O was one of 15 kids in her family. O’s older sister
had been married for nine years and when she still hadn’t conceived a child of
her own, she began to think about adoption. O’s mother told her to just take O in as her own. When O was six, her brother-in-law began abusing her. It lasted
for a year before O went back to her real family. When she was eight one of her
brothers began abusing her. This time it lasted for 4 years. She was left
feeling lost, broken and confused.
When O was 15 she was raped by a young man in her
village. In Thailand if a girl is raped, she is almost always forced to marry
her attacker. This was the case for O. They were married and two and half years
later, O gave birth to a baby girl. O didn’t know how to love the baby because
she had never been shown love. O’s mother told her that her husband was no good
and that if O left him, she would take her daughter and raise her. O was so
desperate for her mother’s approval, love and affection, she thought she would get
it if she listened to her. When the baby was six months old, O left her husband
and her family and went to work in a factory in southern Thailand. While there
she met a man considerably older than her. They were married and had a son. Her
husband died a few years later at the age of 74. O and her son went to live
with her family.
In Thai culture it is the youngest, unmarried
daughter’s responsibility to provide for much of the rest of the family and
certainly for her children. It wasn’t long before O’s mother and sister began
pressuring her to go to Pattaya to work in the bars to make money for her
family. O didn’t want to go but her sister threatened to send her kids back to
her if O wouldn’t go. After three days of crying and contemplating, O moved to
Pattaya not fully knowing what to expect. She found a job in a bar but didn’t
want to go with the men. She drank whisky every night so that she would get
drunk and bear going with them. She had to earn money. It was a miserable time
in O’s life.
A man from Germany bar bought O for a “long time”. She
was with him for a year and he gave her hope. She thought he loved her. But
soon it was apparent that he didn’t care about her children or her family. He
was only interested in O. But she still had to earn money. He left, leaving O alone and heartbroken on the streets of Pattaya.
One day some of the Tamar Center staff came into O’s
bar and invited her to English class. O went and learned of Tamar’s training
programs and decided to be a part of the next one. The course lasted three
months and included regular Bible studies in addition to the salon and bakery
trades. One week before completion of the program, O accepted Jesus as her Lord
and Savior. She then went on to complete a DTS where she was able to forgive those
who hurt her, especially her brother-in-law and brother. She found total peace
and restoration. God even revealed to her that the attention she was craving
from her earthly parents, He would give her. She saw herself laid over with her
head in His lap and Him rubbing her head and playing with her hair. He told her
she was safe with Him and He would be all she ever needed. He also told her to
go back to Pattaya and work with the Tamar Center to help girls just like her.
O has been serving with Tamar for nine years,
her children both live with her, now 18 and 13, and she has true joy and the
most contagious laugh you’ve ever heard.
O's story is told over and over again by many different girls. Each has their own personal details, but the themes are very much the same. Most have suffered abuse, have children, have been married but those marriages dissolve, are pressured by their families to earn money and are encouraged to go to Pattaya to find that money.
Pray that the girls would understand their value and the love that God has for them. Pray for FREEDOM!!! That they would be free from the bonds of slavery to money and their family.
