Yesterday morning we hopped on a bus and took a two-hour ride to Pattaya. Since we knew it probably wasn't the best for us to travel there at night, we took a daytrip because we wanted to see the place that we hear so much about, as it is infamous for its abundant sex industry and as the location where sex tourism in Thailand originated. When we first began walking along the coast, around 10 am, our first reaction was that we saw the most Westerners that we had seen since coming to Thailand. The second reaction, was that they were all men. We continued strolling along the coast, seeing some men hand in hand with Thai women, but not wanting to assume that they were johns. At one p0int, we stopped to just observe our surroundings, and one couple caught our eye. The man was openly feeling her chest while they faced the main road. Angered, we realized that we were seeing what we had come to see, and it simultaneously broke our hearts and angered us. While we sat there observing, a man walked by us and gave us a look that I hope we never experience again. I felt like a piece of meat being graded the way he looked at us and took a seat nearby us- our cue to get up and continue on our way. As we walked along the beach pathway, we noticed women sitting around who seemed to be waiting for something- to be approached by a man, or for nightfall to come. It seemed that there wasn't much else for them to be doing and there was a stillness and sadness in the air.
We made our way to Walking St, the main hub of the night scene. After 9pm, this road is closed off to vehicles and becomes one large party full of neon signs, bright lights, go-go bars, beer bars, and nightclubs. As we walked through this street, though it was only about 11am, we could picture the change it would take later that evening as activity picked up. It's amazing the difference that nightfall brings.
From this experience, in the little that we saw, we recognize the need to minister to the men. They are, of course, the driving force behind this industry as they search to fulfill innate desires and fill holes. We realized that there are so many organizations driven towards rescuing women and preventing girls from entering this atrocious trade, but there are significantly less targeting the johns, the men who are fueling this industry. We would not be on the mission that we are on without the men, and these women would not be in the position they are.
We ask that you would be praying for these women whose worth has become objectified, and for these men who feed the industry. That these men would be able to fill the holes and satisfy the root of what brings them to these places instead of searching to fufill them by physical means. That this ministry would be available for both to find their worth in Him.
