It’s been a week and a half since we landed in Phuket.
We’ve been hitting the bars almost nightly since we arrived in Patong Beach, ordering cokes and chatting with the workers. Those of you who know me well know my drink of choice is bottled water or orange juice. But the real reason for hitting the bars is ministering to the women who work at bars.
The bar scenes are wild. Young ladies wearing minimal clothing. Young men dressed as woman dancing. Customers coupling for the night with available bar workers. Fortunately, God prepared my heart and eyes in advance, so it was not totally shocking to me. Daily prayer walking is essential, bathing the evening in prayer.
At nights, we only go to open bars, not the closed-door shows. We limit the time we stay at each bar so that we don’t annoy the manager or get the girls in trouble. We go in small groups as a precaution and for on-sight intercessors. Our main focus is to befriend the girls. If they want a way out of the bar scene, we want to give it to them. Note for all my moms out there: Since it’s such a touristy area, the bar areas feel safe, not threatening.
The afternoon of our first bar ministry night, Allison and I were prayer walking around the bar areas. I felt extra drawn to Joy bar, proclaiming that True Joy of the Lord would come to the girls that work there and the guys that visit there. So it was really cool when God lead us to that bar that evening, sharing True Joy with girls who worked there.
One girl Sarah and I met working at a nearby bar is named Nan. When we met her, it was her first night in Patong. She looked very sad. Communication is challenging, but I pray God’s love shines through. We’ve been back to that bar twice, but Nan has not been there. Please
pray that the night we met her was the turning-back
point, that she abandons destructive employment, embraces Christ’s saving love, and experiences God’s provision.
I’ve also befriended a girl named Gong at a local bar. She’s such a sweetie with beautiful, deep, pain-filled eyes. She painted my nails the other night while I was ministering to her at the bars. She doesn’t speak English. So we play a lot of games (Connect Four and Jenga). Please
pray that she will soon follow through with her promises to meet me for lunch.
Many of these girls have children and families back in their home villages, often 15 or more hours away. They work in Patong, earning money to send to their families and kids.
I’m praying that these girls and others soon choose to come out of the bar. We want to give them the option to work for SHE (Self Help and Empower), a jewelry-making start-up company (less than a year old), founded by a British missionary couple. Actually, our living accommodations are located on the upper levels of the SHE shop, a common practice in Thailand. SHE currently staffs 5 girls who came out of the bars, 4 of whom have subsequently turned to Jesus as their Savior!!!
The fifth girl left the bars on our second day here. She the fruit of seeds planted by a British team a couple months ago. So it’s relationship building, praying the girls out of the bars, providing them with a job, and then witnessing to and discipling them in Jesus as they work at their new jewelry making job.
Please
pray that many ladies will choose to leave the bars to work for SHE; that many ladies will come to know God personally, including the most recent employee; that SHE will have enough operating funds from their jewelry sales for salary expenses as the ministry grows; that the girls currently employed by SHE will grow in Jesus daily.
