Hey guys,
As you read in my last blog, we had quite the travel day(s) last week. We got to Thailand a few days ago and have since been getting situated here. I just wanted to share what’s been going on this past week so you can get a better picture of our ministry time here.
It’s very interesting being in Thailand after our time in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and you can see the poverty everywhere you look. There was a stream running down the village we were at in Carrefour and it was completely filled with trash. Everything was made of concrete and most of it was in a state of disrepair. Electricity only worked for a few hours a day and we were limited to one shower a week because we used a water tank on the roof for our water.
Thailand is a much different story. Most of the buildings in Chaing Mai look well taken care of. The streets are clean of trash. The electricity is on all the time and we don’t have to budget our showers because water pressure is constant. The city is actually very modern and has many of the amenities that you would expect in a city in America. Because of this, Thailand has a spirit of consumerism that I haven’t seen since I left the United States in September. Everything here is also very cheap and this causes the temptation to buy things left and right.
Despite all this, I’m really excited for our ministry this month. This month our team is working with an organization called Lighthouse in Action. It was started by a Thai woman who had a heart for rescuing those caught in the sex trade. You can check out their website here: http://www.lighthouseinaction.org/
So, my team and I will be working in a red-light district not too far from where we are staying. This district consists of a strip of about 20 bars that encircle a Muy-Thai boxing ring. These bars cater almost exclusively to Western men who are interested in alcohol, boxing, and sex. Our team walked through this district a few days ago to get a lay of the land and, to be honest, it was a sobering experience. In every bar, there are prostitutes soliciting to the Western men who walk by, trying to get them to stop and buy a drink. It was such a sad experience to see the women and the men in these bars. Most of these women feel trapped because this is the only lifestyle they know and are used to. Similarly, the men are trapped by their loneliness and the belief that they can only cure this through buying women.
I’ll be sure to share some stories as the weeks progress. Stay tuned!
Thanks again to everyone who has supported me!
P.S. There’s been a route change for our countries. We were scheduled to go to Cambodia next month but we’ve been rerouted to Malaysia! No news yet on what we’ll be doing but I’ll let you guys know as soon as possible.
