Okay, so I still need to post about our trip to Thailand. I really don’t know how to explain our experience. God truly broke our hearts. As background, we went to Bangkok, Thailand to work with my friend Paige and her church and also to work with a ministry called The Well, that ministers to women working in the sex industry. You can get a glimpse with this highlight video on our missions website (it is the one called Freed From Sex Slavery) - http://aoneeight.org/ Please don’t miss it!
Joel also spoke about our trip in his recent message. Don’t miss that either! http://theaterchurch.com/media/message/the-unchristian-elephant/
We never imagined how we would spend our week. During the day, we would work at the Well, teaching English and connecting with the women. These ladies came out of the bar scene (prostitution) just a short time ago. God has transformed their lives! They now live with the assurance that they are loved and have value and purpose!
We attempted to teach English! We had no clue!
In the evenings, we would go down to the bars and talk with women working there. We kept asking ourselves, “What are we DOING here?” It was horrible to see white western men buying these women. To talk with the women, we would have to order them a drink to buy their time. It was very intimidating at first but, we found we could easily make friends with the women.
Their stories are heartbreaking. Most of them have a similar story. They are from the northeast region of Thailand and from poor families. Many of them were left by husbands or boyfriends and must support their children. It is also the custom for the oldest daughter to provide for her family. Many of these women are working to pay off farming debt of their family or support younger siblings through school. They do not feel like they have any option. They feel trapped.
Over the weekend, we were able to spend some time with my friend from college, Paige, who is now a missionary in Thailand. As emotionally exhausted as we were, it was great to spend some time with kids. Paige works at a church, teaching English. The church offers English classes as a way to reach out to their community.
These were the church staff kids - so funny!
As always, Joel was a hit with the kids. They would try to teach him Thai phrases and he would repeat the wrong on purpose!
Somehow the pastor’s son beat him arm wrestling!
On Sunday, Joel gave the message at the church. Awesome!
Some of our new friends we met at the bar outreaches came to service!
The Thai food was amazing! Paige took us to her favorite restaurant. Mmmm! Being pregnant, I had to take it easy because the food is much more spicy than in the US. It was hard to hold back!
Yep, that is a fish!
Thai people LOVE this - Papaya Salad (SUPER spicy)
After dinner, karaoke time!
It has always been on my life goal list to ride an elephant! We did it! It was amazing!
We got even friendlier than I could have imagined!
Our Thailand Team!
On our final night, we had a party with everyone at The Well. Please join us in praying for them!
We came back emotionally exhausted and are still trying to process everything. We are excited to work in partnership with The Well and support their transformational work. We are also praying for the friends we met, that God would continue to heal these women.
