Everyone who came to the party and BBQ at the Bumblebee Bar (Tony’s house) seemed to have had a great time. The following morning, Jakobus and I, went to visit Tony early. He was awake and seemed to be excited. “What’s going on my new best friends?” Tony asked. I could tell that Tony’s entire attitude had turned around.
I wanted so badly to tell him why we just cleaned his place up and why we just threw him a party that he said he’d never forget. “Actions speak louder than words. He will only hear you right now. Wait until he is ready to listen,” The Spirit said.
We sat and listened to Tony talk all morning. The difference was this time when Tony told stories they were not so radical. In fact, they were rather spiritual. He told us about the mistakes he had made in life and even gave us great advice on how we can avoid making the same ones. He told us about his ex-girlfriends and explained why the relationships never worked out. We had heard about his ex-girlfriends before. Only this time when he talked about them, he talked about them with respect and love.
On our way back from the slums, the girls in our group saw an opportunity to join a local Zumba group on the street. It became one more opportunity for the street to experience the love.
Can I just pause and mention that I love my team that God has placed me in? I love my team. No, Jakobus and I are not above Zumba, we just felt a deep calling to visit Tony. When we got to Tony’s one of his ex-girlfriends was back in town. Her name is Yay-yay. Tony was so excited to see us that he invited us to go eat dinner with them for free. If I have learned one life-lesson well in life, it is this, when something is free you take advantage of it. Little did I know we were going out to eat with a local celebrity! On the way to dinner nearly every other person we passed called for Yay-Yay’s attention. “Yay-Yay! Hello! Yay-Yay, we love you!” I did not understand and wanted to know so badly who this woman was.
However, on the way to dinner and half the meal all she wanted to talk about was how bad of a guy Tony was. She told me more than I ever needed to know about Tony. Her biggest complaint was that he drinks way too much. The ironic part about this story is Yay-Yay is the one who buys him all the alcohol. Yay-Yay was the one who was with this “bad guy.” I watched Tony sit in silence the entire time. “Just let her talk guys,” he would say after ever discouraging comment. Please understand my heart in this next paragraph.
I said “halfway through dinner” she was talking negatively about Tony, because halfway through she excused herself to use the restroom. We were eating at one of the nicest and most expensive restaurants in Chiang Mai and the bathrooms were located in the back of the building. So, when she got up, I too just so happened to have felt the need to go to the restroom. I waited outside the women’s restroom for her to come out. I do not remember what all I said in the 10 minute conversation we had simply because no words I said were my own. But what I do remember is when she came back to the table. No longer was she talking bad about Tony. In fact, she didn’t talk much at all. I could see she was thinking and processing.
Later that night I heard her story.
Yay-Yay grew up two blocks away from where the Bumblebee Bar is located now. She was the youngest of eight kids. Her father was a loving man to all his children, except Yay-Yay. To my understanding, there was no specific reason behind this, other than he drank a lot and became abusive when he did. For example, Yay-Yay’s first memory as a child was being tied up to a banana tree during a lightning storm. This tree is where she spent most of her childhood. Her father would tell her, “In the banana tree, the world does not have to suffer being around you.” This continued until she was 12. Because Chiang Mai is a family-oriented city, a few of the locals grew very upset with her father. After watching the way he treated her and others for several years they finally had had enough.
One day when Yay-Yay got home from school the locals drug her father by his ears out of his house, poured gasoline over his whole body and lit him on fire in the street. Yay-Yay did not understand. She developed many psychological problems from her childhood. So much so that at age of 18 she moved to England to start a new life. She met a man in England that seemed to be different. She married him. Within 15 years, her husband treated Yay-Yay with no love and only abuse. Similar to her father she experienced both verbal and physical abuse. She bought a gun and one bullet. One day when he got home drunk she put the gun to his head and shot him. He died immediately.
