I’m in Thailand.
I’ve always wanted to come, but now that I’m here it is kind
of surreal. I have been in Latin America for five months, and now I’m in Asia.
It is such a difference, but to be completely honest, I’m not experiencing
culture shock as of yet. I just feel ready. I’m ready for a new culture. I’m
ready to see God work in huge ways. I’m just ready.
My team will be working with woman trapped in the sex
industry. Essentially these women are slaves – trapped. We will be going to the
bars for ministry this month. We will be talking to the girls to give them hope
for their future. We will also be ministering to the men who are the clients,
recognizing that they are also trapped – in the bondage of lust, materialism
and sin.
During the 53 hour travel day from Guatemala to Thailand, I
had a lot of time to reflect on this upcoming month. It is going to be hard. It
is going to be different from what I have been doing for the last five months.
In some ways I had gotten comfortable in the ministry style of Latin America.
And now we’re in a new culture, with new challenges. So many changes.
In Latin America, our primary adversaries were idolatry,
witchcraft and skewed Catholicism. In Asia we will be facing materialism,
apathy, slavery, Buddhism and human trafficking. Completely different cultures;
different challenges.
But the same God.
The same God
we saw heal a man’s knee in El Salvador
will heal
the hearts of prostitutes.
The same God who gave me the courage to speak His name in
door to door
evangelism will give me courage to approach a woman trapped
in sexual slavery.
The same God
who loves witch-doctors in Nicaragua,
loves the men buying sex in Thailand.
The same God we worshipped in dance in the Amazon,
we will also worship in the bars of Thailand.
God is the same everywhere in the world. He loves us all –
from the witch-doctor in Nicaragua to the prostitute in Thailand to the apathetic
North American. He meets us where we’re at, and loves us.
And really, that is all we need.
