Pattaya Day 2 - Sherry's Lens

I have worshipped in a lot of places - but none of them compare to worshipping Him in the streets of Pattaya.  I am humbled to think that God has chosen us to declare His praises here in Thailand.  Joining with 14 countries from around the world leaves me speechless and longing for the time we can do it with every tribe and nation. 

Last night as we began the sound check the enemy was working hard to not make it happen.  We went up on stage to find a little Yamaha keyboard, kid style.  While sound checking we found the cord had a short in it, so it would just stop working.  At this point a few of the leaders had arrived who spoke English so we told them this wasn't going to work and asked if there was any other way to get another keyboard. At first they said no, then looked at the schedule they thought a Dutch team should be finished at Pier 6 and would be headed over to Bali Hai, where we were - they made some calls and about 15 minutes later we saw 2 men from the Dutch team arriving with an incredible keyboard.  God is good - had the cord not had a short in it, we would have made it work.  God wanted us to have something better.  Let the worship begin.  As we were worshipping a freedom filled the stage and we were able to just relax in what we love to do.  At one point I looked up and at the back of the area we had to worship was a large crowd gathered, unsure of whether to enter, they stood in the back drawn to listen.  I was amazed.  During our worship time at Bali Hai I was reminded of the journey God took us on to get here.  That one year ago we were preparing to leave for Thailand - with only 3 days before take off, God said, "stop, thanks for preparing, thanks for saying yes, but now I need you to lay it down."  That was one of the hardest things I've had to do, to let go of something we had carried for so long, not knowing if we would ever see it happen.  As I was worshipping last night it was like I had  been dreaming and anticipating this for over a year.  As we worshipped together for Thailand at McBIC last year on 11-11-11 the deep desire to actually declare His glory for Thailand on this ground was so strong, and last night the anticipation of the past year was released as God spoke over us, "now - now is the time."  Had we made the trip last year we would have come and been able to worship, but just amongst small groups, we would have not had the freedom to declare, to amplify our praises to hundreds.  I am in awe, that that wasn't enough for God - He wanted more - He wanted the many to hear.  Hear me, I think?  Really God??  And humbly with tears hear Him say, "yes, . . .the many need to hear".  So now looking back the frustration of seeing our desire last year not complete all makes sense, for had we come last year, I don't know that we would have said yes to doing it again a year later.  So thanks for walking this journey with us, for supporting us when we couldn't see where God was taking us, and rejoicing with us when all the pieces began to fit in.

Now, I can't end this without talking about what happened after the worship time at Bali Hai.  The night was just beginning.  After we worshipped at the Pier, we grabbed all our things and headed out for Soi 5, Tamar ministries.  This is located in the Red Light district on the street where the girls line the streets.  We traveled over in a Song Toa and prayed together there as we prepared to walk down the Soi 5 street.  We 4 girls grabbed our guys hand and lead them protect them down the street.  The men kept their heads down while we girls were able to show love to the prostitutes we passed by with a loving look and a smile.  We arrived at Tamar to hear a Thai team giving glory to God.  The atmosphere was electric, the energy huge.  They were worshipping with dancing and singing, shouting and praise, while the prostitutes and johns walked by. 

 Many of the girls from the bar next door couldn't help but start to move their feet.  It was awesome to see.  Then it was our turn.  From the first note that Cheryl sang out I felt our worship piercing the darkness - we did not come to perform, we did not come to be seen, we came to declare the glory of God, and His glory covered and filled the streets.  I have never heard a sound quite like, never experienced worship quite like that before.  Bringing Light to the Darkness is what we were made to do.  How incredible it is to have the freedom to do what we were created to do "at such a time as this". When we were finished, the leaders came up to us and thanked us over and over - saying, "many come for the performance, but we can tell that you guys came just to worship, to declare His name whatever the cost.  your worship is refreshing."  We were then able to pray over a few of the leaders as we blessed them in each of their ministries, which ended our time there perfectly.  God is good, all the time, and all the time he is good. - Sherry