….I honestly have tried about 10 times to start this blog and keep hitting a brick wall. There is no real way that I can find to express all the emotions that ministry in Phuket, Thailand stirs in me….but I’ll do my best:
Bangla Road- Day
Bangla Road- Night
It’s Saturday night, 99% of people on Bangla Road (located on the beach, it is one block, w/ 200 bars, and over 2,000 prostitutes and ladyboys) are getting drunk, buying prostitutes, indulging themselves in every kind of lust and sinfulness you can imagine…but something was different about that Saturday night…
Three courageous women hit the street with the hope of making a few new friends. These young women had one purpose: love w/ Christ’s love…whatever that looked like….whoever that looked like….
….Our first night out we worshipped and prayed as a squad and then 15 of us went out in 4 small groups. My team: Leslie, Bridget, and me
We had no idea what to expect as we headed out into the streets, we’d been told to be covered in prayer because the spiritual atmosphere was intense so we did…earlier in the day we had a chance to go out on a prayer walk asking God where He wanted us to go that night for ministry. Bridget and myself both saw Freedom Bar during the prayer walk and knew that was where our ministry would be this month. When I saw the Bar sign, I saw two doves painted above the lights….I couldnt help stopping and just staring at the sign….”FREEDOM BAR??? really God? In the middle of all the other bars with names like “Bad Girls Bar, and G-Spot Bar….there is FREEDOM BAR” I whole heartedly believe that God has BIG plans for this bar…its already spoken over them in the name!
….BRIGHT lights….BOOMING music….LUSTING eyes….SMELLS of trash in the air…SENSORY OVERLOAD….people everywhere bumping into you, ladyboys flaunting flamboyant costumes, beautiful people thrusting papers in your face for “ping pong shows”, LOUD music all around, thousands of lost people….
Our Street- Day
Soi Eric- Night (Soi means street in Thai)
It’s Saturday night, we push our way through the crowd and I am hopeful, I am feeling optimistic, upbeat, walking in the knowledge that I a royal daughter of the Most High God, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords…yep I belong to HIM, there’s no need to worry cuz God’s got my back…
We get to Freedom Bar and are instantly recognized by our friends. We had been out the Thursday before and met a few girls who worked as bartenders and as prostitutes at the bar. As we approached they instantly recognized us and came up excitedly, grabbing the bar games (Connect 4 and Jenga) and a Sprite we settle in for some fun 🙂 There are 6 girls at this bar who have truly stolen my heart but I will write another blog later just to tell you more about them.
As we begin to play the games I see them….the 4 large middle aged white men drinking at the bar…Fon (one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met) is waiting hand and foot on one of them, his hands are all over her, his eyes are distant and look bored….every time I look up my stomach turns and I’m afraid I might be sick….I quickly look away and try to slather a smile on my face as I play Jenga with another woman named Da. I ask her about her family and whether she likes her job, if she has kids and how long she has worked here….as we talked no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t keep focused, that feeling in the pit of my stomach was growing and my heart began to race……
