This month my team is working in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We our working with an organization
called Lighthouse in Action. The ministry group we are working
within is called Love Acts. Love acts works within the Red
Light District here in Chiang Mai.
Their motive is to:
Protect lives from being trapped in
trafficking.
Prevent harm that is happening
to local Thais
Preserve life that
has been destroyed by the enemy
Restore lives to the
fullness of their existence
They are here to protect, prevent, preserve, and restore LIFE.
Hands on ministry involves visiting the bars four times a week and talking with
the women working there. Our
ministry host told us not to say we are missionaries or preach the gospel. Many people might be shocked that we
aren’t preaching the gospel, but the
reality is they want us to share the gospel by our actions. Love in Action. That is the focus of the
ministry. The gospel is shared by
our own actions and testimony we share with the girls. It is almost crazy to think that someone
can know who Jesus is without ever mentioning His name…but that is the core of
what it means to be a Christian. To shine in the darkness through our actions,
not words. Walking in the light.
Many of the girls in the red light district have “chosen” to work there. Most of them come here from the slums in Thailand. Most of them have poor families that
they are supporting or children they have to provide for. Many girls don’t have the right
documents to get a regular job or schooling. So the only answer seems to be the bars. The typical Thai person earns $300 a
month, whereas these girls earn around $2,000 a month.
Once we had our orientation, Bethsaida (one of our ministry
host) said that our job here is not to rescue the girls from sex trafficking. She said that our success is instead measured by how much
we listen to and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
We are here to plant,
water, and harvest.
The first night here we simply walked through the district
and prayed. I prayed that God
would open my heart to where He desired me to be, who He desired me to pour
into, where my presence would benefit the kingdom the most. Once I
stepped onto the street, my heart began beating faster and I felt the sudden
spiritual darkness press in around me.
Women wouldn’t look me in the eyes…lady boys came up to
me and tried to get me to come to their bars. Western men would put their heads down when I passed by.
My heart broke. The
spiritual deception, oppression, and strongholds are so strong here. The sin is so blatantly apparent. In America we hide our sin so
well. But seeing the sin here out
in the open. So apparent. So clearly.
I know that no matter where I go, the sin is still there. Deception,
oppression, and strongholds are in America.
I might feel inadequate because I have never done ministry like this before. I
have never faced this kind of spiritual darkness. But God does not call the equipped, He equips the
called. And the victory has
already been won.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according
to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God
for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that
exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we
don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the
others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and
drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected
by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our
salvation.
