Pattaya, Thailand…an experience I will never forget

Pattaya overlooking the ocean

As we walked down the street to lunch from our hotel at about 3:30 in the afternoon, the prostitutes had already started hanging out at the bars and the boardwalk along the beach. My heart just broke! I asked myself several times while walking the streets, “What brings a woman to participate in prostitution?” Unfortunately, there are many reasons. Some women it is by choice. They like the amount of money it can bring them. Others find themselves forced to enter prostitution by their parents because their family needs the money. Still others were abused at a young age and have a low self-esteem so they enter the industry because they are hurt and damaged and don’t think anyone will love them the way they are or they are forced into it against their will. This has become known as sex slavery.

Older gentleman with a prostitute at a bar in Pattaya at 3:30 in the afternoon

Later that evening, we went walking in the Red Light district and saw things I wish no person would ever have to see. Young ladies were throwing themselves on guys trying to drag them into the bar, up a flight of stairs or to play some kind of game with them. There were literally hundreds, if not thousands, of young women and girls selling themselves or being forced to sell their own bodies.

Who takes their kids to the Red Light District? Wow...what has our world come to?

If there ever was a city today that reminded me of the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah, it would be Pattaya, Thailand. After walking through the streets, I was at a loss for words and couldn’t quite process the images and scenery. It was so overwhelming and I honestly wouldn’t even know where to begin except in prayer to ask God what my response should be!  

Ronald McDonald what are you doing in the Red Light District?

The Bible says that Jesus came to set captives free and to heal the sick. I love the fact that God went to redeem the sexually broken throughout scripture. He showed mercy to the lady caught in adultery and the woman at the well. He had compassion on King David and Rahab the prostitute. It is also interesting that King David and Rahab were both in the lineage of Jesus Christ! God is a redeeming God and has provided hope for the people of Pattaya and anyone else who will turn to Jesus Christ in humility.

Will you join with me in saying “Yes” to whatever God is asking you to do? It looks different for each person, but the world will change one person at a time if we all step up to His challenge!

Isaiah records, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV)!

God is looking for available people…willing people…people eager and responsive to His call!