I felt prepared for our ministry this month: sex trafficking and prostitution. In the Philippines, we ministered in bars and on the streets, building relationships with the girls and praying over them. I felt I had gotten past my awkward “Yes, I’m a missionary, yes, you’re a prostitute, but no, I’m not judging you” stage. So I felt ready to tackle Thailand. Little did I realize that Thai prostitution looks a lot different than that of the Philippines. So, let me 1.) Walk you through an average day for us here in Chiang Mai and 2.) Share with you the difficulties in this type of ministry/stress our need for prayer:
9AM (or whenever you arise, really): get ready for prayer walk on bar street. You eat your market fresh apple or banana, slurp your yogurt and put on your “Thai pants” (if you don’t know what these are, google it).
9AM-10:15ish: Walk about a mile to bar street. Bar street is exactly what is sounds like: a tourist filled street full of bars, massage parlors, and restaurants. But the bars here are not your typical American, Budweiser and Jack Daniels filled bar. They are filled with scantily clad Thai women and ladyboys, creepy old white men, lost tourists, and missionaries. We pray over them for about 45 minutes (or until it’s too heavy to stay) and then head back home. This is the heaviest time for me. Seeing the bars eerily empty; last night’s cocktails scattered all over the walkways. A homeless man sleeping on one of the couches that was used for Lord knows what last night. I can’t help but think about all the mistakes that were made by drunken men and now, the next morning, are probably feeling regret and/or guilt. And not to mention how the women or ladyboys must feel. Used. Only good for one thing. Dark stuff. Hard to process.
Noon: LUNCH. I prefer to eat at, what we’ve deemed, the “smoothie place.” Husband and wife duo blend fresh fruit smoothies for 15 bot (.50 cents) and cook up delicious veggies and rice for 25 bot (about .75 cents). What a steal . We love them.
1PM-whenever: freedom. Read, write, learn a musical instrument, quiet time, explore the city, hang at coffee shop, etc. Life is good. I purchased a ukulele in the Philippines, so I’ve been spending most of my free time practicing…. just ask my teammates. I’m sure they love it! (Also, those that did not attend the morning prayer walk, go back to the bars during this time.)
7PM: Pick up street food for dinner and come ready to worship. I’m not a huge corporate worshiper (which is weird because I love to sing), so I usually journal or read during this time. Sometimes I meditate, if I can concentrate. This month has been especially hard to stay focused on Him because of all the darkness around us. We’ve had a lot of sickness, false insecurities/internal battles, and just uneasiness about everything. Please keep praying for us.
8PMish-10:30PM: Bar ministry. We head back out to bar street and split up into teams of two. Shari and I are together. We make a pretty sweet team, if I do say so myself. So your probably wondering what exactly we do when we get to the bars… we order a Coke and sit. Then, usually a girl or ladyboy will approach and ask to play some sort of child’s game (Connect 4, Jenga, etc.). They will beat you on average of 7 times in a row before asking you to buy them a drink. You buy the drink. This is how you buy their time. They drink beer, you sip Coke. You don’t mention you’re a missionary just yet. Don’t want to scare them away. They ask if you want to play pool. You say, “of course.” You play doubles, Shari + ladyboy vs. Micah + ladyboy. Then you ask questions and just try to be their friends. You try not to view them as a bar girl, prostitute or ladyboy. You try and view them as one of God’s children. And as they make “business transactions” with old, white men, you try not to yell, “I have what you need to be fulfilled! I have the truth! And it’s not in this bar!” You repeat these steps for a week or so and hope you make a strong enough connection to invite someone to lunch or to hang out. (When this happens, I will be sure to let you all know. So exciting.) And that’s when you share your story and all the things Christ is doing in your life.
11PM: Debrief the night with team. This is the opportunity to talk about any and everything you saw or felt. Just get it out! You don’t want to go to bed with bad thoughts or feelings. Oh, I forgot to mention, teams that don’t go to bars at night, stay behind and pray. Then we switch. They intercede for us and ask God for words and scripture on our behalf. After debrief, you attempt to sleep… or blog.
Actually, as I write this, my mind races with things I saw tonight. This ministry might not be tough physically, but it’s rough mentally. It beats you up. You start thinking, “Why would God let this happen?” and “Why are people so sick?” But the truth of the matter is this: when God created us, He gave us free will. Now, we were created to glorify God, but He’s given us that choice. So if we have free will to choose God, or not to choose God, we can also choose whether to indulge in certain sins, or not. So some people (or a lot) go astray. They disregard God and, instead, choose into earthly desires that only satisfy for short term periods. Hates it.
So listen here, loyal readers. We need some prayer warriors. Please pray for our ministry and for our teams. Pray that God will lead us and protect us. Pray that we change the life of at least one girl in the bar. Pray that the darkness felt in the bars, is left in the bars. Pray, pray, pray, please. Love you guys.
