Life Update: Do not let the beautiful beach photographs fool you. Yes, I am still on the World Race. Yes, my house and all my belongings are still at a loft on a farm. Yes, I am enjoying my last week bucket showering and waking up to chickens.
But I did indeed take a week off with the entire Gap D Squad in Pattaya, Thailand for our first countries “debrief” time otherwise known as “Spring Break ’08.”
**Disclaimer** There may have been a few lip tattoos, but this was a very positive, family fun spring break time.
For those of you who don’t know, debrief is a time for our entire squad to get together and chill. Literally, we get to all get together in a glorious air conditioned hostel and just chill. Between hanging at the beach, taking gnarly banana boat rides, simply watching a movie and chatting, and eating lots and LOTS of American food, we were able to take some much needed “us” time with Jesus at the center of it all to rest and refocus for our last 9 days of ministry in Thailand.
The 48 of us took over the Jomtien Beach Hostel for 5 days. We stayed a block away from Jomtien Beach, which is right outside Pattaya.
For us farmers from Kanchanaburi, this was quite the change of pace. We were surrounded by endless shops and food vendors, lots of people and chatter and we traded our gorgeous mountains for a sandy beach and a bright sun.
The day time was incredible. I found myself being able to talk to a number of people i had never talked to at training camp and launch. I made new friendships and deepened old ones. I laid on the beach and soaked up some rays and swam in that tasty saltwater until my hair was actually drying up very bad and possibly falling out.
At night, we would unwind and shower and then head to a nice, spacious hotel for worship followed by sessions prepared by our lovely squad leaders and mentors. It was so nice to worship in English with so many of my friends and sing to familiar songs. I felt at peace after every single worship and session.
At around 9:00 every night, the rest of the night was ours and together we would form large groups to do various night activities. Some would head to the night market and some would head to bed. Some would head to a gorgeous hotel that had some good sushi and some would catch a song- tau (a truck with benches in the back for up to 10 people) and head to the infamous Pattaya to just go explore.
When the sun is up, you would never think twice about where you’re at. But when the sun goes down, its a whole new adventure.
Pattaya, Thailand is one of the largest human and sex trafficking hubs in the world.
On one of our last nights in the area, a group of girls and I headed into Pattaya to go to Swensen’s Ice Cream Parlor in the mall. We laughed and we talked and yelled “Spring Break” at the top of our lungs. We were just being girls that night.
But passing Walking Street, things took a quiet turn. We remembered that while we were just being girls, that had a whole different connotation for beautiful girls just a few hundred feet away from us. We never went into Walking Street that night, but we didn’t have to.
When we got to the mall to get Ice Cream, my heart broke. Girls with skimpy clothes and sky high healed shoes lined the side walks outside. They twirled their hair and reapplied make up, constanslty fumbling through their purse. They never moved from their spot, they just simply stood. They didn’t walk to the ice cream parlor like us, or inside to buy some new clothes with a group of their friends.
They simply stood on the side of the road.
They stood waiting for some random, foreign man that they’ve never seen before, and will never see again. They stood waiting for someone to come up to them and tell them that they’re good enough. They stood waiting, and waiting for someone to come and tell them they’re attractive. They stood waiting to get paid for themselves that night. They stood waiting to get money for themselves, maybe just so they could feed their family. Maybe so they could pay their rent.
They stood with empty eyes and longing hearts.
And I stood, and just watched. I watched men walking the side walk eyeing them up, looking for the right one. When he found a woman that he liked, he would go up to her and start conversation. Within minutes, they would be hand and hand away into the night.
It was so hard to understand and grasp.
These girls literally sell themselves for money. I didn’t know their back story but I imagined that it wasn’t probably anything great, or else they wouldn’t be in the situations they were in. I wished that people have told them that they loved them. That they were beautiful inside and out and they were worth it. I wish people had told them that they’re intelligent young ladies with so much in front of them. Moreover, I wish someone would have told them growing up that Jesus loves them. That He loves them unconditionally through everything. Through shameful pasts and heartbreaks, I wish someone would have told them He stands firm. He is the only person they need.
But no one told them that. I wasn’t sure anyone told them much of anything besides whatever their man of the night chose to tell them. I can’t speak for any of them because I don’t personally know them but I don’t think they knew true, unconditional love, had any love for themselves, or love for our amazing God.
The group of us went back to Jomtien and to our hostel that night with a heavy heart. The song-tau ride home was a deafening silence. All of us knew it was terrible and all of us wanted to do more about it, but we were not by any means trained to handle those situations. All we could do is pray, and thats what we did.
Everyone in Gap D Squad knew about Walking Street and what goes on. But our squad leaders and mentors were given a certain disernment from The Lord and asked us not to go in. Knowing that The Lord knows what those people need, and what we need better than ourselves. We obeyed and prayed and prayed from just a few blocks over. I have full faith that The Lord knows what that place needed at that time, and I have faith he will restore the brokenness of that commuinty and revive it for His good and His will.
The next night we sang a song in worship called “God of This City.”
This song is most known to be performed by Chris Tomlin, but come to find out, it was actually written by Irish missionaries. These missionaries were right in Pattaya doing missions work. One night, they performed in a bar right on Walking Street. They were playing Christian music when suddenly the performer just started singing lyrics right from his heart, given to him from God.
Those lyrics said: “Your the God of this city, You’re the king of these people, You’re The Lord of this nation. You’re light in this darkness, You’re the hope for the hopeless, You’re the peace to the restless. There is no one like Our God, there is no one like Our God. For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city. Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.”
That night was the first night some people had heard that song and the first time they had worshiped to it. The worship leader himself had no idea that the song he had just sang was in such significance to the very place that we were standing in, right then and there.
Nonetheless, God does some crazy things. He places songs on our heart and prayers to be said without us even knowing because He knows us. He knows those around us. He knows our hearts and our minds and our souls. He knows those around us hearts, minds and souls. He knows what everyone needs.
There is light. There will always be light in the darkest of places when God is in your heart. I truly believe that Pattaya will be a bright light. Although things seem hard and impossible and you just wanna ask “Why God?” I truly believe that greater things really have yet to come and greater things WILL be done in that city.
