Double Standards

This week I got to witness first hand some very troubling "double standard" situations.  The first happened while Benjamin, Margaret and I were teaching English to nursing students at a local university.  We were invited to be part of an English camp for these students.  The camp was run by a local church and all the teachers were Christians.  The students were fun and cooperative and we had lots of fun teaching them that day.  That evening we were invited back to their evening program where each group of students were asked to put on a short skit in English.  It was an eye opening experience.  The themes of the skits included cheating on your pregnant wife, revealing you are gay, stealing from your friends, being told fat is ugly, being ashamed of your parents, cheating on your husband with a white man, and getting a massage from a prostitute.  As I sat there and endured this, I realized that these young people think these are "normal" events and are no longer shocked or saddened by them.  In this same society we have been told it is shocking for a woman to touch the hand of Jesus during a drama/skit of the gospel.  What a double standard!
The next day, we had to go on our 3 month visa run.  We always drive to Cambodia and cross the border on foot and walk back into Thailand to renew our visa.  After we crossed back into Thailand yesterday, I saw a little boy, about 1 year old, sitting on the sidewalk in the sun,  with a plastic cup in front of him.  He had obviously been used to beg like this many times, because he did not attempt to get up or move around.  He was about 5 feet from some old woman and other school age girls, but it was not apparent who was in charge of him, if anyone.  His purpose in life was to make money.  There are plenty of police and official people at this border, but no one seemed to mind this was happening.
This is the same country where a few of my friends, lovely Christian people, have had to jump through hoops for years to adopt children that no one else wanted.  One has recently been denied a visa to America for the 2 boys she loves and raises because the government is afraid she will not bring them back to Thailand if she takes them to visit in America.  Are you seeing the double standard?

All I can say is Thailand really needs your prayers.  If this is what is happening in public, it is hard to imagine the private life of many of these people.  We know that Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted  and to set the captives free.  We need a move of God in Thailand!  Please remember us when you can.  The only hope for Thailand is Jesus!