Thailand in Photos

This month in Thailand was fantastic. Here's a recap in photos.

We traveled from Chisinau, Moldova to Sofia, Bulgaria (by bus) to fly to Bangkok, Thailand. From Bangkok, my team took a 10-hour bus ride north to settle down in Chiang Mai. Nicest bus I've been on during the Race! They served us tea, sandwiches and fried chicken; and had reclining massage chairs! Thai people know how to travel on a budget.

Cultural orientation to Thailand included Thai lessons, do's and don't's of behavior, and visiting two temples to draw contrasts and similarities between the Buddhism and Christianity.

My team of three (including Kenzie Kelly and Erin Jackson) went out to the red light district every other night, Monday through Saturday. The mornings of ministry days, we would prayer walk for two hours on Loi Kroh Road. The Father told me on the first day, "I want this place transformed into a place of worship," so that's what we did! Who knew that barfronts would make an excellent worship space (There's chairs, shade, and great acoustics)?!

Aree Sugar Bar is where I sat in front of each morning, and where I would visit at night. The women there captured my heart!

Team time worship session in the red light district during the day.

Transportation by saeong tao, which was basically a converted truckbed. 

Every other night, Monday through Saturday, my team of 3 alternated going out to the red light district and staying at home to do intercessory prayer. Here's a goofy pre-intercession picture with our 'Same Same But Different' (common English phrase said in Thailand) shirts.

My team out at the bars. We go to the bars, buy non-alcoholic drinks, and talk with anyone and everyone that the Lord puts in front of us. Some nights it would be bar girls working in the hopes of selling their bodies to visiting foreigners, other nights it would be tourist men and women who were there to either party or purchase. We never knew who the Lord would bring to us, but it begged the question: Who really needs Jesus? Does a wealthy Englishman need Him as much as a Thai prostitute does? Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. Jesus wants them all to come Home.

These are the women I lived with all month, some did bar ministry while others worked with children who live in the slums (thus multiple rounds of lice went around the group this month– yuck). One night we purchased a Thai lantern, covered it with our prayers and petitions and sent it off (without burning down the surrounding houses = success!).

Three days were spent in a village further north of Chiang Mai (about a 3 hour bus ride) with a ministry called X-Life. We lived with villagers, played with neighborhood kids (or attempted to . . . until they ran away from us), and worked in the rice fields preparing for next season's harvest.