BACK IN BANGKOK

I just wanted everyone to know that I will not be able to attach pictures to the blog since I have my mini computer with me this time. So, I have decided to update through my prayer partner list. If you would like to be part of this group send me an email and I will add you to the list.

susan@befreeisaiah58.org BLESSINGS from BKK

EXTREME TEAM IN BANGKOK

I had the very special privilege of spending the afternoon and evening with the Extreme Team, a mission group of young adults from ABC churches throughout the US. What a great group...full of passion, commitment and really wanting to impact the world. Some of you may notice that Amber Lehman is next to me in the picture. Amber served as an intern at FBC and I know her parents Dixie and Vic well. I was so surprised and thrilled to see her in Bangkok!

Since the Dieselbergs are in the US now, I gave them a tour of NightLight, shared about the ministry, and invited them to join our team on outreach and prayer walking that evening. I know as they continue their forty-day journey their lives and future are being transformed.

I am in the process of getting ready to return to Sioux Falls on Friday of this week. This has been another stretching yet blessed season in Bangkok. I couldn't have done it without your support and prayers. Thank you all!

I look forward to seeing you soon - Susan

HEALING MINISTRY

I just returned to Bangkok after participating in a ten day training on healing ministry. It was an awesome experience in every way. I learned so much more about healing and deliverance ministry as well as receiving personal ministry from the ELLEL team from Singapore. ELLEL is the organization that sponsored the training.

One of the highlights of the conference was that for the first time a group of Chinese Christians had been allowed to leave China and attend a conference like this. Over a third of the participants were Chinese members of the "underground church." So, the teaching was in English with Chinese interpretation. All the worship songs were sung in English and Chinese. It was really special! I loved listening to these brothers and sisters from China sing. They worshipped with such fervor and complete abandonment. Perhaps this is because they were finally free to do so!

One of the friends I made is shown in the picture teaching Annie how to read and write some of the Chinese figures. Annie is always curious about other languages. Her name is Christine and she is a teacher in Yunan province, very near the earthquake area. She came to visit us at NightLight before going back to China which was wonderful.

The other pictures are of my small group (quite a diverse and interesting mix) and a pastor and a prophetess from Jaipur who work with the desperately poor people in the slums. I hope to visit them in the near future. I will always cherish the friendships I made with people from throughout Asia who were at this training.

Thank you to those who prayed for me this Sunday. The service went very well. It was a small congregation and I think almost everyone stayed for prayer ministry after it was over. What a blessing to experience God's healing presence in that small little church somewhere in the backstreets of Bangkok!

Sawa Di Ka - Susan

OUTREACH - what happens?

Several people have asked me to explain what happens on outreach...what is a typical night like on the streets and in the bars?

We do outreach every Tuesday and Friday night, sometimes other times as well if there is a special woman we are trying to contact. Beginning at 6:30 we gather at the NightLight office for about an hour of prayer. This is our time to prepare emotionally and spiritually for what we are going to experience. Realizing we are going into darkness we spend time "cleaning house" and asking for God's covering and protection. We also pray for wisdom and discernment as to what bars/go-go clubs to go into that night. Invariably God leads us to go where we need to make connections with women. Sometimes it is one of the women we already have a relationship with that is in trouble and has been waiting for us...sometimes we find a new girl who is desperate, afraid and needs to be rescued. If we are fortunate, she may not have had to go with a customer yet. That is what we really celebrate!

Last Friday night was a little different. Actually every night is a "little different." On Friday afternoon we received a report that a customer had murdered one of the girls and jumped out of the window of the hotel with her body killing himself as well. Annie and I decided that we needed to go to this area instead of the regular clubs up the street. So three of us left the larger group and found the area where this all took place. It turned out to be a unique opportunity to talk with people on the streets who were haunted by what had taken place. The three of us prayed over the area as we reversed the curses associated with this tragedy and I poured oil in the shape of the cross on the sidewalk in a prophetic declaration of breaking the power of death and fear. Does this seem strange? Perhaps. But this is what I was led to do and I am learning to be obedient and willing to appear strange! We did feel the spiritual heaviness lift and will continue to take back territory from the enemy every time we tread the streets.

After that the three of us went into a beer bar across the street where we never go and had a lively conversation with two women who like everyone in the area were upset by what had happened across the street. I believe one of the women will probably be coming to NightLight. She is older, 37, with two teenage sons. She really wants a different life but had no other way to make money after her husband died ten years ago in a car accident. She is illiterate, can neither read or write. But you don't need to read or write to make beautiful jewelry. I hope we see her soon.

Please pray that we have the resources and support to expand the business. We are at capacity and can no longer take in new women, except in emergency cases. If we had the resources we could rent more space and divide NightLight Design into smaller entities, hire the needed staff and be able to pay their salaries. SInce only a third of the salaries is supported by sales we need to sell a lot more jewelry and expand our donations base. All of this could be overwhelming but I know that God is BIG and He wants these women rescued and restored!

