Sophie

28.July.2010

My dear people,
There have been requests for me to write a little more about what we do every day. I must say, every day is a little different from the day before, which I love since routine is one of my enemies in life. But on a normal day I get up in the morning for group devotions with the Thai girls and the team members. Together we worship, read Scripture and give testimonies. Those times are always huge blessings and the Lord’s presence is super evident. I think He really wants to show us His goodness in the morning and maybe he does that to make it especially clear to our Thai girls (of who about half have made a decision for God) so that all of them with experience His love. I have felt his goodness so much in this house. When you’re in a place that feels very dark it is even more comforting to come back to worshiping God and asking Him to be present. How much God longs to pour His blessings over us has become very clear to me in this place. Also, I have been doing a Bible study on Ephesians with our English teacher Winnie and Bailey my friend from MNU. We have been looking at the Word and letting it give us peace. There was one night especially when I was tired to the point where I did not have any desire to talk or be with anyone anymore. I went to the Bible study and let the Word sink in. Honestly, there is nothing in this whole entire world that compares to the Word of God! It super fantastic. I have learned that I can do nothing by my own strength but only if I rely on Him and come back to Him. Oh okay, sorry… back to my daily activities. ☺ I have been working in the office during the day working on a curriculum for interns, which was great, since I needed that, as an intern myself, and it was very important for SHE to have something like that! Praise God!
We have continued our night outreaches in Patong, but had a very uncommon experience on Monday night; both Monday and Tuesday were national holidays (Buddha holiday). We went down on Monday not knowing what to expect and found a quiet street; there was no music playing, hardly anyone on the street and the only people selling something were souvenir people. As we walked down Bangla road we almost couldn’t believe what we were experiencing, the bars were closed, there were no girls dancing, no one waving and pulling into the bars and most of all there was an atmosphere I had never experienced on that very street: the heaviness was gone, we were able to breathe. As we walked we all felt like what we were seeing was like a glimpse of the future, a glimpse of what the street will be like once all the bars are closed. We were so happy that we decided to walk down the street to the beach and sing worship to the God who had filled us with the amazing awareness that we are for ever His and in beautiful unity with Him, made perfect by the blood and forgiveness of Jesus!! And as we were singing and sitting around, we looked up and saw two women who were standing close to where we were. We started talking to them and it turned out that they had come to Patong to find work. It was hard not to jump around and scream for the joy we felt about being able to maybe play a part in preventing them from seeking to find a job in a bar. We exchanged phone numbers. Now we are waiting and praying to see what will happen.
Yesterday we had a group of four girls come over to SHE to have lunch together. We ate together, baked cookies and were able to show them around in SHE. Being together was great but we also had to realize that it remains the women’s choice whether they are ready to leave the bar or not… It is hard to hear from them that the amount of money they make in the bars is what keeps them from coming here. Sharon tried to explain that life is not just about money but also about how you feel and how your heart is feeling… Materialism and the belief that having the next big thing will make you happy is often times what keeps women in the bars. On top of that many young women feel pressured by their families who live in the Northern provinces of Thailand to work hard, so that the family would have money and not ‘lose face’, which is one of the most controlling social norms in this country: the fear of embarrassment.
Those two forces, the fear of losing face and the longing for higher living conditions is what pushes many women to travel to the South and look for money. I cannot even describe to you how irritating it is to hear the same story over and over again: I was forced to come here so that my family would have enough money to live. How can you help a country out of the systemic poverty? Honestly, I have to fight the wish to change everything in a second. But I know that is not mine. This country is suffering from a lot of corruption, poverty and gender oppression. And on top of it all, it worships gods that are human made. We need to pray for freedom for this country, for more people to turn to the one and only God, and especially for the politicians to turn to God for they are the ones who control so much of what is going on in the country.
Please pray for the country of Thailand and pray for your own country that more and more people will surrender their lives to God! What a party that would be if all across the word people would start worshipping Him!!! Woooow. So, lets pray, all of us people who have been called to live lives of worship! And if you don’t know the Lord yet, ask for Him, I’m sure He would be super happy to answer your request! ☺

Love and Shalom from Thailand. Thank you all for reading and praying!

