Thailand is a country of stark
contrasts. In one hand you have
beautiful beaches and landscapes. Beaches that hardly have a soul on them-where all you see for miles is
sand, water and in the distant “mountains”. It is epically beautiful and pictures or words would not do it
justice. The landscape here cries out
God’s love for us and it says “we want a renewal of the entire creation.”
On the
other hand we have the streets lined with bars. The bars are filled with women, lady-boys, and men. All of which are crying out as well for
renewal. They are lost and weary, and
feel as if they have no way out. Whether
they are the prostitute or the person hiring the prostitute they need to be
rescued and renewed just like the rest of the world. At the end of the street where the bars are,
there is a beach and water. There is
hope, and beauty that can be found by looking out across the water.
Even in
the darkness, there still is a light. Even in the pits of hell on earth there is hope and joy (albeit, it is
hard to find). All you have to do is
keep your eyes open. Today a woman will
be coming to lunch with us. She works at
one of the local bars, and my group befriended her. She doesn’t understand why we would want to
hang out with her outside of the bar. I
pray that we can have an impact on her here, and maybe she will be the first
person to come off of this street.
