Phuket, Thailand

SHE ministry is incredible ministry that we will be working with in Phuket, Thailand this month.  Phuket is the hotspot for tourism in Thailand and is known for some of the most beautiful beaches and islands in the world.  Apart from that it is also known for being most famous for it’s sex toursim which also lures in western men from all of the world. The beach known best for this is Patong Beach, which is about a 15 min drive from SHE, where we will be staying all month.  Patong Beach has a street in particular called Bangla Rd. that is famous for it’s bars and thai women. The “bar girls” are women along Bangla Rd. that work in the bars.  They are paid to work the bars by visiting or playing games with customers or dancing.  These women also can be bought by customers for the night.  Most of the girls we will be working with are in the open (outdoor) bars along Bangla Rd. and are working there by choice or because of the money they need to support their families who live in other areas of Thailand. At SHE we go into these bars by a coke or sprite or other soft drink and make conversation with the women.  From then on we will go back and visit her and build a solid relationship.  If we feel she is genuine and really wants help out of the bars we lead her in the direciton of SHE ministry, which offers women a way out of the bars and into other trades.  Another way to get them involved with she is through the English classes offered two days a week in the Patong beach area. Ministry at SHE works! While we’ve been here other teams have had girls come out of the bars and have been introduced to Jesus.  It’s amazing! 

When you first step foot on Bangla Rd. this sense of heaviness quickly falls.  Spirtitually it’s a very dark place.  Perversion is everywhere and prostitutes line the street. Stepping into the bar scene is not a typical american bar scene. There are girls dancing on tables and flocking to any man that takes a seat at their bar.  It’s kind of like hooters on steroids. Spirtual warfare is real. We have to armor up and pray it up before ever setting foot on the road.  We actually go on prayer walks throughout the area before our night of bar minsitry.  We also have to look at everyone even the men.. the customers, some American some European, with God’s eyes and not eyes of judgement or anger.  Our Jesus died for them as well and we have to look at them with love, which at times can be super challenging.  

So far… we’ve had two nights of bar ministry. The first night was just an introduction to Bangla. The second night the bars were all  closed so four of us went to the beach area where some of the girls hang out.  We ended up sitting at some steps where a group of thai girls were sitting and just prayed for them. As we sat, we watched as western men would come up and talk to them.  After we left the steps we walked to the beach and started praying and declaring who God is over Bangla Rd and Thailand.  It was powerful to gaze up at the stars in the sky and look out at the Indian Ocean, who our God had so intricately created. We then prayed hard that the men would be gone by the time we got back to the steps, which totally happened.  One of my teammates, Susan, had something she felt like God wanted to say to one of the girls so out of her boldness she took it on.  I think her boldness caused the three of us to step out. I quickily started a conversation with one of the girls named RaRa.  She was full of joy, laughter, and energy. She shared everything with me.. I mean.. everything. She told stories of customers and how one had even died while she was with him.  She told me that she didn’t like what she did but she has to provide for her family and regular salary jobs don’t pay enough and the hours are too long.  I asked her if she wanted to leave her job as a sex worker and she said maybe next year.  I then brought SHE ministry into the equation and handed her one of the handouts that explains what SHE is in thai. She kept it and was very thankful for it.  I then asked her for her number because one way of building relationships with the girls is by taking them to lunch.  I can’t wait to see what God has for this relationship with RaRa. Please pray for her and for our relationship to form and grow.  God kept telling me that night to speak truth to her.. to speak out that she is beautiful and that she is loved by her Creator.. her Father. Everytime I told her this she would hug me and kiss me on the cheek.  I want her life to change. I want her to know that there is hope in a new and better future.  That there is love from a Father that is greater than anything she could ever imagine and that there is grace that covers all.  I want to tell her that she was created in His image and that the King of Kings is enthralled by her beauty. She takes his breath away.  As I say these things.. and I think these things it makes me wonder if  I really believe these things about God.  Do I believe He is my romancer? Do I feel Him whispering into my ear about His love for me and how His thoughts about me outnumber the grains of sand.  It’s definitely something I want. I want more of Jesus.  I want to ascend to the heights and fall deeper in love with Him and carry His name to the end of the earth with boldness and strength.  

Please just be in prayer for my teammates. I know a lot of junk is going to be thrown at us and is already being thrown.  It’s hard not to get a headache or feel seriously heavy when walking into a bar. The enemy is real.. but we’ve already won.  We want our eyes to shine the light of Jesus into these girls.  We want boundless energy and joy that fills the air on Bangla Rd. and we want to walk thick in the Holy Spirit and let Him be our guide.  

Pray that I can hear His voice.. sometimes I feel like my ears are filled with cotton and I can’t hear Him.  This comes with being intimate with Him.. so time with Him daily has to happen in order to walk into what he has called us to do this month.  

I haven’t taken many pictures yet but definitely will be uploading some soon to fb.. be on the look out. 

Cambodia was incredibly hard to leave. I loved, moonwalked, encouraged, played, had boytalk, taught handbells to “All Things New”, “hapraned” (exercised), had heart to hearts, and formed real realtionships with the guys and and a friend of mine on staff at Daughters.  

And also the family that runs SHE is an amazing British family. So pysched to serve them this month. They are seriously like our mom and dad.  I’ve already connected with them over soccer, Coldplay, and U2 and unlike the Irish girl last month.. they appreciate good sports and good music.  (she told me that noone in the UK likes soccer, Coldplay, and U2)

We are living in a house full of teams working at SHE.. other World Race teams and a YWAM team.  Let’s just say there are a lot of girls in this house. We sleep in bunk beds and mine overlooks a local school’s soccer field.. oh snap.  Our food is rice and mystery thai stir fry basically every night and we have no AC and hot water.  Life is good though. 

Days we aren’t at bar ministry we are working in the thailand jungle.. hacking trees and clearing vines on the new land that SHE is going to build on.  It’s good to be outdoors and sweat.  Weekends we have free and get to beach it up.  Beaches are beauuutiful here. This weekend, out of our personal funds, we are going island hopping, which should be incredible. Pictures to follow. 

We are a 5 min walk from 711 where there is chocolate milk, snickers bars, amazing ham and cheeses, and home of the coke slurpy.. Oh and praise God for iced coffee in asain countries. Who knew condensed milk could change my world.