It was our last night in Bangkok, and many members of X squad felt led by the Lord to go out and share the gospel in Patpong: Thailand’s oldest red-light district. It happened to be just one block away from the hostel we were staying in for our few days here. We had a time of worship and prayer before we headed out. I felt all day that the God was telling me, “support these women.” I decided to pair up with my squad mate Lynna and our squad leader Julie.
I was incredibly excited and a little bit nervous as I had never done anything like this and couldn’t imagine what was ahead of us. We left our meeting space and we had to make a few stops before we were ready to go. My nerves and excitement were growing and I was ready to just go. God kept telling me to be patient as we made stops and got to the hostel. I was very encouraged to see a bunch of squad mates in the lobby praying for those of us who were going into Patpong.
As we departed, we were trying to seek out where the Lord was guiding us. We tried to think of places we had seen before and looked for things that squad mates had seen in visions from God. We had no idea where to go, and I wanted to just pick a place and get started. Again, God encouraged me to be patient. We prayed and walked and eventually found the street that Julie had walked down a few days before. The entire street was lined with girls sitting on stools in front of the brothels and my spirit fell heavy with the very air around us. I was all nerves now, my excitement replaced by heartbreak as I wondered how I could stay strong enough to be there.
We stopped to pray for guidance, strength, and protection for our minds and hearts. We stopped at one of the “Karaoke Lounges” and with a Thai Bible in my hand I asked the manager if I could buy one of the girls a drink and talk to her. He seemed to know what we were there for and he answered plainly, “No.”
A little defeated, we walked on down the street and crossed to the other side with the Bible in a purse instead of my hand. We talked to another manager and she told us the cost and mentioned a private room which we DID NOT feel comfortable with. We continued down the street and I just prayed for God to take over. I picked up my pace and went to the very first place we had passed on the street.
I walked straight up to the manager and asked if we could pay for some time with one of the girls. She explained the money and we asked if there was a bar or common area to hang out and talk. She said there was and led us to an elevator. She answered our questions about her English, which was very good and learned in just 3 months. We stopped on the 5th floor and walked out to an empty bar and lounge area. I began to get nervous again as she walked us into a private karaoke room. “Lord, please don’t let this be a bad situation. Please be with us and provide your love and faithfulness.” I prayed quietly and the manager asked what we wanted to drink. We ordered Sprite, water, and tea. A little confused, she left to bring our drinks.
“We claim this place in the name of Jesus Christ. Anything that is not of the Lord has no place here, it has no power here, and it must flee from the name of Jesus!” I prayed and felt a little more peaceful, but still very nervous. As she brought our drinks and a fruit tray, we asked that the girl she brings in would speak English.
A few minutes later a girl walked in. We greeted her and introduced ourselves while the manager set up the karaoke. The girl told us her name, and told us to call her Elle. The manager handed us microphones and made us pick a song. We chose “Beauty and the Beast,” to keep it light and childish which was awesome. Elle picked the next song and it was called “I Believe.” We made up our own tune as Lynna and I sang, but we couldn’t help notice the lyrics and video. It almost sounded like a Christian worship song over videos of Nashville. As the lyrics read “I Believe in Love,” A street sign was on the screen: Church St.
I smiled a big smile and felt at peace. We asked Elle and the manager what part of Thailand they were originally from, if they went to school, and if they had family in Bangkok. Eventually we asked to turn the music down, and the manager eventually left. Julie began to explain what we were doing in Thailand and what we were doing in this room. “We just came to hang out with you, and talk, and get to know you.” It was very evident that we were the first people to ever do this. Julie asked Elle if she knew who Jesus is. She didn’t. Never heard of Him, never heard of God, knew heaven was a place, never heard of Church. 10 seconds after these questions, THERE WAS A CHURCH IN THE KARAOKE VIDEO!
I was smiling even bigger now and I continued to pray quietly. Julie explained to gospel to Elle. She told her about God and Jesus and how much He loves us all and how much He wants a personal relationship with us. Julie asked Elle what she thought of Love. Again, she didn’t know. Julie explained how Jesus loved us so much that He sacrificed His life so that we could have a loving relationship with God. We pulled out the Thai Bible and opened to John 3:16. Elle asked if Julie could read Thai. Julie answered, “No, but I know what it says.” She spoke the verse and then asked Elle to read it for herself.
After she read, she began flipping through other pages and looked up. Her eyes said so much as she looked at us. Elle said “I read this, I feeling something.” YES GOD! Julie told her that is Jesus, that is Holy Spirit. Y’all, this girl had no idea who Jesus was, and yet He still touched her heart! We explained that Jesus told us to come here and meet her and talk to her and love her. Then Julie began explaining how Holy Spirit lives in us through the grace of God through Christ’s sacrifice. As Lynna showed Elle Ephesians 2:8, I noticed the manager peeking her head through the little window of the door.
I thought she was about to bust in and take the Bible away and kick us out. “Lord please let her add to the goodness of this. Please keep this going.” She walked in and sat next to Elle. Julie immediately told her we were reading the Bible and talking about Jesus. She understood. Julie asked her if she knew who God is. She did. She told us that she had Christian friends who have told her about these things. She compared Buddhism to Christianity and Julie responded with the difference. That difference being that God seeks a personal relationship with all of us to love us, and that we are forgiven of all the sins in our life through the sacrifice of Christ when we choose to love Him back and believe in Him as our one true God. She was very receptive and we had a great conversation.
Julie asked Elle if she wanted to keep the Bible, and asked the manger if that was okay. She said it was fine and Julie made her promise that she would let Elle keep it and not take it or throw it away. Elle was blown away. She couldn’t fathom that we came into this place and gave her a gift. The manager seemed a little confused too. We told them both about our trip and how God speaks to us and calls us to help people and share the Love of Jesus with them and be their friends. That was all we came to do.
I will never forget Elle’s face. It shined with joy like I have never seen before. We asked if we could pray together. The five of us held hands as Julie, Lynna, and I took turns praying for our new friends. It was such an incredible moment.
We took photos with them, said our goodbyes, and left with waves and smiles. God led us to a broken place and flooded it with His love and joy. We went into the red-light district, and Jesus came with us. God used us to show how much He loves and values Elle.
I went into that night more nervous than I had ever been before. I asked God how I was going to go into such a broken place and be okay. I asked God how I could be used to speak to someone who had no reason to ever trust or expect anything but hurt from men. He told me to “support these women.” That was all I could do. I hardly said anything to Elle while I was there. I knew I had no credibility before her because I was a man. I was only there to listen, pray, and show her that I was a man who didn’t want anything from her, except to listen and pray. She appreciated us so much. She seemed like a different woman than the one who walked into that room, and she got to see what the unconditional and personal love of Jesus looks like.
As we returned to the hostel, our squad mates prayed over us and we shared this story. They told me they had never seen me smile like that before. God sent me into the situation I was most uncomfortable with, and He was so obvious and intentional about His faithfulness. I thought of something our World Race Coach, Kevin had said the day before: “Sometimes, God just shows up and shows off.” That’s exactly what He did that night. He showed us His presence with sign after sign and we just got to smile and watch Him work.
God sent us into the red-light district, asked us to enter a karaoke brothel, and blatantly showed His love for His children. Our God is so, so, SO GOOD!
