Sitting here the dark of the plane, I’m somewhere over the Pacific with hours to go. Tiredness has set in. After 2.5 movies, I’m not sure I can watch anymore. Everyone around me is asleep. My thoughts move forward, then back to this space hurtling across the sky… then back over the past three weeks.
Funny how so much can happen in so little time.
I have so many stories, but right now not the words. Here are some snapshots (some are links, some aren’t) of what God did in Thailand:
- The Magic Numbers… of the Red Light District. These statistics broken down move me.
- A team of 29 women whose hearts cried out to God daily, nightly, hourly…. With every breath… for the women, children, ladyboys, and men of Thailand, particularly in the area of Thailand we were in.
- Reuniting with friends from past trips- friends at the massage parlor, the woman who sells drinks at the entrance to the night market, the staff at the guesthouse… so many familiar faces genuinely happy to see Connie and I again.
- Hearing the stories night after night of what God was doing in and through the team.
- Hugging a 16-year-old as she tries to hide the marks on her neck, left from the night before, with her hair. It was her first week of work at the bar.
- Tying bracelets on the wrists of everyone we could… praying as we did so, telling the person that Jesus loves them.
- Greeting a friend who happens to be a tout (a person who sells sex menus and tries to get customers to go up to the bars on the upper levels), and not seeing what she does but who she is- someone Jesus loves so much. Thanking (but declining) her offer to sit and drink whiskey together, laughing with her as she hugs me and I move on.
- Prayer walking each night in Pat Pong, bathing the streets in prayer and talking with whoever God leads us to. Stopping each time to talk with a group of girls who wanted nothing more than for us to hang out for hours, drink Coke with them, and bond as only girls can. Giving them bracelets, telling them they are beautiful… feeling our hearts break a little more each night as we return and see different ones with different customers.
- Sweltering in the heat, being thankful for a sudden downpour. Having a bar owner so welcoming to us that he went to get us cool towels for us to wipe the sweat off our faces one particularly hot night.
- Seeing small children in the Red Light District.
- Learning that Rahab, the ministry we work with in Pat Pong will be Thai run when we return in October. This is a big deal, because it means the Western leadership that began this org and has been a part of its direction is pulling away, and it will be national-led (which should be the goal of every ministry/missionary). Bittersweet good-byes with the Kiwi missionaries who are leaving in September, knowing that it’s likely we won’t meet again this side of Heaven—but the reunion there will be so, so beautiful.
- Signing to the 10+ deaf vendors who sell in Pat Pong, wondering how they could possibly understand my feeble attempts to communicate but feeling my fingers move somewhat correctly. Seeing them sign to me, “I remember you and your friend.”
- Watching the children’s ministry team sit night after night in the Beer Garden (an outdoor bar), drinking Cokes, praying… and waiting. Then, on the last night, children showing up… and the western customers all around applauding the team when they get up to leave at the end of the night…. Not because they were leaving but in admiration that they would come to Thailand to care for – and spend money on (Cokes are more expensive than alcohol)- little ones such as these.
Hopefully this post gives you a small picture of what God did in Thailand. If you have a moment, I encourage you to click on the links and read those stories… there were a lot of writers on that team and the blogs were incredible. Hopefully this post isn’t too disjointed… if it is, I blame jet lag/exhaustion. :0)
One thing I want to say is THANK YOU! Right before I left I sent a blog letting you know that I still needed financial support to cover the cost of the trip, and God provided it all through you! THANK YOU! Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for all that you have done.
I’ll write more later!
*Some faces blurred for protection.