An immediate need - NightLight USA needs an office NOW! Pray for provision in a church or business that has some extra space they would donate or rent. It has to be moved out of Charity's apartment where all the jewelry distribution and daily business takes place. They need much more space, John and Charity need their privacy, and starting this summer NightLight will be traning interns from Fuller Seminary and other area colleges/universities. It is time for a REAL OFFICE.

How can you help...PRAY! NightLight Design is in the process of making major marketing and design decisions as well as seeking new supporters, distributors and markets. The more jewelry we sell the more women we can rescue. The more jewelry we sell the more people find out about NightLight Ministries and importantly begin to understand the huge issues surrounding sexual exploitation globally and in their own context. An important part of the mission is to increase awareness of the prevalence of sexual exploitation, trafficking and slavery as we advocate for the victims. Pray for a 21st Century abolitionist movement that sweeps the earth and brings an end to these crimes against humanity...men, women and children who are enslaved, abused, tortured, bought and sold with no regard for their dignity and worth. Join the movement!

EVERYDAY MIRACLES and CHALLENGES

Every day is filled with miracles. On a "normal" day we see God bring healing physically, emotionally and spiritually. There is power in prayer, especially when people have no doubt that God is the Healer. God truly is Jehovah Rapha, our healer.

Every day is filled with incredible new challenges. On our last outreach, another woman asked us for help to go home. Pray about this! The team also met five women from Africa who were trafficked into Bangkok. Several of them are desperate mothers who have no other way to feed their children. We in the West have little concept of how incredibly difficult life can get...so difficult that you will come all the way to Bangkok and sell your body to keep your family alive.

As you can see I have new Benji pictures. What a miracle she is! Her mom is growing in the Lord and as she said several days ago...she is so thankful to God for saving her and her little angel!

The other pictures are of Charity, her friend Do and I celebrating her birthday at a favorite Thai restaurant - MK. It was great fun to cook our own meal in the hot pot. That explains the steamy picture. Charity and Do were here for six days on NightLight business. They are both back in LA and I miss them! It is very quiet here at the house tonight.

BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL FROM BKK - Susan

PRAY FOR BURMA and CHINA

I have had several people send me emails to ask if I was ok. I am fine but like many of you, I am very concerned for the suffering people in Burma and China. The Thai people are close to their neighbors with many Burmese refugees living in exile in Thailand. So this is all very difficult for this nation who so desperately wants to help with the relief effort but are kept from fully engaging in Burma like the rest of the world.

The earthquake in China...the newspaper said buildings swayed in Bangkok but I didn't feel it. We contacted our future daughter-in-law, Beth, who is teaching in China, and she did not feel the quake either and she was much closer to the epicenter.

With all the volcanoes erupting, wild weather, and violence everywhere I will quote my daughter Charity - "the earth is groaning."

All is well here in Bangkok. However, it has been raining like crazy, hot and very humid. This is definitely not my favorite weather. Tonight by the time we had walked to dinner I was soaked all the way through my poncho. The only good thing was everyone else looked like a "drowned rat" too!

BLESSINGS FROM BKK - Susan

MY FIRST WEEK BACK IN BANGKOK

Hello to all my faithful bloggers! I am finally settled in my room at the volunteer house and busy with prayer ministry at NightLight. Those of you who were with me on my last trip know all about Goi and her beautiful baby Benji. You can find her story in the blog archives. I can't begin to explain the joy I have in seeing them both again. Not only is Benji the cutest little girl I have ever seen...but her mom is just growing in the Lord by leaps and bounds. She is even part of the worship team at NightLight!

GOD IS SO GOOD! Please pray for me as the intensity of the challenges here grows each day. In the past week I have already had four deliverance sessions which are very exhausting. I am so blessed that God uses me to bless these women and bring healing in mind, body and spirit. The demonic has such a hold on this culture and particularly women who have been prostituted and trafficked. Part of the control their "bosses" use is built on Satanic rituals and witchcraft perfomed on them by mediums, shamans or temple monks or priests. Daily I find myself amazed with what we confront in the spiritual realm. But...GOD ALWAYS SHOWS UP and HE IS THE DELIVERER and HEALER!

F.Y.I. - I will try to make a new posting each weekend. BLESSINGS FROM BKK - SUSAN

HOME...well sort of!

It has been over a week since I arrived back in the States. Life has been so full and chaotic that I haven't had the time to finish this last blog post on my ministry experiences in SE Asia.

Last Monday, I flew from Bangkok to Atlanta where Charity and I helped Lauran Bethell present a workshop on the issue of sexual exploitation at the New Baptist Covenant gathering. What an amazing, life-challenging experience I shared with Darrell, Charity and almost 20,000 other passionate and charged-up Baptists. God is really moving among us!

