The Battle for Patpong

After 3 1/2 extra hours of lost travel, God brought us to pray in the Patpong red light district.

There we found a woman waiting to be bought standing in a doorway, hiding her face for the tear running down her cheek.

A middle aged westerner smugly sat next to a five year old Thai girl at a restaurant table.

Walking under signs advertising "Fetish," "Super Pussy," "Hot Males" et cetera, we declined countless offers for "ping pong shows."

Streets of women, men, and young people for sale. Some kind and inviting. Some blank and upset. Some happy to talk about life and Jesus. Some looking at us with distrustful stares.

(Rahab Ministry in Thailand is actually located in that building as well. It's an awesome, innovative place for healing and a safe place to build relationships. Hallelujah!)

But God is in those darkest places. His power and force to bring down these strongholds are much greater than any foothold man or demon has on that place.

While prayer walking with my partner/leader, Sami, we felt an extra heaviness on the road for the guys working in prostitution and otherwise. We felt God calling us to walk up and down the road several times - bearing in mind the walls of Jericho. We felt God telling us that He's going to bring down the walls Satan has put up in that place. Hallelujah! So, we did. We felt quite ridiculous, and I don't think we were alone in feeling ridiculous. The street wasn't very long, so the same people watched us pass back and forth. I could see them looking baffled, and almost uncomfortable to be there. With every step, we began to feel the place lighten up.



Many people came up to us and asked us to come get a massage, go into their bar, take a look, etc. Our hearts yearned for these people to truly know love that isn't bought and abandoned.

We talked with a kind fellow who gave massages as well as a bar owner. The Thai culture is a lot more relational than American. The worker was very sweet and spoke very good English. We talked a bit about where he was from, what he does, etc. He talked with us about what he likes to study and do. He said this is a part time job. The bar owner has two kids and recently wrote a book. He said he is first Buddhist and secondly believes in Jesus. He asked us to pray with him for the success of his book. We prayed for God's fatherly love, vision, and blessing be revealed to him and his family. He said he felt better after we prayed for him.

Each of these people are real people. They are not just a label - prostitute, pimp, etc. They have lives, hopes, dreams, families, stories, a life. And man, my heart is just growing for them... Ah, that they might find life and love to the fullest and purest as it was meant to be! Oh that God could speak and breathe life, truth, freedom, and vision into them. Oh God, my heart aches and yearns for them, how much more does Yours! God, may Your love and redemption explode all over Thailand and blow these people away. All for Your glory and love.

Desert to Flood

Overview

Our YWAM Las Vegas team arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday November 23rd. We had a day of orientation, then we began a week of flood relief. Tonight we begin ministry in the red light district. Please be praying for us, the people we are going to meet, and whatever else God lays on your heart.

The Flood

Our DTS is indeed an Abolitionist DTS, so you may be just as surprised as I was to read that we spent a week of our 2 month outreach helping clean up from the Bangkok floods. Before coming to Thailand, during times of prayer, we felt God telling us to be open to whatever He wants us to do. In that time, many doors of human trafficking outreach were being closed... actually nearly all of them. Thus, a week was open.

A few months ago, Thailand was hit with one of the biggest floods they have seen in about 50 years. Some areas are still flooded and many are still in a devastated state. YWAM Thailand has been forming teams to help. Many of the people were confused as to why a bunch of foreigners would come to Thailand to clean mold infested houses. Needless to say, we drew a lot of attention in our boots and rubber suits, gloves, face masks and hoards of cleaning supplies.

And oh, the people were so precious! They were so astounded and grateful for what we were doing. News of us got around very quickly. While walking around, many asked us if we could help with their house... Some had been out of a job for weeks and could mak

e little progress with the two hands with which they had to work (with a team of about 20, we could usually clean the first floor of a house pretty soundly in about 2 days). We had to turn many of them down simply because we didn't have enough people. I really began to understand Jesus's compassion - the bounty is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few.

It was a wonderful week. God's will and love truly is a curious and wild thing.

