Land of Smiles. That’s what they call Thailand. Everywhere you look people are smiling. I’ve noticed that people are less likely to look you in the eye and stare at you. Also, people don’t wave. Instead they nod or “wei” (bow slightly with ‘praying hands’ in front of them).
We made it to Thailand without complication, praise God! Immediately after landing after the second plane ride, we were whisked away by a combi-truck in order to catch a bus that took us to a speedboat, which dropped us off on Koh Samet. We joined January teams to debrief on this island. The beauty of God’s creation shone through, giving us time to recoup from the days of journey and Africa ministries.
The last couple days we have been in Bangkok, where we were briefed on Thai culture, competed in our second race, and toured and prayed over several Buddhist temples. I enjoyed spending time with our new Thai friends who took us around Bangkok. They have come to know Jesus within the past few years, and coming from Buddhist backgrounds, they are eager to pray for their friends, family, and country-mates to know the True Way and be broken from the bondage of earning enough merits to attempt nirvana. My favorite memory of the temple tours was speaking prayers on the rooftop of a temple, asking God to draw the worshipers of Buddha to know Jesus as the True Love of their lives, and then my Thai friend praying something similar in her own language. What a sweet time of fellowship across cultures and tongues, petitioning God for the people of Thailand
Last night we flew to the island of Phuket, and drove to where we are staying along Patong Beach, a touristy place. We (Teams Concrete and Zion) are working alongside S.H.E. (Self Help and Empowering) ministry, an organization in its early stages founded by a kind couple from England named Mark and Sharon. Their goal is to befriend these ladies (prostitutes) working the bars, telling them that there is another option to provide for their families. If the ladies are interested, they give them more info (contact, wage, hours, etc). Many of the ladies have “chosen” the lives of prostitution out of necessity to provide for their family. In Thai culture, it is quite common for the young women to earn livings for their families rather than the fathers.
Tonight will be our first venture out to do ministry. We will walk about 10-15 minutes, further into the touristy area where the masses of bars where the women work. Our goal is to start making friends with these ladies and to follow up with those that our contacts already know. Please
pray for smoothness in talking with them, open and receptive hearts, quick friendships, radiance of God’s love from us, understanding of English, etc. And of course
pray for safety, joy, protection spiritually/emotionally/physically, etc. Side note: Yal will be happy to know that Phuket is said to be much safer than Johannesburg. 😉 But keep praying!
Thanks for investing your time, energy, love, etc. You make an impact all the way here in Thailand.
