itchy

Two weeks ago we got lice. There was only one lice ever found in my hair, but a few of my teammates’ heads’ were more infested than mine. It was quite a process to wash all of our sheets, pillow cases, sleeping bags, and some clothes. Since the washing machine doesn’t have hot water, we had to boil water and then soak everything in efforts to stop the lice from spreading. As you might have guessed, this takes a long time. On top of all this, we all had to wash our hair with lice shampoo and then search each other’s heads for lice. Oh yeah, and then we had bar ministry that night. It was definitely a full day for us but God gave us the grace to make it through and still love each other. It was quite the experience but I like to think we bonded more through our times of washing, combing, an picking out lice and lice eggs from each other’s hair. (Check out Marisa's blog here for a funny account of our lice experience :)

Yes, that's a picture of a lice.

Helping each other get rid of lice (notice the head lamp - the lighting in our room isn't great).

Now the lice is gone. Thank you, Jesus! But in the past few days both me and Allysha have discovered that we have ringworm. What I originally thought was a bug bite has turned out to be a case of ringworm on my arm. It is very itchy at times but there is no way that I’m scratching it. I google-imaged ringworm and am now traumatized (I don’t recommend doing that…). I really don’t want it to spread. I have been putting some cream on it but have been researching how to get rid of it in other ways. Apparently nail polish works? I don’t know but I’m trying it out. I’ll let you know how it goes…

We don't have any clear nailpolish so I'm using Marisa's green nailpolish - thanks roomie!

Sorry if this post grosses you out. This is my life in Thailand. Just keeping it real...

Note: Ringworm is not an actual worm. It is a fungus. I do not have worms.

Daow

When we first met Daow*, she was very forward and flashy. She loves to dress up and always looks well put together. Hair perfectly straightened. Coloured contacts in. Fake eyelashes on. Make-up expertly applied. Decked out in a fancy dress and high heels.

However, there is far more to Daow than her appearance (although most of the foreigners that buy her for the night wouldn’t bother to look beyond that). Daow has hopes and dreams for her life and doesn’t want to work in the bar forever. She doesn’t enjoy having to get drunk all the time and leaving for the night with customers. She dreams of opening up a salon in Bangkok and having a restaurant with her father.

But Daow has been hurt a lot by different people throughout her life. Her mother left her family when Daow was a teenager and she hasn’t seen her in years. And Daow used to have a boyfriend that she lived with in Bangkok...but he was abusive and caused her a lot of pain. Now she is thankful that she doesn’t have a boyfriend or children because of her past experiences.

Daow has become a good friend of mine. Last week, she painted my nails as I sipped my pineapple juice at her bar. And earlier this week, I painted her nails (red on Valentines Day to match her flashy red dress).

When I visited her bar on Wednesday, Daow ran to a street vendor nearby and bought food for us to share. As we ate our spicy seafood dish (so good!), we chatted and she gave me some presents because I’m leaving soon. She gave me a little mirror and a ring that she often wears. To be completely honest, the mirror is kind of strange-looking and the ring isn’t exactly my usual style, but I will always treasure these gifts because they were given to me by Daow.

Daow shared with me about how she appreciated our friendship. She told me, “Most foreign women don’t talk to me. They don’t talk to girls who work in the bars. But you, you talk to me. You call me on the phone, you are my friend. You have a good heart.”

It was encouraging to hear her voice her feelings and continue opening up to me. Our conversations have made a difference in her life. She has felt cared for and loved. She has been listened to and treated like someone who has great worth.

Pray for Daow – pray that she will hold on to her hopes and dreams. I’ve talked to her a bit about SHE so pray that Daow will think about this option more and will have the strength to leave the bar. Pray that she will come to know Jesus and His amazing love for her.

* Name has been changed

"katie needs a hair cut"

I never expected that my hair could be used as a ministry tool. But in the past two days, God has used my hair to open up doors to connect with girls in the bars and get to know them more.

I was first volunteered to get a hair cut by my teammate Marissa. When she discovered that one of the women in a bar we’ve been visiting can cut hair, she immediately told her…”Katie needs a hair cut! You can cut her hair!” It’s true. I do need a hair cut. And since I’m not super attached to my hair and this seemed like a great opportunity to get to know a woman outside of the bar environment, I agreed.

Although our original appointment with her fell through, it ended up working out to meet up with her on Thursday afternoon. We met her at the outside bar where she works and she cut my hair right there. And she did a great job! No random bald spots and my bangs haven’t been reduced to just an inch long. Thank you, Jesus! And it was a great way to talk with her and encourage her in her skills.

