I am now in Bangkok, Thailand, working with a ministry called Step Ahead. Step Ahead is a Christian based community development organization that partners with the poor to see comprehensive and sustainable transformation in their communities (taken from their website). We are staying at the office right outside the largest slum in Bangkok, and we are teaching English to kids and three amazing women who work for Step Ahead.
This past weekend, we went to visit south Thailand for a couple of days because Step Ahead has an office in Pattaya City. When we were there they took us to see all kinds of different ministries. On Friday night before we went on a prayer walk through ‘Walking Street’ (a street of bars and restaurants where 600 or more women are being sold for sex every night) they took us to a lookout point so we could look down on the whole city, a city where 1 out of every 4 people are involved somehow in the sex trade.
While I was looking down at this street, at all the lights and the passing cars and people, I prayed and sang in my heart to God, “you’re the God of this city, you’re the King of these people, You’re the Lord of this nation, You’re the Light in this darkness, you’re the Hope to the hopeless, You’re the Peace to the restless, there is no one like you God, there is no one like you God, for greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here”. As I continued to pray I felt a struggle come upon my spirit like I had for most of the day, and it was almost like a voice telling me not to go down there, to stop, to give up. My flesh wanted to stay at the lookout, to just pray from a distance and not have to go down and get my heart broken by what I saw, but I continued to fight in prayer and remember the devotion that I led earlier that day about putting on the armor of God, about the war we are fighting as Christians, about the battle that we are in, about the warfare that rages in the spiritual realm for our souls, and I once again asked God to fight for me and these people.
As we all squeezed back into the car and headed back down to reality, one of my teammates started singing “you’re the God of this city, you’re the King of these people…” God used this small instance to remind me that I am not alone in this fight, that I have warriors fighting alongside of me to always remind me of who my King is, and that He has won the battle for us. So God decided to sing a song of Victory over me as I headed into the darkness, and remind me that these are His people and that He is still God of this city, and He still holds this world in His hands.
“When I am overcome by fear and I hate everything I know, when this waiting lasts forever and I’m afraid I might let go. I need a reason to sing, I need to know that your still holding the whole world in your hands.”
looking over the city and walking street on the far right
"…so now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have" -2 Corinthians 8:11
checking out the purses made by the women at risk in Step Ahead's program
making the purses!!
when we left the women gave us bracelets that mean 'strength' in thai
Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement for our team here in Bangkok. Because of people like you I am reminded to keep running the race and fighting the good fight. I LOVE YOU ALL:)
-Kate
