(v.) to promote growth by labor and attention

A dear friend of mine, Amanda Goolsby, flew in to Bangkok from DC last week laden with photo and video gear ready to help us capture some of the stories of those we work with at The Well.  We wanted to give a few women an opportunity to share a bit of their story, their vision for their community and country, and share with other Thai people how they might be able to be a part of what God’s doing.  Though we’re hoping to develop more documentary-style videos in the future, we want to use this footage in the near term to reach out to the Christian business community in Thailand at an upcoming networking event.

Amanda and Jim and our makeshift video shoot set in the Bangkok heat.

The goal is to not only raise basic awareness of the issue and the needs of the ministry, but to move Thai leaders into action in an area that has been long-neglected by Thai Christians and non-Christians alike.

We didn’t script anything.  Jim asked some simple questions and the women took it from there.  And boy did they take it!  I couldn’t help but be inspired by the strength of their passion in imploring their Thai neighbors to get it.

One of the women we interviewed touched on the fact that sexual exploitation, poverty and so many other socioeconomic issues are simply accepted as a reality in Thailand.  Though some will recognize that there are indeed problems that need attention, few are willing to truly see, understand and be moved to action.

And in her words, that’s not ok.

This was the message for her Thai neighbors.  It wasn’t a plea for pity or even for resources, but was simply an invitation to “come and see”.

She invited people in to see their life.  She seemed to want the Thai people to not only know poverty exists, but to see and understand it.  To not only know exploitation exists, but to look in the eyes of someone that has been exploited and abused and know them.  To know their story.  To know their hopes and dreams for the future.

And then, only after seeing and knowing, to be moved by compassion to take part in what God is doing.

It’s one thing to recount stories of what we see with our Western eyes, to hear these stories with our Western ears, to be moved to share our Western resources.  None of those are bad things; we’re called to be moved by compassion by what we see whether it’s next door or halfway around the world.  And believe me, we need as much awareness and as much action as possible from wherever we can get it.

But, we know that for real, long-term transformation to take place here, this vision has to be taken up and carried by Thai leaders.  For that reason, it gets me excited to see Thai women sharing with and challenging Thai leaders on their home turf.  I couldn’t help but get a glimpse of hope that this is a game changer.

Shane Claiborne wrote in The Irresistible Revolution that “when worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world.”   I’m hoping for a great collision and a powerful fusion here in Bangkok as Thais are given the opportunity to “come and see”.

So thankful that Amanda was able to come and share of her time and talents!  Praying that technology and logistics work out for us to be able to maximize the communication value of their stories and the challenge they issued.

PS… If you’re a videographer and might be interested in coming to hang out with us for a while, let me know. 🙂