Back at it
Air travel is a strange and marvelous thing. A few days ago I was on the quiet, green bike path near my in-laws' house in Illinois. Last night I was sitting under neon signs talking to bar girls in Bangkok. Both activities are quite exhiliarating, and it's weird to be able to do both in such as short timespan.
Last night our outreach team of 4 spent an hour or so with 3 women in front of a massage bar. Massage is everywhere in Bangkok, and the majority of establishments are small storefronts offering legitimate Thai massage. I've never liked the thought of someone pushing and poking around on me for an hour or two, so have never tried it. Judy on the other hand loves it and goes as often as she can.
On the other side of things are huge brothels each the size of a Neiman Marcus, that use the term "massage" as a thinly veiled euphemism. Some of the small storefronts also offer "extra service", often belied by a stairway leading to private rooms. The bar we visited last night offers "full service" massage, but tries to pretend there's a legitimate side to it. It also serves drinks downstairs, and has a comfortable deck in front with round tables.
I talked mostly to Na and Nan, both single moms of about 24. We've known both for quite a while. Na is in the small minority of bar girls that actually has a half-decent education--a 2-year degree in marketing. Nan, in the center of the bell curve, finished 9th grade. Last night we also met Ned, about 30, for the first time. All are there for the same reason--they see it as their only option to support their families and send their kids to decent schools. Na had some images and video of her adorable hyperactive 3 year-old daughter on her cell phone, and said she talks to her every day. But being from a distant province, Na won't see her daughter again for 6 months.
It's kind of weird to talk with preciously beautiful creatures such as these and think of the demeaning things they do on a regular basis. But on the other hand I never find such thoughts to be very persistent, because they clearly don't represent who these women really are. In fact our challenge is getting them to understand the very point that they are indeed lovable simply because God made them that way, that they do have dignity no matter how much others may try to steal it from them.
I have a good feeling that we may be seeing a lot more of these 3. We have their phone numbers, and will try to catch them again tonight.
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Reply #1 on : Fri July 13, 2007, 01:48:03