The Pioneers: Bringing Phuket to a Close & Moving onto Chiang Mai

Processing the last few weeks presents itself as a new challenge daily. We have done and been through a lot, so I will attempt to summarize the highlights of the team collectively known as THE PIONEERS.

THE PIONEERS: Team Thailand
(from left) Our fabulous leader - Josie, Rachel, Myself, Amy, Lauren, Steph & Robert (missing Becca)

     The SHE ministry has focused on a certain road in the heart of the sex tourist hotspot known as Patong City. The soi’s (or roads) have seen a lot of teams yet, praise the Lord, have also seen a sharp decline in tourism in a time of year that is supposed to be high season. One bar owner told our team that 2010 saw about 50% of the tourists 2009 brought to Bangla Rd. While this is good, our calling card has seemed to become more obvious and a possible over saturation may have given our team some true resistance and spiritual warfare. This lead to expansion. The owners of SHE have long wanted to branch off into a new area. The last two weeks we have mapped out a local area of bars about 15 minutes from Patong, called Chalong and Rawai. The team has found favor there in an atmosphere quite different from Bangla Road. As with any area there are pros and cons to both. The area is quieter (or more chill, haha) which makes conversation easier and friendlier. You can spend more than 15-20 minutes there and not feel pressured to leave for not buying alcohol. In Patong there is a pressure on the girls, especially with the decline in customers, to really ring ‘em in. A negative side to Chalong are the expatriates who frequent, or even own, the bars. We have found them to carry this perception of entitlement to do and say whatever they want: we have seen groping, indecent exposure and negotiation for sex, among other things. Knowing the follow through is happening in the back room, while trying to maintain conversation is rather difficult. At least Patong left a little bit of mystery to the naked eye.

     Most bars are attached to housing. Massage parlors and karaoke bars work as fronts for the prostitution that is technically illegal here in Thailand. We have had good nights where, through prayer, men have left and or been refused service. We've truly had lots of fun with the girls there. Most of them really are sweethearts stuck in a bad situation. We met a cashier who works seven days a week. “If you could go on holiday anywhere in the world, where would you go?” Her reply stung. “Home,” she said.

One of the boys we play football (soccer) with. :)

     We praise God that we have been given the privilege to be the first team to reach out to the community (specifically the kids) behind the center on a consistent basis. Other teams are following our lead and it truly brings a lighter and more joyful environment a couple nights a week. We have been pretty basic so far, playing football (soccer) with the boys and singing songs with the girls. This Friday, some of the older kids are coming in to bake cookies and the younger ones will play games to teach them more English. Any of these kids could be in those bars in a matter of 5-10 years and that reality sinks in the more time we spend with them. They need prayer that they will continue to find guidance toward opportunity and education.

The girls & I play a clapping game where upon reaching the end of the song,
the last person's hand to be slapped is eliminated.
We will be baking with the older girls this week.

(A video on SHE's Background w/ Add)

Add's place.
(from left) Add, her daughter and Nom,
a child who seemingly cries at everything,
yet is so adorable when it's time to say, "Bye!"
If you tell her soi mat ma or you're "very beautiful"
she will be your best friend.

     A week ago, we met Add. She is a 70-year old lady who is plagued with tension, anxiety and stress to the point that she is having possible heart problems. She takes care of a handful of children, all of whom seem to consider her their mother. Some have been left there by bar girls, others simply are brought by parents who cannot (or will not) pay her. Add is quickly overwhelmed and tears up every time we pray with her. We have cleared out all the garbage that was piled up in her garden and weeded for a week. We’ve broken three hoes in the process, haha! We are attempting to make a needs assessment to bring to SHE on account of her. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, as what we consider a need, the person may not see the same way. Also, a lot of things you take for granted as common sense (such as not eating unsafe meat or general hygiene) are simply not known or not normal practice in places of poverty. Future teams will hopefully be able to expand her garden to not only be a source of livelihood but income. There are a lot of hygienic and safety points we will be presenting that we hope can be taught to one of the older girls. The hope is that she will pass it down to the younger kids in the future. Add is elderly and would probably disregard such things. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

The foreground used to look like the background.

