You may find this month that I don’t do a lot of detailed posting describing my ministry. And there will definitely be very few pictures (last month’s pictures are coming, I promise!). For the month of November my whole squad is in Thailand and partnering with a ministry called Lighthouse in Action. Thailand is one of the leading countries in human trafficking. Lighthouse seeks to provide prevention, intervention, and restoration to those at risk of being or are involved in the industry. My squad is made up of six teams and we are split into the three different ministries.
1. Visiting slums/chatting with monks (prevention)
2. Volunteering in a cafe/hostel (restoration)
3. Bar ministry (intervention)
My team and Team Wildflowers make up the members of number three – bar ministry. In the mornings we prayer walk through the Red Light District. In the afternoon a few of us go out for about two hours to help clean, set up the bars, and build friendships with the men and women or we intercede for the people who are out. At night a few people who did not go out during the afternoon ministry, go out in order to build relationships. During this time, the remainder of the two teams, even those who went out for day ministry, meet and corporately intercedes for the people who are out.
I keep saying “building relationships” but what does that mean or look like?
We start by asking the Lord during our morning prayer walk if there is somewhere in particular He wants us to go. Then, later in the day we follow that leading. Once in a bar, we purchase cokes and try to start up conversation with the prostitutes, lady boys, bartenders, owners, Johns (customers), etc. We had an intensive orientation with our host the first three days after arriving in Thailand who taught us about Thai culture and effective ministry. The people in the bars are there to make a living and if we don’t purchase anything there isn’t really a need to talk to us. Then we proceed to talk, play pool or other bar games, or this or that. We really just want to become friends with them so we focus on getting to know them and having fun – since that is what friends do together. Our hope is to invite them to activities or meals outside of the bars – lunch, dinner, mani/pedis, movie nights, etc. And hopefully connect them to our ministry host before we leave at the end of the month.
Meanwhile…
As people are out in the bars, the rest of the two teams intentionally intercede on their behalf and cover them with prayers. It has also been encouraging to have some of our squadmates come and intercede with us each night! This is where I have been so far. It has been amazing. Praying for a couple hours at a time is tiring and can feel long. But, it’s amazing to hear the stories that my teammates come back with and how our prayers were answered. I feel like something God has spoken over me, and my team really, is learning spiritual perseverance. Honestly, I’m not fully certain what that means but I’m excited to see how God moves in it.
Needless to say, the days are long and heavy. Oppression and exploitation are all around us and my heart has been burdened by the constraints they put on people. Darkness fills the bar scene and it’s heartbreaking to see all the effects. BUT, I know that every time we step into those areas we are bringing The Light with us. And where The Light is the darkness cannot prevail.
Along with giving information about the month, there are two things I’m asking for help in through this blog.
Prayer
Please cover us with your prayers. Like I said, it’s a hard and heavy month and we need all the fighters we can get. Specifically, if you want to join us in intercession you can! It goes as follows:
PST: 5 am – 7 am
MST: 6 am – 8 am
CST: 7 am – 9 am
EST: 8 am – 10 am
So, these are the American times for when we will actually be out at night in Thailand. Please join us in this time! Whether it’s 5 min or the whole 2 hours! And if you want to send me a message or add a comment I would love to know!
Enabling
There are 12 of us from our team cycling through ministry throughout the week. That means that about six of us go out a night (we split so that half of us are interceding and half are out building relationships). Remember how I mentioned buying drinks and trying to hangout outside of the bars? Well, we are in need of about $800 in order to do this well. Please consider giving towards this fund! I have no doubt that all twelve of us involved would break our banks in order to pour out all the love we can. We would love your help. You can donate through AIM and the funds will go directly to us and into this ministry! Click this link: http://give.adventures.org/campaign.asp?campaignid=1138 and it will take you directly to the page. Especially if you feel a special heart tug towards oppression, exploitation, prostitutes, etc. please help us!
If you want to know more please reach out to me! I will share all that I can! We have only gone out four times so far and God is already forming relationships between us and the people at the bars. It’s a beautiful and humbling thing to be a part of!
