Lay Down Your Life

This is how we know what love is:

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1 John 3:16

Lay down your life
There are many organizations doing great work here in Pattaya.  They come to serve the poor, rescue women from the slavery of trafficking and share the love of God with the people on the streets.  I come for the children.  It has been so difficult to be on the streets at night and watch them pass by.  I wonder if they are with a parent or someone who is selling them.  At first it is hard to tell but if you look close enough, you will see them.  Children being followed or led around by pimps or mama-sans.  At first it looks somewhat normal but then you have to wonder, why would a kid be alone, or alone with a man in this part of town late at night.  Look closely and you will see so much in their eyes.   The typical  process to buy time with a child on the street is that a man will stop the pimp, inquire about the child and be led to or told to go to a place where they will meet to do whatever it is they bargained for. My first night out on walking street, I saw a little girl, an old man, a mamasan and a transaction.  The street was so crowded and  after the apparent conversation the child was escorted away.  I lost them in the crowd of people. Not too much later, another child passes  being led by a questionable man. As she looks up at me, I could tell she has hand marks on her face.  Since all they are doing is walking on the street, there is nothing the police can do.  The most important thing we can do is watch, identify them, see if we can find an opportunity to speak to them without the handler hearing,  and ask them how they are and if they need anything.  if possible, it is helpful to get a picture of them so the people that work here full time can be on the lookout. The police are incredibly short staffed and the laborers in this field focusing on the children are so few.  That is why the little we can do while we are here is helpful to them.  At least in a tiny way, we can be their eyes and ears. The process of rescue is heart wrenchingly slow and complicated.   The law here regarding this situation is nothing short of frustrating.  In order for the police to take a child they must either hear directly from them that they are being sold and express a desire for help, which almost never happens.   Or they must be caught in the act with a predator.  The chance of a child telling the truth is slim.  They live in terror and most of the time they are horribly drugged so that they cooperate and endure the torture they are put through. It's enough to break your heart in a million pieces,
 As I think about the few people who are working tirelessly on the streets here, I wonder how they do it night after night seeing the faces of these kids and moving through the broken processes of the law to rescue.  What kind of people are these who put aside their entire lives to fight what seems like such an uphill battle for children they don't even know?   I can tell you one thing for sure...these people are rare and they are precious.  They are living examples of the gospel of Christ,  people who have made a choice to lay down their lives, and give up their hearts to be broken if it means that even one little child can escape this terror.

Their efforts are making a difference one child at a time.
They deserve our greatest respect and our utmost support.

Find someone today who is laying their life for others and do something to support and encourage them.
Love from the road,

Julie