My heart raced as I nervously walked down the streets of Chiang Mai. I knew that what I was about to walk into would be unlike anything I’ve experienced so far on the Race, and maybe even in my life. Kate and I chatted about life. I contributed to the conversation, but my mind was elsewhere, thinking about the environment we were getting closer to with every step. As we approached the MUAY THAI BOXING sign at the entrance of the ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX, my heartbeat actually slowed down and God began to speak to me about LOVE.
Kate was drawn to the FULL MOON BAR after reading blogs about the relationships made with previous racers. We realized that God was directing us to this bar as well because there were signs all over that the FULL MOON BAR was the place where Kate and I would make new friends this month.
I have to admit that I was still a little nervous about the initial contact with the women who work in the bar, but only because I don’t enjoy the awkward small talk that happens when you first meet someone. Kate and I ordered a soda and a juice, and played a game called “Shut the Box”. We laughed so much that people in the bar and people sitting at other bars were looking at us.
That’s when it happened…we met our first friend, Goi.
Goi is one of the girls working at the bar. She sat down with the game Jenga and said, “Let’s play this game.” She was beautiful and spoke very good English. We asked her a few questions, but she eventually did most of the talking. Our main conversation was about her ex-boyfriend and how he broke her heart. After a while of playing Jenga, she got up to go to the bathroom, but never returned to our table.
Then it happened again…we met another friend, Mine.
Mine just plopped down on the seat across from me and started playing Connect Four. She didn’t say anything and was very aggressive with the game. After a few games of Connect Four, she just started talking and didn’t stop until it was time for us to leave. At first Kate and I thought she didn’t speak English because when we tried to ask her questions, she didn’t respond. The truth is though, she speaks great English, but I suppose she didn’t want to talk to us at first. She ended up sharing about her ex-boyfriend as well, and how he broke her heart. We encouraged her as much as she would listen, but all I saw was a woman with a broken heart who was still very much consumed by the love of this man, who hurt her physically and emotionally.
God then spoke to me so clearly about my personal ministry. He has already revealed to me this year that I will be mentoring and discipling women on a deeper level than I did before the Race. So now here He was, showing me what that would look like…a woman sitting at my kitchen table, pouring her heart out about love, life, and everything in between. WOW! It was beautiful and here I was getting an example from God in Chiang Mai, listening to a prostitute who would become my friend.
As the month continued, we had lunch dates with Mine and visited the girls in the bar every Monday through Thursday night from 7:00-9:00pm. We played a lot of pool and drank a lot of Coca Colas, so much so that when we walked into the bar, they asked, “Coke or juice?” and they would grab their pool sticks, ready to play. We would always hug them when we left the bar, and became close with another girl Poo and the bar owner, Pa.
Mine is the girl we spent most of our time with…shopping, lunch, errands, hanging out at the bar. One time she put her hand on mine as we were leaving the bar and said, “Thank you for coming.”
I celebrated my 28th birthday in Chiang Mai, on a mission trip, dancing in a nightclub, with prostitutes. Sounds crazy, huh?
Well that’s how God works…He leads us to the most unlikely people and into the most unlikely situations in order for us to work in His glory. I would never have thought that I would drive around Chiang Mai on the back of a scooter with my friend, who happens to work in bar and sell her body at night. I would never have imagined that I would run errands with this girl, hug her, laugh with her, play games with her, listen to her heart, and see her through God’s eyes, and not care about her current occupation.
All of the women we met this month…Goi, Mine, Poo, Pa…they are all children of God and He sent us there to love them unconditionally. He sent me to do ministry in an environment, a bar, where two years ago I was hanging out and getting drunk. But now, I’m sober and spreading the love of Jesus Christ. Sounds crazy, huh?
I spent a month playing pool at the FULL MOON BAR, loving women, and not caring at all about what anyone but the Lord thought of my actions. It seems crazy to go out and love people who the world looks at with disgust, but I learned this month that they are people who need something more than what they have. They are people who are searching for something greater, and my prayer is that a seed was planted and we were able to show them a glimpse of that “something greater”…a glimpse of JESUS!
