Finally!!! We made it to my most anticipated location, Thailand!!! It is as beautiful as I imagined, if not more! Our small team of 5 is in Pattaya now. A booming little town on the bay. It was a place of R&R for the Military, not to mention some lovin’ from the Thai women. Now those same bars hold 100s of women who sell themselves to support their parents and children. Their dream is to meet a foreigner who will support them. 90 percent of the Thai women must work to support their families. The philosophy is if you are a female born here you WILL work in the bar. This bar/prostitution industry brings in millions of dollars to Pattaya. The little girls see the older girls prospering from their field of work and they aspire to do the same. The cycle continues…
It’s hard to believe but prostitution is actually illegal here. -yep.
Our mission here is to work with these beautiful women in the hundreds of bars and give them an opportunity to change their lives for the better. The Tamar Center is a Christian organization that helps girls out of the bars and teaches them valuable skills to be successful in other lines of work. Tamar has a busy beauty salon, a full bakery and a Starbucks-style cafe. They also teach English. (Which is a great opportunity to communicate with the American they want to catch. That’s what gets their interest initially) At the classes, they get a bonus of learning how precious they really are to the Lord and that because of His love, there is a better plan for their lives.
It is so exciting to see the transformation!!! They are so sweet and desire to be loved and to know another trade to support their families.
Yesterday we visited the bars yet again. To give you an idea of what they look like; they are small rectangles and packed into what would be normally only one bar in America. They are all individually owned and operated there about 30 seats at each one little rectangle. The dim pink florescent lights cast their glow on the girls painting their faces preparing for their customers. With the help of Taan, our interpreter (and my roommate) I talked to a beautiful young woman named One. (Usually not the real name, easy for foreigners to pronounce.) She left her Thai husband who beat her and started working at the bar in hopes of finding an American who will support her and her 3 kids. When I asked how she liked it, she scrunched up her face and said “Not so good”. We talked about the Lord and how much He loves her and her deminor totally changed. The tough game face disappeared and the hurt little girl with twinkling eyes came out. She got a little more quiet and started to smile more. Talking about the Love of God touched her heart and encouraged her. We told her about the opportunities at Tamar and she was very interested. In fact, she wants to come to church with us tomorrow too! It was amazing to share and love on her a bit. Taan and One exchanged numbers and I’m really looking forward to see if she comes tomorrow…
Bars aren’t the only place us good Christian girls like to hang out. 🙂 We’ve also been painting the missionary house, working with kids and making cards to benefit Grace Center Ministries, teaching English at Tamar, ministering and giving food to the families with little kids in the slums. Yes, we’ve been busy but it got off to a slow start for me. I brought a little souvenir over from India, the dreaded Dengue Fever. I was in terrible pain with a fever, nauseous, dizzy and no appetite. Just wanted to be home but got checked out by a doctor and checked in to the hospital. Not so fun to be in a hospital in a foreign land but the room was BEAUTIFUL like a five star hotel!!! After 4 days they gave me the boot (sad day;)) and was put on bed rest for another 4 days. Not the best experience but it really made me appreciate the ability to walk and enjoy the sun and real food again. I couldn’t help but praise the Lord for all of His blessings. I could ride a “sungtaw” (taxi-truck) and talk to people and live life and I don’t even have to work as a prostitute! Praise God I’m American!!! My first day out, I was so happy to be alive that after we filled Bibles with information for Chinese visitors (we then take them out to the docks and hand them out as they arrive.) we visited the elephants across the street. I paid 30 baht ($1) for one to pick me up in his trunk and sit me on his tusks!!! It was surreal to be lifted like nothing by big a hairy snake-like thing and sitting on his prized tusks! It was like I worked in the circus! (Can’t wait to show you the pictures.)
Yep, it’s good to be alive and in Thailand. Thank God and thanks yet again to my supporters!
God’s blessings on you!!!