     Phew! That isn’t even half of it, so if you have made it this far... thank you. :)

     I have some important news. My team been praying for a while now and we feel our time in Phuket has been winding down, God is calling us to another part of Thailand! :) We are going to be leaving this Sunday for Chiang Mai in the northwestern part of the country. Prayer would be appreciated for safe travel and a fruitful time up there in February. We will be working with a similar ministry called Lighthouse Thailand. (There is a link on the right side of the page.) We debrief in early March before heading back to Auckland for two weeks to finish things out. We will regroup with our other teams currently in South Africa (who are working with disabled orphans) and our team in Israel. We trust God will work things together for the good of the team and can’t wait to see what He has waiting for us.

     Thank you for your continued support. I am unsure as of yet how this will affect my funds, but as of now I am only a few hundred short of being completely paid for. Thank you SO VERY MUCH to everyone who has given. It is amazing to see the hope and the people at work against these injustices. If you feel lead to give anything, big or small, there is a PayPal link to the right as well. :)

     God bless,

Sam Tindall

     P.S. I leave you with a link (which is also on the right) to a petition to President Obama that the International Justice Mission has put forth to ramp up policies in 2011 against modern day slavery. Please check it out and sign it. Your voice CAN and WILL be heard!

IJM: Petition to Obama to End Modern Day Slavery

Prayer Works & Justice Reigns :)

This is a news article from New Zealand. We prayed destruction over this building in the first few weeks of the school when we heard the hotel was bought and being renovated for 3.3 million NZD to a "VIP massage parlor" or upscale brothel. Never underestimate what your prayers can do. One of the streets here on Bangla Rd. just got shut down. Whether it is being demolished or renovated appears unclear, but pray it is replaced by something of integrity!

Heritage building reduced to pile of rubble

NZPA

November 19, 2010, 7:54 am

Two diggers sitting on top of a pile of rubble and broken bricks greeted commuters in inner city Auckland today after an historic building was knocked down overnight.

The Aurora Hotel had been renamed the Palace Hotel and was being redeveloped as an upmarket brothel when cracks appeared in the wall yesterday. Within hours, the order had been given to knock it down.

The 124-year-old building on Victoria St had been boarded off for several weeks and had been gutted as part of its revamp.

Victoria St was closed off late yesterday after the cracks were noticed in the wall by a passer-by, causing peak hour traffic congestion as the city began to empty out after the business day. Buses were directed away from the busy bus stop next to the building and motorists were told to avoid the area unless they were prepared for long delays.

Engineers inspected the building and found it to be moving on its foundations and within hours Auckland Mayor Len Brown had given the order for it to be demolished, saying it was an extremely sad decision.

The building was not safe and demolition was the only alternative as a salvage attempt could put other buildings and people at risk, he said.

Demolition workers and wrecking machines moved on to the site early today and within about an hour the building, built in 1886, had been reduced to a pile of rubble, timber and broken bricks.

The roads remained closed but a large crowd gathered to watch the machines do their destructive work.

A council spokesman said it was not known what caused the problem but it was at a basement level and the building was failing under its own weight.

The Aurora Hotel was renamed the Palace Hotel and there were plans to turn it into an upmarket brothel and take advantage of its proximity top the SkyCity Casino on the other side of Victoria St.

It was bought for $3.3 million by John and Michael Chow.

The council said the old hotel was originally a timber building, built in 1852, but by 1880 at least two parts of the Aurora Hotel complex existed as brick buildings. In 1884 the hotel caught fire and some sections were destroyed, requiring a rebuild.

It was associated with the well known publican Paddy Gleeson and with four other hotels was given to his daughter, Catherine, as a wedding present in 1925.

Patong & Obedience

This blog contains TWO parts. A) A poem written on Jan 4th, concerning my frustrations and conversations I’ve had with a bar owner that have been frustrating to say the least. B) A blog I wrote before Christmas concerning a fairly good night we had out and more insight to what it’s like and how we operate. :) C) Check out our team blog (link on the right) for more from my team. :)

PATONG

1.4.11

This place makes me sick,

and it’s not just the smell of the sewage,

But the odor of your intentions,

The stench of your justifications.

Anger seeps through the cracks,

of a heart building scar tissue,

that begs to acquire brokenness,

God’s love for His lost sheep.

