YING: What a beautiful young girl. The first time we met Ying, I actually never spoke to her. Heidi and I interceded as Tara and Jeannie sparked up a conversation. The next time we were out we made a point of seeing her again. Every nght we came to that bar, she would leave whoever she was with whether friend or customer and tell them that her friends were here and that she had to go. It was somewhat humerous at some points to see the guys face when the girl they were planning on taking home got up and left to hang out with four American girls. She would always find us the best seat and sit and talk to us as long as we stayed. Everytime I reached for the check, she would look at me like a small child and ask if we had to leave. Sometimes we would stay longer, but she was always sad when we left. Our last night, we were trying to get her to come and eat with us so we could talk to her without the distractions of the loud music. After begging and pleading, Tara finally was able to convince her to come get some dinner with us for a few minutes. She told us to walk away from the bar so we weren’t seen, then we saw her gesture stomach pains to her boss, she then walked in the edge of the bar, looked both ways and began motioning us to keep walking as she darted towards us in her 4 in heals. We could see the excitement on her face as she caught up with us. For the next 30 minutes we were able to take her out to dinner. It wasn’t a huge God moment where she left the bars that night, but we were able to love on her. At the end of the night she got all of our email addresses and facebooks so that we could keep in touch with her. I pray that our friendship will become discipleship in the next months and that she will see that it wasn’t us that she was drawn to but God the creator of the universe.
NIM: We met this beautiful girl because she was friends with Ying. We only had a couple of nights of conversation with her. I learned that she worked here in order to raise money to open up her own beauty salon. She had huge dreams and I admired her for that. Like Ying, she would always leave who she was talking to to come and talk to us. On the last night, she was talking to a man, and she came up to us and put her purse at our table and said that she wanted us to save her seat til she was done. After about ten minutes of waiting for her she came over and gave me a hug. She said that she had to go but would be back in an hour. She wanted us to wait, but looking at my watch I knew that we would have to leave before then. With tears in my eyes I told her that we had to leave, and she was said don’t worry I will see you the next time. I looked at her again and told her that it was our last night. She asked when we would be back to Thailand, and I just shook my head. She hugged me again for the last time and said she was sorry. She sadly turned her back and took the guys hand that she had been talking to and walked away. It broke me to see Nim walk away, but I pray that God will continue to work in her life. I pray that other teams will form a relationship with her and show her how great our God is and how full of grace and love.
SA: Sa is probably one of the last girls we met and completely divine appointed. As we walked the streets one night, Tara said that we needed to go to a bar with Green and Yellow. Tara said that it was down Tiger Street. As we walked down the street, Heidi pointed to a bar with bar tenders dressed in those colors. We all sat at the bar and then a girl walked up with a dress with mickey mouse on it, which instantly drew Tara’s eyes being from Orlando, FL. Starting up the conversation we found that she had already been to SHE four weeks ago and loved it. She also informed us that she was working another job apart from the bar also, that woke her up at 8 am in the morning, giving her about 4 hours of sleep every night. With exhausted eyes she looked at us. It was like she had chains keeping her here that she couldn’t even explain. We continued to come and talk to her those last few nights. Begging her to just leave and come to SHE with us. She always turned us down, but never with confidence. Every night I pray that whatever is holding Sa to that bar will break away. I pray that she will see that she is worth more than what this job provides and that when she does realize this she will not only seek physical rest but rest in the Father.
When we started this ministry in Thailand, in my head I figured we would rescue one or two girls from the hell they were living in. I had high hopes for every conversation and lunch date. In the end, they are all still there. Tonight, they will get dressed, drink until they can’t feel, and work. On the outside, it appears that nothing changed and the devil could begin to trick me into thinking that me going to the bars was a waste of time. But a TRICK would be all that it was, because although it appears to be the same, those girls will never be the same. They now know that not everyone that comes to speak to them, are in it for what the girls can provide. They can look back to four girls that spoke to them like equal humans instead of animals. Who valued them as women and people of society, that beleived in them, were willing to pray over them, and were trustworthy friends. I also know that even when we leave, our Father never does. He is always there, looking at his daughters with tear filled eyes whispering to them how much he loves and adores them. I pray that each of these women would see him and run into their Father’s arms and feel a love and grace that they never knew existed.
I ask that you would choose one of these girls to pray for. That you would stand in the gap…
