Phuket, Thailand. A place most people recognize for its beautiful beaches and movie appearances. We are here, however, for a darker and less glamorous part of the “attractions” Phuket has to offer travelers. This month, team Abundant Pursuit will be working in Phuket’s red light district which is also known as Bangla Road. We have split up in to groups and are focusing mainly on two bars that are just off of Bangla. In the evenings, we go out and pour in to the women who work there by hanging out, playing games, and learning about their lives. Our short-term goal is to gain the trust of the women we are working with and hopefully hang out with them outside of the bars. The long-term goal is to help them get them out of the bars permanently and away from the life of being a sex worker.
Our days on the island are long and jam-packed with work to do! One thing we do almost every day is prayer walk through Bangla road during the late afternoon. This gives us an opportunity to pray over the area and also talk to the women before it gets insanely busy in the evenings. We’ve gotten to meet some pretty cool people and start building friendships during that time. One such friendship is with a woman who works in one of the massage parlors on Bangla. She’s 42 and has four children, triplets that are 21 and one 2&1/2 year old, all daughters. One of her daughters works on Bangla as well in one of the bars as a sex worker. This newfound friend has three grandchildren ages 2 years old, 1 year old, and 8 months old. Her 2&1/2 year old daughter lives with her parents in Bangkok. She sees her every few months.
The night time schedule varies. Sunday through Tuesday night, we go in to certain bars to hang out with the girls working there. This gives them the stability of knowing we’re coming specifically to love on them. One girl we met has been working in the bars in Phuket for 11 years now. She has a two-year-old son that lives with her parents in Bangkok. Her main interaction with her son is the regular FaceTime calls she has with him.
Wednesday and Thursday night, we play volleyball with tourists, locals, and the Ladyboys that work in the bars. It’s a time of fun and fellowship where we can show the love of Jesus by the way we love people so different than ourselves.
Friday night we have a Bible study in the home of some of the church members that goes from 11pm to 2am. It’s a beautiful time where us as Americans can see the church body worship in a new way as most of the service is in Nepali (or Hindi, I’m not sure which language).
I ask that you cover our team in prayer this month as we work in a very dark part of the world. It’s heartbreaking to see God’s children being used in such a destructive way. I ask that you pray for protection for our hearts and minds as spiritual warfare is a very real thing here. I also ask that you pray for the women and men effected by the sex industry. Whether they’re selling their bodies or buying someone’s time, it’s a cycle of brokenness that destroys a community.
I can’t wait to share more stories with y’all from this beautiful place!
All the love from Thailand!
Katie Mere
