Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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We’ve been praying for rain all month and it finally came! It was beautiful! Our excitement rose as we saw we were the only truck going over the mountain towards Patong as streams of cars were coming out. Kat, Kristen and I ran through the downpour towards the bars and were met by one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen- an empty nighttime Bangla. People were taking cover in the bars but considering that there were 4000 of America’s finest in town, it was pretty empty.






 


Soi Tiger on an even emptier night before the poles get filled

 

We were given a heads up that 4 ships of Navy/Marines were going to be docking in Phuket this week so we braced ourselves for a crazy night. It was pretty surreal seeing so many Americans and I went back and forth between wanting to punch and hug them. It’s kinda rough seeing a piece of home drunkenly stumble down the street, grope our girls or walk in groups into strip clubs. At the first bar it was mostly punching that I wanted to do. The guys were so busy trying to get girls and the girls were so busy trying to pull in the guys that we couldn’t really get any attention in edgewise.

 


I can’t get one scene out of my head- The bar owner glared at one of the girls working for him at the bar we were sitting at. She caught the glare and threw herself at the next group of guys that walked past. She whispered something in the guy’s ear and he yelled in celebration, picked her up and carried her out of the bar. The girls drink more when the military is in town and I can see why.


 


Before we left the house for the night I was praying and God showed me a picture of a guy in an army green shirt with black designs on it. We hadn’t been at the first bar for 2 minutes before I saw him at the next bar over. I prayed to see what I was supposed to do but didn’t get anything so I took him as a sign we were in the right place. The first bar was crazy so we decided to head out after only a few minutes. We were standing under shelter trying to decide if we should go to one of our favorite bars across the road and there he was again, standing right in front of it. We ran across the street and into such a different vibe.


 



My drink of choice

 

God went to work in that place, you could just feel that something was different. Even the men there were different. They weren’t the typical drunks on a power trip fawning all over the girls. They were just a group of nice military guys hanging out, drinking beer and playing a little pool. Kristen was able to use her pool experience to play against them and got to talk to them about Jesus and why we were there! I got to talk to a girl there that I had met the other week and we talked and laughed with some of the other girls for pretty much the whole night. I told her about the English classes that SHE has and she was so excited! We took so long exchanging phone numbers, I prayed the whole time the bar owner wouldn’t notice. We also got an e-mail address to stay in touch with one of the other girls there. After one last pool game we made our way out after lots of hugs and goodbyes from the girls. Usually towards the end of the night we are exhausted and ready to head out but this was one of the first nights that I actually wanted to stay. We danced and laughed back towards the truck. As well as the rain, God’s presence was felt on Bangla Rd. that night.

 


P.S. This night, as well as most of the Race, proves to me again how easy witnessing is. We hype it up and make it a big deal, but really it’s just conversation.


 


P.P.S. Our night out tonight was canceled due to 2 ft. of flooding from the rain on Bangla Rd. It hasn’t let up yet. Hello, monsoon season! J


 


P.P.P.S. Keep praying for our girls at Country Bar and Cowboy Bar (can you sense a theme?). I’m so sad that tomorrow is our last night out! Hopefully we planted some seeds and someone will be along to keep the God conversations going. Also, tomorrow is our gig at one of the bars! Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in those around us as we worship on Bangla Rd. and for us not to get rained out.


 


Love you all!


 





Kristen and one of our friends