He Calls You Daughter

Last weekend, I spent some of my sabbath at a coffee shop. I sat there surrounded by travelers and locals enjoying their coffee while I read scripture and prayed for the community of Chiang Mai. A few women came to my mind who I have met the past few weeks. I heard the heavy rain fall on the roof as people begin rushing in from the street to stay dry. For a couple hours, rain accumulates on the street and I waited for the sky to clear.

And for a moment, it became still. I gathered my things to walk home. The sky was covered, the air was sticky, but I felt rested in the promise of Jesus. As I turn left on a street, I was surrounded by bars, massage parlors, and restaurants. My heart felt heavy again, strong emotions came over me, and I started walking faster to get home.

The street I was on is known as a popular red light district in Thailand. Businesses work as the hub for the sex industry- prostitution and human trafficking.

My team’s ministry focused on supporting Bella Goose Coffee’s growth which ultimately helps women and children who have been left marginalized and powerless from this industry. But one Saturday, we chose to go there in the evening to prayer walk. I quickly saw the desperate need for Jesus’s name to be proclaimed to both the ears of workers and visitors. I became frustrated and began asking God why he can’t shut them all down. I started looking at each visitor with judgement. I began to question how a place that is so dark could be restored. My heart was breaking and I felt like I was fighting a spiritual battle.

That evening, I met my friend K. She works at a massage parlor here. She appeared joyful but she opened up about some hard things she was walking through. K also shared that she had met another Christian man a few weeks ago. God was after her heart! After praying, she shared ‘something feels different’ and ‘something maybe has changed in my thinking and heart’. Since then, K now has her own bible that brought her so much joy to hold. Please pray:

• that she would begin reading it
• for more followers of Jesus to come into her life
• for her to find true life and hope in the Word of God
• that she would find freedom and a path to new life

This friendship with K has given me so much hope- hope in knowing that the Lord is desperately wanting each person to know Him and to know How loved they are by him. And because of that, my heart also longs for them to know their savior and the messiah. I have hope for more women to be touched by the love of God, a love that looks exceeds any of this world. Lastly, I have hope because he calls us His daughters.

While you may not be able to come overseas, consider what it could look like to commit to praying for Thailand for just 5 minutes a day? It is so important to turn our frustrations and brokenness into prayer. The Lord hears our cry!

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭

Be well. Love well.

Mags