Valentine’s Day either reminds you how much you’re loved—or
not. It’s an important day for us
to visit the women working in prostitution because it’s one of their quietest
days of the year. The men who
usually visit them are with their wives or girlfriends, and the women often want to
talk about their lonely feelings.
Once again, I went to visit Thai women working in sex clubs
here in Holland. Most came to live
here as the girlfriends or wives of Dutch men. Most met their partners while they were working in
prostitution in Thailand, and thought they were fulfilling their “Cinderella
Story”. The dream of so many of
the women working in Thailand is that a western man will fall in love with them
and take them to his country, where they will live a good life. Of course he will have money because in
their minds, all westerners are rich.
And most importantly to them, they
are sure that he will be happy to give them money to send home to their
families in Thailand.
The man, on the hand, may know how important her family is
to her, but assumes that once she’s far away in his country, she’ll be content
to just take care of him, and the family back in Thailand will fade into the
background. You can imagine the
culture clash that ensues—over many issues. Most of the women I have met here are divorced and are
working in prostitution to support their families in Thailand. They are strong, smart women, but their
low levels of education and insufficient Dutch language skills make it difficult
for them to get jobs other than in prostitution. There are exceptions, of course, including those who are in
partnerships with their husbands in the ownership and running of these “exotic
massage” parlors, as they’re called.
Each year on this day, the organization I volunteer with
carefully prepares lovely gifts, with messages written in as many of the
women’s languages as possible. I
sent the message to Thailand to be translated there into “good Thai”. This year’s message was about “God’s burning
heart of love, simply longing for us to know how much he loves us”!
I had a wonderful day with the women. They are always so delighted when I
come in speaking Thai! In one
club, we were served a fabulous Thai meal, so spicy I had tears running down my
face—loving every bite! We all
laughed together at my dripping mascara.
The women were so touched by the gifts, and over lunch we had some good
conversations. In another club, I
gave the owner a new CD of Thai Christian music that I had brought back from my
last trip to Thailand. I knew that
she really enjoyed it when I brought CD’s to her. She had told me previously that she used to attend church when she lived in Thailand, and that she
would play the CD as she was falling asleep at night. “It brings me so much peace,” she said. She often says that she wants to get
out of this business, but needs to continue making money for 5 more years. She also said that she copies the CD’s
I bring and gives them to 2 of the women working in the club—who also were raised in Christian
homes. She told me about a
Thai Bible study group in her city, and we got excited about going to visit it
together. I often pray for her—God
has had a place in her heart, and I pray that she will recognize how much He
loves her and desires for her to trust Him for all her needs.
Would you pray with me that these precious women would
recognize God’s voice in their hearts?
Thank you for your love and caring for me through the
years! God knew that I would need
a giant community of pray-ers, holding me up, in order to fulfill the Call He
had for me. And for those of you who support me financially, thank you. Because of you, I’m almost at my target
support level. If there are any of
you who would like to help me reach the 100% that I need to continue my
ministry, you can contribute through this web-site, with an on-going or
one-time gift.
Love and Blessings to all!
Lauran
