Bangkok "Godsightings"

DID YOU KNOW (according to the rather gross, "sixty-somnething", boastful American slumped back on his motorcycle stopped in the middle of the street)...that 80% of men are genetically related to Ghengis Khan so they are unable to be satisfied with monogamy or one sexual relationship at a time?! Men need lots of women...throughout history and in most cultures in the world this is understood...here in Thailand men are FREE to indulge in all their natural desires...that is why I will never go back in live in Texas...my Thai wife is ok if I come here almost every night...she understands because I met here here in one of these bars...sure there are girls working here that are under 18...what do you expect...women in Thailand "get it", they have sex early, start having babies at 12 and 13...they have to have some way of supporting themselves...there are some experienced 16 year women who do really well in places like this,especially if they do more than dance (prostitute)...WE ARE DOING THEM A FAVOR. What a LIE! How sick!

Why did I even bother to talk with him? I wanted the team to overhear our conversation and hear the kind of sick logic we often hear from men we talk to in the bars of Bangkok..THEY ARE BROKEN and don't even realize it...pure delusion...at times I wanted to literally "take him on" and"set him straight" but God loves this broken man too. He doesn't realize how little freedom he truly has...HE IS NOT FREE...

BACK TO BANGKOK

It is late so this is a short post. Tomorrow very early in the morning a team of seven of us leaves for Bangkok. We will be doing another Valentine's Day Outreach. If you read the entry I wrote about last year's event, you will see that I hoped to return in 2010 and bring enough valentines and candy to have 1,000 bags to hand out...a huge goal.

Well...we have enough candy and valentines to fill OVER 1,000 BAGS! Thanks to The Point is to Serve Church and the great community group we belong to, I am totally amazed!

I have uploaded a few pictures of our "God Sightings" group packing all our donated items last night. All I can say is WOW.

MORE TO COME...Please pray for our long flight and that everyone arrives safely and feeling well. We will try to blog every day when possible. SUSAN

Valentine's Day in Bangkok

What an incredible evening we had as we hit the streets with bags of valentines and candy, sharing God's love with the many prostituted and trafficked women who line the sidewalks and fill the bars every night in the Nana district.

We had over 300 mini valentine/candy bags to hand out, many of these donated by a great team of women from the US, sponsored by NightLight USA, who volunteered with us recently. Just to show the magnitude of what we are up against - we had over 75 bags that were just for Russian speakers. The message of God's love for them was written in their language. We actually ran out! There were more trafficked women than we had valentine bags. This does not include all the trafficked women from Europe, Asia and Africa. Sex slavery and exploitation is a huge issue that must be addressed globally and in the US. What is at the core of this travesty? Sexual brokenness. This is not a victimless crime...the men who use these women are as broken as the women they abuse. It is time that we all become informed about the issues of modern-day slavery and do our part to bring it to an end!

Next year we have decided to ask for help from our supporters in the US to send enough bags so we can hand out over 1,000 bags. Looking for a project - keep this in mind. In the area we minister, it is estimated that over 10,000 women are prostituted every night - 10,000 is actually a low estimate!

As you can see by my pictures, some of these women are very young...tiny, baby-faced, and often frightened. My heart goes out to every one of them every time I see them.

Pray that the message we included in every bag about how God loves them will bring some hope into their lives and open doors for more contact and ministry in the future.

I will be leaving for home this Thursday. It is always so difficult leaving the women of NightLight behind. But, I am also really looking forward to seeing my family and reconnecting with many of you - Susan

NEW POST in BANGKOK

HELLO...they say a picture says a thousand words. So, I have several pictures to share with you. I hesitate to write much about our experiences since I have learned how accessible my blog is to the general public. All I ask is that you continue to hold us in your prayers as we fight major battles here in Bangkok.

The pictures...Baby "B" (of course), the three of us at a Thai cooking class (great fun) and a group picture at the Manila conference (Lauran B, Asha from Nagaland, Kim K, Annie D and Susan O.)

Kim and Lyndsey left Bangkok today...Charity, Darrell and her team return to the US on Friday night. It will be lonely around here!

Love and Blessings and Bangkok - Susan

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