An unexpected ENCOUNTER!

1:48 in the morning – Woke up to many unpleasant sounds from the neighboring building. I’m now sitting on the floor in the dark, up against my wall. This is as close as I can get to the female on the other side who is now weeping. From the sound of her voice she is Thai, although I have no idea how old. She is enduring a VERY rough sexual encounter with at least one other person. There was a struggle, some desperate pleading, then lots whimpering throughout the ordeal. Only a small amount of plaster separates us. I feel so helpless. She's still weeping. I continue to press my cheek, ear and hands against the plaster wall and call out to Father God on her behalf. Help! Jesus come, Holy Spirit come, you are the Great Comforter…please come to her aide!

2:21 in the morning- As I continue to call out to the Comforter, I hear peaceful singing and gentle strumming like that of a guitar. Where is it coming from? It sounds very close, but definitely not coming from the neighboring building. Perhaps the commotion woke my two roommates down the hall? Maybe they are awake and interceding too. I head down the hall toward their room, but the light is off and the their door is shut. The peaceful melodies continue and although I can’t make out any of the words it sounds familiar. Not wanting to disturb mt roommates I return to my room to continue praying.

2:35 in the morning - Still praying, asking God to reveal himself to the woman on the other side of my wall. Also asking for God's mercy on the hundreds of others in my neighborhood who may be experiencing similar situations. The weeping has quieted some. The soothing tones of worship continue and I am thinking- “Wow, Sandy is really improving with her guitar skills, how is she able to play those chords in the dark?”

2:45 in the morning- Now, I’m feeling inspired. Maybe I should play my favorite Thai worship CD and aim it towards the wall, towards where I heard the woman weeping. If I can hear her, she should be able to hear these words of love. My computer is now aimed at the wall. I fall asleep some time after 3: 10am.

7:30 in the morning- Asked my two roommates how long they stayed awake worshiping last night? They looked quite puzzled at my question. They were sound asleep all night! I asked again, this time recalling how I could clearly hear worshiping, gentle singing and strumming of an instrument until I fell asleep. No other people live in our building! I ask again, "Are you absolutely SURE you didn't leave your computer, radio or CD playing last night?" Janie and Sandy both answered, " No, we left nothing on, no music was playing. Then Janie smiled with excitement and said, “This morning I read these verses in my bible, Zephaniah 3:17." Here are the verses:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he
will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Do you still think God can't hear your prayers?

Do you still think you are alone?

God is mighty to save and He is also our comforter. He wants to quiet our anxious spirit with His melodies of love in the night. WOW!!

Living in a War Zone (Part 2)

Just when you think things are beginning to settle down after an intense week of living in a war zone....more happens! Currently I am recovering from a broken arm which required surgery (two pins placed inside) This injury happened early morning, 6:30am Sunday. The day we celebrate Pentecost.

Since things appeared to be settling down a little, I was headed out to do another prayer walk in my neighborhood, the Nana Plaza area. This is where we live, in the heart of the red light district. It's like living in a spiritual war zone! Customers are lured in to view or (for a price) participate in just about any form of twisted sexual fantasy or indulgence they can imagine in these bars.

Whenever we talk to the men hanging around our area, they usually say, "Hey...we're just out to have a few drinks and some fun with our buddies!" I wonder if they would be so eager to go into some of these bars if they knew; Most women are considered property of the bar, it is very common for bar owners to perform sorcery, witchcraft and covenant with demonic powers INSIDE the bars and ON the women BEFORE these "happy go lucky" men arrive. By inviting these spirits in and worshiped them, bar owners hope to have a lucrative night. These dark forces are INVISIBLE, but very real!

Anyway, with all the recent violence in Bangkok, the bars and everything else are on a mandatory curfew. That means for a short period of time everyday, the Nana Plaza is completely empty. This is very unusual, as the Plaza is always open! It seemed like a perfect time for intercession! If I could get into the main plaza area before 8:00am, it would be quiet enough to prayerfully walk through each corridor and declare God's promises from the scriptures without drawing to much attention.

Worshiping, declaring and speaking God's words of hope, life and freedom to the captives, doesn't usually sit well with the spiritual forces of darkness! You should never do such things casually, as it is like entering a war zone without any protection or weapons! It is necessary to be well prepared and well covered by the Spirit of God.

