Saturday, July 18, 2009

Tamar Center/Southern Cross

We are primarily working with the Tamar Center which is a place that gives prostitutes an opportunity to leave the bar scene.  It gives Thai girls a positive opportunity to learn English and a trade skill to make money to support their families. They do things like card making, baking, they have a coffee/sandwhich shop and a hair salon next door, and they also do some sewing. It's also a really cool way to get to build relationships and through that share Jesus with them. They have a really good thing going… So we get to help teach the English classes and then in the evenings we head into the city, Walking Street, to go to bars and meet girls to invite them to come to the Tamar Center.  


We are also working a little with a ministry called Southern Cross.  This is a very cool organization that targets Chinese Tourists.  Many tourists from China come to Thailand so this organization uses it as an opportunity to hand out Chinese bibles and a Jesus Film.  Obviously this is really cool because bibles/Christianity are forbidden in China.  170,000 bibles were given out last year.  We helped package these "give-a-ways" and then went down to the pier to hand them out.  We've also come across many people and teams from the states (Virginia) working with this ministry.  It's been nice to hear some "southern" sounding folks around.  


It's still hard walking down the “red light district”...very surreal. Lined with bars, clubs, you name it, it is one of the saddest sights I have ever seen.  I am not a very "spiritually sensitive" person (so to speak) but the closer I get (physically) to this district I can just feel darkness and grief fill my heart.  Crazy.  Still praying not to be overcome by evil, clinging to good (Romans 12:21).


Preparing and thinking a lot about home.  SO excited, but so nervous.  It's going to be a fight.  For now I'm pressing into what I know will be hard.  Got my class schedule today....ah.  Saw Harry Potter last night, so so so good. Ok, good night. 

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