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THE ARMY OF THE KING

Hi everyone! This post is a reflection of our time in Pattaya working with Bridges to the Nations (we are currently in Pak Chong but spent about 10 days in Pattaya). Our ministry included doing outreach, teaching children, praying, worshiping, and attending church. We learned so much during our time there. Healing prayer, spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues… God is placing mentors in our lives who have incredible wisdom. We are so grateful for their leadership and willingness to share their stories. There are many Christian organizations working to give people better lives and it’s so cool to observe how well they collaborate. The need for the Lord is evident in Pattaya, and there are so many members of His army faithfully bringing him glory.


Reflections


Natalie:


Pattaya is different than Bangkok; instead of the bars being sequestered in their own street, here they are interspersed between hotels, restaurants, and convenience stores. Our hotel is on Beach Road, which is the main tourist hub, so everything is right in our face. The views are beautiful—Pattaya Bay is brimming with boats towing colorful parasailers, the rainbow Pattaya City sign glows on a hillside, and the lush island of Koh Larn is surrounded by aqua water.


But things are not right here. Just the names of the bars would tell you that—New Youth Bar, Honey Massage, Pussy Club, Toy Bar, the list goes on. Large posters of women in bikinis posing provocatively glare into the street despite the conservative Thai culture. The poles outside of each bar are not for structural support. Foreign men walk the streets, in groups or alone, sometimes with Thai or Russian women on their arms. At night, “freelance” women (who are our age) gather on the streets looking for customers. They don’t have to wait long. This is Pattaya.


One morning, I went on a run down Beach Road towards Walking Street. (Don’t worry, this route is very safe due to the masses of tourists that arrive at 6 AM every day. There are so many people.) Looking around, I felt the weight of the injustice in this city pressing down on me. I felt anger towards the foreign men I saw walking around, anger towards the Thai men whose stares followed me because they live in a city where lust is normalized, even encouraged. Yes, I know that I should give grace to people who feel so empty that they follow their greedy, lustful desires in the hopes of fulfilling their yearning for God’s love. I know that I don’t know everyone’s story. But on behalf of the women whose stories I have heard, on behalf of the women who have lost hope long ago, I cried out to God for justice. In Exodus 34:6, the Lord tells Moses that he is “slow to anger”. I found myself praying that God would hurry up and be angry, because I definitely was. Sin seemed very heavy, and I felt powerless in comparison.


At the end of my run, I walked out to a point on Pattaya Bay. I didn’t know what to pray, so I asked God to speak to me. I listened for a couple seconds, then the song Tremble by Mosaic came into my head. The lyrics are “Jesus, Jesus! You make the darkness tremble. Jesus, Jesus! You silence fear.” I started singing. The bridge is, “Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny. Your name cannot be overcome. Your name is alive, forever lifted high. Your name cannot be overcome.” When I sang Jesus’ name in the first chorus, the clouds parted and the sun shone down warm on my back. (Before, the sky had been a blanket of gray.) I kept singing and when I sang Jesus’ name in the second chorus, the sun shone even brighter.


I prayed and sang No Longer Slaves by Bethel and Our God by Chris Tomlin. With the waves crashing against the coast, the wind whirling around me, and the sun shining down on the city, I knew God heard my prayer. These aren't even songs I sing regularly, God sent them to me to reassure me of his greatness and his triumphant power over evil. “And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?”


The blatant sin here can be overwhelming and quite honestly disgusting. But like our host Oh reminds us, God loves this city. The people of Pattaya are his people who he created with a loving hand. He sees the injustice and has responded by sending so many missionaries, so many organizations here to fight in his name. For example, in September there is going to be a huge conference with teams arriving from all over the world to worship, pray, do outreach, and distribute thousands of copies of the Gospel of Luke. Many people working against the sex trade have told us that conditions have gradually been improving. Bars have shut down, police have tightened regulations, searching souls have found Jesus.


