Smoke fills the air… there
are drinks on the table, pool balls colliding, and half naked women
walking around me. Why. Am. I. Here? I am sitting here in a
bar and I am surrounded by girls, the two main ingredients in my five
star meal of a testimony.
Rewind a month
When I found out that we
were not going to have “MANistry” during Thailand I was not
happy… not in any way, shape, or form. The thought that went
through my mind was why on earth would you take guys and put them in
a bar with prostitutes…? What could we do…? What could I
do…? I mean a few years ago the things that I indulged in were not
much better then what the men and women were doing here. So why send
me back into that gauntlet?
If only they knew the truth.
Here and now
Looking
back on my month in Thailand I can see so clearly why God did what He
did (but that’s usually how it works isn’t it? We continue to
question God about His decision-making abilities as if the plan we
have is so much better). The women’s and the lady boys’ in the bars
souls are crying out to see something different, something genuine,
something that will give them hope. That is what God used me for: a
beacon of hope. For maybe the first time in their life someone was
exposed to a glimpse of the higher standard that God calls men to. I
am in no way saying that I have reached the pinnacle of this, but as a
man who is continuing his “knock down drag out fight” for
righteousness, it was a start. They were able to see someone who would
not waiver in who he was, a man who enjoyed a Coke with ice and an
innocent game of Connect Four rather then a man who came to play “The
Price is Right” with the body and soul of another individual. A man
who refused a sip of their alcohol just to remind them that I am
different from the rest.
As I
said before, my biggest problem with the whole scenario of men in bar
ministry was my past. Being face to face with sin that once consumed
my life and still tries to, and not allowing it to take hold. I stood
against all men doing this because of my baggage. I forgot to give
myself the grace that God freely gives me. The reality is God
protected me more then I would have thought. I put a hold that the
enemy use to have over my life over the sufficient grace of God
Almighty… OUCH*, it is safe to say that I forget who I serve
from time to time.
The Fruit
Marking territory for the Kingdom. All future Racers who go to Chang Mai, Thailand, go to the Kitty Cat bar and continue what we started there! Don’t forget to make your mark.
What
God did through my team and I is simply amazing. We went to the bars
ok with the idea that we would probably not see too much fruit from
our ministry. We could not have been more wrong. God had girls that He
wanted out, and He wanted to use us to do so, but the truth is we
didn’t do too much… He pretty much did it all. Read here to see the
amazing stories of the two girls who are no longer in the bars thanks
to God!
