Thailand has taught me many things in the week that I have been here. Things that I never thought I would learn, see, do, or feel. I can safely say that this expereince is not something that you can learn sitting in a classroom, bible study, or a church service. It has been a journey to dark places that Gods light is meant to be shown, a place where we do not find ourselves today radically pursuing Gods people in the darkest places.
I have been asking God, if this is who you were with when you were here on earth, why have I not been spending most of my days with the prostitutes, the poor, the broken. Sunday morning church isn't going to shine in these places, it is the people that get sent from them.
Our team of 13 amazing young ladies have radically abandoned the typical day in the life, to pursue Gods heart on the hundreds of girls that are being exploited daily. I am so proud of each and every one of them as they have embraced the difficulty that is opening our eyes to the evil that is in this world, and searching how God can be in the midst of all of this and what he is doing in it.
Friday night we had our main outreach in one of the main Red Light Districts of Thailand, Soi 4. I always tell my students, this is the stuff that sounds cool in the newsletters, the stuff we want to put on our blog...But we do not add that after 3 hours of working in these areas we are all sent home in tears, distraught and tenderized as God begins to reveal his heart for the Women that are being sold every for the night for less than 20 US dollars.
Not evena mile radius, there are over 300 bars where women are being trafficked, exploited, and sold every night. I met a girl beautiful as can be, who was no older than 15 explaining that it was her first night. After talking with her for no more than 5 minutes, her mama san ( older bar lady mananger ) snatched her right away from me as I was distracting her from her customers.
Please pray for us as we will continue to work in this area for the next week. Pray Gods protection over us, and that we would be able to at least impact the girls that we meet even if for a short time, we are determined to show them love and safety if just for a few moments in these bars and restaurants.
A place where the church is not, we want to be.
