Bye Bye Bangla, Hello Chalong

The Pier

     Last night was our first official night out on Chalong, the new area for bar ministry that we are pioneering. After having some stick-shift complications we finally got there, all of us alive and in tact. Since it's so far away we can't really afford to go there earlier in the day and prayer walk so to make up for it we just tried to go about an hour and a half earlier. So we walked up and down Chalong Pier Road and interceded for the place and our night then retreated to the pier where we had some worship and then we were off.
     Now because Chalong is so much smaller, quieter and emptier compared to Bangla Road, we had to be very strategic and smart about how we went about it. So some things have to change; instead of being upfront about who and what we are we're going to have to be very cunning and ease into it; we're going to have to really invest in relationships and out of a good relationship with the girls, bring them out. And because we'll probably get known very quickly there we have to make sure we're careful about where we go and how often. We don't want to get known too quickly because that can seriously hinder our ability to get girls out of there and our safety. Our awareness of our surroundings and our conscientiousness of safety has also had to be heightened; there's a very eerie feel about that place and so much more goes on behind closed doors that we have to constantly be on our guard. Needless to say, Chalong is an entirely different ball-game, but it's right up our alley. For the first time since we've been working in the bars we felt like we were meant to be there and like we had a place and a purpose and we actually felt more comfortable in Chalong than in Patong.

This was the bar we were at last night.
I found this picture online

     We were able to just go in and instead of barhopping and having to be careful not to stay too long, we were able to just chill and get to know the girls; not having to push SHE was great. So we ordered two cokes, talked, played two rounds of pool and just hung out. We weren't forced to buy up drinks or leave, we could just be and really build the relationship. Now there's an up and down side to everything that we're doing here; and in this case, the longer we stayed the closer we got to the girls- yes but the longer we stayed the more we saw. 
     Chalong is for locals and they are in no way ashamed of what they're doing or of what's going on. Every bar is attached to a set of rooms and during the time we were there I saw Thai girls being taken into the back by the men (Those rooms are not only where they take their customers but where they themselves live). And a big difference here is that the bar owners are more like the girl's pimps than anything; making their freewill questionable. Men were getting hand-jobs at the bar and the girls were being violated and felt up constantly. I had to listen to this 70 year old man discuss prices and the size of his penis with a girl no more than 22 years old. (Now I know this is vulgar but this is what goes on all over the world and this is what's happening here. If we keep running away from stuff like this then it will never stop. This is reality.) The intensity of sex tourism in that place was overwhelming, to say the least. However, we endured and we weren't wavered by any of it. God's grace and favor was so evident last night and He really protected us and strengthened us to be in that environment. We felt like we were on the offense and not on the defense...finally.
     The other half of our team had a really good night too; people were buying them cokes and offering them meals, talking to them and opening up. And as a sign of the favor of God that was upon them, they were adorned with leis (a flowery necklace). And to top the night off, as we were walking away a girl started shouting at me, "Hey friend come!" I turn around and Amy recognized her and they both ran to meet each other; it was a girl that she and Robert had gotten really close to in Patong but hadn't seen for a while. She said she recognized my noodle hair and kept saying to us, "Oh I so excited to see you, so happy to find you." Robert came up and she screamed his name and just hugged him. We all were just so taken back and just so in awe of God's favor and Him showing us that we really are meant to be here.
     So despite the graphic dreams that I had last night, depicting all the horrors we saw and heard, I'm ready to go back out. This is where God has us to be and I'm ready to do it.
  
Please be praying for God's continual favor and protection both while we're out there and when we come back.