The Now and Then

We have about two more weeks in Bangkok, then we will be spending the rest of our outreach time in Chiang Mai. From what I understand, a lot of our time in Bangkok will be spent focusing on how we can holistically help through the seven spheres of influence (religion, government and law, arts and entertainment, education, business, media, and family). I'm super excited to see where God takes us. Today, we are seeking God for what He wants us to do in the red light district.

How You Can Help

Prayer is beyond essential. Truly, God can lay a prayer on someone's heart and use that prayer to do crazy awesome things on the other side of the world. (In fact, the reason why you are reading this post is because I woke up feeling God tell me to update peoples and get lots of prayer support)

You can pray for:

-Our team - protection (spiritually, physically, emotionally) and to have God's heart and perspective when meeting the victims, buyers, and pimps.

-God to prepare the way - bring the people He wants us to talk with.

-Us to move with God - we'll be sensitive to His voice and direction and obey. I think God is going to be moving in some magnificent/huge ways. May nothing hinder what He wants to do.

-God to leave a lasting impression and seed in the people

-The people - Open their hearts and minds. Give them freedom.

-Whatever else God lays on your heart :)

Thank you for your time and support! I'm excited to see what God will do and am so happy that we partner together to do God's will. May His love be known and so irresistibly evident! Ah, God is so good and beautiful!






photo credit = Sadie Wendt-Quibell
First two were some before pics of some of the places we cleaned. The third is an after pic.

Loving Thailand

During prayer/intercession, we prayed for each of the places to which we'll be going. Each country was introduced by messages from other people who have been to the country. This was from a fellow who recently came back from Thailand. He spent this DTS time cooking for us (so delicious!) and encouraging us to grow closer to God and abandon our comfort to reach out to whom Jesus wants us to reach.



"You're going to meet a girl. She loves her boyfriend. It's not fake. She truly wants to express joy and love and laughter with and to him. She's trying to love him.

You're going to meet a boy. He loves his family. He wants to do everything and anything he can to serve them. It's not fake family... it's love. He's in love with his family.

You're going to meet a man on a street. He'll sell you the best replica watch you've ever seen... and he means it when he says it's worth it! Yeah it's not the real thing... but he's not really trying to scam you; He's trying to feed his family and provide for himself. Doesn't that sound worth it?

You're going to see thousands of pictures of an old man in gold. He's Royalty. The Thai love him. He once traveled 1000 miles by foot to reach a barricaded village carrying food and medicine! You'll meet people from that village! He saved hundreds from the floods in the jungle! They honor him, and they'd die for him... because he would die for them! That's not idol worship... they're honoring a King that they think has laid it all down for them! After all, he serves them!

You're going to meet a boy and a girl. They sell flowers late at night in an area where you can "buy" women or men to fulfill sexual desires with. They don't like being awake so late at night. They also know you probably don't want another flower. But they'll sell it because they want to honor their father and mother.

You'll meet a man or a woman. He's "farang" ...He is honored in Siam. The gold and silver he brings from across the sea ensures a meal and bed for a Thai. He doesn't understand the bartering that's going on. He understands that love is a missing commodity in his life, and money isn't available to them... so why not trade.

Thailand. Everyone loves to play. Everyone loves to dance. They love to laugh. They love good food and would always rather hang out a little bit longer...

You see Thailand does Kingdom-like things. Thailand enjoys... the same things the Father does. you could even say they love their King the way we should love our King. They love their jobs and boyfriends the way we love Jesus... they want to enjoy..laugh with..eat with---play with their friends and family! What does that look like? It's the Kingdom of God!

When you meet these people, and they teach you how to dance... walk them towards the King that really does fight for them. Introduce them to a Lover that doesn't give money...but life! As you sing and laugh with them...tell them there's a love that is free...that returns only more love...and in fact - LOVED THEM FIRST!

Loving Thailand... is simply redemption of what's already happening, but redirected to a source that gives without expectation of a return!"
-Samuel Henderson