The looks on their faces were unforgettable, their pain seemingly hidden beneath the beautiful clothes and make-up.  Behind the thin facade, we heard the cries of the forgotten, the exploited, and the abused. The women that we saw in Thailand changed our lives forever; women trapped in a lifestyle of prostitution, of slavery. We believe that God's desire is for all men and women to be free. We went to Thailand to tell them that there is a God. He desires to be not only their friend, but their husband, their King.

One such woman was Jan. Our team met her in a Karoake Bar in the month of October. One of the students on our team talked with Jan through a translator. The student gave her testimony, and then asked Jan if she had any dreams for her own future. Jan replied that she desired to start a beauty parlor, but she was not sure how it would work, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. Jan was 27 years old and had probably known no other life than that of selling herself to put food on the table. We left that night encouraging her to follow her dreams and to not give up on them.

We went to the Karoake Bar the next night only to find out that she had the night off. We returned the next night to find that she was not there. This was extremely unusual because normally bar girls work 7 days a week. We tried again a third night, but again, she was not there. So, we continued on our prayer walk. As we walked, one of the girls spotted Jan across the street, which was a miracle in itself. She was setting up her beauty salon!!! The student who had given her testimony the night before was Jan's first customer. God used our team to show the love of Christ to this Buddhist woman! We were so honored!

In the course of our outreach, we performed many skits. In one skit we play "monkey-in-the-middle," and one of the characters gets hit in the head with an imaginary ball. No can wake her up. A doctor even comes, but he cannot fix the "dead" person either. At the end, a "Christian" walks in and they pray and she wakes up and they all dance for joy!

While working with a discipleship ministry in Chang Mai, we had the opportunity to perform this skit for 5 young men who had been living in a lifestyle of homosexual prostitution. each of them had just made a decision to follow Jesus that day! However, that is not the most amazing part! We saw one of the men named Rue a few days later, and he wanted to tell us this story:

He had gone into the city to do some shopping, when he came across a crippled woman, begging on the ground. Rue immediately thought of the skit that he had seen, and he desired to pray for her to be healed. So, he and his friends prayed. The woman asked to be helped up, and made an attempt to use her legs. After going around in circles a few times, she pushed away the men who were helping her, and walked in a circle all by herself! Rue told us that the hairs on his arm stood on end. God miraculously healed this woman through the faith of a former Buddhist, male prostitute, who had only been following Jesus for 2 days!

This is the God we get to worship and praise! This is the very God who rescued us.  I don't think Rue will ever be the same.  I don't think I will ever be the same!

Katie Roraff

Thailand Country Information

Location: Southeastern Asia

Capital: Bangkok