Well, Monday we had our first "night out." The feelings and emotions that we all experienced before going out were comparable to the night before the first day of school. We went through conversations in our heads, sorted through expectations, debated on what to wear, and were altogether giddy little five year olds. I am sure we were amusing to watch and listen to, but we were all so excited to finally get working on the reason God brought us to this place.
While walking the streets of Patong, there was a dark heaviness that sat upon your shoulders are filled your lungs until the point where you felt as if suffocating was the next option. Every direction you turned your head, music pulsated through the streets, echoing off the walls, tourists lined the streets and watched every girl try to entice them and men fell every time to the temptation to see the girls as a mere object, rather than a human being. Every time you looked into the eyes of the girls, your heart broke for them because you could see the emptiness and the sadness that filled their eyes. It was as though their eyes pleaded with you to save them.
Our teams made good contacts within the first night and through the two groups enteracting with the girls and the one group praying for them, we felt as though we were slowly making an imprint on our street. As Satan tried to fill us with lies that we were angry and casting judgment, we were able to quickly rebuke them in the name of Jesus Christ, knowing that God loves these men and women just as he loves us.
Day after day, I am given glimpses of Christ's eternal and unconditional love for us. He loves us more than I can even imagine. Why do I think I can look at someone and not love them? How can I get angry at the men, when they simply just need the love of Christ? I am learning that not only are we to help free the girls from the lifestyle THROUGH the help of God, but we are also supposed to breathe the love of Jesus Christ into this community, which will in turn bring the light we so badly want to shine.