The reaction is nearly identical,

Picture perfect, a thousand words,

“No,” you don’t really like it here.

The new blood; a fear in your eye,

A quiver in your lip.

The unlikely “yes” seems to strike a nerve,

Simultaneously packaged with a smile.

You, Mr. Sea Dragon,

Mr. “Mid Life Crisis.”

Mr. “I came in early to check on them.”

Mr. “I take Fridays off to see my Godchildren play sports.”

Mr. “I haven’t even slept with any of my girls yet.”

If there is a light in your eyes,

it’s too small for me to see.

Your rhymes of “choice” and “opportunity” make my skin crawl,

But God’s grace is sufficient for you,

Just as it is for me.

SWT

-2011-

Intercession & Obedience

12.21.10

Bar ministry night #3. We had our teams split up this afternoon. Me and Robert worked in a field, preparing for a new SHE house! Some of the girls worked with the girls on paper mache and some did a prayer walk thru Patong...where all the action is at night.

This followed by some good prayer and worship time before we went out. It seemed to really focus the team and God seemed to direct a lot of conversations tonight. I learned a lot. The first bar we went to was the very first bar me and Steph went to when we arrived in Phuket. We talked to the same girl and she remembered us. Though hard to see, that light in her eyes was there. We asked a few questions about her job and she was struggling to understand our english and “yes” and “no” was about all we were getting...unsure of whether or not her answers were understood. We then started speaking with another girl, who ended up being her sister. She spoke more fluent english and it helped a lot. Steph ended up suggesting she could help her find a better job (through the organization here) and she said she “wasn’t ready.” We gave her some information. Please pray for these sisters, one could heavily influence the other. (Update: We have gone back twice since New Years and haven’t seen them there, when we mention their names the girls aren’t sure where they are. Pray, they left and will do what is best for them, possibly coming to SHE.)

Briefly, I spoke with another girl. She was 19 and only has been working here for 4 months. She hesitantly said she enjoyed working here...I said really? And she shook her head no. The language barrier is quite frustrating at times. Thai is a tonal language and the need to not only speak simple english, but slow it down and not sound flat is something I will have to work on. I would love to find something to LISTEN to Thai...because it is tonal and it is a completely different alphabet. Trying to read it phonetically is really hard. If you have any suggestions feel free to pass em along :)

In passing you see parents with children at these raunchy clubs as well as elderly couples. It’s quite dumbfounding and I hope to one night interview some people and ask them WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE THINKING... The girls grabbing at you and smacking your behind doesn’t help much either.

I tried at the last bar to talk to some of the old male tourists. Between me bothering them and the rest of my team playing games with the girls, I think we scared them away. Thank God! They were from Germany and there for 6 months, when I asked what they had planned I was ignored multiple times. They turned away flat out...likely out of shame or ...annoyance. They are just as broken, don’t forget. I ended up talking to a “lady boy” (a male turned female) who was a little more obvious than others in Patong. His voice was female sounding, but his awkward shoulders gave him away. Most Thai ladyboys go quite extensive (removing the adams apple and taking voice changing hormones) to the point where their hands are really the only way of knowing. He said that he enjoyed working the bars but when I asked about his hopes and dreams he shared that he would love to open an internet cafe. I asked if the opportunity to speak better English and learn more retail skills would interest him and he said it would. I hope we can find some options for ladyboys. They need to be reached and helped out just as much as anyone else there. At this point, SHE doesn’t have a program for ladyboys. There are others out there though.

Our leader stressed the importance of praying in advance, which is key and helped a lot tonight. Also, our lists of girls are going to grow into the hundreds in the next few weeks...imagine meeting 5 or 6 each night of the week. So, obedience to what God is saying and not just trying to rescue everyone possible is key. We will burn out too quickly on our own power. Keep us in your prayers...it’s only Monday. Overall, it was a great night of becoming more familiar with this crazy place we will be dealing with for three months.

Love you all, please keep us in your prayers and ...write me, I'll write ya back :)

Sam

PS. I have almost ALL of my funds raised! Thank you so much, I only have a few hundred left to go. If you can donate, anything will help...ten dollars gets my team to and from the bars for one evening.

www.paypal.com

My account name is my email address: stbtome@msn.com

Much love!