You're The Light in this Darkness

I originally wrote this story for the YWAM website, but the Tamar Center is registered under a non-profit here in Thailand that many YWAM ministries are registered with, because these ministries are registered under this non-profit they are recognized by the Thai government - which is a great blessing.  However, we have to be a little bit sensitive to how much we reference Jesus and the Holy Spirit on the website when specifically addressing these ministries because of this affiliation.  Because of this, my story cannot be published on the website, but I wanted to share it with you guys, it was a great experience!! 

“You're the God of this city, you're the king of these people, you're the Lord of this Nation, you are. You're the light in this darkness, you're the hope to the hopeless, you're the peace to the restless, you are.” I recently found myself singing these lyrics as a prayer over the city of Pattaya during a time of intercession and worship. As I reflected on the power of these words and the weight they carry in such a dark place, I was taken aback by the reality of the battle that is raging here. I was sitting in a small room on the top floor of a building owned by The Tamar Center – a ministry that reaches out to women working in the sex trade in Pattaya. The building is about halfway down a road named Soi 6, one of the worst streets in Pattaya for prostitution. As we sang and prayed we could here the music, the people laughing, and the general commotion from the bars below. Sometimes as I walk through the streets here, I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude and grasp of darkness and brokenness that is so blatantly celebrated and paraded through this city, but then I remember that God is in the business of defying the odds, God is in the business of redeeming and defending what is His – and He is the God of this city.

Two of our english class students with
one of our thai staff

I am a short term volunteer at the Tamar Center where I teach english to women who are still working in the bars. The free english classes are a part of The Tamar Center's friendship evangelism with the women of the city. Each class consists of an hour of english teaching, along with ten minutes of prayer, worship, and a short devotional from one of the Tamar Center's thai staff. During one of our classes I was given a glimpse of what God is doing in the hearts and minds of the people of Pattaya.

There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about class that day. We learned some new vocabulary, practiced pronunciation, and the girls had a good laugh about my attempts to communicate in thai. One of the Tamar Center's staff members shared a brief story from her life and told the girls about some of the training opportunities offered through The Tamar Center, and then began to lead us in worship. As we started to sing one of the students began to cry. She quickly got out of her seat and walked towards the window. A staff member gently approached her and offered her a listening ear and prayer. The rest of the class continued to sing, but it wasn't long before we noticed that tears were beginning to well up in the other women's eyes as well.

At first we were surprised, unsure of what brought on such a wave of emotion, but after a moment it became clear – The Holy Spirit was moving in the room and breaking down walls in these women's hearts. After a powerful time of prayer and intercession not only for the girls, but with the girls, we said “amen” and expected that the time had come to a close. We opened our eyes and shifted our glances from person to person – no one moved. The girls smiled intermittently as they wiped tears from their cheeks, tears that spoke of heartache, pain, and suffering. But these tears also spoke of a glimmer of hope – they had tasted something that afternoon that they recognized as authentically powerful and at the same time loving. Soon one of the ministry leaders who had joined us began to play the guitar again, “if they don't want to go home, we will continue to worship,” she said. We shared in a beautiful time of fellowship with The Holy Spirit for an hour before the girls went their various ways.

As far as I am aware, none of these women have accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior at this point, (however, at least one of them is very close) but they have briefly tasted of the freedom He brings, and are hungry for more. Several women arrived around 45 minutes early for the following day's english class. We chatted for a while, but the women were curious about the Bible, they wanted to hear more about God. One of the staff handed out Bibles and walked them through the creation account in Genesis, teaching them about God's authorship, and that He created each of them. The women read along, asked questions, and engaged their minds and hearts in the story. English class soon began and finished as normal – no tears or emotional displays. But it is clear that God is working in these women's hearts, beckoning them to step into the freedom and love that He holds out for each of them as a free gift, if they will only take it.

At first glance, Pattaya appears to be a city devoid of hope and locked up in darkness. But there have been men and women of God called to this city as light bearers crying out and interceding for the city for many years. Those prayers are powerful weapons and their fruit is beginning to ripen – please rise up in prayer with those who are working here as God breaks through the battle lines drawn in the sand and redeems his children held captive by darkness one by one.