misc. notes and a prayer request

I am so much more interested in blogging than, say, studying Greek or preparing for this training I am supposed to be doing in Thessaloniki starting on Friday night.

A few things:

~I updated on the ministry blog, so instead of my duplicating it on this one, go check it out here. Lots of thoughts and plans and why, despite my 80-year-old knee, I am feeling quite excited and encouraged these days!

~I was watching our Nuthouse video yesterday, and I think we should all revisit it together and remember the former life in California that is still so very near and dear to my heart (and the beloved former roommate). So hard to say goodbye, indeed.

~I have been planning to direct you to Grace's blog, a girl on my Thailand team, so you could read her hilarious accounts of our trip. You can (and should) still read those entries on her blog, but now perhaps you can keep in her prayer as well as she has been admitted to the hospital with a large tumor in her chest. Her sister is writing updates on her (Grace's) blog, "frogg files."

~My last point about snow in Thessaloniki this weekend seems a little trivial after that...

Love me some Thai food!

I didn't ever mention our Thai cooking class here. Or, I mentioned it, but never demonstrated it pictorally. On the blog, at least.

We had some amazing food in Thailand, from the pineapple & shrimp curry at Cabbages and Condoms to the yummy dessert pastry things in the food courts and street stands. And the mango & sticky rice dish! Oh my. I must admit I had Mexican food three times. And it was good. I was trying to load up, since I haven't really found any in Athens yet.

I think the cooking class was one of the highlights. Essentially we cooked and ate for four hours straight. :) Our instructor first took us to the market, where we bought all our meat, coconut, vegetables, etc.

We set to work washing the veggies, cutting up the meat, beheading the shrimp and pulling the guts out (so disgusting).

His set-up was great; in one room we made our coconut milk, in another we prepared each dish (pictured below), and in a third we ate!

Out on the balcony were all the stoves where we finally put all the ingredients together to cook it.We made: 1. Tom Yum Gung (spicy shrimp) Soup; 2. Laab Gai ("Northern Chicken Salad") with sticky rice; 3. possibly the best Phad Thai I've ever had (I don't usually like it!), 4. Green curry with chicken.Grinding up the green curry paste was quite a task; we all took turns.

And for dessert, Tub Tim Grob, or "Rubies in Coconut Milk," made from water chestnuts soaked in fruit punch, rolled in tapioca powder, then soaked in hot water. The result is like a chewy jelly candy thing, which is then put in coconut milk.

We had a great time and were very full afterward! :)

If you ever do find yourself in Bangkok, look up this cooking school. The guy is really great & explanatory and the menu changes daily. He also gives you a little recipe book with what you made. Yummmm!

Pattaya

Last Thursday we took a day trip to Pattaya, about an hour and a half away from Bangkok. Pattaya was once just a small fishing village with about 100 families, but after the Vietnam War it became the official "R & R" center for American armed forces. It is still home to many war veterans, a popular retirement spot. With the expats and the tourist boom that followed, the number of shops, bars, hotels, etc. increased to meet the demand. Also came the hostess bars and brothel/bars...and now Pattaya is known for its sex industry. An estimated 20,000 girls and women in Pattaya are involved in prostitution. Sadly, many of the bars and brothels throughout Thailand are owned and operated by these vets!

The beach, "Walking Street," and the street along the beach (we hung out at Starbucks watching the sunset; after dark, the area takes on a whole new persona: red light district) ...
The transformation of the Walking Street:
During the day, we visted Tamar Ministries. They have a three month training program for girls and train them to work in their hair salon, bakery, coffee shop, or cardmaking business. Like Night Light they also offer discipleship classes and counseling. The coffee shop: Bakery:On the walking street that night, we saw this table set out with a meal on it. This was an offering meal to a spirit. The red drink indicates that it is for a "kumantong" - an aborted fetus spirit. They believe these "babies" are still with them, and they take care of them as though they were living babies. Some people can physically see these spirits as babies walking or crawling around in the room. Just one of the many spiritual beliefs and strongholds present in this culture.

4 countries in less than 24 hours

Snow in Amsterdam was a shock to my system this morning, after the muggy sauna that was Bangkok and the slightly less muggy sauna that was Phnom Penh. I'm back in Athens now, where the temperature is somewhat normal, and needless to say, I'm completely freezing.

So where to begin? I have two weeks of pictures to show you. If you are my friend on facebook, you could just go look at the album I posted earlier today. That will knock off about 60 of them for you. For the rest of you, and for the rest of the rest of you, because I know you will keep coming back even if you've already seen the photos, I will post a little each day this week. We can't get overwhelmed right off the bat.

