I’m use to cornfields. Although Bloomington, Illinois certainly isn’t country, it is surrounded by miles and miles of black earth, tilled till tassels pop up. Corns' supposed to be “knee high by 4thof July” but usually is well up to my waste by then. And as the start of 2nd quarter of the new school year begins, the mazes, haunted houses, and pumpkin patches draw crowds at the season change.   It’s harvest time. And the moons are breath taking. Orange, red, yellow, pink. Harvest is a time when the all the farmers come out to reap all the hard work...

Last weekend my team and I packed our bags and headed to an air-conditioned hostel for our mid-point debrief. It was an awesome time of retreat and reflection for 8 emotionally drained women. On Monday we had the chance to visit Phi Phi Island for the day. This place would absolutely take your breath away—crystal clear teal water, white sand beaches, and steep veggie-covered cliffs.   I’ve been thinking about cliffs this week— And jumping off them. I’m reading a book called, The Cost of Discipleship by “one of the dead guys,” as one of my college...

A pop star released a song last year that said, “I just want to make the world dance, forget about the price tag.”   There are a lot of popular radio songs that play on Bangla Road that have really caused me to stop and think about the lyrics.   Well…because these women currently have price tags. Literally.    We constantly have to say “Mai Ow Ka” (no thank you) to the people on the street that are shoving “Ping Pong Show” fliers in our faces that list prices & photos of these women’s services.   It’s so hard...

Thailand performs more sex change operations than any other country in the world.   Night after night on Bangla Road we walk into Soi Crocodile—the street dedicated to ladyboys (men who have changed their gender to female).   Usually we have to push our way through the crowd to get to the bars because there is always four or five ladyboys outside the street, dressed in elaborately decorated and revealing feather dresses that make them close to 8 feet tall. They are walking around all of the by-standing tourists, asking for 100 baht to take a picture with them.   And...

God brought me back to a passage of scripture this past Monday while praying for the other half of my team who were on Bangla Road.   In 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul says, “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”   There are a lot of lights on Bangla Road. Neon, flashing, spinning, glowing—so much so, that I walk out every time with a headache (and all I drink is Coke!).   Ironically, areas in which major prostitution and trafficking take place are called “Red Light Districts.”   I realized this week what that passage was talking about. Bangla...

Jesus said in Matthew 18:1-6, that if anyone leads a child astray, it would be better for them to have a heavy stone tied to their neck and to be drowned in the sea.   Wow, Jesus, that’s pretty harsh. Or is it?   You see, Jesus was always welcoming kids to hang out with him and teaching the disciples to be like them.   This week on Bangla Road those verses became real to me.   As my team and I were getting ready to leave after a night of ministry, a little girl about 7 years old, named Nina, came up to us with an armful of flower lays. She was so beautiful and so...