We have finally made it to our ministry site in Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket, Mom!), Thailand and are very excited to be serving here. We are serving with Team Refresh and several different groups from all over the world. After only a few days here, we can already see God moving in such amazing ways!
Although you can Google Phuket and find pictures of beautiful beaches and happy people, that’s not where we are.
We are working on one particular street called Bangla Road, famous for it’s party scene, with over 200 bars, bright lights, loud music, and more than 1,200 women stuck in prostitution, all on one street.
Our ministry this month is to go into the streets from around 9:00 – 11:00 at night, sit down at a bar, order a coke, and start playing games with the women, engaging them in conversation and getting to know them. We don’t outstay our welcome, staying at each bar for only 20 or 30 minutes, then moving on to a different bar or just prayer walking the streets. Once you start talking to the women, most of them are pretty honest and say they do not like working at the bars. Sadly, most of them feel like they don’t have any other choice. They have responsibilities like providing for their children, putting food on the table, making money to pay rent, and the prostitution business pays well.
Our goal is to let these women know that they do have a choice. They have options that can keep them off the streets and away from Bangla Road. Our ministry provides training services in jewelry making, hotel training, a bakery, etc. They also hold daily devotionals in the mornings, teaching the basics of the Bible and sharing about Christ’s love.
Now, notice we didn’t call them prostitutes, because being a prostitute is their job, not their identity. After spending a couple of nights in the bars, striking up conversations and playing bar games like Jenga, Connect Four, and Hammer and Nail, you realize something most people never see.
They’re just girls.
They enjoy talking about their families, kids, favorite foods, shoes, hair, etc. They get on Facebook and check their News Feed. They are human beings. And our job this month is to make them feel like that. We want them to know there are people out there who think they are beautiful, cherished, and adored, not because of the service they provide, but for the woman God made them to be.
So this month, we cannot go out to Bangla Road without your help! Prayer is such a huge part of this ministry, and we NEED you to join us in asking God for protection, strength, wisdom, and words to say to these women who need to know there is hope out there. Pray that we would be the light in a very dark place, radiating Jesus in the everything we do. Thank you for all your help and please remember the women of Bangla Road this month!!
