First day of ministry!!
I have the privilege of working at the cafe below where we are living with our ministry contact Emmi, and the Thai ladies who also work there. I love this ministry opportunity because it gives me the opportunity to serve in a very tangible way. It was so much fun to physically serve people- giving them lunch and smoothies and coffees. Most of them are racers, but it's also an opportunity to talk with tourists that come in and build relationships with them. It is especially fulfilling because my job is really much more than just the physical tasks, but building relationships with the girls to show them God's love for them.
In the evening we met as a squad and went out to do a prayer walk around the area that is the red light district. I went out with Brittany and we walked around the streets, prayed for the girls who were in the bars, the passport team who was there, and the male customers to have a change of heart. We walked through the market and ended up sitting on the ground with a woman who was begging with a child in her arms. Although she didn't speak much English, we really wanted to show her God's love and that she has value. When we first sat down with her, the men who had vendor carts nearby started laughing at us, like they couldn't understand why we crazy American girls would possibly want to sit on the street with this woman. Just by sitting with her for 15 minutes, it was easy to see how one could feel just totally degraded and worthless. People would simply pass us by without a glance; they were physically so far above us and it seemed all we were worth was being at their feet. I asked the woman if we could pray for her and we did, then we continued walking through the street. Brittany spoke of finding a bar to pray over and the next sentence did not even make it out of her mouth before there was a bar in front of us that had a huge light up sign called "The Bar". It was such an in-your-face answer from God that we went straight to it and stood across the street and prayed for the men and women that were there. While we were standing there, a woman came out of the bar dressed as if she were going out to entertain and as I watched her get on her motorcycle it broke my heart that I could not do anything to stop it. All I could do was pray for her, which I did, and trust that she was a beloved daughter of God who promises her the same thing he promises me- plans to prosper her and not to harm her, to give her a hope and a future. When we walked back to the cafe we are staying above, we walked past the bar that is right next door. There were about 5 girls sitting outside on stools attempting to lure customers into the bar with their beauty and charm. I was blown away that such a place of darkness could be so close to Emmi's cafe that is so full of God's presence.
A number of the women I am working with have been a part of the prostitution in this city and this cafe is their hope for a way out of it. Emmi has been their opportunity to feel that there is another option for them to support themselves and their family. It is such an honor and blessing to be able to work with these women and Emmi who have been through so much, but as one of the women said when I asked her how she got through her long day of work, "God gives me strength", and that is so true.
The word that kept ringing through my head yesterday was redemption. I ask for prayer for redemption for the city, for the bars, the women and ladyboys who work there, and the men who are customers there. That their hearts would be changed and they would realize what a broken and empty avenue prostitution is and how God has total satisfaction and love to offer them.