23. July
My dear dear loved people! Thank you so much for waiting patiently for my news from Thailand! ha. I have become well accustomed to life in this wonderful country: watch for scooters (there are no traffic rules and definitely no special rights for pedestrians), don't ever leave any food out (otherwise you shouldn't be surprise to find an army of ants devour it), be prepared to take up to three showers a day (even though its not the hot season, my European/Americanized body feels like its gonna melt any second), don't believe them when they say the food is not spicy (it is!).
I have got to say, I think I would be okay living on an island for the rest of my life. The mentality of the people here is super easy going, relaxed, and living in the moment. I feel like I could fit in pretty well. :) I have heard that the cultural difference between here and other more Northern provinces of Thailand is very noticeable. Because of all the tourism, things that would terribly offend anyone in the North are almost well accepted in this part of the country. For example, in Thailand, it is highly disrespectful to expose the soles of your feet to anyone around you, since that is the lowest and least respected part of your body. When sitting with someone you will ALWAYS sit so your soles are covered under your legs or pointing away from the person. Since there is a constant flow of volunteers and mission's teams here at SHE, the Thai women have graciously grown to forgive the farang (foreigners) for their misconduct. :) I love learning about these things and I try my best to follow.
Being here at SHE is definitely one of the most amazing and most meaningful experiences of my life. I wish I could go out and meet everyone I see on the street, talk to them, get to know them, hear their stories and learn from them. They are such beautiful people. I look at them and I notice that they see me as a foreigner, someone who is very different and who will never understand. And yet that is all I want to do... I want to understand their perspectives on life, what they have gone through to get to the place they are at right now. Just yesterday, I had the privilege of listening to a young woman who had come to SHE with a YWAM team to help us with our outreach that night. She told us about her life and we were amazed to hear that she too used to work in a bar. Her testimony was so powerful, as she told us about the night when a group of American YWAMers came to her bar and told her that she did not have to do this for the rest of her life, but that they knew about a place where she could be trained for a different job and learn English at the same time. She was overwhelmed by thoughts of a life outside the bars. When she called up the local center and was assured that she was welcome to come she left the bars behind and started a new life as a free woman. It was beautiful to listen to her telling us of how she not only learned the new skills and improved her English but how she heard about God, how for the first time in her life she was able to accept and feel truly beautiful and loved. She is now part of YWAM and in a discipleship class. She was beaming as she told us about how much her life has changed and how God, above all has changed her completely.
This is something I have learned: yes, we are reaching out to the girls and trying to give them a job outside the bars. But the truth is this is more than humanitarian work! This is more than making sure that someone has a job; God has opened my eyes to see the beauty of these women and all that I want is for them to see and feel the overwhelming, captivating, life giving love of God who is jealous to be with them and restore them to the image He has created them in. I am hurting for the thousands of women who work in the bars every night, waiting for the next male customer to come… some are waiting for money, others are waiting for their true love, the husband who is going to take them away from that terrible place and take care of them, loving and providing for them. But the truth is, no husband and no money can do what they really need and that is to understand and grasp the truth that the Lord has made them for a life that is full of the riches of His grace. Just as Paul, I pray that “he will give light to the eyes of their hearts, so that they will understand the hope to which he has called them, what rich glories there are in the inheritance he has promised his people!”
Please keep on praying and thank you so much for doing so! The Lord is good, he is alive and he is the only one who can change these women’s lives! I have some really amazing stories about what God has already done since we’ve started going out to Patong. This I shall share in my next blog!
Shalom to you my family and friends! “Pray at al times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people!” (Ephesians 6:18)
Sawadee ka!


