May 20th, 2014: Martial law has been imposed in Thailand.
Bangkok, Thailand (Aljezeera) — “Thailand’s martial law comes amid bitter conflict between the government and its hardline royalist opponents.”
Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — “A day after declaring martial law, the Thai military is holding a meeting Wednesday with key parties involved in the political unrest that has beset the country for the past six months. … the military insisted the intervention was not a coup d’etat.”
May 22nd, 2014: The Thai army has launched a military coup
Bangkok, Thailand (BBC) — “Thailand military seizes power in a coup. The cabinet has been told to report to the military, TV broadcasting is suspended and political gatherings are banned.”
On May 22nd at 5:15pm we head out to do bar ministry in Bangkok Thailand. We are excited to meet with the girls working in the bars, form friendships with them and share how much we love them and how much Christ loves them. We had just heard about the military coup but we were not quite sure what that meant for us yet.
“Hmm … I wonder …,” a thought pops into my mind. “I wonder if …”
Our plan is to grab dinner and then head to one of Bangkok’s red-light districts. Traffic is horrendous! A 30 minute taxi cab ride takes us an hour and a half. The food court at the mall is packed! A 40 minute meal takes us an hour and a half to order and eat. And then, my suspicions are confirmed, “Hmmm … I wonder if they will impose a curfew”.
Bangkok, Thailand (BBC) — “A nationwide curfew will operate from 22:00 to 05:00 local time. The coup follows months of political turmoil in Thailand.”
Our contact, Mike calls and tells us that the Thai military has imposed a 10pm curfew. We need to leave by 8pm since taxis are not running much longer because the drivers want to get to their own homes before curfew. We gulp down our food, do a short prayer walk through the red-light district and then try to get a taxi. They are all full or not working. We walk for 3 miles in the direction of our lodging, all the while trying to hail a taxi to take us the rest of the way. Finally we get a taxi that takes us the 10 miles we had left to get home.
My heart is racing, my mind is flooded with thoughts and memories. They said curfew is at 10pm, right? Or is it 6pm? No, 6pm was the curfew when it happened before.
Yes, before … I remember it clearly.
In 1990 I was watching cartoons with my brothers. I believe it was Scooby Doo. Our hearts were racing with anticipation as they were about to pull the mask off and reveal the true identity of the monster that had been terrorizing the Scooby Doo gang for the last half hour of the show. Then the show was interrupted and on our TV screen we see the face of our local news anchor and the face of another man we did not recognize. Behind them stood burly men holding machine guns. The unknown man, who we later learned was Yasin Abu Bakr, informed us that our government has been overthrown by him and his organization, the Jamaat al Muslimeen. I remember being concerned for my Dad who worked in the capital city at the time. He was fine. I remember the widespread looting and the 24 people who were killed. I remember the 6pm curfew and running home to avoid being caught by the military after curfew. I remember learning to make my relationship with God personal that year. Only He could truly give me peace and calm the fears I faced.
I remembered ….
“Real talk, let me know if you need me to help get you out of there”
“Please be careful”
These are excerpts of messages I received from friends and family last week. They were concerned. They were afraid for my safety.
I remembered ….
I remembered how God took care of me 24 years ago and I knew He was going to take care of me again. I was careful. We stayed away from protest sites and made sure we were in by curfew. I thank God for His faithfulness. He did it again. We were safe. We had no issues, not even close calls. One week later we left Thailand without incident.
Psalm 121:8
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
