Dear Theophilus:: December 2003

The Gospel of Golf: Reflections on Thailand and Cambodia

There are over one million children, some as young as 3 years old, who are forced into prostitution each year around the world, in such countries as Thailand, India, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Nigeria. Most are female and poor - kidnapped from villages or sold by desperate parents who are given false promises of "work" for their daughters. Many are smuggled in from bordering countries, stripped of their documents (and dignity), and shipped straight to brothels - many of which are owned (or protected) by local police authorities - where unspeakable abuse takes place.

This past September, as part of Justice for Children International (JFCI), a grass-roots organization seeking to bring awareness to the plight of these innocents, I went to Thailand and Cambodia to see how God is working to combat the sexual exploitation of children. Needless to say, the trip was emotionally and spiritually tolling - anger, confusion, and frustration were always on deck as I learned the complexity and breadth of the seemingly insurmountable evil of child sex trafficking. But God's grace allowed me to experience much joy and hope as well.

Esther was a believer who was forced into sexual slavery in northern Thailand. The investigators from International Justice Mission (IJM) that we worked with befriended her - as undercover patrons - in attempts of establishing trust and honesty. Soon thereafter, IJM raided the brothel. The commotion of the raid led most of the girls to seek refuge in Esther's room. On the wall of that room was written, in Esther's hill tribe language,
Psalm 27: 1-3:

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

Esther is now 18 and still residing at one of the after-care safe-houses that JFCI supports. She wants to go to Bible school.

Two sisters, age 8 and 4, were trafficked into Cambodia for prostitution. They were both rescued and put into a group foster home/shelter in Phnom Penh that we were able to visit. The older, as part of her therapy, was asked to draw a picture of how she viewed herself. She drew a picture of a flower with water coming down on it. When asked to explain the picture she said that she was a flower filled with God's love and that everyday His love was being poured out on her. She was also asked to draw a before and after picture - that is, before and after she was rescued and met God. To the left of the paper, she drew a tree filled with worms. Before. To the right of that tree was a tree filled with fruit. After.

I've made a life-long commitment in seeing that this modern-day form of slavery is extinguished. And I know, as part of that commitment, that my hope will be tested (for example, chew on this: prostitution is on the books in Thailand and Cambodia as illegal, but there has not been one successful prosecution of child prostitution in those countries).

With golf, if it were not for that one (yes, one) 300-yard (okay, 250) drive in the midst of a sea of shanks, I wouldn't keep coming back to the game. In the same way, it's stories such as Esther and the 8-year old artist that will keep my head up. But the story that I'll pull out first from my back-pocket - with all the mess that I've learned, seen, and witnessed in Thailand and Cambodia - is Calvary. How would you and I have felt on that Friday seeing our Saviour being nailed to a tree? Pissed? Angry? Frustrated? Confused? Hopeless? Perhaps. And look what happened three days later.

[For further information on child sex trafficking, email me at kim_paul@yahoo.com, or visit JFCI's website, www.jfci.org, or IJM's website, www.ijm.org. We may be planning a trip to Sri Lanka next year where boys are trafficked and exploited.