Because of Tan

Wednesday night was the culmination of what we as a church, Thailand team, and Freedom 4/24 team have been praying and fundraising for, for months. We've been throwing around terms like "Nights of Freedom", "honor and dignity", and "pathway to freedom", and we were able to put those to use in a big way. Wednesday night marked the first of two Christmas parties, where we planned on honoring around 120 girls from Soi Cowboy, one of Bangkok's main entertainment districts.

As I stood on the street at Soi Cowboy today, I looked around and saw countless broken, destitute girls riding into work on the back of motor-taxis, feeling completely alone in this world. As I looked at each face, I prayed, Lord, let us touch her life in some way tonight. And maybe, just maybe, Lord, let it be the last night she ever has to be purchased.

As I walked into Joe's Bar to pay my first two bar fines of the evening, I realized all my preparation, prayers, time, and financial investment, as well as those of my friends, family, church, and community, boiled down to that moment. I was finally "doing" the ministry that was envisioned by Christine over a year and a half ago, and that God laid on my heart in April, and has continued to press on me since that day. It was the strangest feeling, paying a fine that usually brings these girls grief and shame was tonight doing just the opposite.

It was at Joe Bar that I met Tan. She was the first girl we were able to purchase, and I was blessed to share a table with her later in the evening. Tan is 36. She is weathered and torn from year after year spent working in the bars. When I walked in to the bar, her face was expressionless, her eyes dark and without hope. When we invited her to the party, and paid her bar fine, she jumped up and down, hugging us, saying "thank you, thank you, thank you! I so badly want to come!" And so she did. During the course of the evening, we goofed off and giggled like little girls. I realized this was a childhood She never got to have. I saw a spark of hope in her once lifeless eyes. She insisted on serving me at dinner. No matter how hard I tried to put food on her plate at dinne and bring her the honor and respect she deserved, she kept putting food on my plate first, always making sure I was honored. During the message, she was captivated by the speaker, listening with all of her heart. She received a call in the middle from what I think was a customer during the sermon, and abruptly told him "I am busy---I do not want to talk" When the speaker asked who wanted to give their life to Christ tonight, she raised her hand.

At the end of the banquet as I hugged the girls and wished them a Merry Christmas, she handed me her craft from earlier in the evening. Each woman at the banquet was allowed to make a foam snowflake wreath. You know the kind---you probably haven't made one since you were in vacation bible school in the 5th grade. Each woman took such care to make it beautiful, and each was perfect. THis was an opportunity they never had for themselves. She looked into my eyes and said "this..for you." I asked her if she was sure, and she said "Tonight, you have made me very happy. I want you also to be happy."

The craft itself would have been of no value to me. However, with words like that, I will never throw it away. That snowflake wreath, however cheesy and juvenile, will serve as my daily reminder of why I do what I do. I want it to remind me each morning there are thousands of girls like Tan who desperately need to know they are loved and worthy of honor. They need to know there is a man named Jesus who is the only one who can heal their deep wounds. The faces of these girls are the ones that haunt my dreams every night and continue to move me to action. I want the snowflake wreath to remind me each day that these women, who have been forgotten by their culture and their country, aren't forgotten by me, and surely are not forgotten by our Savior. When I breathe my last breath, I want to do it knowing I did everything I could to bring these women to freedom from sex slavery, and ultimately, everything I could do to introduce them to a man named Jesus, who can bring them healing and restoration.

For one night, Tan knew she was loved. She was honored and given a sense of dignity. And maybe, just maybe, someday, she will leave the bars, and never have to be purchased again.

Returning to Bangkok

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart" -- Bob Pierce, World Vision founder

It's really hard to believe its been 5 months since I was in beautiful Thailand. It seems like just yesterday I was walking Soi 4, eating exotic fruits, drinking Thai tea, and hanging out with a group of women the world has forgotten. As many of you know, I'm not a big writer, and I'm not big on "emotion" or "feelings", but this trip was a major turning point in my life.

It was the first time God completely yanked me out of my comfort zone and showed me about the spoiled brand of Christianity I've practiced for my whole life. Yeah, I knew Jesus, I knew He loved me, I knew He died for me, but I've always been quick to forget that love goes past me, and is an unconditional love for ALL people.

I returned to the states with a new perspective. I was more committed than ever to being a voice for these women I spent my days with, who are exploited time after time, in countless ways. I was less concerned with following a set of legalistic rules that I grew up believing would bring me closer to Jesus, and became more concerned with seeking His heart.



When the opportunity for me to return in December was put in front of me, it seemed obvious to me that returning would be the right decision to make. Yet again, God provided financially, and I'm thrilled to say I'll be returning to Thailand on Sunday. This time, we are taking a team of 12. We have a diverse group of people, coming from all walks of life. We have parents, grandparents, a high school student, college students, those who have never been out of the country before, those who are seasoned travelers, but we are united by one common purpose. We want to live Jesus to these women who have been forgotten by their society, and by the world. We want to, even if for only a day, honor them and let them know they are valued, they are loved, and they are worthy.

