It
is 2:30am. I can’t sleep. This is pretty normal for our new ministry. We just
finished our 2nd night of ministering to and building relationships
with the prostitutes that fill the streets of Patong here on the beautiful
island of Phuket, Thailand. This place reminds me so much of the Waikiki strip
in Honolulu. My heart breaks for the men and women here and the ones who travel
half way around the world to try to buy love and acceptance here.
Going
into this month, I knew it was going to be intense. It is not easy going in and
out of bars for several hours straight each night and seeing the things that we
see. To see women being bought as if they were just another item on a shelf is
quite overwhelming. To see the many extremes and to feel the many emotions that
take over the strip. To see such desperation in some of the womens’ eyes, to
seeing the seductive enjoyment in the eyes of other women.
We
are working with a ministry this month called SHE. SHE stands for “Self Help
and Empowerment.” It is a non-profit Christian organization that is run by
volunteers committed to helping women and children trapped in the commercial
sex trade. Here at the SHE house, the women learn to make jewelry, cook and
bake. They bake numerous kinds of chocolates, donuts and cookies. They are
delicious! All of the funds from the sale of jewelry and baked goods directly
fund the work of SHE. This ministry helps these women to find employment,
friendship, community and a realization of their own value.
So
where we fit in to all of this is: some of our team prayer walks the strip of
bars during the day while the rest of our team stays at the house baking,
making jewelry, cooking and building relationships with the women. The women at
the SHE house either work or live here and/or both. They were given the choice
by a missionary, such as ourselves, who went to visit them in the bars during
their days of prostitution that there was a hope for a better future. They were
invited to work in a safe environment and they themselves had the choice and
made the decision to leave their lives of prostitution behind and better their
lives.
PLEASE
check out the SHE website: www.shethailand.org
I
sit here laughing to myself because 3 months ago I had NO desire whatsoever to
come to Asia, specifically Thailand. I have no idea why but I cringed at the
thought of working with prostitutes in Thailand. And for the past week and a
half I have been OVERLY excited and anxious to begin our ministry at SHE. I had
heard such great things about it and something inside of me wanted to just go
empower women!! There was a flame that was ignited inside of me and let me tell
you, it is on FIRE! Thank goodness God knows us better than we know ourselves…otherwise
I would not be in Thailand right now. PRAISE HIM!
I
have never felt more at home and more at peace with any other ministry than
this one. I believe God created me for this..or something very similar to this
ministry. He is really beginning to reveal a lot of things to me and what I
believe to be some huge future plans in the making. And with knowing that, I am
quite overwhelmed and emotional at the moment b/c God is tugging big time at my
heart and is calling me to some extreme things that I am trying to digest at
the moment. However, with all of this, I am really learning to be still, listen
to His voice and obediently follow Him….no matter how hard and no matter what
the cost. I have already given up my life and have gained Him. The things that
He has called me to and is continuing to call me to are for HIS glory. May I remain
obedient and daily die to my self so that HIS will would be done, regardless of
the sacrifices I have to continue to make. NOTHING compares to the sacrifice that He has already made for me.
