Sawadhii-Khaa!

Thailand, Thailand, Thailand...where do I even begin. I cannot stop thanking God for the oppurtunities He gives me to experience amazing things such as going to Thailand. It was such a blessing to be in that country, to experience that culture, to eat delicious food, and to see God at work in the lives of Thai people. I've organized this post into three stories. Each set in a different part of Thailand, each with different people. If you're short for time pick one story, but come back and read the rest! I hope this blesses you as much as it blessed me!
Chiang Mai
While in Chiang Mai we had the opportunity to work at a children’s home (orphanage.) During one of our evenings there we were able to lead a junior adventures session in which we shared about the nation of Egypt. Junior Adventures is a program in which children actively learn about missions and a specific nation through a variety of means. We led the kids through activities including fun facts, intercession, craft time, and snack time. It was incredible to see the children understand what God was doing in Egypt, and to see them earnestly praying for missionaries in the country as well as become excited about the possibility of doing missions. It was also very special since we were able to bless the kids and the children’s home with craft supplies and fun toys. Though we only spent a short time with the kids, the amount of love we poured into their lives as well as received from them created a deep bond. It was with tears that we said our goodbyes.
Hill Tribe
During our time in Thailand, we were able to stay in a Hill Tribe village for one evening. This was quite the experience for me! We pulled into the village which was basically two streets lined with bamboo huts. It was beautifully set in a valley between gorgeous limestone mountains. It was picturesque, and very remote. As soon as we got there, our truck was surrounded by dozens of children. One child in particular caught my eye. He had big eyes, and open sores on his head. I was saddened by this because I knew that it was due to the bad water supply in the village among other things, things that could easily and inexpensively be solved. That evening we went from hut to hut praying for the villagers. In one of the first homes we stopped in, we had the opportunity to pray for that child. It turns out that I had mistakenly thought this child was a boy, and that in fact she was a girl. Due to the open sores, they had been forced to shave off all of her hair. Due to this she had become shy and quiet. As she sat in the hut surrounded by foreigners, she received prayer for healing of her sores. It was a privilege to pray for her, and I so wanted to see a miraculous healing. God chose not to intervene at that moment, but as tears began falling from this little girl’s eyes, I knew that tears were also falling from Jesus’ eyes as He saw the suffering of His little daughter. This moment was both touching and humbling and won’t soon be forgotten.
Patthaya
Although I have ministered to prostitutes in the past, the reality that millions of women are working in this industry every day never ceases to shock and deeply sadden me. What is unique about the prostitutes in Thailand is that although many of them don’t deliberately choose to become prostitutes (meaning many are forced into it through promises of a better life, or because there is just no other way to provide) many of the women still have a dream of meeting a foreign man that will marry them and provide for them. Although this occasionally happens, it is extremely rare, and as you can imagine, the foreign men coming to Patthaya seeking this type of industry are hardly the kind of person you would want anybody to marry. One evening during our nightly visits to one of the hundreds of bars where these women work, one of our team members was able to meet a woman of about 40 or 50 years that had just recently begun working in the bars. Her husband had lost everything to his gambling addiction and had left her with nothing. Having no skill or trade she could live off of, she did the only thing she knew to do to survive. She came to work in the bars of Patthaya. Through this meeting, the woman was invited to English class at the Tamar Center (the YWAM ministry for prostitutes) she was also given a tract explaining the gospel. That evening after the woman returned home after work, she read the tract and received Jesus into her life. She came to the Tamar centre the next day, and she was radiant with the glow of her new found faith. During the short week we were there, we were able to see a transformed life. She has now begun regularly attending bible study classes as well as English classes. We were also able to ensure that she will no longer be working in the bars. Although she is not completely free yet (due to the fact that bar owners literally trap their workers in a cycle of poverty that forces them to continue to work) we were able to help pay some of her debt and she has begun the application process to work at the Tamar centre to raise income. Praise God for His redeeming power and his love for all people. I couldn’t help but think as I walked bar to bar that if Jesus were here now, this is where he would be as well.