Thailand… oh my Thailand.

Jesus has absolutely etched Thailand’s name on my heart. This country is so unbelievably beautiful — the countryside and the people who live here — and so incredibly special and important… and so deeply conflicted.

On one hand, it is a land of development, where roads are paved and buses are air-conditioned and even huts on stilts have running water and electricity.

On the other hand, it is a land of backwardness, where children run around bar districts barefoot and “keeping face” is more important than a woman’s dignity.

It is a place where appearance is everything and no matter what happens around you, you keep smiling to maintain that Thailand is the Land of Smiles.

It is a place where beer is cheaper than water, and women are cheaper than the room you might take them to later.

It is a place where bars are filled with white men, young and old, who have traveled here for sex tourism and little else. It is a place where the women who bring them their drinks and laugh at their advances are oftentimes married with children… but she left her home to go work in the bars, because maybe her husband is sick and can’t work. Or maybe he doesn’t want to work, so he sent her instead. Or maybe he’s gone and this is the only option left to her.

What comes into clear focus pretty instantly is that this is not an issue of mere exploitation, but an issue of the heart. People look at trafficking as a women’s issue, but it is not just about women talking to women in bars, though that is a large part of it. It is about men talking to men — in the church, in the streets, in the airports. Fathers and sons, brothers and friends — I saw all of those combinations walking the streets of Chiang Mai this month, traveling about on holiday together. And the sad reality is that even if we could pull all of the women out of the bars, they are easily replaceable commodities here and the bars would be back in business within days.

The women aren’t here because they want to be, though many of them start to become accustomed to the money they make and won’t leave because of it… no, they are here because of the demand. Plain and simple — as long as there is a demand for it, trafficking will flourish.

And although Thailand has become the poster child for it, trafficking is much, much larger than a single country. Trafficking spills over into America through the porn industry, into the dive “salons” and “massage parlors” on the side of major highways, into major hubs in Atlanta, Georgia, and Portland, Oregon. This is a battle that desperately needs men to stand up and fight against it. It is a women’s issue in that it is mainly women who are directly affected; however, this is very much a men’s issue in that it will take men to partner with women to end it.

Certainly, trafficking is a serious issue here, but Thailand is so much more than its issues. And the good news is that things are starting to change. I believe that God has looked down and remembered Thailand in His loving-kindness and He is saying, “ENOUGH.” There are scores of bars in Chiang Mai alone — but they are slow. Even in the busiest tourist months of the year, the bars’ business dragged. I believe that the prayers and the battles waged against this problem are effective — things are changing and I got to see that directly in the bar district this month.

Thailand is a place where I see my family standing united against this darkness and fighting for the Kingdom together. It is a place where the Light of Jesus is growing warmer and brighter by the day. I believe that one day soon, Thailand will be seen as a kingdom of more than just smiles and “keeping face.” Thailand is going to be a part of The Kingdom and it is going to be a place of freedom and real, innocent, genuine, perfect smiles instead of smiles that act as a mask.

Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
‘The LORD looked down from his
sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to
death.’
So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD.”
Psalm 102: 18 – 22

Yes, Jesus. Come quickly. Amen.

Original post by Carly Crookston.