Thailand!

This month the entire squad (all 36 of us) are living together in Phuket, Thailand. We are staying at and working with a ministry called SHE (Self Help & Empowerment). SHE takes woman who have left the bars and teaches them skills like jewerly making and cooking so they can provide for themselves & their families in ways other than working the bars.

Puket on the surface is a beautiful place that attracks tourists from all over the world.

What about this picture:

　

The reason we are in Puket this month is to focus on SHE ministry, bar ministry, & intercessory prayer ministry. Banglar Road is where you can find us Monday – Saturday night.

Walking through Banglar Road, I don’t really know the words to describe it. loud. heavy. distracting. bright lights. people yelling at you to come in their bars. people grabbing at you. woman dancing on bars yet giving a genuine smile if you hold eye contact long enough. overwhelming.

Banglar Road is the main road which has countless streets off it. Each street is jamed pack with bars. Woman and lady boys work the bars, selling drinks & entertaining potential customers. Customers who will buy them for sex. For the night, the week, or months depending on how much money they want to spend. Their customers are from all over the world, ranging from ages 20 – 70.

It’s funny how certain triggers can set us off. For me, it was the game ‘shut the box.’ At every bar, the woman will pull out games to build relationships with the customers. The games are typically jenga or connect four. At one bar I was at the other night, the game was ‘shut the box.’

I just stared at the game sitting on the bar, with the woman dressed in next to nothing , offering to play with us. 4 months ago, I was at a nursing home with my youth group kids playing ‘shut the box’ with 90 year old woman and middle/high school studets. Now I’m playing the same game with woman who are stuck in prostitution. crazy.

The first night walking through the bars, I remember looking at the other girl in my group and the two of us just so filled with joy. Because in the mist of all the garbage, all the lust, all the temptation, all the unfilled desires, all the lost people, all the hell, God is there. And He is shaking the bars to be alive with His presence. And we get to be a part of that.

We order drinks at the bar, and play Jenga or Connect Four with the woman, and we talk to them. About anything and everything. The woman we build relationships with we invite to lunch and to come see SHE and meet the other woman here who have left the bars and work at SHE making jewerly and cooking to make a living. Hearing the stories of these increadible woman is inspiring. They are some of the strongest woman I have ever met.