18. July
Dear Family, Friends and everyone I love!
Where do I begin? It feels like I have been here in Kathu, Phuket for so long but in reality it has only been less than a week. I have since been declared part of the SHE center staff. Since Bailey and I are now team independent it allows us to be a little more settled and focused on the center itself, in order to help Mark and Sharon (founders) as best as possible. As a couple they are responsible for the whole organization, which includes planning, financing, making sure that the women who work at SHE have work and are taken care of. At the same time, they have a family of kids (super cook kids I must say). In other words, they are happy to have people who are more long term committed to help out with the daily things. I will be pioneering an internship program which hopefully will make things smoother for interns to follow.
On Thursday we met the new team, which consists if 4 great girls who we have already grown to love. Being here together makes the bonds between us so much stronger, so even if not real it seems to us as if we have known each other for ever! They also allowed us to join them in their first two night outreaches, on Thursday and Friday night. The reality of Patong is that most of the women who work there are from poor provinces in the country. In order to find work, they travel down south to the places where tourism is the main source of income. Yet, in Patong, the tourism industry takes on a new shape. It is sex industry. People selling self selves to stranger. Its money for the sake of your body. Does ask for moral in that kind of a place. There is too much proof that moral values have been left behind for a long time. We have become aware that socially this has become accepted and that there is not much that is done from the Thai people to bring about change. Yet, we know that these women are God's creation and even though they live in pagan and sinful circumstances they need to experience what it means to live up to what God, their creator, has made them to be. Our conversations on both Thursday and Friday went well. On Thursday especially the responses were great, with some showing genuine interest and others actually calling the center the next morning letting us know that there were planning to come next week! This is great news! We keep on praying that God would lead us to those women who are open and ready to get out and start a different life!
Today I was able to spend some more time with the girls who live with us at SHE. We went on a bike tour on tiny children's bikes. It was fantastic being able to build stronger relationships with them. What fascinated me was that we were able to have so much fun and laughter together, with me knowing just as few words in Thai and her knowing and understanding little English! But the Lord is good and He make things like that happen! I am so happy to become friends with them!
I am in love with this place and I am humbled to discover more of God's heart for this place as well. Some times I find myself dreaming and envisioning how much more we could be doing and basically how we could change the world starting in Thailand... but then the Lord reminds me that it will not happen by my own strength but by this and also by His power! He has been so faithful. He has heard our prayers when battling against the dark spirits in Patong, when tired and worn down or as simple as being lost and needing his direction to find the way back to our home :)
I am so blessed to be here. I'm loving every second of my time here and I couldn't be any more thankful for being able to partner with those who are standing at the front lines! Thank you God, you are beautiful! Thank you people for your prayers!


July 14
Dear Family, friends, and people who I love. This is my first blog post from Thailand. I arrived in Bangkok on Monday night, met Summer who is a Global Infusion intern and stayed at the YWAM station for my first night. I was pretty overwhelmed by the colors, smells, animals and things I saw the next morning. Yet, I felt such a joy and excitement about finally having arrived in Thailand after so many days of patiently waiting. I feel very blessed by the hospitality of everyone I have met so far. Truly, what I was told about Thailand has proved to be true: the people are very warm and friendly, seemingly shy but absolutely welcoming!
On Monday I bought a Thai phone for my time here in Thailand. The phone I got is second hand and for the longest time I just couldnt seem to figure out how to make it switch from Thai symbols to Roman letters. So I had to learn how to find people in my contacts only buy knowing haw many times I had to push the button. (yea... kinda complicated). Anyways, Thailand has the craziest, most delicious food. I found that out at the market, where we bought fruit that I had never seen in my life. Also, it was revealed to me that Mangos are supposed to be eaten when green still. That way they remain fresh, decently sour and crunchy as apples! (Also, Thai people dip the mangos in a funny mix of sugar, salt and chili!)
On Tuesday I flew into Phuket and was welcomed by Mark (Founder of SHE) and Bailey and finally got to see my other team mates. Words cannot describe how happy and proud I was when they led me into the house, introducing me to all the Thai girls who live at the center and nonchalantly speaking in Thai to them!! Again, I was overwhelmed by emotion and extremely happy and thankful to God for this experience of seeing our dream of coming to Thailand come true. It is just incredible to be in the place that we have talked about, heard about, dreamed about and to see that it is real and above all filled with the most gentle, loving people you could only imagine!!
Today (Wednesday), Bailey and I did some office work after having stopped by the 7-11 down the street (yes, they are everywhere!! They are exactly the same too, with the addition of snacks like dried sea weed and MAGNUM ice cream).
A team from the US is flying in tonight, which we are excited about! Together we will start going to Patong which is the city where we will do the night outreaches in the bars to meet girls! If you read this early enough I would like to ask you to pray for us, as we need to be covered in prayer which is our weapon in a place where the darkness is heavy and thick. The Lord is so good. He is giving us peace and is assuring us that He is super present with us and that he hears every word that we speak! His victory is what makes us confident that we can and need to go to Patong and reach out to the girls who deserve to be loved and to find the Lord and the freedom and life that comes from being with HIM.
That was a very long first entry... I thought I would have nothing to say yet! But no, there is too much happening all the time!!
Again, I need to say, this country is beautiful and I am eager to learn more about the culture, the people and the ways in which God wants to move!
Thank you for praying! Love and Blessings. Sophie.