We are in Pattaya. Today we started working with the Tamar ministry. The Tamar ministry has been here since 1999. There mission is to “bring hope and new life to the women working in the bars of Pattaya.”
They do out reach in the bars on Monday, Wendsday, and Fridays (We get to be a part of this). Durring outreach we invite the women to an English classheld at the Tamar center as well as tell them about God’s love.
We just finished helping with the English class. The women had a vocablulary lesson, and then we helped them practice conversation. After the lesson,a Tamar Center workergave a short message, and then we prayed individually for the women who wanted prayer. They do these lessons three times a week.The english lessons help build relationships with the girls.
The center also has opportunities for women who want to leave the bars. The center has a card making bussiness where the women can work to to earn enough money to send home to thier families. There are daily bible studies for the women who work at the center.
Twice a year they run a three month training and discipleship course.In the course, the girls spend half thier time in biblical training and inner healing, and half thier time in vocational training. In addition to the card makingprogram, the center runs a beauty salon,coffee shop, Thai silk sewing company, and a bakery. They train the girls in one of these areas so that they will have skills to take back to their villages.
As far as what we are doing at the center… we will going on “outreach” at the bars, helping with english lessons, and just hanging out at the beauty salon and coffee shop to build relationships. On Tuesdays and Thursday we will be working with another organization that passes out Chinese bibles/Jesus filmsto Chinese tourist (apparently each person can take 1 bible back into China), and there is a slum ministry (I still don’t know very much aboutwhat this entales.)
So far I love Thailand, and I am really looking foward to this next month. O yes, the cards that they make at the center are really cool, and you can purchase them on- line. If your intersted in supporting the ministry and/or buying cool Christmas cards check them out here http://www.tamarcards.com/ Also for more information on the Tamar center click here www.ywamthai.org/pattaya/tamar.html
