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God sees

I see you number nineThe small red disc attached to your bikini topThe white number 9Reduces you to just a numberOr does it allow you to keep who you really areHiddenThose men do not know you at all I see you number 9Up there for all to seeThe oh so skimpy bikiniIn a culture where modesty is still valuedAnchored to the bar by a silver pole500 Baht will release you for the nightAnd give permission for almost anything I see you number 9The emptiness in your eyesAs you dance in shame and ...

Wanting a different life

Three women on Patpong are daring to dream of a different life.  Many on Patpong stay there because of the money they can earn and the hope of meeting a foreign man who will marry them or provide regularly for them; their very own knight in shining armour. Others have worked there so long; they know no other life and no other community.  Patpong is familiar and secure, and it is difficult and scary to consider any other lifestyle.Two sisters and another woman from their bar a...

A new year

Our dream is for revival in Patpong.  We started off 2023 with two outreaches in January; our monthly one partnering with Newsong Church and an evening provided  by a visiting Indian team.  Our next outreach will be 4th February with a focus on God’s love as Valentine ’s Day is a big thing in the bars.During the first outreach it was so encouraging to see the vision for small groups is already bearing some fruit.  Prior to the support of others from Newsong and other chur...

To return or not

Thailand is beginning to open up to foreigners now so the tourists will begin to return to Patpong and the bars are beginning to open up again in readiness.  Those women who have been home in their villages for the last 2 years will now have to decide if they are going to return to Patpong to work in the sex bars and the bars are looking at how a post pandemic Patpong looks. I wonder how the last 2 years has been for those women back in their villages.  Some of them have worked in Patp...

Return to Rahab

It’s been over eight years since we left Rahab.  Coming back is “same, same, but different”.  Patpong looks very different with the night market being replaced by a morning market selling food and a few clothes.    I like to grab my Kah-Feh Yen or iced coffee on my way in and sometimes sticky rice and grilled chicken if I haven’t already had breakfast.  Very few bars are open due to Covid with only a few beer bars open...

Life is a Journey

I enjoy journaling as it helps me process some of the things I see and do.  Recently I have been typing up nearly 7 years worth of journals from my time at Rahab and the few months preparing to come here.  It has been an interesting process as I have renewed my acquaintance with many women who have come and gone through Rahab during that time.  There was Nit who I met in 2006 when Alex and I visited for 10 days to confirm God was calling us to Rahab.  I met Nit when I went to...

Departure

                   My time in Thailand and at Rahab Ministries is coming to an end. I cannot believe how fast 8 months has gone. The hardest thing about leaving a place and a ministry like this is the fact I have the freedom to leave and I have the means to afford a plane ticket to and from America. Most of, if not all of the girls who work in Patpong cannot afford to travel to other countries or even leave the type of work that they do. It break...

International Women\'s Day

                Today is International Women’s Day so I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the beauty and uniqueness that women bring to the world. No matter how old a woman is, where she is from, what color her skin is or what type of life she has lived she is beautiful; the crowning jewel of God’s creation. Women all over the world are so special and enhance the beauty of the earth just with their presence. Women have a unique stre...

History

 Most people around the world are very aware of the notorious red light districts and sexual fantasies that Thailand has to offer. Most people though do not know how these areas came to be. The red light district where Rahab works is called Patpong which consists of two streets where roughly 4,000 girls work each night. This particular area came to exist during the Vietnam War. Patpong is named after the family who purchased land in the area in 1946. Though it feels very central, half a cen...

Refreshed and Renewed for a New Year.

                Last Wednesday was our first day back here at Rahab. A new year is already underway. All of us here are very excited to see what God has in store for Rahab Ministries, Patpong and the nation of Thailand. This time of year many people reflect on the past year as well as plan or look ahead for what is to come. I know for me these past few months at Rahab have flown by and I have loved every minute of getting to be a part of this ministry. As ...

Beauty

Today is the day of the Christmas party we are throwing here at Rahab for the girls who work in the bars so last night we went around to the bars in Patpong passing out roses and other gifts to invite the girls to the party. It was such a blessing and honor to get to give these girls something that put a smile on their face. It seems so small a gesture just to be giving someone a single red rose but you could see how much it meant to these girls to be given a gift for no reason at all. As we wer...

The Patrons

Now that I have been in Thailand a few months and have been visiting the bars in Patpong there are certain behaviors that I have to noticed or in some cases, even see a trend in. I have noticed that the men who visit areas like Patpong behave in a few different ways. Some of the men are very awkward and do not really know what to do. These men have probably never been with a prostitute before and may not want to go through with buying a girl but wanted to see what a Red Light District was like. ...

A New Season

                         As October comes to a close new things are starting up at Rahab. The girls here have already started preparing for the Christmas party we will be having at the end of December for the girls who work in the bars in Patpong. Since we are putting that on we will not be doing a 2 am outreach in November or December. Prayers would be appreciated as we prepar...

What\'s Happening at Rahab

Exciting things are happening here at Rahab. We have a new girl who has come to work at Rahab and is also living at the house. She is very sweet and seems to be adjusting to life at Rahab very well. Prayers for her continuing to feel a part of the Rahab family would be appreciated. We have also been able to start doing outreaches to the bars two nights a week, on Monday and Thursday. Maniwan and I go out on Monday and Sarah and Koy go out on Thursday. It is always heartbreaking to see the girls ...

Outreach

          Last Thursday night/Friday morning we had our 2am outreach at Rahab for the girls in the bars. The weather was particularly bad that night so the girls just wanted to go home after they were finished working. There was one person though that happened to stumble upon Rahab completely by accident. The woman came in and was very upset and crying really hard. She talked to some of the people at Rahab and shared how she had been looking for a f...

Bar Night

Last night 4 of us from Rahab went to one of the local bars in Pat Pong to talk to some of the girls who work there. Upon entering the bar you cannot hear much over the blaring, pulsating music and there is not much lighting a part from the neon flashing lights that line the bar. This particular bar was adorned with grotesque erotic images that did not leave much to the imagination as to what types of services this bar had to offer. During the day Pat Pong is a somewhat desolate street but at ni...

First Impressions

                  When walking down Pat Pong Soi 1 it does not look that different from other streets in Thailand aside from the overtly sexual names of the bars that line the street. This is my first time to Thailand and it is very different from the place I come from. I am a 22 year old college student from North America who is volunteering with Rahab ministries for the next 8 months and where I live we do not...