Team Thailand

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause

 I’ve read about red light districts, seen documentaries on sex trafficking around the world and prayed against this injustice. All of these failed to prepare me for the reality we now face, being situated just around the corner from a red light district. To be here is unreal. For me, this has been one of my biggest struggles while being in Thailand. I’ve felt a mix of emotions towards the situation. Most of the time, I feel really numb. It is incredibly hard to comprehend that there are actually women stuck in the trap of prostitution literally feet from me. It’s hard to comprehend the desperate need for money that these women have. It’s hard to comprehend the brokenness intertwined in the whole situation. At other times, I’m filled with anger. Almost every night we see men, from all over the world, leading beautiful Thai women along the streets towards various bars and hotels. I feel so sick when I see this. One night, I even heard a woman in a bar say to a man, “Do you want me tonight?” It breaks my heart and I feel paralyzed, unable to do anything. To be completely honest, there are moments when I feel intense bitterness and rage towards these men, and I just want to stop it all from happening. But I can’t.

 Yet God can. I serve a God who longs for all of His children to experience freedom. My God is against injustice and is working for the redemption of His people. Our team is unable to actually be in the bars reaching out to these people, but God has definitely been leading us to become prayer warriors in our everyday lives. As a team, we are aiming to focus on praying with our eyes open. God has been teaching me so much by being located right in this area of Thailand. For one thing, as I walk by the bars at night, these people I’ve heard so much about now have faces. Rather than sitting in helplessness and fear, God has been calling me to pray for these faces—and prayer is powerful. I’ve also come to realize that I must avoid judging these women. I have no idea what their lives are like, and to pass judgment on them is wrong. I don’t know what it’s like to have a family that expects me to provide for them, no matter the cost. I’ve never had to decide between feeding my children and selling my daughter as a prostitute.

 In 1 John 4:19, we are called to love…because we were loved first. Jesus Christ was sent to save all of us. Therefore, we are to love everyone. As I walk through the streets and look into the eyes of these men, rather than let my heart and mind be filled with hatred, I’m led by God to pray. Nothing inside me wants to love these men…only God can make that possible. God is love and this love is so much more powerful than anything I personally can muster up. I’m not aiming to love the sin and brokenness they are involved in, but to love the person that was created in the image of God. We all sin, and while it looks different in each of our lives, none of us deserve the grace of God…and yet God freely gives us grace. This is seriously incredible! I’ve been praying for a better understanding of God’s love for me.  Have you read Romans 8 lately? If you haven’t read it lately, or haven’t read it at all, I would suggest reading it. That’s some beautiful truth right there. As I am able to understand that I am loved and forgiven because of grace, I understand that these men are also loved and forgiven…only through the grace of God. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, not anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 37-38

Nothing can separate us from God’s love. There is so much hope exploding from that statement. We were created and are loved by an incredible God. This is why we are in Thailand. We are here because we desire for the whole world to know that they are loved. For these women, knowing Jesus loves them and has forgiven their sin would mean freedom from the chains that hold them in prostitution. It’s about finding their identity in Christ and learning that they are truly beautiful. It’s about healing from brokenness and moving forward in life with hope. For the men, it would mean freedom from shame. It would mean progressing towards fulfilling their created purpose of living for the glory of God. Living in relationship with Jesus does not make life about doing anything to become a better person. It’s about what has been done for you and what is being done in you. It’s about the transforming love, freedom, joy and hope that come with knowing you are forever saved.

Thank you for following our blog so far! God has been so faithful every single day and we know He will continue to be. Our hearts are breaking for these people and we are falling in love with this nation. If you have any questions or prayer requests, we would love for you to email us (lucy.a.harig@biola.edu).

God bless.

-Lucy Harig