กดที่ = Pressing On
I've been getting more and more used to being here in Thailand and more and more comfortable with the work that we're doing. It's really hard to know what to write honestly.
Something cool that happened was I met a girl who used to work for sex but now she's a cashier and she really opened up to me and told me what it was like; gave me a real insider's perspective and a better idea of how they see things. Through her testimony I realized that she battled with the same insecurities that any other girl has battled with in dating. She asked the same questions I've known many other girls to ask. For example; she said that when she would be having sex with a guy she would wonder how many other girls he's slept with and if they were better than her. And I really came to the understanding that for these girls, prostitution is just dating on steroids. She talked about how sad it made her to see the other girls there looking for love but that they won't find it on these streets; but they're caught up in the lie. After she told me her story; how dirty that work is and how "never again"; I got an awesome chance to pray for her right there and when I was finished praying for her she brought over another girl and had me pray for her as well. What really amazed me about this woman was that no Christian nor missionary helped get her out of this; she just decided she had enough. It really encouraged me that even though we won't get to every girl that it doesn't mean there isn't hope for them; we aren't the source of their hope- God is and He's working on Bangla Rd.
One thing I just cannot wrap my brain around is when I see families on Bangla Rd. I kid ya'll not, people bring there whole families with them onto this road. There are women dancing on poles, grabbing men, men grabbing them; sex and drunkenness is all around and parents bring their kids with them onto this street! It's child abuse; exposing your kids to stuff like that when they're so impressionable! We were all trying to figure it out and thought, "Did they just not know what Patong was when they came here or are they just that sick?" And I said, "Well if my family, for whatever reason, made the mistake in coming here without knowing what it was; my daddy would have gone to the store bought some board games and said, 'Well sorry but we're spending our vacation in the hotel. Hope you have fun and enjoy the pool.'" Am I right Daddy?
I know a lot of fathers come to Patong and I've seen a lot of them accompanied by their teenage sons; it's their "passage to manhood". And I know that if my dad were here he'd be heart broken at the sight of so many daughters on the poles and in the bars; he wouldn't see prostitutes, he'd see someone's daughters. It's not because my dad is the sensitive type but because he's a father. What's wrong with these dads out here? Why don't they see what my dad would see? It makes me think of Jon Foreman's song, "Somebody's Baby." In it he sings, "She's somebody's baby, somebody's baby girl. And she's somebody's baby still."
Well it's Christmas tomorrow in Thailand and we're having a bbq; although it feels nothing like Christmas especially with the added effect of sweat dripping down my back. The nice thing though is that we get the whole week off next week because we didn't get a Christmas break like the other teams so that begins tomorrow!!! WOOHOO. I'm really excited about having a break to just relax. We haven't really stopped going since DTS ended and we've just been going and going like the energizer bunny since then. So we're all pretty excited about having some R&R.
Thank you all so much for the prayers. They're having a huge impact. I look back on conversations we've had and places we've been, how much grace and favor was there waiting for us, and the only way I can explain it is the prayers that have been being sent out. So thank you guys so much. If I wrote about every cool thing that happened then this blog would be as long an encyclopedia. You may think it already is but...I do show quite a bit of restraint while writing. To demonstrate just how I do it I'm going to.....
Merry Christmas
Something cool that happened was I met a girl who used to work for sex but now she's a cashier and she really opened up to me and told me what it was like; gave me a real insider's perspective and a better idea of how they see things. Through her testimony I realized that she battled with the same insecurities that any other girl has battled with in dating. She asked the same questions I've known many other girls to ask. For example; she said that when she would be having sex with a guy she would wonder how many other girls he's slept with and if they were better than her. And I really came to the understanding that for these girls, prostitution is just dating on steroids. She talked about how sad it made her to see the other girls there looking for love but that they won't find it on these streets; but they're caught up in the lie. After she told me her story; how dirty that work is and how "never again"; I got an awesome chance to pray for her right there and when I was finished praying for her she brought over another girl and had me pray for her as well. What really amazed me about this woman was that no Christian nor missionary helped get her out of this; she just decided she had enough. It really encouraged me that even though we won't get to every girl that it doesn't mean there isn't hope for them; we aren't the source of their hope- God is and He's working on Bangla Rd.
One thing I just cannot wrap my brain around is when I see families on Bangla Rd. I kid ya'll not, people bring there whole families with them onto this road. There are women dancing on poles, grabbing men, men grabbing them; sex and drunkenness is all around and parents bring their kids with them onto this street! It's child abuse; exposing your kids to stuff like that when they're so impressionable! We were all trying to figure it out and thought, "Did they just not know what Patong was when they came here or are they just that sick?" And I said, "Well if my family, for whatever reason, made the mistake in coming here without knowing what it was; my daddy would have gone to the store bought some board games and said, 'Well sorry but we're spending our vacation in the hotel. Hope you have fun and enjoy the pool.'" Am I right Daddy?
I know a lot of fathers come to Patong and I've seen a lot of them accompanied by their teenage sons; it's their "passage to manhood". And I know that if my dad were here he'd be heart broken at the sight of so many daughters on the poles and in the bars; he wouldn't see prostitutes, he'd see someone's daughters. It's not because my dad is the sensitive type but because he's a father. What's wrong with these dads out here? Why don't they see what my dad would see? It makes me think of Jon Foreman's song, "Somebody's Baby." In it he sings, "She's somebody's baby, somebody's baby girl. And she's somebody's baby still."
Well it's Christmas tomorrow in Thailand and we're having a bbq; although it feels nothing like Christmas especially with the added effect of sweat dripping down my back. The nice thing though is that we get the whole week off next week because we didn't get a Christmas break like the other teams so that begins tomorrow!!! WOOHOO. I'm really excited about having a break to just relax. We haven't really stopped going since DTS ended and we've just been going and going like the energizer bunny since then. So we're all pretty excited about having some R&R.
Thank you all so much for the prayers. They're having a huge impact. I look back on conversations we've had and places we've been, how much grace and favor was there waiting for us, and the only way I can explain it is the prayers that have been being sent out. So thank you guys so much. If I wrote about every cool thing that happened then this blog would be as long an encyclopedia. You may think it already is but...I do show quite a bit of restraint while writing. To demonstrate just how I do it I'm going to.....
Merry Christmas