Thoughts on being in Thailand

Last week, I wrote down some of my thoughts about being in Pattaya and how I feel like I met the goals that I had for my time here. Here you go...

I have been given a lot. More is expected of me in return. God calls me to love the poor, the oppressed, the fatherless, the alien, the widow. How am I to do that in the United States? How am I to love the poor and oppressed who are in the United States? How am I to love the poor and oppressed in different countries? The problem seems so big, but I know that I serve a big God who can defeat poverty and injustice. I think of the story of Gideon, where God continued to make his army smaller and smaller. He can defeat with a small army…he can defeat with no army at all…but in his word, he calls us to take action. To join him in the fight against injustice (Proverbs 31:8-9, Isaiah 1:17, Deuteronomy 10). How am I fight from the US? Spread the word…give money…pray…it just doesn’t seem like enough sometimes. I want to continue to dream big. Ask God for big things and believe that he will do it.

People need to learn what love is if they are to know God’s love. Most people living in the slums and working on the streets have never experienced true love. Love that only God can bring. They have never experienced it, so knowing God’s love is something that is so hard for them to grasp. They need people in their lives to show them God’s love. To give them encouraging words, to smile at them, to hug them, to help them, to tell them about the hope that they can find in Jesus Christ. I have been blessed to grow up in a family and among friends who have shown Christ’s love for me. It’s easier for me to know God’s love because I have been shown what love is through people in my life. I am blessed beyond belief. I’m not saying that God can’t allow these people to know Christ’s love apart from Christians showing them love, but I think that God wants us to be a part of his work of bringing his kingdom here on earth.

Here were my goals for being in Pattaya and ways I’ve seen God working since I’ve been here:

1.       Know God more - see him work in a different setting amongst a different setting where the dominate religion is not Christianity

I have definitely felt the love of God more in a city of poverty and darkness. I have seen lives that are being transformed (Pu, Cream, Aom, Bam, Vit) and see God’s passionate love for them…and in them coming to him where they are at, not expecting complete transformation at once. I see God’s patience and his mercy is seeing his kingdom restored, in saving lives, one at a time. I see that he can do great things. I see how he wants us to be a part of his work. I see how he wants us to come to him in prayer, asking for big things. I see how he is passionate about people and he wants his followers to be passionate about people as well. I see how he hates injustice, how it angers him, how it makes him sad, how he cares deeply for those experiencing injustice and those inflicting it as well.

2. Learn how to engage in a culture different from my own and love people who are different from me - in the way they are brought up, their lifestyle, their economic status, etc.

I have loved the opportunity to be a part of another culture for 2 months…to eat different foods, to experience different ways of life for Thai people, to ride around on public transportation and get lost a few times. I have loved the opportunity to get to know people and to learn about their lives. My Thai is limited, but I appreciate how it has allowed me to connect with people. Obviously, I’ve loved getting to hang out with kids. Even if I can’t speak their language much, I just find joy in being around them. I hope that they were able to see my love for them and more importantly, God’s love for them. I’ve also loved the chance to spend time with girls who have formerly or are currently working in the bars. It was hard to see some of them actually on the job. It made it real and heartbreaking. These girls that I met are sweet and kind, and whether it’s a choice or not, they don’t deserve to be put through this.

I have definitely gotten more of a taste of what it is like to live in another country as a foreigner. Not a complete picture, but I have definitely have had moments of feeling the way I think foreigners do, living in another country. For the most part, I have felt so blessed by Thai people and the ways they have welcomed me, there have been times when I have felt lonely, when I have wanted to be around people and kids who I could speak more than a few sentences with. I can see how it would be hard living in a place where you didn’t speak much of the dominant language. I appreciate the way Thai people have been kind to me in spite of not knowing their language very well. I hope that it will change my perspective of how I treat others who live in the United States and speak little or no English.

3. Help some people/kids and show Christ’s love to them

I hope that I have communicated Christ’s love to the PSM kids. I have loved the opportunity to show love to these kids and spend time with them, playing games, taking pictures, giving a smile or a hug. I also have loved the chance to spend time with the PSM staff, Angela, Pin, Jiap, Aom, and Jacie. They have been such a blessing to me, and I have loved getting to know them more. I’ve been able to spend some time with former and current prostitutes. I have loved hearing their stories. I’ve had the opportunity to eat with them and laugh with them. I couldn’t always speak many words to them, but I am praying and will continue to pray for God’s love to become real to them.

4. Learn more about myself and what God may want me to do in the future involving missions. Learn about missions and how it works in other countries.

I don’t know where God is leading me in the future. I know in the immediate future I feel God has placed me in the United States as a teacher. And I’m really excited to be where I’m at. I don’t know if I will be back to Pattaya or to Thailand. But I do know that God is continuing to ask me to dream big. Three years ago, I didn’t have any idea about slavery that happens around the world. I had no desire to live in another country for an extended period of time. God has done a lot of work in my heart regarding this. I feel like this trip has revealed in me ways that I doubt God’s power to do big things in my life and in the world. The problems of poverty, trafficking, and prostitution are huge. When I see the extent of bars and prostitutes in the city, it is overwhelming. It seems like it is never going to end. Yet, I know that God is powerful enough to do it and I’m praying that God would increase my faith to believe more that he can stop this.

Coming to Pattaya, I didn’t really know exactly what I’d be doing. I knew I would be helping out Pattaya Slum Ministries, teaching some English, and doing whatever was needed. While I’ve been here, I’ve loved the opportunity to help out at kids’ club, plan sleepovers, teach English lessons, and help out with random projects. I’ve also had a lot of down time. I’ve spent a lot of time reading and just relaxing and taking in what’s in Pattaya. Normally, I don’t always do well with down time. I get antsy when I don’t have something to do, when I don’t have a way to help. But this summer has been really good and refreshing for me. I’ve really enjoyed this down time to rest. I feel like I have grown closer to God and just sensed his presence and love during this time. I am really thankful for this time. I think that God has been teaching me that I don’t have to accomplish anything great (or doing anything at all) to be unbelievably loved by him.

5. Learn more about injustice and ways to fight against it

I’ve definitely seen more injustice. I’ve seen more and more bars with more and more girls working as prostitutes. I’ve spent time in those bars and seen men look at these girls as objects. I don’t have an answer to stopping this. I do have hope. I have seen lives being changed here in Pattaya. I have heard kids who live in the slums say, “God loves me” and “I love God”. They are the answers to change. I’ve met former prostitutes who are met someone who shared God’s love with them and now they are serving Jesus too. They are the answers to change. Change is happening one life at a time. In many situations, people need to be shown Christ’s love in tangible ways, by the followers of Jesus, in order to respond. I am follower of Christ and I am called to love. I am called love kids who live in the slums, prostitutes, the johns, pimps, and traffickers. I know that God sees and he cares and he is calling me to continue to respond in love. I want to dream big about God would have me be involved in the fight against human trafficking now and in the future.