He called me Ma'am

Thailand is an interesting place.

It is a beautiful.
It is full of beautiful people.
It is just like a normal city back home.
It is a place that is feeling more comfortable to me.

While walking through the red light district last evening, we prayed and walked. We smiled at people who made eye contact.

Some people smiled in return while others scowled. Some of the men who saw our group of women, which looked more like marching line, looked at us with a bitter hate to us. Where we a group of women's rights?! They did not know us. They do not know we represent the One of true love. One man almost knocked me over with the way his tall stance and football like posture struck me while walking forward. Being aware of your surroundings, your teammates, your belongings while concentrating on the things you were seeing and also being prompted to pray for; his shoulder caught me off guard and pushed me back into others in this market crowd.

We interacted with vendors whom previous teams have built relationships with. Those were sweet moments and smiles. They were the people who made this place feel like home.

What you see, what you encounter in the Red Light District... it is not something you can prepare for. It is not something that has a formula of "how to". The One source on whom you rely on is the only strength that will sustain you - the power of Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual battle. It is not one against flesh and blood. It is not a war against people who do such heinous things to these women. It is a battle between the powers of darkness and Satan. (Ephesians 6:12) Something I am trying to understand is how these women are perceived and how can this be humanly acceptable.

They are not treasured as a woman should.
They are not respected and honored as a woman,

or a child in some cases.

They are not looked at as Mothers or daughters.

They are not valued for the human being they are.

Trafficking brings these women to a place of shame.

They are an object of lust.
They are pleasure for a night.
They are disposable to the buyer.
They are an escape from someones reality.

While we walked through the market stands in the Red Light District, one man tried to sell me an item.
He was polite and smiled and he was so gracious he called me Ma'am.
I am a white western woman who can support his family by purchasing the items he sells.

I keep asking myself, how can they look at their own Thai women as worthless, disposable humans with no value and sell them for sex?! And at the same time, how can they treat a tourist westerner with such gracious respect and call me Ma'am?!?