Well, I only made it a few steps out my door that morning before I was sabotaged. I fell VERY hard onto the white marble flooring, catching all my weight on one arm. But what did I fall on? I could see nothing!

Although I was INSIDE the apartment building, clear water had pooled the entire length of our entrance. It was a completely INVISIBLE water slick right outside my door! As my friends helped me to the hospital, they were VERY careful not to step into ANOTHER water slick along the way, but there were no others- Just the one in front of our door!

So, what do you make of that? I'm not exactly sure. There is STILL much to learn about spiritual warfare. This broken arm is only a minor set back!

Living in a war zone (Part 1)

Much has happened in the past week, there is no way to replay it all, to explain the intensity, or describe our emotions. So I'll give you a quick recap.

FIRST- My house mates and I relocated three times due to the threat of violence in our neighborhood and the unpredictability of a raging civil war in close proximity. We evacuated our building in the Nana, then became somewhat stranded on the 22 floor of a friend's condo. Since we were without power, water, Internet communications, we temporarily relocated again. (Quite an adventure hiking up and down 22 flights of stairs during a power-outage, in the Bangkok heat, while breathing in all the fumes from burning tires and buildings!)


Shortly after we resettled an announcement came on our cell phones (via our news update system). The Red Shirt leader had surrendered! REALLY? This was Wednesday the 19th. The odd things was that within an hour or so of that announcement, we witnessed Many more acts of violence in our city. Multiple explosions were set off and fires were started. Banks were set a blaze, world class shopping malls burnt to the ground, utility buildings, public and private property, transportation stations were all targeted. From our view point, black clouds of smoke filling our sky and from our windows we could see a large building totally engulfed in flames.


During this up evil, Annie made contact with one of our NightLight girls. Her family members were able to escape the riot area and take refuge at our NightLight building. We also had another NightLight girl bring some of her family members to our home. It was nice to be a "safe oasis" to this young mother, her 6 month old baby and a 4 year old boy.

We are glad we stayed and didn't evacuate the Bangkok area during the rioting. Although it was pretty stressful, we wanted to remain close to our neighborhood and the NightLight girls just in case they needed help.

We are all safe and things have settled down some. Thank you for your prayers and financial provisions. Those resources allowed me to help to others, especially since all major banks were closed for a period and many ATM's were empty. Most of the local people live one day at a time, with little to no savings. Now that many businesses have been destroyed, there is little work available. At this time a mandatory curfew for all people in Bangkok is still in effect.

Things aren't always Black and White

It’s deeply disturbing, I thought as we approached a child dancing on top of a battered plastic red stool in front of the Nana Plaza.

As we came closer, it was easier now to see, this was not a young girl, but a young boy. He appeared to be twelve or thirteen years old? His brown skinny legs and lanky arms moved slow, but awkwardly in the nightlights as he tried to mimic the rhythmic sensual moves of the women who work this area.

His bare, grimy feet managed to keep balanced on his 10 inch, make-shift stage. He wore a short, sheer “nightie” styled dress and his childlike face was smudged with too much makeup. It was a sight hard to describe, warped and full of disparity.

As my team mates began to engage this young boy in a conversation, he slowly climbed down and sat on his small plastic stool. He was hungry. In his troubled, young mind, I’m sure this seemed like the solution. There were no parents there to help him. He had no one to cook him a hot meal, draw him a bath or read him a story before climbing into a soft bed. Who did he belong to? For a small fee, apparently anyone!

Did all those sitting, watching from the crowded bars across the way, think this was just one more “bizarre” form of nightly entertainment in Nana Plaza?

The work we do here in Bangkok isn’t glamorous; there are times we struggle with how to handle these heart breaking situations. Everyday, women and young children are exploited on the streets in our neighborhood.

How do we keep from becoming callused to the frightful things we see daily? How would Jesus respond to these situations? What are the best long term solutions to such problems? The answers are not always black and white.

Sometimes ministry is simply loving the one, showing compassion to a confused, frightened little boy, offering some kindness and a few grilled meat-kabobs.

It seems like so little… how we long to do so much more.

Love, Kathy