I won't be blogging while I'm in Thailand this time, our time will be too short. There will be blogs, hopefully daily, on the Freedom 4/24 website. You can find them at http://www.freedom424.org/blog

Please keep us in your prayers. It's going to be a draining week, both emotionally and physically. We're excited to serve, but we know wherever God's people are working, Satan will most certainly be trying to cause division and defeat. Here are some specific ways you can pray for us in the coming days.

Pray our flights will run smoothly and without delays or complications.
Pray for an easy transition into a new time zone. Bangkok is 12 hours ahead of Lynchburg.
Pray for our team members who are moms. They are having a hard time with leaving their children behind for a week.
Pray for a unified heart, mind, and mission for our team.
Pray for good health for all our team members.
Pray those of us who will be going into the bars will be able to "save face" and be effective in our ministry.
Pray for open, receptive hearts for the women we will be sharing with.
Pray for saftey throughout the trip.

Thanks so much for your prayers! I'm excited to return with stories of what God has done.

In His Freedom,

Martha

Recap of Summer Trip

I know this is about 5 months overdue, but here's a rundown of our Summer trip :) Thanks to all who kept us in prayer and who financially made this trip a possibility.

The month we spent in Bangkok was an incredible learning experience, but was an emotionally draining month as well. The primary focus of our trip was to build relationships with prostitutes, some as young as 12 or 13. We accomplished this in a number of ways.

· Pool Bar Outreach: These young women were pool waitresses by day, with the availability to be purchased by customers. We spent our afternoons each week in the pool bars, building meaningful relationships with these girls.

· Nightlife Outreach: In the evenings, we would take turns going out in pairs to the entertainment districts within walking distance of Beginnings. The level of exploitation in these areas was heartbreaking, and in some places, we saw as many as 4,000 prostitutes employed by various venues.

· English Lessons: Each morning, Beginnings offered English lessons, open to any girl in the city. Since speaking English is viewed as a sign of being well educated and being successful, many of the prostituting women want the opportunity to learn English. We partnered with Puu, a Thai Christian who is bilingual. This gave us an excellent opportunity to expose the girls to the ministry of Beginnings, and gave them an avenue to escape if they should choose to take it.

During our trip, we quickly learned that everything we were encouraging these girls to do was counter –culture. The role of women in Thai culture is to “make face” for the family, and to bring them honor by bringing them money. No job is off limits for this, as we found during our time. Essentially, by telling them to leave their lifestyle of prostitution behind, we were asking them to sever ties with their families and move on from where they are. This was a sacrifice many didn’t feel they could make. However, we gave them a connection to an escape, and we continue to pray that when they reach their wits end, they will go to Beginnings, a place of acceptance and hope.

We also had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with the residents of Beginnings. These girls, ranging in age from 14-30, had all come from either lifestyles of prostitution, or at risk situations that might lead to such. At Beginnings, they are provided with physical, spiritual, and emotional care, as well as given the opportunity to get an education. They are trained to sew, cook, and clean, and are given a weekly allowance that somewhat compensates for the void left by their unemployment. The house operates like a family, and getting to know these girls, and to watch the power of Jesus Christ as He transformed their lives was an amazing experience.

We were able to help the girls with everything from schoolwork to sewing projects. I know each of these beautiful women have left fingerprints on our hearts, and painted the clearest picture I have ever seen of what redemption is.

One highlight of the trip was the night we took the girls to a dinner buffet unlike any I have ever been to. Every cuisine imaginable was offered, on the top floor of the Baiyoke Tower. After dinner, we took the girls onto a revolving deck where they were able to see the entire city of Bangkok. This is an experience these girls have never had before, and it was quite evident they had never seen that much food in their lives! As humorous as it was to watch them consume plate after plate of food, it was humbling to think something like going out to a fancy dinner was such a foreign experience to these girls. This is something I’m able to enjoy on a fairly regular basis, but for these girls, it was a treat of a lifetime.

We were also able to be present as two of the residents decided to follow Jesus Christ. When we left to return to the United States, all of the residents of Beginnings were Christ Followers. What a blessing to watch the Lord literally transform these situations of ashes in to beauty.

Hearing the stories of hurt and devastation these girls have gone through, it absolutely causes me to praise my awesome Savior, because he can take the most destitute, hopeless situation and bring His love, His mercy, His rescue, and His redemption. The residents of Beginnings are proof of this.

I want to thank you so much for making this trip possible. God has absolutely broken my heart for the exploited women of Southeast Asia, but especially the broken women in Thailand, some of who I now consider my friends. Without your financial support and your prayers, this trip would have been an impossibility for me. I know the Lord will richly bless you for making this trip happen, and someday, I can’t wait for you to meet some of these girls in Heaven, because you allowed yourself to be used by God to bring them not only freedom from prostitution, but freedom to the fullest, freedom that only Jesus Christ can give.

Please continue to pray for us as we advance the mission of Freedom 4/24 to raise awareness of sexually exploited women, as well as providing money to supply these women with alternative means of survival. We will be going back to Thailand in December, taking a team of 12. On this trip, we will be throwing Christmas parties for the exploited women of Bangkok, hopefully providing a night of freedom to upwards of 300 prostitutes. If you are interested in getting more involved with Freedom 4/24 or with the ministry Beginnings provides in Thailand, please visit our website http://www.freedom424.org or contact me by email at martha.heinlein@gmail.com. We would love to help you get plugged in to this exciting ministry.