Every Life Counts.

    While serving alongside the Tamar Center this past month there have been a number of times where I have felt completely heartbroken.  Not only does the number of women in prostitution grip me, but broken women as a whole.  In the midst of being overwhelmed by not only numbers but hearts here in Pattaya, this ministry has both captivated and challenged me that EVERY LIFE COUNTS.
    I have been completely captured by the heartbeat of the Tamar Center, a ministry in Pattaya, Thailand whose mission is Offering hope, healing, and new life to bar girls and prostitution in Pattaya.  Their vision is “to work with local churches to show the love and compassion of Jesus by bringing help and healing to the estimated 20,000 girls and women in Pattaya involved in prostitution.” 

Their focus centers around outreach each week by going into the bars and establishing relationships, a training program for the women that leave their old lives and come to the center seeking a new life, and special banquet nights hosted several times a year with the purpose of pouring out Christ’s love upon these women.  They seek to meet their physical, emotional, & spiritual needs by providing training in practical skills & English classes, employment, Bible teaching, as well as counseling.  Instead of focusing on the 20,000 women that haven’t yet been reached, they focus on the one who has.  And that’s where the one comes in…

    I could tell you about Fon, an incredible woman currently heading up the card making center who never ceases to have a smile on her face.  Previous to Tamar she worked as a prostitute for 9 months trying to survive with her children, following an unhealthy marriage with an alcoholic husband.  Resulting from this was depression and attempts to commit suicide.  However, through God’s pursuit of her she has found life again through coming to the Tamar Center, where she exudes inexpressible joy.

   I could also tell you about Nadada, a woman who God gave a new name followed with an entirely new identity.  Prior to Tamar she worked in a bar for 8 months, where she felt she had no choice because she needed to provide for her 8 month-old daughter following her husband’s death.  After she learned about the Tamar Center offering English classes, she joined and began making cards, as well as working in the coffee shop.  Throughout this time she found Christ, who gave her the name “Nadada,” which is the Thai word for the perfume that Mary poured on Jesus’ feet. Today she is on staff, reflecting a new identity with the “beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.”

 

 

it’s not entirely about the world’s brokenness all around me,