So our last weekend in Thailand… God rocked my world and he made a way for us to play a 45 minute worship set, praising Him…
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT!
to Him be the glory….
Blog Stolen from Erin Knight:
A week or so into our month in Thailand, a friend sent me a YouTube link to a video that tells the story behind the song “God of This City.” It tells of a band from Belfast who gets the opportunity to play in a bar in Pattaya, Thailand – one of the worst areas in the world for the sex tourism industry (and consequently, sex trafficking as well). In the midst of such darkness, the band worships God, and out of that worship comes the well-known song “God of This City.”
Little did I know that some of our own would have that opportunity in Phuket. During the third week of ministry, Annie approached the owner of the Absolute Bangla Bar about performing, and he agreed! The bar is located right on Bangla, the main road of the red light district, and the music from the bar can be heard all up and down the street by everyone passing by. Without having heard or even seen a band of any kind, the bar owner agreed to give them a 30 minute slot the following Friday.
What went down the next Friday was nothing short of a “God thing.” Let me explain.
- There really wasn’t a band to begin with. We have several musically talented people on our squad, including several guitarists, several singers, and one drummer. However, that doesn’t give you a “band.” The only instruments were acoustics guitars and one small wooden drum. The rest of the instruments – electric, bass, drum set, would all have to be used at the bar.
- A rehearsal was scheduled for Thursday afternoon – the day before. The only roadblock was that, on Wednesday night, ALL of Patong Beach flooded and the bars themselves closed down, so there was no way to get to the rehearsal. So they never practiced. In fact, on Friday, we were told that the roads were still flooded and we wouldn’t even be going for ministry that night. We didn’t learn that the gig was still on until the band showed up at the bar with instruments and asked to play. (Oh, they ended up playing for almost an hour that night!)
- Annie had never played bass before, and Scott had never played electric guitar. Their first time was, well, during the performance. Woa.
- The crowd loved it. I saw people videotaping the performance (and no, not just the T-squad fan club seated in the first row). People stopped on the street to listen, or they came inside and sat down. One lady asked if the band knew specific worship songs. The servers in the bars were listening and even singing along once they caught on.
I have no idea what kind of impact the band had on Patong Beach that night, but I know this. God was in that place, and He is moving on Bangla Road. He IS the God of that city!!
Blog Stolen from John Hearn
Tonight was an unexpected night of worship for T Squad in the red-light district of Phuket, Thailand. After days of torrential downpours, flooded streets, and house arrest, our squad was bummed to discover our gig at a local bar in the heart of the red-light district had been canceled during our last night of ministry. After plans were made to hang out at the house, our contact notified us that the roads had cleared, ministry was back on, and it was still a possibility to worship in the bar tonight. Needless to say the band (the T-train band as we like to call them) was excited yet hesitant to take their act to the streets of what our contact refers to as the very pits of hell. With no preparation, no rehearsal time, and no solidified set-list, Anne Embree, Philip Cron, Amiee Wood, Tabitha Blanchard, Scott Taylor, and Vincent Farino, marched through the red-light district like the Beatles down Addison Road. With guitars in hand, the group entered a bar filled with people drinking, laughing, and smoking as they dawned bold and courageous spirit filled grins on the faces. It was an intimidating scene – like a boxer stepping into a ring for his first fight. 
As they unpacked their belongings, took mics in hand, and strummed the first chord, they began playing some of the most spirit filled music I have yet to hear on the race. People were singing, stopping in the streets, and focusing on the celestial sounds coming from a once dark corner of a bar owned by the Russian Mafia. It was as if the room itself was growing lighter and brighter as the spirit of God flowed tangibly in our presence. While the band was on stage, the rest of the squad mates interceded on their behalf in various nooks of the bar. After 45 minutes of amazing worship, the band wrapped up what I can only sum up as the baptism of Bangla Road.
The old had been washed away and the new emerged. Bangla Road will never be the same. We brought the Spirit of God into the streets of the red-light district and planted seeds that cannot be washed away. I don’t think tonight was about being successful, it was about being faithful. T-squad stepped out in complete faith this evening as we were put in a vulnerable position where only God could deliver us. We did what we were asked out of faith and God performed a miracle. I recall what it was like when God told Moses to raise his staff to part the Red Sea. Honestly, there wasn’t anything special about his staff – it wasn’t magic and it certainly didn’t have any supernatural powers. No, it was Moses’ faith that God was able to use to perform a miracle, the same faith that was found tonight on Bangla Road. I’m so proud to be the squad leader for t-squad; a squad that when God says raise your staff high in the air, they reach out their arms to their fullest extent…and then some! We’re so thankful God has chosen us to be a part of His story on Bangla Road in Phuket, Thailand. To God be the glory!
Watch this video….do it now! 🙂
