Kathy's Next Steps

Things aren't always Black and White

It’s deeply disturbing, I thought as we approached a child dancing on top of a battered plastic red stool in front of the Nana Plaza.

As we came closer, it was easier now to see, this was not a young girl, but a young boy. He appeared to be twelve or thirteen years old? His brown skinny legs and lanky arms moved slow, but awkwardly in the nightlights as he tried to mimic the rhythmic sensual moves of the women who work this area.

His bare, grimy feet managed to keep balanced on his 10 inch, make-shift stage. He wore a short, sheer “nightie” styled dress and his childlike face was smudged with too much makeup. It was a sight hard to describe, warped and full of disparity.

As my team mates began to engage this young boy in a conversation, he slowly climbed down and sat on his small plastic stool. He was hungry. In his troubled, young mind, I’m sure this seemed like the solution. There were no parents there to help him. He had no one to cook him a hot meal, draw him a bath or read him a story before climbing into a soft bed. Who did he belong to? For a small fee, apparently anyone!

Did all those sitting, watching from the crowded bars across the way, think this was just one more “bizarre” form of nightly entertainment in Nana Plaza?

The work we do here in Bangkok isn’t glamorous; there are times we struggle with how to handle these heart breaking situations. Everyday, women and young children are exploited on the streets in our neighborhood.

How do we keep from becoming callused to the frightful things we see daily? How would Jesus respond to these situations? What are the best long term solutions to such problems? The answers are not always black and white.

Sometimes ministry is simply loving the one, showing compassion to a confused, frightened little boy, offering some kindness and a few grilled meat-kabobs.

It seems like so little… how we long to do so much more.

Love, Kathy