Thaibodia Outreach!: SHE Ministry in Phuket, Thailand

Sawadee Kha! (Hello in Thai)

It's Bianca here sending a little update on what we have been up to for the past two weeks here in Phuket, Thailand. We have been working with a ministry called SHE (Self Help and Empowerment). SHE is a Christian charity committed to helping women and children who are at risk in Thailand, especially those who are trapped in the sex trade. SHE provides employment, counseling, and vocational training for women who want to help themselves out of this industry. For more info check out their website.

Some of the open bars that we visit

Patang is the area of Phuket that is a popular for sex tourism. The SHE house is located just outside of Patang in Kathu. Every afternoon our team drives over the mountain into Patang to prayer walk through the streets. Then we return at night to go into the bars to build relationships with the women there (and sometimes the men as well). Patang has open bars and closed bars but we only go into the open bars. In open bars, the women choose to work there, but as one of the employees here at SHE says, they are slaves to their own chains because they do not know that there are other employment options for them. When we go into the bars, we play games like Connect 4 and JENGA with the hostesses and talk with them about their lives. It has been awesome to see them night after night and for them to open up more and more to us. In these last few days that we are here, we are hoping to grab coffee with a few of the girls that we have gotten to know.

We have all loved partnering with SHE and praying for these women. The spiritual climate is very dark here and at times quite heavy, but we know that God is walking with us through those streets and into those bars. We are just coming alongside what He is already doing in Patang. On Monday evening we will be leaving Phuket and heading up to Bangkok for two weeks where we will be working with elderly and maybe in some slums as well.