a Christian response to sex tourism

I am invited to a meeting next Friday that sparked my interest and made me aware of some ugly parts of my soul that needed to be revealed.

There is a group reaching out to the men who come to places like Thailand and Cambodia for the purpose of pleasure seeking. This group has an innovative strategy. Operating under the belief that God cares deeply about everyone, they go in to the red light districts and build relationships with the clients. Just reading about the MST project challenged me to view these men in a new light; not as predators, but as broken people suffering from the same things that ail me - brokenness, sin, loneliness and a desire to be loved. Reading the stories on their blog sparked compassion in me that did not previously exist.

It also made me realize something else...the invitation to the meeting was a training of sorts, to answer the question: what should I do in the face of this evil? (evil is not their word, but mine) Following the meeting we are invited to go with the group to the red light districts and start up conversations. That scares me.

I've often wondered what to do in these situations. I've wondered how to respond. I am now being offered an opportunity to do just that and my first reaction is to retreat to my safe and hygenic environment. It is a lot easier to look out at these things with morbid curiosity, it is a whole lot more difficult to walk in to the mess and start to get my hands dirty in the work.

God, give me the courage to take this opportunity to learn more about your heart for the hurting in our world. Thank you for challenging my perspective and showing me, once again, how deep your love is for us. Thank you for showing me how you love everyone regardless of where they are at, even those I may not like very much.

The question still remains, can I be one of the few who will stand on the street corner and offer them HOPE? Can you?

can't we all just get along?

I John 4:9-11
God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.

Last year at this time I was thinking about moving overseas. I was looking for opportunities in places with interesting work where I thought Kenyon and I might be able to build a life. At that time I heard something that stuck with me, "the number one reason people leave the field (the overseas work that we are now doing), is because of interpersonal relationships."

Interpersonal realtionships. Really? Someone would leave their family, their friends, their lives and move to the unknown - then, surprisingly, give it all up because they can't get along with others. I find that sad.

I don't know what it is, but I can tell you from experience that I now understand the statistic. I am struggling with a particular relationship in my life. It is someone I work closely with and I am struggling to get past it. God challenges us to love each other, but I am finding it hard to respond in a loving way. Why is this so hard?

Maybe it is the daily stresses we are under in living overseas and this reduces our patience and tolerance for one another? Maybe it is because there is no escape, the lines between home and work life are blurred and too much time together reaps conflict? Maybe it is a spiritual battle and the way the enemy knows we can be defeated?

I don't know what it is, what I do know is it is a very real struggle and one that affects my mood (makes me irritable) and my efficiency (I waste a lot of energy thinking about how to deal with it).

Advice is welcome. Prayer is needed.

a few of my favorite things...

Since I was a little girl there are two things I loved and found very relaxing - someone to play with my hair, or someone to rub my feet.

Living in Asia, I can indulge in these relaxing favorites just about anywhere - and for an affordable price! For $5 USD, I can get a good foot massage for an hour that usually puts me to sleep and afterwards leaves me feeling like I am walking on air. For $1 USD, I can have someone in a salon give me a 45-minute hair wash/head massage.

Yeah, some days things are hard and there are lots of difficultlies in our current life. I thought I'd share with you some of the perks.

Yes, these are just a few of my favorite things.

contributing to corruption

Corruption is rampant where we live. In day to day activities we are faced with the choice of whether or not we will contribute to it.

It seems an easy choice to say, "No. I won't be party to corruption." But what if paying a bribe may mean the chance to get your stuff from home out of customs quicker? What if paying a bribe gets your car registered in a matter of days rather than months? what if paying a bribe is actually helping a government worker who is paid $25-50 per month to support their family?

I wish it weren't so, but we are asked almost daily to pay bribes in one form or another. I know where I stand on this. I will not pay. To me, the ends do not justify the means.

I would rather wait for my stuff to come out of customs. In fact, we did. It took us weeks to get our stuff from home out of customs. Kenyon went everyday with a new form they had asked for, he started keeping a folder of all the forms requested. It was ridiculous. We were told by many, just pay them and you will get your stuff. No. I won't be party to corruption.

If we had been willing to pay bribes, then the car the office recently purchased would have been registered weeks ago and instead we are now waiting for an indefinite period of time. The current prediction is another month. I choose to wait, I will not be party to corruption.

I am not making up that most government workers, including the police, only net $25-50 per month. Though the cost of living is less here than in other parts of the world, it would be impossible for anyone to live on that. These are the working poor and their only other means of supporting their family is to collect bribes. I feel badly for their situation, but I will not be party to corruption.

Making this choice is not as easy as one might think. When living in a place where corruption is the norm, it isn't always easy to be abnormal.

splendid gray hair

In the culture I come from, gray hair is something to be ashamed of. We cover it up. We have advertisements with little jingles that say, "I am going to wash that gray right out of my hair."

Gray hair is not splendid, rather it is a tragedy.

In my culture, we long for the fountain of youth and would love if we can look 25 years old perpetually. That's why plastic surgeons make such a good living, because their work is valued in our culture. We will pay any price to fight aging.

The Bible says, "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." (Proverbs 20:29)

I am a product of my culture. I can tell you that the day I found my first gray hair, I would not describe it as splendor. Now I have many more grays, to the point I am starting to debate the need for coloring my hair on a regular basis.

Cambodians are different. Those with gray hair are revered. The older are treated with honor. Because of this, gray hair isn't dreaded but welcomed. One of my colleagues (a female American) has decided she is going to stop covering her grays. Instead, she is going to follow the Cambodian way and embrace them.

I am still debating my choice.

Should I cover the gray hairs that have begun to appear on my head? I don't know that I have the energy for that, nor could I be bothered to maintain it. I am a low maintenance girl - the only make-up I wear is mascara and I don't blow dry my hair. I am not sure I am willing to add regular visits to the beauty shop as part of my routine, as it would have to be frequent because my hair grows quickly.

Should I embrace gray hair and consider it splendor? I am quite certain my psyche isn't ready for all that. I've had years of acculturation that tells me otherwise.

What are your thoughts?