After traveling to 5 cities, 4 countries, and 2 continents in 60 hours I have arrived in Thailand! As soon as I stepped off the plane I could feel the humidity and an assortment of fried food and spices assaulted my nose. We all hung out at the YWAM base in Bangkok for Easter as I watched a torrential downpour virtually turn the streets into rivers. The next day we had cultural debrief where we learned how to not be loud, obnoxious, offensive Americans although I don’t know if we can ever really be cured of that no matter how hard we try. We then all piled into three large vans and drove a very uncomfortable 12 hours to Chiang Mai where we went through another orientation and moved into our new home.
This month we are working along with YWAM with their ministry here in Chaing Mai called Lighthouse in action. Our contact is a Thai lady named Emmi. There are three parts of our ministry. Two teams are out in the villages about three hours from here living with the people there and working alongside them in the rice fields. Another team is working at Emmi’s coffee shop which is located across the street from Chiang Mai University. My team along with two other teams is living in the Lighthouse guesthouse about 4 blocks from the red light district where we go into the bars four nights a week and talk to the men, women, and street children there.
The people working in the bars (called LoveActs) split into three groups. One focuses on slum children and goes into the slums and plays with the children and organizes English classes. Two other groups are focused on the bars. We alternate going into the bars in the afternoons and evenings. While one group goes into the bars the other group stays behind and prays.
Our goal for this month is to build relationships with these people and just love them. We are speaking through our actions. Emmi told us to put on the skin of Jesus and they will see there is something different. We do not just want to present the gospel and leave. In some cases we may never even get a conversation about Jesus with these girls. We are building on what other teams have done in the past and paving the way for new teams.
It often feels like we are on a secret mission. We are not to talk about Christianity until we know they are ready which could be weeks or even years. We are not to look like missionaries or under any circumstances tell these girls we are associated with YWAM or The World Race. If we see other groups from LoveActs in the bars we are to ignore them.
I thought it would be hard to go into the bars and not even be able to use the name of Jesus, but it wasn’t. He doesn’t need our words. His love and power transcends them. I did not know the volume of our actions until last night.
We were sitting with a girl named Nan. She works at the bar almost every night. We offered to buy her a cup of hot tea because she was not feeling well. To buy one of the girls a non-alcoholic drink costs twice as much as anything else. When we told her that was okay she lit up and bowed her head saying “Khwap Khun Kha” or thank you over and over again. She sat and talked with us for over an hour and gave us giant hugs when we had to go and wanted to know when we were coming back. It was not a normal night for her. She knew there was something different.
If you would like to join us in prayer for these girls we go out on Monday and Wednesday nights from 8-10:30, which is 7-9:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we go out in the afternoon which is about 2 in the morning in the U.S.
We pray for freedom for these girls. For the men who go there. For the ladyboys who sit on the street corner. For the children as young as four selling flowers in the bars. The power of prayer is unmatched on this earth. Thank you all for coming along side me on this journey!
