Hi Friends and Family,
Again, thank you so much for all of the prayers, support, encouraging words, inspirations you have been sending us. They mean so much!
I wanted to update you again on some of our experiences over the past 48 hours:
There have been many developments unfolding at the Home. Next Monday, six girls will begin a program at Living Waters here in Bangkok for emotional healing and particularly childhood trauma and family of origin issues. The program runs once a week for 25 weeks. It is nothing short of a miracle, in a culture where there is literally no Thai word for "grief" and pain is never discussed, that these 6 women are taking such a courageous step towards healing. Please pray for Wan, Meaw, Nam, Bai, May and Tik. Also pray for Bonita, Ann, and Leena and the rest of the girls at the Home. Supporting 6 women through this journey will be challenging, and opening wounds for this many women may also prove challenging to the relationships and dynamics between all the girls at the Home. We are believing for freedom and release for our sisters.
Today, three young women will be moving into the Home! One, only 12 years old, is at extreme risk of being trafficked and so it is wonderful that she has been connected to a place of protection and safety at the Home. Another, 15 year old Fa (which means "sky") is from the northern provinces. Her mother has been a recipient of care from Rahab Ministry here in Bangkok and is wanting to see her daughter guided and protected and she cannot afford to keep and care for her. Fa has finished grade 9 and wants to continue her education so she can go to university to become a nurse.
Another young 15 year old girl also showed up at the Home yesterday accompanied by her mother. Gip is currently in school and dreams too of becoming a nurse. However, she has a boyfriend who has convinced her to drop out of school so they can marry. Her mother is desperate for her to come to Home for New Beginnings, to continue her education and create a hopeful life for herself. She has good reason for her concern. If Gip drops out of school and marries her life will take a predictable path. She will be pregnant at 16, and by the time her child is 2 years old, her husband will likely have moved on to another woman. Unable to support herself, she will turn to the bars and sex work. Her child will be sent away to live with her mother or extended family back in the rural province area. This is the pattern that is lived out over and over again here. Bonita, Ann, Leena and one of the residents of the Home spent hours yesterday with Gip and her mother trying to encourage her to stay. It was an exhausting and emotional day for all. As of last night, she was not prepared to move into the Home, and is moving forward with her engagement and marriage on April 10. Please pray for Gip, that she will experience a change of heart and find the courage to take a step towards a full and hopeful life for herself.
Last night we went on outreach again with Jit and Wan. Jen, Jacynta and Dina went to Nana Plaza and were reunited with two friends of ours from last year. Jem was a woman we met at English Camp. She is now working on Soi 4 at a beer bar as a "drinking buddy". She spotted the girls from across the street and it was a great reunion! She asked for me and Skye, remembering us from last year. She is going to come to the Home on Tuesday to visit us. Jacynta was also reunited with her friend Pon, who she met on her first trip here three years ago. They became instant friends and have stayed in contact. Sadly, Pon is now dancing in Hollywood Go Go Bar in Nana Plaza to send money home to her mother and children. She doesn't like it, and told Jacynta she will only dance for three months.
Skye and I went to Soi Cowboy and spent our evening in a go go bar called Cowboy 2. The girls there dance topless, and there were many girls in the bar that night. One girl named Ow came to sit and talk with us, and was instantly friendly. When it was her turn to go up and dance, Skye noticed that hanging from her black high heeled boot was a cross. When her shift was finished she came back to sit with us, and we asked her about it. She told us that she has Jesus in her heart, and that there are at least three other girls at that bar who also know Jesus and go to church together. She then ran to the back room and came back with her bible which she keeps with her and reads while she's working. I have to say that Skye and I felt schooled (read "put in our place") to be reminded yet again that Jesus has gone ahead and is in the desert in very real and transformative ways. It filled us with so much hope amid the darkness to think about how many other women were dancing that very night, knowing Jesus and on a journey with him to dignity and freedom.
As we were preparing to leave we noticed two older Thai women sitting with their young teenage daughters, observing the bar and talking to the mamasans. Jit told us that they were there trying to get jobs for their daughters. Our hearts sank a little, but as they walked out we prayed that no agreements were made, and that those young girls would leave jobless. As we left, Ow took us over to another dancer and lifted the back of her shirt to show us a tattoo of the cross on her back. How amazing that in their circumatances these women themselves are light in the darkness, to each other and to those that come in to that bar.
Our hearts have been with the world as well this past 24 hours as we've been watching events unfold in Japan. Please pray for Skye and her family. Her cousin and his young family live near the epicentre of the earthquake and just a mile from the ocean. There has been no contact with them since the earthquake. Please pray for their protection and safety, and that they will be able to make contact with family soon.
We are spending the next couple of days preparing for our circle times with the girls at the Home next week. On Tuesday we will be hosting a pizza party, followed by games and then some singing. They love games and love to sing and worship, so we're looking forward to a fun evening that will also act as a bit of a welcome for the new girls that will move in this weekend. On Wednesday afternoon we are going to have an art circle where we'll create self portraits using words, images, color, etc. We are hoping that this will be a creative way for the girls to tell parts of their story and learn more about each other. For Saturday night we are working on an evening focused on our hopes and dreams. Please pray as we continue to develop these times that we will be inspired, and that language and culture will all be superceded by love and the spirit.
This scripture has been guiding and inspiring us as we've been going through our days:
"...but then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of Hope." (Hosea 2:14-16, NLT)
Thank you so much for your support and prayers, we are so grateful.
Much love,
Sue, for Dina, Skye, Jen and Jacynta