During this time, while she was away, Chiang Mai elected a new King. The King decided as his first act as King that he wanted to clean up the drug trafficking on the streets. He sent out a decree for the local police to murder every drug dealer they could find. No matter what drugs, nor how big their deals were, he wanted them all dead. Fortunately, for Yay-Yay’s family, over half of them were the police and the other half were the mob. Not one of her family members died during this time of mass murders. When Yay-Yay was arrested in England her family was able to work with the local government to allow Yay-Yay to simply be exiled from the country and to never return. The reason Yay-Yay is a celebrity is for three reasons. One, the people heard about her murdering her husband and were excited about her return. Two, her family controlled and still controls the majority of the police force in Chiang Mai. Three, the other half of her family is the mafia and protect her. She told me there is not much difference between the two. The police are corrupt and prey on foreigners to buy drugs from the mafia and when they do, the police give them an option ~ to pay them a set price for their freedom or go to jail. I take her word as truth when she says, “You do not want to spend a night as a foreigner in the Chiang Mai prison.”
That night I prayed for Yay-Yay. I prayed that she would be aware that Peace is here, that forgiveness had already been given to her family and her, that Love was here, and that she, too, could experience a life of freedom from the harsh realities of her life.
The next day our host was having an Hawaiian-themed party. She went all out for this party. She even invited a group from Hawaii to teach us how to hula dance. I was excited about this party and wanted so badly for Tony and the Lady boys to come. I invited them that morning, they said no. Later that evening, just before the party, I felt guided to go back to Tony’s to ask them one more time. For reasons only the Spirit knows, they said, “Yes!” The party had already started when we got there. We received a lot of looks when we walked in. I was not happy with many of the looks we received. In my mind I yelled at the Spirit, “Is this not what we are here for? Why do the Christians not understand? You told me to bring them here! Why would you tell me to bring them here? My ministry is over now thanks to Your Christians!”
They stayed for 30 minutes. A few of our girls on our squad talked to the Lady boys. I pulled Tony aside and asked him to tell a few of us about his previous experience with God at the missionary home. He told us about the three things God told him several years earlier in life (Get sober, Sell everything he owned and get his book written). However, he also told us that God changed his mind.
When they were ready to leave, Jako and I walked them out. When we came back in one of our host’s staff made a gesture to me that implied I wanted something a little more than I did from the Lady boys. On the outside I laughed at him to acknowledge he existed, but on the inside I allowed this to get to me. Unguided, I asked Jako if he was ready to get some fresh air. He said, “As long as we can get some food while we are out.” As we turned the corner a toke-toke driver (local taxi) asked us if we wanted a free ride, “I’ll take you anywhere you want.” He seemed innocent and at this point to me, anywhere was better than where I was, so I said. “Yes.” His girlfriend and him took us to get food and introduced us to several of his friends. I asked him if he wanted to meet our friends at the Bumblebee Bar and he said yes.
When we got to Tony’s they followed us in. Tony came around the corner from the kitchen, made eye contact with our new friend and then flipped out. Without the excessive cusswords used, Tony said, “Why did you bring this rat into my bar?! Get that rat out of my bar!” He got in the drivers face and said, “You have three seconds to get out of my bar!” The driver threw his business card on the floor of the bar and left. Tony then yelled at me. It takes a lot for me to get nervous around people and especially to fear anyone. But, like I said I was unguided at this point in the night. In his frustration I learned that the driver that had just showed us such a great time was in fact the biggest pimp in Chiang Mai. The girl, who he was with that looked like most freshmen in college, was in fact 13. Each month he goes to Phuket, Thailand and manipulates a new girl to “come to a better life with him” in Chiang Mai. When they return together, he pimps them out, gives them Aids, then forces them to work for him in his bar. The reason everything was free was because he wanted us to take him back to where we lived so that he could steal everything we owned. Tony said that everyone knows who that man is.
At this time there was a local on a moped that was watching from outside the bar. Tony’s attitude changed and became positive once more. Mine did not. I went into the kitchen alone to compose myself. Jako came in behind me and spoke truth over me. This was not enough. I was in the danger zone of a room full of the sin I struggle with the most, alcohol. The Spirit made Jako aware of the internal feelings and he told me it was time to go home. After he said this, the man from outside the bar walked up to us with Tony and said, “Hello my name is Narong. Tony told me that you play guitar.” I made fun of his name. I said Narong vronng vronng (like a motorcycle). He looked at me like I was stupid (for I was being stupid). As we were walking out, he asked me if I wanted to play. I lied to him and told him I would go get my guitar. I had full intention of never coming back that night. It was nearly 9 p.m. and at this point I just wanted to go to sleep. As we started to leave Jako asked me if we could get a coke.
