This month we are living and serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Our team will be doing ministry on the streets of the red light district doing “bar ministry” 6 nights a week. We will be building relationships and showing the tangible love of Christ to the women, working in the bars, along with the male patrons who seek to purchase their services.
My new teammate, Chelsey Owen, is an amazing writer, so I’m going to let her words describe the scene here:
“This country enchants me. I am drawn to its people, its culture. There is vibrancy present. Here exists “the color and fire and loveliness of life.” Yet, here is also darkest bondage, sinful depravity.
I am drawn to the charm and I am drawn to the horror.
Thailand is a dominant destination and source for sex-trafficking. This means it is a country which holds both supply and demand for the sex industry. Here, many are sold into the industry. And, here many remain, for this is a prominent “sex tourism” destination.”
“During the day, the street is heavy, quiet, sleeping. At night, it comes alive, writhing in its darkness.
We are here to bring the light of Jesus into this darkness.”
(Excerpts from Chelsey’s blog called “The charm and the horror.”)
5,000 women, children and men work in the sex industry in Chiang Mai in the “low” season. That number quadruples to 20,000 in the “tourist” season.
There is a definite beauty and allure here…but in that beauty the beast (the enemy) is very present, looking to steal, kill and destroy the children of God with temptation and darkness.
We have spent the last few days here in preparation for our work on the streets…praying, fasting, worshiping, prayer walking the district, learning about the culture and inner workings of the sex industry…and praying some more. Tonight will be my first night of ministry on the streets, while many of our teammates stay back and intercede on our behalf.
We will need your extra prayers this month…it will be a difficult month emotionally, mentally and spiritually. You prayers are powerful and effective and I really can’t thank you enough for being involved in my race through your intercession.
This month, you can also be involved in another way if you feel called:
In order to make conversation with these girls, we need to meet them in their place of work, at the bars. To be sure we keep good relationships with the bar owners we need to order sodas for ourselves and the girls as we sit and build relationships. Our desire is also to set up “dates” (coffee, lunch, explorations, etc.) with these girls during the daytime when we can get to know them more intimately and pour love over them…something that is sadly very foreign to them outside of work.
In all honesty, we don’t have money in our World Race budget to buy 6-8 Cokes every night or money for the “dates” we’d like to take these women on.
If you feel led to donate towards this aspect of ministry please email me ([email protected]) and I can let you know how to best get the money to me.
*we are only here until the 27th, so please let me know as soon as you can!
I love this excerpt from my teammate, Kylie Fujimoto’s blog:
“Maybe we’ll get the chance to lead them into a true relationship with Jesus. Maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll be able to see their chains completely break away from life in the Red Light District. Maybe we won’t. The only thing we can do for certain is love them where they are, as who we are, with what we have.”
(Excerpt from Kylie’s blog called “Lighting up the Red Light District”)
There is a strong darkness in this place; at times it’s truly overwhelming. But we are God’s temple and we carry His light and His hope.
We are carriers of His Spirit, bringers of His Presence and we will go into the darkness believing: “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
My new team: Team Ampersand (&)…Kylie, Chelsey, Me, Joey, Julie, Kyle & Justin!
