I cannot remember how I learned about Dton Naam Ministries, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that one of its founders is from the Oklahoma City area. Also, I did some work with Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans and attended several informational sessions and conferences through them so there is probably some connection there. Although I cannot remember how I learned about it, when I was trying to think of an international example for last week’s sermon, providentially I believe, this particular ministry came to mind immediately. I couldn’t remember the name of it so I googled “ministry-Bangkok-ladyboys.” As you can probably imagine, that pulled up some interesting search results, but to my delight the third website listed was that of Dton Naam Ministries, a name which I recognized immediately. I looked in the staff section and found Celeste McGee from Midwest City, Oklahoma. That’s her!
Celeste McGee is a Southern Baptist who graduated with a BS in Family Psychology from Oklahoma Baptist University and then received her Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. She felt called by God to help to free women from prostitution. She visited Bangkok in Thailand and spent a summer with a non-profit doing just that. She was overwhelmed by the scope of the problem there. More than anything, however, she was surprised by the number of young men and boys who were engaged in prostitution, especially the kathoey or “ladyboys” of Bangkok. According to Wikipedia, “Kathoey is a Thai term that refers to a transgender person or an effeminate gay male in Thailand. While a significant number of Thais perceive kathoeys as belonging to a third gender, including many kathoeys themselves, others see them as either a kind of man or a kind of woman.” That’s who a Baptist girl from Oklahoma wanted to reach for Jesus Christ.
She gave up her beloved dog, sold pretty much everything she owned, got a little more training in Virginia, then moved to Bangkok, Thailand to work with the ladyboys. I’m not sure how, but at some point she met a Christian Thai man named Golf, along with his wife and daughter, and they began the ministry together. Golf is a gifted musician and, in many cases, the only positive and safe male the ladyboys have ever met. At some point an American woman named Bethany who also had a heart for this ministry came to work with Dton Naam. Bethany moved to Bangkok and as a part of her training she, of course, needed to learn the Thai language. In those classes she had the following experience. This is quoted directly from the Dton Naam blog:
Last week I had an interesting experience as I was sitting in Thai language class. It started with my Thai teacher making fun of ladyboys. My teacher from the previous module had also done this several times in class, usually when one of the male Korean students slipped up and used a feminine Thai term instead of masculine, she would use it as an excuse to call him a ladyboy. On Friday my module #2 teacher was doing something similar. I was struck by how much of a joke ladyboys are in Thailand. It is similar to how people in America make fun of gays, using “gay” as an adjective for things that they don’t like. “That movie was so gay!” “This homework is so gay!”
I haven’t given anyone at my language school intimate details about what it is that I do in Thailand. They know I’m a Christian. They know I’m working for a Thai foundation that helps young men and women. They know I have no salary. They don’t know that the majority of my time is spent reaching out to ladyboys.
So last Friday while my teacher was joking about them and making the rest of the class roar with laughter I stared down at my textbook and pretended to be taking notes. Nothing about it was funny to me. I watched as the teacher turned to the whiteboard and wrote kathoey (the Thai word for ladyboy) in big black letters with her marker. And as I sat there I was struck by the ridiculousness of my life.
What would my classmates think if they knew that the object of their jokes was the very reason I had come to Thailand?
Did they have any idea that every single day after class I go back to my workplace and am greeted by a group of the friendliest people I have ever met, who…just happen to be ladyboys?
What would my teacher think if I told her that the majority of my Thai homework has only been accomplished because Cee, my ladyboy friend, helped me?
Actually, I was quite tempted to tell my teacher about who helps me with my homework just so I could see the expression on her face. (Would’ve been priceless!) But of course I cannot say any of these things. So, I just shook my head and scribbled in my notebook, pondering the absurdity of my existence.
I was also angry. When it comes to people that I care about, I am very protective. In the 6 weeks I have been here, I have come to love and deeply care for the Dton Naam students so much. Mostly because in our daily times of prayer and worship, the Lord has given me glimpses into His heart and shown me the depth of His love for them.
The folks at Dton Naam have found that almost 100% of those in prostitution, whether male or female, experienced sexual abuse as a young person, all of them at the hands of men. Celeste comments, "Even though I had worked with survivors of sexual trauma in Texas, I often felt overcome by the depravity and pain in the Thai women’s stories, how incest almost seemed normalized, gang rapes expected, domestic violence tolerated, boyfriends cheating… so of course they rationalized prostitution. “Why not receive money for how they’ve already been treated?” They’ve rarely been treated as precious and valuable women, the whole concept of dignity and honor never allowed to take root.” Celeste, Golf, Bethany, and the others want to breathe God’s grace into the lives of these people who are all created in the image of our loving God. Grace is something that the staff of Dton Naam talks about a lot in their blog. Here are some more words about grace from Bethany:
"A difficult thing about living in this city is maintaining a healthy view of men, when so many of the men we come across are sex-buyers. When I first became aware of the issues of prostitution and the sex industry, I was angry towards the men who perpetuate this problem. God has convicted my heart since then, giving me His eyes for these men. In them, I see the same slavery and brokenness that those in prostitution have. I see the same hollowness and need for healing in their eyes. And I see just as much of a chance for Jesus to step in and transform them as I would see with anybody else."
Dton Naam shares this grace with the ladyboys, who work in “bars,” which are really brothels, and provides for them Thai and English classes, life skill classes, counseling, group support, fellowship, recreation, Bible classes, worship, opportunities to serve others, and alternative job training and options through their own coffee shop. They do all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. In one of their blog posts they quote the book Radical by David Platt where he says, “We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” Celeste and the others at Dton Naam live that out in an environment that would make most of us cry and run.
Sharing grace; that’s what they want to do, and that’s what they’re doing. Some of the ladyboys decide not only that they are not to be a prostitute, but they are not to be a ladyboy anymore. Others who come into the ministry continue to dress as ladyboys and to have effeminate tendencies because that is who they feel they are at their core. Celeste writes, “For me, helping women and men involved in prostitution is not about “evangelizing” or pushing my religious perspective onto them. My role is simply about loving them, being their friend, and making other options of work available to them. During this process, something brilliant happens and I get to watch an amazing relationship break out between the Almighty God of the universe and His precious child whom He is wooing. Only He can bring about lasting, healthy change and this is why I stay where I am, doing what I do.”
There are some cool, brave people out there doing things through the power of the Holy Spirit to spread the Kingdom of God. It can strengthen all of us to learn about what God is doing all over the world, encouraging us to do Kingdom work right here in Fayette County.
Remember this week what Madalyn sang to us this past Sunday:
In heaven's eyes there are no losers
In heaven's eyes no hopeless cause
Only people like you with feelings like me
Amazed by the grace we can find
In heaven's eyes
May you find this week that the horizon of God's grace in Jesus Christ is much broader than you ever imagined it could be.
I’ll be at Kirmont Presbyterian Camp this Thursday through Saturday with Wyatt, as well as Jana, Mark, Landon, and Logan Miller. We’ll see you on Sunday!
Yours in Christ,
Everett
