Operation Extreme Love, Pattaya, Thailand - Day 1, Monday

Well, we are in Pattaya. A big, busy and bewildering city after Poi Pet. The hotel is beautiful. Major mental re-adjustment required....

Crossing the border into Thailand

We left Poi Pet just after 08h00 yesterday. It took a while to get through the border - they were doing random checks for drugs and Claire's suitcase got picked. Needless to say we teased this lovely, demure English lady about it; she most certainly looks like a drug smuggler!


Apart from this incident, the trip to Pattaya was uneventful. We travelled together in a van with the Extreme Love leadership team, and chatted or dozed all the way.

Thailand

We arrived in Pattaya at about 14h00. The Sunbeam Hotel is beautiful, and one of the best things about my room - after our week in Poi Pet - is the hot shower! Craig arrived an hour after me; he had been down in the gym. Needless to say, it was just marvellous to see him...

We went out for supper with Shani and Claire, who had also come for both outreaches. There is a huge shopping mall nearby, and it has a food court that is amazing in terms of variety of food to choose from. I ended up with stir-fried noodles and chicken and egg. It was very tasty.... and much as we appreciated our food in Poipet, nice to eat something other than rice!

To be honest, I found the transition between Poipet and Pattaya quite tough. For starters, I felt as though I had left my heart behind in Poipet, and it was difficult to engage with the new vision and purpose for this week. Secondly, there is such a contrast between the two cities. Poipet is so poor! And Pattaya swarms with people and shops and traffic and life. Third, it is another language when I am just beginning to find the sound of Khmer familiar. And fourth, the people are more like the people in any large city, busy with their own affairs. After a week of smiles and greetings from people everywhere I go, this felt strange...

In the evening we had an introductory session during which Bart spoke about sex tourism and  introduced some of the organisations and ministries that work with the bar girls here in Pattaya. We also met our new interpreters, and got to know each other a bit. It feels such a privilege to be here along with such high calibre people - just like in the Operation Justice team for Poi Pet, we find people who are willing, no, eager, to pay the price of seeking and implementing change in these situations. Light shining in the darkness.....

And then it was off to bed, and we were very pleased to do so! It had been a tiring day...

Today has been an orientation day. This morning Bart spoke on the values of XP. Then we heard from Cath who volunteers with Tamar, a YWAM organisation that helps bar girls in different ways... giving support, showing them options for a different way of life, teaching English, and running courses for bar girls who would like to leave prostitution and find different jobs. Training offered at present is in baking, hairdressing, card-making and computer skills. the training programme is residential and runs for three months. One of the things we will be able to do this week is tell bar girls about Tamar so that they know. 

Malina then came to share some important points about Thai culture and customs. In the context of a different culture and religion (Thailand is a 98% Buddhist country), it is important to be careful not to offend in our efforts to help. 


We were also given a useful strategy for dealing with the negative feelings we might feel when we see an older Western man with a young woman or child, namely to respect and love them for who they were meant to be, even while we long to stop what is happening. 


Lunch was back at the mall, and it was good. I had a Thai Green curry. The Food Hall is amazing. There is so much food to choose from! Have a look at the photos to see what I mean.... they were taken at the section where I ordered my curry, but there are at least 5 more sections like it.

In the afternoon we had a brilliant teaching session on Intercession with Kim, and then we divided into groups and went off to pray in specific areas of the city. I went with Malina's group, to pray in an area where trafficked children are taken. It was quiet, sleepy seeming, but the atmosphere was oppressive. We walked from street to street, asking God for deliverance for the children. 

Prayer walk in a child brothel area

Back at the hotel I had a short while to freshen up, and then it was back to the Mall, to a different restaurant, for supper. I walked with one of the interpreters, a lovely lady who will be visiting England later this year. I said she should certainly come and visit us. There were many interesting things to eat at this restaurant as well, but I stuck to my idea to eat Thai food in Thailand, and had the Pad Thai recommended by a Facebook friend who comes from Thailand... and it was very good. 

In the evening we had a fantastic teaching session with Bart about the everlasting love of God. Tonight there is an optional outreach to a brothel, but Craig and I have decided to get a good night’s sleep – tomorrow is a full day and as I saw last week, the pace picks up more and more as the week goes by.  And so ‘Goodnight’...