Since the conference, I have been in Yankton caring for Darrell's ailing mother Genevieve. She has lung cancer which has spread into her spine. It is my privilege to care for her in these last days of her earthy life. As many of you know, the Omansons are still grieving the sudden death of Darrell's sister. There are many challenges for us all as we realize we are facing the imminent loss of Genevieve. We just finished making airline reservations for Charity and she is taking a red-eye tonight from LA to Omaha. She will be in Yankton Friday afternoon. I am so thankful we could make these last minute arrangements.

I hope you enjoy these photos from the retreat. What a wonderful way to end my amazing journey in Bangkok. I am also going to forward Annie Dieselberg's newsletter about the retreat. The woman being baptized should be familiar to you blog watchers. Yes, it is Goi and the baby in the pictures is beautiful Benji.

TO ALL OF MY FAITHFUL PRAYER PARTNERS - THANK YOU! Your prayers and support made every moment possible. What the future holds...only God knows. The miracle - I am at peace with this all - SUSAN

Life's Amazing Moments!

I have posted a few photos that are among my favorites during this past week in Bangkok and Cambodia. Annie brushing a precious little beggar girl's hair on the street in Phnom Penh...the terrific team of passionate women from LA and Sioux Falls...Charity holding beautiful baby Benji.

Life is amazing and full of incredible God-moments that will be forever etched in my mind. How will I ever forget the little ones begging on the street, women disfigured by battery acid thrown in their face during a revenge attack, young teenage girls sold into prostitution and used by men who have little or no remorse for ruining their lives forever? YES, these images I will never forget!

But I also will remember the young girls who have been rescued, healed and given hope and a new start in life...the women who have been healed physically, emotionally and spiritually...joyous laughter in the halls of NightLight from women who not long ago worked in the bars of Nana Plaza, selling their bodies in order to support their children or to send money home to their families in the villages...and of course the wonderful feeling of holding precious little Benji in my arms knowing that she could have been aborted like so many other children without the ministry of people who cared for her mother.

In the midst of the worst of darkness and depravity...THERE IS LIFE and LIGHT! Susan

Connecting in Cambodia

The NightLight Team and the NightLight USA Team are going to Cambodia on Sunday to connect with several ministries doing similar work in Cambodia. Our hope is to establish a ministry relationship and discover what is happening in the area of sexual exploitation in Cambodia. We regularly see children on the streets of Bangkok who have been trafficked from Cambodia. They are often sold into beggar gangs who use and abuse them, putting them out on the streets to beg for money or sell flowers and cheap trinkets to tourists. These are the children who are at great risk of rape from pedophiles. I know this is hard to imagine, but these things happen in the US as well, especially in the pornography "business." This is why it is so important for those of us in the US to begin to speak up about the evils of pornography in the US that drives some of the abuse of women and children as far away as Asia.

SIOUX FALLS - we have one of the largest distributors of pornography operating in our own city - LodgeNet. Learn the facts...they may try to cover up the profits they make in hotels off of the sales of xx-rated programming. But the truth is the TRUTH!

We need to be a voice for the voiceless...the powerless. Take a stand! Put feet to your passion! Get educated about the issues of human exploitation. I believe we will be held accountable someday for our passivity and inaction. A good book to read about all of this is "Not for Sale" by David Batstone. Get it online through Amazon. I just met David here in Bangkok as he was visiting Night Light which he features in his book. What a fire he has to bring down all the systems that are exploiting people globally! AMEN

**Thank you for praying about my cough. It is FINALLY GONE!! Susan

Enjoying Our Time Together

We had a great time as Darrell put it...celebrating Thanksgiving, his birthday, our anniversary, Christmas and New Years Eve all at one time! The food was great, especially the seafood and thai cuisine. I have learned to like spicy food!

Unfortunately as many of you already know, Darrell had to return early to be with his family. His younger sister, Deb Stevens, was diagnosed with acute leukemia and flown immediately from Yankton to Avera. She is responding to the treatment which we are so thankful for. There were several very scary episodes over the last week. Your prayers have been so appreciated.

In addition to Deb, Darrell's mother Gen has been suffering with lung cancer. It appears that it may have spread into her spinal column. The pain has been unbearable at times. As a family, we are so appreciative of all the ways family, friends and health professionals have devoted themselves to her care. Darrell's brother, Dwight, flew home earlier this week to be with his parents. Darrell should arrive soon after a VERY long and difficult trip home. He had only one way to get home on short notice and his itinerary is a "nightmare."

Charity arrives in about 12 hours with a team of women from LA and Sioux Falls. I am looking forward to ministering with them at NightLight and traveling to Cambodia to visit similar ministries working in the area of sexual exploitation of women and children. Some of you may know one of the team members..Lyndsey Christensen, Darrell and Joy Christensen's daughter.

I know I have not entered a new post in awhile. It has been a very trying time here in Bangkok. I am happy to report Annie is back at work and we even did outreach last Friday evening. KEEP PRAYING FOR US - WE NEED IT! Susan