Sweetly Broken.

First of all, I have simply fallen in love with Thailand, the Thai culture and the sweet Thai people. Since we have been here we have gotten to do children’s ministry in a local village, teach English camp and tonight we got to go to the Red Light District of Korat. Children’s ministry and English camp has been so amazing and has made my heart so full but tonight, for the first time, my heart BROKE for the girls we met.

Let me set the scene. We were at a park in the Red Light District. In this park was a festival and a place to worship one of the main idols here in Korat. You could sense the brokenness in this place.

We spent the first hour walking around, praying and handing out invitations to learn English to everyone that would talk to us. None of us really spoke to each other because our hearts were so heavy. We could feel the spiritual warfare that surrounded us; it was something I have never experienced before. I wanted to tell every person I saw that Jesus loved them but I also just wanted to fall to my knees and cry.

There was a pond in the center of the park, this is where the prostitutes and drug dealers hang out so after we walked around that’s where we felt lead to go. We met up with our translator and another girl on our team who were sitting with a woman at the pond. Once they finished talking to her we walked over to a group of three women and a child.

These three women were prostitutes and one of the women had here daughter with her. We said hello and introduced ourselves. The first women we talk to was married and used prostitution as a source of income. The second women we talked to had her daughter with her. She is raising her daughter on her own and is worried about their finances so she has resorted to prostitution. She brings her daughter with her because she has no one to watch her while she is at work. Her daughter sat next to her with a mirror in her hand and was putting make up on, she is 2 years old. We got to pray for her, she asked for us to pray for her finances so she could provide for daughter. The third woman we met found her self-resorting to prostitution because both of her parents passed away and she was left to fend for herself. We got to talk to her and pray with her, she was brought to tears. You could see in her eyes that this is not the life she wants to live. She asked us to pray for a better job. Our translator was able to talk to her about our ministry, invite her to learn English and we got to lay hands on her and pray. As we walked away from these women the first women we met was with a customer, if hearing pieces of their stories didn’t break my heart seeing that did.

When we got on the tuk-tuk to head back to our ministry home I was mad and I was so sad. I didn’t understand how that man could buy her like she was a toy. I was explaining this to one of my teammates when she reminded me not only are these girls broken, lost and in need of Jesus but so are the men buying them. It is so easy for me to look at the women as beautiful and His but it is so hard to look at the men in that way. But, I know that I have to. Those men are my brothers and those women are my sister, I am called to love even when it’s nearly impossible.

So here is my prayer ..

Jesus, let me see every man, woman and child that I get to speak as your son and daughter. Let me learn to love them and be a light no matter what situation I‘m placed in. I pray for the women who are bonded by prostitution. I pray that they can find steady jobs, rest in You and know that their past does not define them. I pray for the men who buy these women. I pray that they find You and in that learn how to love and respect a woman. I pray for my team and I. I pray that You give us courage to go meet these people, ask hard questions and be fearless in the situations You place us in. We trust that You will show up and change lives, thank you for that. We love you, Jesus. Amen.

I invite you to pray with me as we continue to build relationships with these women and share the Gospel in the darkness.

Khob Khun Kah (Thank you),

Kaitlyn