After I drank the coke my whole body felt weak. Somehow, through all the tribulation I heard the Spirit ask me, “Are you done trying to do this on your own, Zac?”
Wow, what a moment! I looked at Jako and said “Are you ready to go back?” Understandably he asked me if I was joking. I was not ready to go back either, but I felt guided once again and knew that there was still opportunity there. We got back and Narong was on his moped with his guitar. Check out this video if you want a break from reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI6P8XQSWo0
After this, Narong asked us what we were doing in Chiang Mai. I felt guided once again and heard the Spirit say, “You want to tell people about Me? Here’s your chance, tell Narong who I Am to you!”
I took him to the computer and began to show him videos of why we were here. At this point Tony was fairly drunk and was sitting with Jako nearly 10 feet away. Narong was on my right and neither of them could see his face from where they were sitting, but I could. I shared my testimony with him and watched his eyes grasp the truth that the Spirit spoke through me. For 45 minutes I felt chills over my entire body and I preached nothing but guided words. Narong was silent the entire time, but I knew he was listening. After 45 minutes Tony had had enough. Without the language again, Tony yelled at me and said, “That’s enough talk about politics and religion! We are not going to have that in this bar!”
I sat in silence and felt the chills in my body fade away and familiar feeling of fear returned again. I tell you the truth, within 30 seconds I felt the Spirit breathing on my neck as he said, “Am I not bigger than this man? Did I not guide you back here? I will protect you. Now finish telling Narong just how big I Am.”
I stood up and yelled at Tony, “You don’t know what you’re talking about right now! Your time for this conversation will come, but it is not tonight! This man here wants to listen to this truth. So sit there and shut up or listen for I will not be silent!”
I tell you the truth; I watched demons come out of Tony. Keep in mind that at this point Jakobus was only seeing what most would have seen. A 23-year old lanky child yelling back at a drunk 50 year old retired Navy Seal that wanted nothing to do with what the 23-year old was talking about.
When I sat back down I continued to speak truth into Narong’s life. Within two minutes, Tony’s neighbor who owned the pharmacy next door came over furious with how loud the music was and we were. Tony has had many problems with his neighbors because of his radical lifestyle. He later informed us that it takes a lot for them to come over and say something to him about it. So when I say it was loud, I mean the words exchanged were very loud and the music from the YouTube videos just sealed the deal. She was frustrated with Tony, Tony and even Jako at this point were both frustrated with me, but I was guided. So I interrupted her fuss and asked, “Do you not know why we are here?” She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “No, why are you here? To keep people awake at night?” I spoke truth over her as well and in 5 minutes she too woke up spiritually. When she left I told her, “If the music is ever too loud again and we are still here, please come tell us and I will personally turn the volume down.” She was 4 feet away from where I was standing and walked back over to me before leaving, placed her hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye with all smiles and said, “Thank you for this.”
I talked to Narong for nearly 20 more minutes. I asked him just before we left, “Do you understand?” He said he fully understood. He asked me if I had any literature that he could read more about Spirituality. “Give him your blog,” the Spirit said. I looked around the bar; there was no paper in sight. There was however, a business card on the floor that the biggest pimp in Chiang Mai had thrown on the ground before leaving. I ripped it in half and wrote my blog website on the back of it in small print. “I make all things new and waste nothing,” the Spirit said. How true, God does not waste any moment, any words or anything. Even through a pimp’s business card, the Spirit revealed how big He is to His people. (Isn’t that right Narong?)
When we left, Jakobus and I got into our first argument since I’ve met him. He started the conversation by saying, “You need to be aware of what all you’re saying. Tony had scissors in his hand at one point in that conversation and was snapping them at the back of your head. I watched him pet the furs off his cats back he was so mad.” The reason Jakobus was upset, is because the way I was witnessing was different than what we had been doing. It went completely against what we had previously been guided to think, say and do. But if I know one thing about change, it’s inevitable. I explained to Jako, that what had happened in there happened for a reason and I was sorry he missed it. “Truth is experienced by an act of a certain attitude,” I said, “and whether you agree with me or disagree with me you will still experience truth.”