Getting my hair cut at the bar

I thought that would be the end of my hair ministry. But last night, just one day after my hair cut, we were chatting with some ladies at a bar we’ve just gone to once before. (I mentioned them in my last post – they are the ones who like that we dress differently than the tourists.) They have been very friendly and when I complimented one of them on the curls in her hair, she showed me the curling iron that she had right behind the bar. And she offered to curl my hair. So, of course, I agreed. She grabbed a chair for me, I went behind the bar, and she started curling my hair! They took turns curling my hair. And at the same time, Abbie and Marissa played pool and talked with them.

Getting my hair curled by a friend at another bar

Marissa playing pool with our other friend at the bar

Me with my hair all cut and curled!

We invited them to go out for lunch on Sunday and they seemed really excited. Pray that it will all work out and that they will really open up to us. They are both from Isaan, a poor region of Thailand that many of the women that work in the bars come from. One of them has two sons back there that her mother takes care of and she sends money back to them.

We are so grateful to God for how He opens up doors in unexpected ways! Pray that we will continue to have many opportunities and divine appointments and that these women will have open hearts to receive all that God has for them.

hopeful

I don’t think that most YWAM outreach budgets include drinks at the bar. Ours does. (Don’t worry…they are all non-alcoholic beverages.) J

A few nights a week, our team has been heading out to the bars in the Kata area of Phuket. We split up into three groups – my group includes Marissa, Abbie, and myself. From there, we pray and see which bar God leads us to. We have been building relationships with the girls that work in the bars and have made some good connections already.

But it is also hard work and we are tired. Yesterday my group headed down to Kata early because we had two appointments to meet up with girls that we had met in the bars. They both fell through. We couldn’t get ahold of one woman and the other told us that her friend had been in a motorbike accident so she had to go to the hospital. I don’t know if she was telling the truth or not. Either way, it’s clear that the devil does not give up ground easily.

So we pray. We pray and we keep going and meeting women in the bars. We were all exhausted after being in Kata all afternoon and evening and none of us felt like going out into the bars. But just before we headed out, Marissa was praying and God reminded her of how He sent us halfway around the world for a purpose. She gave us a great inspirational speech and after that we were ready to go! And it was an amazing night! At one bar, we met two women and had a great conversation with them. They told us that they had seen us earlier walking around and had noticed us. We looked different, they told us, we weren’t dressed like most tourists (I guess dressing modestly pays off). We liked you when we saw you, they told us, we like you girls! It was so encouraging to see how God had worked it out so that we could meet these women. He led us to a bar where there were two women who had noticed us earlier and seen something different in us. We got their phone number and are hoping to hang out with them soon.

God is pursuing these women. He is passionate about them and loves them deeply. He longs for them to know Him. And so do we. Our hearts break when we watch a tourist paw one of the women that we have been talking to or walk away with them. We want more for them. We long for the restoration of their lives. I don’t believe these girls want this kind of life for themselves. I doubt that any of them grew up with the aspiration or dream of being a prostitute. But there are few opportunities for well-paying jobs and these women bear the responsibility of supporting their families. They see no other option for themselves.

Some still dream of other jobs and opportunites. One woman would like to open up a laundry business. Another wants to start up a salon. But many don’t see these dreams as really possible because of the high costs involved. Over time, their hopes and dreams die. So we hope for them…we dream of greater things for them. They could work in hotels. They could start up their own businesses. They could go to university. They could gain new skills like baking and making jewellery. They could take these skills and go back to their families. They could take care of their own children, instead of being forced by circumstances to leave them in the care of family.

We believe that God can transform Phuket. We have great hope because we serve a great God.

“The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

Our team before heading out to the bars

Beautiful beach in Phuket

A visit from our school leader Jon (and Sean came for one night too)!

Phuket ministry

Our team arrived in Phuket almost a week ago and have started our ministry at SHE. SHE focuses on reaching out to bar girls. Since many of the women lack education and employment opportunities, it’s very difficult for them to find well-paying jobs. Therefore, many Thai women turn to prostitution. SHE offers these women other employment options such as learning to make jewelry, bakery goods, and cards. SHE is currently working on constructing another facility where women can further their English, receive job training, and also obtain a solid foundation on the word of God. Therefore, our work here varies from manual labor for their future facility to reaching out to the bar girls.