Today's theme is tourism. NOT sex tourism; I'm sure we will get to that. Along with the ministry stuff we did - outreach, visiting a variety of established ministries, prayer walks, etc. - we saw quite a bit of Bangkok. They wanted to be sure we saw the good sides as well as the parts we'd be working in. Understandable!

Last Sunday afternoon we set off into the steamy, aromatic city for a bit of a tour with Darrell, Charity's dad, who was the lone male in our group of 9-12 women (depending on the day/activity). We took the water taxi up the river. Here are some of the girls on the team, wishing the breeze was a little stronger on the river:

Our first stop was the palace and...er...really big wats (a wat is a temple). They were pretty incredible to look at, actually:Once inside the grounds, we could take off our shoes and step into a special temple with hundreds of worshipers to get a look at the Emerald Buddha. Photography was strictly forbidden. I have become pretty good at discreet photo-taking. Afterward I felt guilty and disrespectful.
The Great Palace:
One of the guards; not quite holding still:
Nearby (which is not quite as "nearby" when it is 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity and you are walking, with long pants and sleeved shirts and closed-toed shoes because that is proper temple attire), is a very large Reclining Buddha. He fills up the temple, and is so large that it's really difficult to get a clear view of the whole thing:
Worshippers can give offerings by putting a coin in each of the bowls along the wall:We took a water taxi across the river to the Wat Arun, this huge temple that can be seen down the river...
You can climb it! In Israel last year, my favorite part was climbing around in caves or through tunnels or anything else that involved climbing, crawling, or floating (Dead Sea). So I really liked this temple. Cheap thrills. The stairs were really steep, though; I still get a little tingley when I think about it.

Shirley, who I roomed with, and I on one of the levels:Some of the detail on the temple:
Um, what?

Well, as the title suggests, it's been a long day...I succeeded in emptying the contents of my suitcase onto my bed (except the clothes, which all went straight into the laundry), so now I guess everything else is going back into the suitcase so I can sleep in my bed.

I'm ready to go home.

I think I have experienced some sort of culture confusion these last few days. Two weeks is no time at all, but in the very-short-term mindset, it's plenty of time to start learning your surroundings, directions, obvious culture patterns, etc. After this trip, I will return not to my own culture but another different one (Greece, doy). I was learning that one, now I've been in this one - can't remember parts of that one at the moment. And Voula is going to kill me; I haven't studied Greek once.

I have told a couple people that if I had come to Bangkok nine months earlier, it's quite possible that I could have ended up in Thailand instead of Greece. The culture is so much different (something about a SE Asian culture vs. a European culture seems so foreign to me), and the weather is insane (permanent sweating, ick), but the ministry is already thriving and there is already community in Bangkok. I'd definitely like to come back. I have a feeling my involvement with NightLight is not finished. (Don't freak out - I'm confident Greece is where I'm supposed to be for now.) :)

It's been so interesting to me to compare the sex industry in Athens vs. Bangkok. I know, it's weird that I think about these things! But really, in Athens it's still kind of a back alley, seedy side street thing. Sure, they may have trafficked in close to 60,000 more women in 2004 for the Olympics to meet the need of the huge tourist influx (shocking but true). But you don't go to Athens for sex. You go for the Acropolis, Greek food, and all the other amazing things to do in Greece. Sure, it's easy to find, for those who want it. But in Bangkok, the sex industry IS the tourist attraction. It is the reason the "tourists" come. It's just a totally different mindset. The popular streets, the famous areas, are the ones with the bars and the girls. It's the so-called "sex capital of the world." Lovely reputation.

Anyway, I'm in Phnom Penh now. Not my favorite. I'm really eager to go home tomorrow. It's been a long two weeks. Really good, but long.

so this is what a vacation feels like

Most of the team left last night, and Charity and a couple others left for Phuket this morning (if I'd only known!!). I had today and tomorrow wide open, my last two days here in Bangkok. Thanks to Facebook, I had reconnected with Katie, a friend from college, a couple years ago and knew she was teaching here. She had today free as well, and what a day we had!

1 - had brunch at this amazing crepe restaurant. SO good.
2 - went to MBK, an insane Thai shopping mall. Like the outdoor markets with all the same stuff, just inside a 6 story mall. Anything you could ever want and not need.
3 - thai massage. I think it was the best massage I have ever had in my life. And my 4th or 5th spa treatment since being here. :)
4 - THE BEST THING EVER: she took me to this international grocery store, where I bought, among other things, CHOCOLATE CHIPS, JIF peanut butter, Jello pudding mix, canned pumpkin, Kraft mac & cheese, betty crocker (I think?) chocolate chip cookie mix in the bag (a whole bunch), vanilla, zip lock bags, etc. etc. Basically my whole list of things I can't get in Greece. It was like I'd died and gone to heaven...in many ways this could be the highlight of my entire trip. You don't understand. I wonder how I'm going to get all this home.
5 - dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant, nachos and tacos and margaritas, oh my. I am loading up on Mexican here since it's rather scarce in Athens.
6 - went back to my guest house and crashed from exhaustion for just a few minutes (needed some AC after all the excitement. Whew!)
7 - went to a hair salon and got these cool things in our hair. Basically they are hair-thin tinsel-like strips that they tie in that are kind of shiny or sparkly. I got some black ones in there. Something different.

