In her work with women on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, Bailey Thaworn understands too well the complexity of holding opposing but oh-so-connected emotions: celebration and grief. She writes, “Over the past month, we have seen two women leave prostitution and join our ministry program. Praise God! Pray for our friends Fai and Aranee as they continue transitioning many areas of their lives.
Recently, bar outreaches have been bittersweet. We have had to hold celebration in one hand, seeing women leave prostitution, and yet immense grief in the other. Two girls that we know closely in the bars just recently lost their sister in a tragic car accident. The financial burden for their family that they carried just became heavier; the grief even heavier. Continue to pray for our friends in the bars and that somehow, some way, God would make a way for them to leave the sex industry.
Please also be praying for me and my coworker Mint – that we would be reminded to trust God with our friends and with the difficult situations they are facing.”
Creativity often plays a part in processing feelings and emotions. Following one difficult night of bar outreach, Bailey wrote a poem called Grief Squeezed My Hand.
A poem, written after a night of bar outreach:
Grief Squeezed My Hand
What was once three sisters
Tragically became two
3 fatherless children now motherless
I wonder how it feels
To be orphaned not once, but twice
To be left just to be left again
Grief squeezed my hand
Like grandmother like mother
Like mother like daughter
Prostitution had become the family trade
A cycle of cycles
A maze with high walls
A motor with no brake
The financial burden was heavy
Then loss kicked it
Then death sat on it
Then grief squeezed what remained
The cycle cycled
The maze walls grew higher
The motor sped up
Two sisters
Little kids of their own
But the parentless children
Now all on their own
Fatherless
Motherless
Orphaned
Grief squeezed my hand
Who was holding theirs?
She grabbed my hand and held it
I held it back
She squeezed it tight
I squeezed it back
Then she squeezed it tighter
Tight
About Bailey’s Ministry: Bailey has been serving in Thailand for more than five years. Day to day she works alongside Thai women who are beginning new lives after making the courageous decision to leave the sex industry. Bailey also leads Mesa Global’s Avance Thailand initiative, a two-year internship program for Next Gen global workers. Her husband, Shane, is completing his Masters of Divinity and serves as a Youth Pastor at their local church. They are committed to furthering God’s kingdom together – and we are grateful for them!
Stories from the Field