We will be going out to the bars 2 or 3 nights a week to hang out and build relationships with the girls who are working in the bars. Our team is going to an area of Phuket that SHE has never gone before. Last Friday night, we walked along the streets and mapped out the area; writing down streets and names of bars and praying as we walked. A large part of our ministry will be focused on prayer - the areas of Phuket where these bars are located are very spiritually dark places. There is so much evil and the devil has a foothold in the lives of so many people here. But SHE has seen major changes in the past 4 or 5 years since they've been praying through these streets. We know that God is the one who is going to change and move in hearts - we can't do it on our own.

Last night was our team's first night of going into the bars and talking to the girls. We split up into 3 groups and my group visited 2 bars. The girls were very open and friendly and we had some good conversations with them. We will be going out again tomorrow night and are hoping to reconnect with them and maybe get the chance to invite them to hang out sometime during the day.

I'm inviting you to partner with my team and I in prayer. We know this is so important, especially with what we will be involved in here in Phuket. Pray for:

- Safety - we are being very careful as we go into these bars but please pray for God's protection over everyone on our team. Pray that we will be aware of our surroundings even as we interact with the girls.

- Unity for our team - we don't want anything to get between us because we really need to be united in what we are doing here.

- That we will see the girls as Jesus sees them - beautiful, valuable, and precious to Him. And that we will also have hearts for the men here who have come to buy sex - God loves them too and longs for them to know Him.

- Good connections with the girls; that we will be able to build some good relationships during our time here.

- That these women will desire to leave the bars and try to find some other type of employment through SHE. Pray that they will have soft hearts and will be open to Jesus and will respond to His call on their lives.

Thank you for your prayers!

Farewell, Abba House! We love you!

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:13-14)

Foot washing. There’s something powerful about the act of washing someone’s feet. It is an incredible expression of love and humility.

On our last night at Abba House, after a delicious meal of Mexican food, we gathered together with the Abba House kids and New Life/FCC guys. Jacque shared about how Jesus washed His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. And then she asked the New Life/FCC guys if we could wash their feet.

Many of the men were moved to tears as we washed their feet and prayed over them. The Abba House girls were all watching and some of them were also crying as they saw this unforgettable scene.

What happened next was beautiful. As Marisa was about to wash Jacque’s feet, Tom and Boy stepped in and took over. Jacque has become a mother to these young men who have not experienced a mother’s love before. She has poured into them and encouraged them and loved on them. Now they wanted to bless her by washing her feet. Tom and Boy wept as they washed her feet and Jacque wept as her feet were washed. And many more of us were crying as we witnessed this act of humility and love.

The foot washing didn’t end there. Our entire team was soon seated in chairs, having our feet washed by the men whose feet we had just washed. We had dried the men’s feet with towels, but they dried our feet with the shirts that they wore. I watched this beautiful scene with tears in my eyes until it was my turn to have my feet washed. Lek (my English student) was sitting in front of me, ready to wash my feet. As he was about to start, 10-year old Laa (the only boy at Abba House and also one of my English students) came and joined him and they began to wash my feet together. It was amazing to see this young boy following the example of these men. And as if that wasn’t enough, I also felt Gift’s little arms wrapped around me from behind my chair. By this time, the tears were definitely flowing…

When they finished, I hugged Lek and then turned to hug Laa. I honestly did not expect Laa to be so sad to see us leave. But Laa just wept in my arms as I hugged him for a long time.

The foot washing continued as some of the girls washed our feet, we washed some of their feet, and they washed each other’s feet. I think that most people in the room were crying by this time. There was lots of hugging and praying and words of encouragement being spoken. Many of the guys and a few of the girls got up to share with us about how we had impacted their lives and how they were going to miss us.

I sat with the girls from my English class and laughed and cried together with them. We enjoyed ice-cream sundaes together, a slide show that Marisa had compiled, and even a special rap performance by Tom!

At the end of the night, Abbie and I walked our English class girls back to their room. I said good night to Sophia and Sih and hugged and kissed them goodbye. And then I walked over to Gift’s room to do the same to her. As I was leaving her room and going down the stairs, Gift came to the door and called out my name. I turned around. “I love you,” she told me. Her last words to me.

Our last night at Abba House was sad but it was beautiful. We couldn’t have had a better night. God’s presence was so real in that room.

Abba House, you captured our hearts. We didn’t want to leave you. We will not forget you. You are missed. We love you.

Sad faces...L

Happy faces! J

face painting

An ordinary Saturday afternoon at Abba House.

The plan: paint the Abba House girls' faces.

The end result: a YWAM all-girls team with facial hair (painted on, of course) and many other interesting things on our faces.

It turned out way better than what we had planned - and a whole lot funnier!

We love Abba House!