Pattaya has been a lot to process. As I write this from our hotel room at midnight, bass from the clubs echoes through my ears reminding me of the seemingly unending list of lonely people who desperately need prayer. Thankfully, and as always, God has been providing. It is not all heavy work. Our ministry hosts are a dynamic duo of laughter, we have been eating the most delicious Thai food, our celebration for Emily’s birthday was delightful, and our team is closer than ever.


My time singing on the coast this morning was so special. It’s amazing to see throughout this trip that God knows our needs. When we come to him in prayer, he not only meets them but gives in abundance. From Psalm 57:9-10, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”


Audrey:


I love Pattaya City. This is a really strange feeling because just looking at this city you can feel the spiritual warfare in the air. The enemy wants us to run from that feeling but it is amazing how we are constantly reminded by God how greater things are still to be done with this city. There was one night where we worshiped with the Fellowship Monrovia team as we walked through walking street (bars down the whole street). People were staring and taking pictures of us and some were laughing but nothing else mattered because we were speaking the name of Jesus in a place that makes the enemy tremble. We saw so many dark things and so many broken people, but Pattaya means Army of the King. This city is about to be transformed, and that feeling is victorious.


Makenna:


Pattaya is the sex capital of the world. Prostitution is everywhere and it’s difficult to stay positive when seeing it all over. But God loves this city and we have been reminded of his power throughout our time here. Doing outreach in Pattaya and meeting people who are sexually exploited has made the fire inside of me even bigger for these people here and those in our own city of Seattle. We have had many opportunities to go out and pray over this city. We have met wonderful people who are being sexually exploited every day and we have also met the disgusting people who are exploiting them. It is so hard for me to look at them through Jesus’ eyes, but I am trying. People from all over the world come to Pattaya for one thing: to use and abuse the beautiful people here. It’s discouraging and dark. BUT there are amazing organizations doing God’s work here and it’s wonderful to witness and be a part of even if it’s just for a little bit. Bridges to the Nations works with local organizations here and to see the collaboration and teamwork in starting a new church and doing outreach together has been awesome! There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain!


Emily:


We’ve had so many different kinds of experiences in Pattaya. We experienced a lot of heavy emotions, but we also experienced a lot of joy. One positively memorable experience I’ve had here was my birthday. Not only did I wake up to fun surprises from my team, but we got to learn how to cook a few Thai dishes. Our wonderful leaders Oh and Somjit taught us how to make dtom ka gai (chicken with coconut milk) as well as red curry with pork. We took lots of extensive notes and got to use ingredients that we could find back at home. They also surprised me with a beautiful birthday cake! It was a really fun change of pace from the other work we’d been doing. Later that day, we got to hang out with a cool friend we met from another local ministry. This city has so many people working for Gods kingdom and it's amazing to see how people are serving here! My team later surprised me with yet another cake, but this time it was a tasty taro bun from seven eleven. It was no doubt one of the most memorable birthdays I’ve had!


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"There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. There's an army rising up to break every chain. I hear the chains falling."

Break Every Chain by Tasha Cobbs


"The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."

Exodus 14:14


"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I will trust in you."

Psalm 55:22-23



8/6/18 Swimming at Koh Larn

8/6/18 Koh Larn

8/6/18 With the Fellowship Monrovia team. We loved serving with them!

8/2/18 Shopping for ingredients for cooking class

8/2/18 Dtom Kha Gai. Thai food is alloy mak (very delicious!)

8/2/18 Happy Birthday Em!!! :)

8/3/18 Pattaya City from the pier

8/6/18 Our hosts P'Tom and P'Jing (back) inspire us to be humble servants with childlike faith

8/2/18 Making spaceship art projects

8/7/18 Teaching watercolor to Cambodian children. Their parents are laborers and they don't get to go to school.

8/1/18 Fon's Beauty Salon, where she teaches Bible study for women from the bars


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