As soon as I said this we walked past a car and just behind it were two teenagers with a skateboard. This was a big deal because we were not aware Chiang Mai even had a skateboard store. It just so happens that Jako is a huge skateboard fan and though he will never tell you himself, he is very good at skateboarding. I watched him witness to those guys, guided completely by the Spirit. After 10 minutes they said their goodbyes and we walked in silence, reminiscing on just how great our God is. When we got back to our host’s house we started talking about all that we experienced. It just so happened that two girls from the party that night, both 18, from Hawaii, were waiting on a bench for the rest of their group to return from dinner. They were listening to us, but we did not see them because of a tree that blocked our vision. As we started to go inside we saw them looking at us in the most peculiar way. At this point we could both tell they wanted to know more. They too, knew about God, believed in Jesus, but had never experienced the Spirit. That night they too experienced truth and woke up spiritually.
The next day we got to Tony’s and I asked him “What’s up?” He seemed confused and was very quiet, as if someone close to him died. He said, “I just want to thank you for last night. The lady boys would not shut up about you all. They have never experienced so much love from your group in their entire lives. I too, loved hanging out with your group at your guy’s bar. I thought that your group would just judge us, but they didn’t. Now, the whole street is talking about you all. In fact, my neighbor, the pharmacist, who never talks to me, brought me breakfast this morning. Oh sure she did. We talked for 30 minutes and she just left.”
Wow, to hear that brought gave my spirit such an overwhelming peace. For here I was the night before all upset and unguided by an experience that I missed. I thought the night before they were judged, unloved and uncared for. But the only one judging, unloving and uncaring for them was the one who brought them…me. After Tony said this, I wanted so badly for him to ask me why we were doing it. But he never did. “Keep living it,” the Spirit said.
That afternoon we took Tony to the mall to do sober stuff. What an experience this was. We had a blast, and I personally hate malls since I was arrested in one at age 17.
Tony told us at the mall that he knows he is an alcoholic and he wants to stop drinking. He humbled me just before we left and said, “I’m starting to figure you out, Zac. We are not so different you and I.” He was right you know? The only difference between Tony and I was, I am awake and aware in Christ and he was just waking up and starting to become aware. This encouraged me greatly to keep living a lifestyle that is a mirror image of Christ.
That night we had another party at Tony’s. This time at the party Tony didn’t drink as much. In fact, he was mentally there the entire time. Narong came as well and brought his guitar again. I brought Erika’s guitar with me this time. There were many people walking on the street that stopped in to see what was going on.
Who knew that in just a week in a half Tony’s bar would become the cornerstone for us to preach to the people of Chiang Mai, Thailand? And Tony had no idea he was the biggest reason for this. People all over town know about Tony, but they have never seen this side of Tony, a side that loves.
There was a couple that also came and sat for a couple hours. The guy’s name was Phillip, he’s from Brazil. The girls name was Suzanna, she was from Hungary. These were some of the coolest people I have ever met.
I was hearing the Spirit so clearly that night but I couldn’t understand why he was telling me to watch. Until Narong asked if he could share a story. Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlJpfFm9ozs
I was shocked by how clear he communicated the gospel. This was incredible because Suzanna and Phillip caught the Spirit from Narong. Within about two minutes of him presenting the gospel they pulled their camera out and started recording every word. They asked how we could stay in touch. I gave them my blog and email. I hope you are doing well my new friends!
The entire night, before when I was talking, Narong had already heard the gospel. He went to Bible school for two years. He’s read the bible five times. He’s healed the sick with faith. Now, he lives in the mountain and tells the people all about the Spirit. He told me after he was done sharing that he has been praying for 20 years for the white man from America to come and unite the people. He said that the reason he was so quiet the night before was because God answered his prayers. We are now friends for life and I look forward to seeing how the Spirit uses us in the future, Narong.
The next day Tony had an amazing word. I want you to watch this video and watch specifically near the end how Tony catches the Spirit as he is talking. Please keep in mind this video is not appropriate for children for Spirituality is new to Tony. Let’s celebrate together not judge his words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veAOOoGbIA0
I will post part three tomorrow. Believe it or not, there is more good news to this story than just this.
