build relations with various ministries and organisations in Thailand that relate in some way to my passions.

These organisations include orphanages, outreaches in areas of prostitution, hospices and care for families plagued by HIV and outreach within the many hundreds of slums.

However, the more I visit the areas of sex trade the more I am drawn to the girls and young women working there. The emptiness in their eyes and often complete lack of understanding of what they are doing to themselves plagues my mind often. Also the children who are brought up to work in the same trade, some of them beginning in their childhood.

One time I visited one of these areas and chose a less explicit bar to visit and chat to the girls. I had visited this particular place before, with it's stage and poles, knowing that at least the girls are 'reasonably decently' dressed.

But this time I ended up in tears. It was as if God had shown me his heart for the girls I met. Many of them are sweet and friendly but as soon as a man arrives, they are off to make friends with him; leaving our enjoyable conversation to fight and ply for the gentleman's attention. I had never seen the girls through God's eyes before, I remember that 'explicit' night vividly even thought it was a few months ago. My heart will never be the same when I enter the sex trade areas again.

There are women who don't really seem to want to work in the industry that they have found themselves in; the ones who sit to the side not really wanting to be chosen - and those are ones we want to reach out to. The girls looking for a way out, the girls who don't know where to go, who to talk to or what other work options there are.

Recently I visited the areas again, this time with a ministry that go on outreach a couple of times per week. I was quite shocked by the areas we went to. Before this I had only gone to bars (we call them 'girl friend' bars) with pool tables and maybe a stage for dancing but this was different:

There was one long stage for the girls to dance on and each girl had a number stuck on them so that the customers can identify which girl they are choosing. These numbers can actually help the outreach as they can identify the girls they have spoken with more easily (the girls keep their numbers permanently). Men sit in rows while they have a drink and choose their 'date' for the evening. I started to chat with one quiet girl and learned that it was her first night working there, so I invited one of the ministry staff over to chat more in Thai and they had a great chat and exchanged numbers. I finally felt that there was hope especially for the young girls, new to the trade and way of life.

Most of these women, like the one I met, come from northern Thailand. They have families to support and cannot stop working. Many have very little education so are not employable elsewhere. It is up to us bring them to Christ. Please pray for the ministries involved in these areas and also for me as I pray and seek God. I do not yet know if He wants me to get fully involved with this ministry or not. My heart is there but also in many other places.

Rahab ministries or Nightlight websites explain more about the work they are doing here in Bangkok and are just 2 examples of ministries in this area. Wonderful ministries reaching out to these women and children who are stuck in the sex trade.