Friday Night - Mark's View

On Friday night, as others have mentioned, we went to a particular club on Walking Street as a continuation of the Pattaya Praise movement.

I was not sure what to expect.  All sorts of questions went through my mind as the songtao weaved around people, vendors and parked vehicles on our way to the club. 

Did the club owner really understand that he invited a bunch of Jesus followers to worship, dance and rejoice in His goodness?  Were the bands actually going to lead times of gathered worship while "customers" and the girls paired up, inhaled Hookah, closed deals and walked away into the night?  Would the girls pursue me and the other men in our group?  How would we, as men, remain pure in the midst of seductively dressed girls and women?  Was it ok to make eye contact and express my Heavenly Father's pure love with a genuine smile of acceptance?  Would that confuse them?  How would my wife, Cheryl, feel?  What would the women on our team do?  Could they speak with the girls while they were "working"?  Would the club owner kick us out if we tried to interact with the girls and kept them from the "customers"?  What about the language barrier?  

I could go on.

We arrived at the club around 5:30pm while it was still daylight.  During the daytime, Walking Street is actually pretty quiet.  Things were relatively calm at this point, though the sexually overt signs were already bright with neon and lights.  The girls and "ladyboys" were beginning to gather within their respective establishments.  By the time we left around 11pm, Walking Street was in full-on chaos mode.  I don't want to go into any more detail than that.

This particular club was open (no walls) on two sides; the front side that faced Walking Street and the side that opened to a cross street on the left.  If you walk straight into the club from Walking Street, you step up onto a raised patio with tables, couches and chairs.  This is where most of the working girls hung out.  As you continue into the covered space, there is a pool table, lots of gathering height tables and stools where the girls also sat and moved about.  This is where you also saw the Hookah, a flavored tobacco that is inhaled unfiltered through water using some sort of device.  Many of the girls and staff took turns inhaling at different times throughout the night.

Straight ahead against the back wall is a raised stage with lighting and a serious sound system.  To the right is the bar where all sorts of drinks are available.  The wall opposite the bar (on the left as you enter the club) is open air.  Along this area and on the street are nice tables and chairs for sitting.

A DJ from Holland started things off with his own creative mix of deep, booming bass electronica and uplifting vocal samples.  This was followed by a Dutch band named Salt, who led a time of upbeat gathered worship.  They blew out the subwoofers on the first song!  After a quick system reset, things were back up and running.

Several other bands followed, including teams from the Phillipines, Thailand, a multinational band of students representing 9 countries and Ian Hannah's team from Northern Ireland.  The DJ, Salt and the "Irish team" were my favorites.  Musically, their arrangements were original and truly excellent, which was really important for what we were trying to do.

At one point, I turned to Cody and said, "We are not trying to reach the people who sit in pews."  No, this was a night to bring joy, love, acceptance and a taste of God's goodness to an atmosphere thick with fear, despair, brokenness, loneliness, lust, insecurity and abuse.

About half of the songs were what you might recognize as songs for "gathered worship." Just about everything was arranged in such a way that a non-believer would be able to come in, sit down, order a beverage and enjoy.  It was fascinating to watch... Their heads would start to bob or their feet would start to tap.  Eventually, they would realize that they didn't know ANY of the songs, but a whole bunch of the people there DID and they were singing at the top of their lungs, dancing, laughing and having a great time.  They could see "Seek Jesus" written on some of their t-shirts.

Then they started to catch the words.  For example:

"We are here for you, we are here for you...

Every heart is open

Nothing here is hidden

You are our one desire

You alone are worthy

Only you are holy

Let your fire fall

You're welcome in this place!

You're welcome in this place!

Almighty God of Love, you're welcome in this place!"

I'm actually getting choked up as I type this during the flight from Bangkok to Dubai.

You see, these were people that would NEVER set foot in a church.  If the music wasn't excellent, they would have kept walking on to the next club.  People were drawn in to the party.  It was unlike anything else in all of Pattaya that night.  They realized these bands and the crazy people dancing and singing were worshiping Jesus.  They looked on in wonder as these Christians were not condemning them.  Instead, they were filled with joy, love, celebration and acceptance... in a sex club.

I will never forget the expression on the owner's face.  His eyes were riveted on the bands and the people dancing and singing.

I absolutely HATE what the club facilitates today, but I absolutely LOVE this man.  There was a softness there.  His mental boxes were exploding.  Internal walls were being circumvented in the spirit realm.  (It probably didn't hurt that we emptied the place of Coca-Cola.  About half-way through the night, they had completely sold out!)