It is totally lame that I haven't been able to post pictures; when I get back home next week they'll come by the hundreds, no doubt. I've taken so many! I'm excited to share them.

winding down...

I have loads of time today and nowhere to be until outreach tonight and I don't really feel like blogging. I wrote a nice long update on the other blog yesterday (or maybe the day before? They all blend together now), so just go read that. :)

The team from NightLight USA (Los Angeles) leaves tonight. I have two more days here in Bangkok, whatever will I do with myself? I have LOVED spending time with these girls. Loved my roommate, Shirley - waiting for her to come visit me in Greece now! Some people you just have an instant connection with, and I feel a little bit like God sent her (and the group) my way this past week and a half. It's almost depressing thinking about being alone again, but I'm trusting for that to change soon.

The other night at outreach, I was sitting in a bar with a couple of the NL ladies watching drunk men throw ping pong balls at the girls dancing on poles up on the stage. I had noticed one girl in particular because she had glasses; that is unusual. When it wasn't her shift to be onstage, she wrapped herself tightly in a shawl and sat, very closed off, in a corner. Near the end of our time there, suddenly I felt someone plop themselves down next to me and lean on me. It was her. We chatted for a bit; her English was great. Her story is just like the rest: her husband left her and she is here working to support her kids back home. But this girl was 43 years old. She didn't look it. Her kids are in college and she's been here five years. She doesn't like it, of course, but "doesn't have a choice." Most likely she hasn't seen her family in all those years.

It's so sad! This whole place is sad. The attitude of many of the men coming for sex tourism is that this is what Thai girls are for, this is what Thailand is for. And it's not unusual to hear them say it. Yet for all the thousands of girls in prostitution for sex tourism, that makes up only a tiny percentage of the picture: 80-90% of prostitution in Thailand is domestic - for Thai men. So much a part of the culture, generation after generation.

I've learned a lot from NightLight and the other groups we've visited here. Much of it wouldn't work in Athens; the situations of the girls, trafficking, and the industry looks completely different here. But many strategies and especially their models for prayer and ministry are very applicable. There are thousands of trafficked girls here too, mostly from Eastern Europe - the approach with them is completely different and NightLight adapts to their needs when they are working with them. But their main ministry is to the Thai women in the bars.

I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for the next two days; I have some options, and they are letting me stay at the guest house which is a blessing. We'll see...

Soi Cowboy

I have not really been on a computer in days. We have been so busy, but it's all been really good. I only have a few minutes, because we meet for outreach again in about 20, but wanted to check in with a quick update!

So much going on here. The sex industry looks so different here than it does in Athens or L.A. As we go into the bars (which are more like strip clubs where the men can pick a girl with a number attached to her bikini to buy for the next 24 hours), the satanic stuff is really powerful. There are three main areas like this in Bangkok for foreigners from what I can see; Nana, Patpong, and Soi Cowboy. We have seen all three now.

We visited another ministry yesterday, Rahab Ministries, that does outreach in Patpong. This area is only two streets, but there are 4000 to 5000 girls working there!! This gives you an idea of the extent of it. NightLight works around the Nana area, and I think after several years of their presence, prayer, and influence, it is a little tamer than the others. It has been awesome to meet some of the women rescued from this life.

I'll have to write more on the shocking facts and statistics I've heard here; it blows my mind. But, also, thankfully, we've had fun times and touristy times too: some huge markets with great stuff, the Great Palace, Wat Arun, going up the river, a Thai cooking class yesterday where we made amazing food and basically ate for 4 hours, and some lovely spa treatments. :)

I must run - hopefully will have more time later this week for a better update. The time here with this team from LA has been so encouraging and uplifting for me. If anything, it's made me miss what I don't have in Greece (the community). Been praying lots for that.

hasta :)

I am blogging from a spa.

Yesterday I had a massage. Today I had a facial. I will be back for more. So cheap and so nice!! Yay Thailand.

We toured the Night Light offices yesterday and last night went out to do outreach in the bars. An "entertainment plaza," three stories around an outdoor plaza, with flashing lights, loud music, and lots of girls. NL has relationships with a lot of the girls and the mamasans. I will write more details later!

