Soi Red* (Red Road), lunchtime:
Happy, smiling faces. Nice Thai ladies asking if you want a foot massage. The spicy smell of food in the air. Sounds of clanking metal as vendors set up their booths for the Night Market. Streets full of fun and life.
Same road, after dark:Old men with scantily clad, young Thai girls on their arm heading back to their hotels. Cigarette smoke clouding the air. Thai girls sitting on a barstool applying their makeup for "work" that night. The clinking sound of beer bottles. Buses full of men coming to explore the wonderful "tourists sights" filled with the best girls/lady boys Chiang Mai has to offer.
Soi Red is one of the darkest, most hopeless places I have ever been. The heart of the Red Light District in Chiang Mai. In about 1/2 a mile, there's 75 bars/massage parlors/karaoke bars (almost all just a rouse to cover up prostitution).
Pray for the women that work in these places. Pray for my teammates, that we will be able to not only see the women in Christ's love, but also the men. That we won't allow bitterness to creep in, but to always be mindful that these people, whether they're the men using the women or the women being used, are sinners just like we were--they just don't have Christ yet. Pray my team and I can be a light so bright in such a dark place that people can't help but be drawn to us.
In Christ's love, Kristi