There were four or five times throughout the night that the owner and I were able to chat.  Mostly, I just smiled really big, looked him in the eyes struck up conversation with him.  I thanked him for letting us bring the party to his place, asked him where he was from and how long he'd been in Thailand.  We talked about the bands.  "We usually have bands playing AC/DC and Led Zepplin," he said.  "This is different, but this is good."  He told me in amazement that one of the bands was from a town not far from where he was raised.

Toward the end of the night, Lonnie came up to me and said some of the women on our team thought the guys should pray for the owner.  It was a great idea, so Lonnie and I went over to him.  As he saw us approach, he quickly put away the Hookah.  "Can we pray for you?" I asked.  It was loud, so he put his head down so I could speak into his left ear.  "Would it be ok if we prayed blessing over you?" I explained.  He immediately said, "Oh, yes, yes!"

So, we laid our hands on his shoulders and prayed for him. He thanked us and I put my hand on his shoulder and thanked him again for letting us hang out at his place.

Jesus love's this man.  Jesus died for this man.  He is extending His unearned, unmerited favor to him.  "But  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Later, as we prayed together as a team in Cody and Amber's room, we prayed that this man would never be able to forget this night.  We prayed that he would continue to have connection with the band from his homeland.  We prayed that he would be irresistibly drawn to the love of God, that he would surrender and give his life to Jesus.  We prayed that God would give him dreams and visions of a new businesses and a new life.  We boldly prayed that these thoughts and dreams would come night after night until he yields to God's grace.

We prayed that his redeemed life would be the catalyst for the radical transformation of Walking Street and all of Pattaya.  We prayed that God would prosper this man in those "clean" businesses and that God would use him to dramatically expand the kingdom of God.

Can you see it?  It's my prayer that it will come to pass.

The women on our team spent most of the night interacting with a couple of the girls.  One had been there for only 10 days.  I think she said she was 44 years old and came to Pattaya from a village in Isan because she could not find any way to feed her two teenage children.

By the way, the girls/women did not engage us at all.  I think they quickly realized that we were not there for the usual reasons.

As we said our good-byes, I was able to meet eyes with some of the girls/women, smile, waive and say "good-bye."  It was heartbreaking.  I hope in some way that it gave them hope that not all men in the world see them as worth a 200 Baht ($7 U.S.) night of abuse and selfishness.

--------------------------SWIMMING UPSTREAM--------------------------

This particular club was near the far end of Walking Street, so we had to slowly weave against the thick sea of people walking in the opposite direction in order to get back to our hotel.  It was rather symbolic.

At this hour, sexual enticement was on full display, even two stories into the air. The lyrics blasting from some of the clubs was simply foul.  Without speaking, Cheryl and I gripped hands and switched hands/sides depending on where the working girls were most protruding into the narrow street.  At one point, the street was mostly blocked.

Cheryl was exhausted and undone before we even left the club.  By the time we exited Walking Street, she was weeping.  We walked along the beach front road and found it lined with girls/women for sale.  We walked about five or six long blocks before turning up into the city toward the direction of our hotel.  Considering how far it was from there to Soi 6, I suspect that the line of the oppressed continued for more than a mile.

I felt numb.  

Twenty-four hours later, Cheryl described for me what she was feeling in those moments.  

"I've never experienced that kind of darkness before.  Soi 6 was different.  I felt very protected there.  It was a shorter timeframe and I was personally leading and participating for an hour rather than being immersed, observing and interceding in prayer for six hours.

On walking street, there was such a stark contrast between the darkness and the light.  I could feel the deep loneliness and rejection that was within the girls, women and men alike and it was heartbreaking.

My spirit longed for fresh, breathable air.  I felt like a person who had been underwater for too long and just had to get to the surface for air.  Except, I didn't reach the surface until we all prayed together back at the hotel."

--------------------------SO, WHAT NOW?--------------------------

There is a great hope for Pattaya.  His name is Jesus Christ.

As we fly home, we have so many things on our minds and in our hearts.  Strip clubs and sex trafficking is in our backyard in Pennsylvania, too.  Those clubs have owners like this one.  There is brokenness on all sides of the equation in Pennsylvania, too.  They need to encounter the love of our Heavenly Father, too, in the form of regular people like you and me.

So, what now?  How will this experience change how we live?  How will it impact how we prioritize our commitments, our schedules, our life of luxury and convenience?  These are not questions that come from guilt.  Rather, they are honest questions that call for honest answers.

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