Phuket, Thailand
Sa-wat-dee Kaaaaaaaah! (Hello in Thai)
I really wish you could hear me say that- I sound so Asian.
I woke up this morning at 11:32 am.
Why, you ask. Oh, because I went to bed at 4 am. Still intrigued? Let
me explain- This month, we are working in the red light district of
Patong, Thailand with SHE Ministries (Self Help and Empowerment)
working against sex trafficking.
SHE Ministries is an organization that
seeks to provide a refuge for women who have been forced to sell
their bodies. The reasons may vary- they may feel it’s the only means
of supporting their families, they may have been tricked into it, or
sold into by their parents. It could be all they’ve known since they
were as young as 6 years old. SHE is run solely by Mark and Sharon
Biddle. They teach these women about the Lord, provide housing,
English classes, and work- such as jewelery making, cooking,
cleaning. They also do job training so these girls can one day work
in hotels, restaurants, or even start their own business. Mark and
Sharon are very encouraging, supportive and a definite joy to partner
with. Sharon is mainly in charge of the staff and work that takes
place and Mark is over managing all the teams that come in. He is a
firm believer in prayer and tells us to not even go out to the bars
at night if we haven’t gone down to Bangala Road, where the bars are
located, to prayer walk previously during the day. He also tells us
to not go out if we haven’t spent time with the Lord during the day.
Our van pulls up and drops us off. As I
enter onto Banglar Road and my head starts to bob as music pours out
of Margarita bar on my left. A cover band is singing I Want to Break
Free by Queen over everyone in ear shot. Lord, they have no idea
what they are singing over themselves but I do. I know you desire
them to break free. Come Lord Jesus, Come!
I walk about 100 feet. All of a sudden I am bombarded by Thai men and
women, cigarettes for sale, posters of half naked women are shoved in
my face as the venders ramble on, “Ping Pong Show? Peep Show? Free
look? No money. Lesbian Show?!� To my left I see bars just as you
would see in the states, nothing too eye catching here besides the
common old Western white man with his hand on the butt or leg of a
young beautiful Thai woman. On my right there are different Bar
allies, Soi Lion, Soi Easy, Soi Sea Dragon. . . down each alley way
multiple bars line both sides of the walk way. Over 200 bars make up
these alley ways; each one with it’s own spiritual climate and focus.
Soi
Easy is dark and oppressive, a place where one woman is raffled off
each night. Soi Crocodile, a hub of whoredom and idolatry, is where
most of the ladies boys are located; with a stage located in the
center where women and lady boys with numbers pinned to them take
turns dancing provocatively as a crowd gathers and men salivate as
they eye their night’s prey. Revolution is coming to Soi Sea Dragon
as many of the women in these bars have left due to the out reach
efforts of SHE and more desire to leave. It is here where we have had
three night of worship, something that Sharon and Mark have been
praying would happen for the last four years. It was incredible to
see their eyes brim with tears as they realized their dreams and
prayers were coming true.
I
continue walking down Banglar Road. I stop at a corner bar. My
stomach turns as I see a husband and wife sitting at the bar,
laughing and drinking, not something I would normally do a double
take at, except . . . they turn around on their stools to watch a
beautiful little blonde girl about seven years old with thin small
braids, short jean shorts and white tank top climb up onto the
platform and begin dancing on the pole with a prostitute- their
daughter. I am shocked by how okay they are with the scene that is
unfolding before my eyes.
I
continue walking. I walk from bar to bar praying for divine
appointments; praying that the Lord will speak to us and through us.
Praying against anger, frustration and even apathy. My main objective
out at the bars is to love and build relationships with these
prostitutes. After visiting a woman a few times, I will ask her on a
lunch date to get to know her better and hopefully tell her there is
a way out. Something I have found is that the majority of these women
hate their jobs, but don’t feel like there is a way out. I have also
seen that these women love spending time with us- probably because we
actually care about them and do not merely see them for what they can
“do.â€� I have seen a couple of World Race women’s hearts shatter
when they go back to visit their new friend that they have grown to
love and find out she has been sold for the night, the next few
nights, or even the next 10 days. I have also seen some of our girls
come back pumped up because their new friends are interested in
leaving the bars to work at SHE. It is awesome to see how the Lord
has given His heart for these women to the teams here.
The Lord has put huge things in our
hearts since we have been here:
-
He has told me to ask big- so I am
asking Him for 26 women to leave the bars and find refuge and life
at SHE. With that, I am trusting the Lord will provide finances in
order to make this possible. I am praying that the Lord will send
more teams here since no outreach can happen otherwise and teams
definitely help financially. -
He has told Erin, Keet, Lauren,
and Ricki that He wants to empty Bangala road through a power
outage. -
There is a desire to do a 24-hour
prayer
Please partner with us in prayer for
these things.
Also, please pray against the spiritual
strongholds on this place. Pray that we never let our guard down,
that we never get comfortable, that apathy doesn’t set in. Pray that
the teams here will walk out each night as bold, confident
warriors of Christ.
