Pat Pong: by Kayla Wetzel
Yesterday we did our first bar ministry in Pat Pong. We walked around and prayed for the people and things we saw outside of the bars on the streets and sidewalks. After that we had a small debrief session to talk about everything we saw, heared, people we met, and things we prayed for. We all decided that we felt comfrtable with going into the bars and doing ministry in there.
I thought I was prepared as to how I would feel when I saw what was going on and the faces of the girls. I did feel that way to an extent, but there was this one girl (who they said was 19 but looked like 14) on stage with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. You think you are tough until one person gets to you and I believe there was a reason this little girl is still on my heart.
We spent about an hour in this bar handing out bracelets and buying these girls a Coke so they could sit down and talk to us. Even though I wasn't able to talk to this specific girl, I do hope at some point we will be able to go back again ad begin to start relationships with them.
by Meghan McInerney
At the first bar we went to last night, one of the girls came over and Ali gave her a bracelet. She sat between Ali and I, and after a while, I had a chance to talk with her. She said she was 21, but she looked much younger. I asked if she liked working in the bar and she started to say, "yes", but shrugged her shoulders at the same time. I told her it was okay to say that she didn't like it. It was obvious she didn't want to be there.
A little while later, I went over to the other side of the bar to talk with her. I kept telling her, "Jesus loves you" and "You are beautiful" in Thai. I also told her that we didn't want anything from her; that we just wanted to give her a bracelet. As I hugged her, she kissed me on the cheek and said, "I love you". I told her, "I love you too, and so does Jesus." It was a very precious moment.
But there was another girl I felt led to pray for who was dancing. There was nothing but pain in her eyes. I so badly wanted to give her a bracelet, to talk with her, and to pray with her, but we had to leave. So I'm praying for a chance to talk with her soon, hopefully the next time we return.
I want every girl in that bar to know how precious they are and that Jesus loves them.
*Photos by Connie Rock and Kristen
