When you picture Thailand, likely you’d imagine untouched white-sand beaches, magical islands jetting from the sea, and endless jungle rainforests. I’ll admit, I arrived with the same American idolizing view of Thailand, and maybe that land does exist somewhere, but that is not the way I’d describe the place I’ve lived in over the past 3 weeks.
When we first arrived in Thailand, my whole squad got together for a debrief in Bangkok. We were able to eat lots of delicious street food, rest, and unwind from the past two months of Ask the Lord ministry. It was a relief to see everyone after weeks of running around various foreign countries like chickens with our heads cut off. But we all survived, hooray! The main purpose of putting all 45 smelly world racers in one hostel though was to announce our new teams. I’m excited to share that these are the five women I have the pleasure of traveling with over the next three months—Team Top Knot Globe Trot! Some of these faces should look awfully familiar as Kirsty and Naomi were on my previous team, but I am super excited to get to know Baileigh, Shannon, and Jenny! The words peace and joy were spoken over our team when leadership placed us together so I am excited to see how God moves through us over the next few months.
From left to right: Baileigh, Naomi, Kirsty, Shannon, me, and Jenny
For our first venture as a new team, we took an overnight bus north about 10 hours to Chiang Mai. I think I got a solid 45 minutes of sleep on that bus ride. There, we were able to partner with a ministry contact that many World Race teams utilize, Zion Café and Hostel. While it is a coffee shop and hostel, Zion is also a ministry that does outreach projects with monks, children living in the slums, and women working in the bars. We were lucky to spend our time doing all three ministry opportunities alongside the interns working at Zion.
Throughout our time in Chiang Mai, we also had the opportunity to minister to one another a lot. Unfortunately, my whole team (aside from me) got sick with the hand, foot, and mouth virus. They all had body rashes, lesions on their hands, terribly sore throats, and achy feet. As a team, we visited the hospital six times in our first week together! The doctor told them it was contagious through their saliva so the doctor prescribed them some antibiotics and for me to wear a face mask. Thank the Lord my strong immune system and extreme germaphobic tendencies kept me in the clear!
On our last day, the girls were feeling better so we were able to explore the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. This was probably one of the most magical experiences I’ve had on the World Race thus far. There is something about standing next to a 30-year old, 2-ton gentle giant that makes my heart flutter. We were able to feed them, give them a mud bath and swim with them in the river. Just to let you know, all of the magic disappeared the moment I stepped my bare feet into the muddy, poop-infested pool. They kept encouraging me to grab mud from the bottom and rub it along the elephants back, but after witnessing two turds float past me, I had to get the heck out of that shit show. But aside from that, pure magic.
We traveled back south to Pattaya to meet up with the whole squad again for another debrief. We stayed at a hotel located along an alleyway just a few meters from the beach. During the day, the street was quiet but at night, it light up with neon signs, blaring music, and thousands of people. Workers for the bars, strip clubs and “massage” parlors viciously competed to try and get you into their chairs. Old white men walked down the streets with young Thai woman and into hotels. I have never witnessed spiritual darkness in such a visual way.
Every night, my whole squad gathered on the fourth floor of the hotel in a room that was open to the outside to sing worship songs. We were high enough to get a birds-eye view of the street, but close enough to hear and witness the activities below. Fifty voices singing the Lord’s praise over a street full of so much darkness was such a blessing. I could feel the weight of the responsibility I carried by shining God’s light, but I also felt the Holy Spirit in a tangible way that I haven’t before. It was something I’ll never forget.
The night before we left Pattaya, my whole squad gathered with another World Race squad on the beach for more worship. While we were singing, the waves crashed along the littered shoreline and God gave me a vision. He showed me how He saw us that night. There was an intense darkness surrounding the beach with small flashes of colored lights from the nightclubs and bars. But then there was a blinding white light that was impossible to ignore. It was us. The crazy thing about darkness is that it’s defined as the absence of light. So by 70 believers gathering on a beach, singing worship and praises to God, we were abolishing the power of the darkness. How freaking cool God!
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” –John 1:5
After worship that night, I went to do bar ministry in the Red Light District with Kayce and Emily. We felt led by the Spirit to go into a few bars where we bought the girls some Coke and sat with them for a while. We asked them questions about their lives and poured the love of the Lord into them. While talking with the women may not seem like much “kingdom work,” building relationships with women at these bars allows us to share the love Jesus has for them. While so much spiritual darkness surrounds these regions, God calls us to be His light and to love all people. He calls us to listen to their stories, observe their lives, voice God’s truths, and embrace them with open arms. No matter how scary.
Prostitution in Thailand is a huge epidemic. Many of the women are single mothers, who leave their children in their home villages and come to the tourist destinations to provide for their families. Their socio-economic vulnerability is exploited by an industry that forces them to sell their bodies for money. Some women are also brought in through sex trafficking, lured by false promises. So please pray for these women. Pray for the light of Jesus Christ to shatter the darkness that occupies Thailand. Pray for their hearts to be softened by the word of God. Pray for the men that exploit these women. They need Jesus just as much.
Interesting facts about Thailand:
- If you’re born in Thailand, it is expected that you are Buddhist; the nation is 95% Buddhist
- Many families send their children to schools to be monks because they get free education
- All skincare products have whitening agents in them; women want to be as pale as possible and take sun protection very seriously
- Shrines of the deceased King are widely dispersed throughout the country—everyone highly respects him and his passing
- Tuk tuk’s are local taxi transport vehicles that look like a motorbike car hybrid
- $1 USD = 34.5 Baht
- There are 7/11 Convenience stores every block
- Prostitution is illegal but the police don’t do anything about it; there are strip clubs, lady boys and sketchy bars everywhere
- Women sit on stools in the streets wanting men to buy them for 3,000+ baht a night, depending on what they do and how long they stay
- Street vendors cut food with scissors rather than knives
- Fresh smoothies made with real fruit can be found for 58¢
- Pad Thai, som tum (papaya salad), puhket curry are common street food dishes
Prayer Requests: As my team is still new, please pray for unity and genuine community among us. Pray for open hearts and minds as we develop deep friendships with one another. Please keep Jenny and Kirsty’s World Race finances in your prayers as they are not yet fully funded for the race. Donate too if you feel led! Please keep my continued good health in your prayers and for my team to stay healthy as well. Pray for the ministry we are doing in Myanmar throughout the month of June with Myanmar Bible College, they’re raising up mighty warriors for the Kingdom!
Lots of love,
Britt