P.S. my attitude of disgust is mostly gone...replaced with pity I think. It's a sad place. :(

quick hi from bkk!

Well, hi, I made it! It's great to be able to wear my flip flops again. :)

I got in yesterday afternoon, found my way to my hotel, and killed a couple hours walking around the Sukhumvit area where we're staying, got myself some food, and fell asleep at 8pm. Apparently I had caught up on sleep by the time the rest of the group arrived at 2am, because I didn't go back to sleep after that! I'm only 5 hours off from Athens, so jet lag shouldn't be too bad.

First impression: there are SO MANY single male travelers. White, middle-aged, alone. It took approximately 5 minutes on the street yesterday to notice that they were filling the bars and restaurants, some sitting with young thai women, to be completely disgusted. Today, too, as we took a tour around this area (the hub of the red light district, where all the bars, etc. are), I really struggled with these feelings of disgust. Hearing a 60 year old American guy with a fanny pack go up to a woman and say eagerly, "So I hear this is the best salon in town!" makes me want to vomit. Preferably on him. Or in his fanny pack. Really struggling with this. I know they are "enslaved" too, and I have done a better job having compassion for these men before, but never has it been so in-my-face and I want them to feel ashamed and know they are disgusting. I guess you could pray for my attitude; I am.

Charity's parents are here, as they are an integral part of Night Light Bangkok, and her dad said that he hates traveling here alone, because he knows what that looks like. Pity the innocent business man that has to come here alone - everyone knows why they are "really" here.

There are certain districts where only Thai women work, and others where you find women who are trafficked from mostly Eastern Europe. In other areas there are throngs of beggars, who are also often in some sort of debt bondage, exploiting their mutilated limbs, leprosy, or drugged babies for a few Thai Baht.

The group is amazing; I really like the girl I'm sharing a room with, and we have some amazing things planned this week. We'll do outreach in the bars a few nights, volunteer in the Night Light offices where the women are employed making jewelry, and visit Pattaya, a beach city known for its sex industry, and visit a few other ministries working with these women. We also get to see most of the sites around the city - they want us to experience the "good" of the city too - and take a Thai cooking class! Yum. Should be fun. Tonight we are going downtown to see the movie "Soi Cowboy," which is about the sex industry here.

I'll try to get some pictures posted sometime if possible (when I actually have pictures to post - can't take pictures with a lot of what I do!).

All for now~

In just a few short days...

Wat Arun, Bangkok. Image borrowed from here.

I've got just two full days left before I leave on my trip! I don't get Monday, because I've got a little excursion planned. So this weekend I'll be doing all those last-minute things to get ready to go to Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday.

It's a little weird going overseas from already being overseas. But, as this is home now, I shall be trying to figure out where to get bug spray and other necessities from any pharmacy that I can find that is open on Saturdays (how's that for planning ahead?).

So - I am really looking forward to this trip!! I loved, loved working with Charity last year during my job with the Salvation Army. Partnering with her organization, NightLight, to do outreach and prayer and other events, was definitely a highlight. I am excited to see her, catch up, pray together, and hear about the ways she has been fighting human trafficking literally all over the world the last few months.

We'll be in Bangkok and I think Pattaya (a city known specifically for its sex industry!), etc. for about nine days. I've mentioned before that Thailand gets 59% of their nationwide income from the sex industry. NightLight started in 2005 as a business employing women coming out of prostitution. As of last summer they had 72 women employed, and over 120 women have come through the program. I'm so excited to see their business model and meet these amazing women. We will be doing outreach in the red light district and I know I will see things I've never seen before - it may be the same "trade," but it looks different in every part of the world. I am praying for a really meaningful, stirring, maybe even shocking (I'm not easily shocked) time there.

And then onto Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I am looking forward to my meeting with one of the directors of the Chab Dai Coalition, a Christian organization that is made up of over 40 agencies and organizations fighting sex trafficking there. Last year I was helping teach a segment in a Hands that Heal course in Long Beach and I met one of the girls who works for them. We got to talking and this visit is the result of that. I have many questions - I hope to learn a lot of things that I can bring back here to implement in Greece. They have bi-annual meetings with all their members, and they do community education, trainings, offer resources, and have a research center and library. So much of what I'd love to see happen here! The Greek mentality about working together is so different...

I will have two days there, so I might have time to visit some of the sights there - I've made a list. Near the top would be the genocide museum; the city is still recovering from the Khmer Rouge regime of the '70s, so it will be interesting (and sobering) to see the effects of that and learn more about the history.

Wow! Should be an amazing experience. I'd say my self-confidence about traveling solo has skyrocketed in the past year, so I feel ready, and I'm really looking forward to learning and absorbing everything I can!