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