Pattaya City Thailand
*An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 men, women, ladyboys, and children working the streets.
*Established as a coastal vacation destination during the Vietnam war, American soldiers would go for a brake and for the women...In fact, many American soldiers are sent to Pattaya today.
*Up to two million tourists visit Pattaya each year, most come because of the night life.
*Prostitution is illegal in Thailand. However, if a man pays a bar fee, he can hire a person out of the bar.
*It costs 300-400 Thai Baht to hire a person from the bar ($10-$15USD).
*A worker can make around 1000 Thai Baht for a hour ($30USD).
{The stats go on a on...and they brake my heart}
They are 21 & 20
*Established as a coastal vacation destination during the Vietnam war, American soldiers would go for a brake and for the women...In fact, many American soldiers are sent to Pattaya today.
*Up to two million tourists visit Pattaya each year, most come because of the night life.
*Prostitution is illegal in Thailand. However, if a man pays a bar fee, he can hire a person out of the bar.
*It costs 300-400 Thai Baht to hire a person from the bar ($10-$15USD).
*A worker can make around 1000 Thai Baht for a hour ($30USD).
{The stats go on a on...and they brake my heart}
In Pattaya is a YWAM base called Tamar Center. Their vision is to reach out to the women and ladyboys working in the bars, and provide them with hope. They do this by going out into the bars three days a week, providing English classes, and twice a year, they have a training program for those who really want to change their lives and leave the bars.
Before going to Pattaya I knew most of the stats. I understood that Pattaya was a city build on the sex industry, and I would be confronting sin face to face everyday. For weeks before going I prayed God would prepare my heart for what I was walking into, and I asked for the covering of the blood of Jesus on my life. Our team met and prayed many times before going, and developed a vision statement.
{We are daughters of God: Image-bearers of His beauty and His holiness. Created by our Heavenly Father for His glory. We are delighted in, loved much, defended relentlessly, and empowered by Him. Because of who He is and the redemption He has brought to each one of us, we can be fearless, we can love the unlovely, and we can see the people of Pattaya through His eyes. We will fight for each other and bear one another's burdens. We will not shrink back from the darkness, Instead, we will turn our eyes upon Jesus and *RADIATE HIS LIGHT*}
~Written by Katelyn Dye
Yet, all of this did not sink into my heart until the first day I walked down Soi Six, heading to the Tamar Center. This one little street in all of Pattaya, is said to have over 50 bars. There are dozens of streets just like this one all over the city. My heart cried out for the salvation, freedom, and hope of these women.
My heart would brake just a bit more every time I would walk the streets. Especially as I started to see familiar faces, and know the names of the women. These women became more then statistics. They became people with stories, family's, personality's and pain; they became friends. I will not soon forget the women on Soi Six, if I ever do.
She is only 18
They are 21 & 20
She came for English class, and got prayed over. Tears streamed out of her eyes, and she said she hates her job. Not ten minutes later she waved to us from across the street, a plastered smile on her face...just another day providing for her family.
All this seems so hopeless, and sometimes I would ask God why?? Where is the justice God? How can these men come and treat these women this way. Please God, show your mighty hand, bring salvation to these women. Be their protector and their provider. Save them from the hell they are living. God, do you hear my prayers? And in His gentle way He would remind me of His grace. He reminded me that if He were to come back today, these women would live eternally in hell. God is being their protector, He is giving them the chance to turn back to Him.
Pattaya is not forsaken, and one day things will change. The prophecies over Pattaya are incredible, and the song "God of This City", was written in Pattaya for Pattaya. God will bring redemption to these people. Until then, I can pray for the ones I know personally, I can intercede for the salvation of their souls. And what a gift that is.
