Prayer Boat

Saturday morning, we boarded a ferry that we (whoever showed up from Pattaya Praise) supernaturally transformed :) into a "Battle Ship/Prayer Boat." We spent about 3 hours riding up and down the coast of Pattaya worshiping God and praying over the city. It felt great to be able to look out at such a wide span of the city while you were praying. It's like going up into the foothills and looking over Visalia...it feels like the ability to see so much physically, stirred the ability to pray and believe that much more spiritually. I felt really encouraged as I could feel God's heart moving inside me, and I had the opportunity to pray whatever He spoke to my heart. He knows this city and He is so gracious to share how He feels to anyone who'll take time to listen.

This "Prayer Boat" was a spontaneous idea, because one of the venues that was supposed to happen during this time got cancelled. So the leaders of Pattaya Praise had the idea for this just the day before. Consequently, no one was booked to do worship on the boat, so I had the opportunity to help lead some of the worship during that time. It was such a blessing to be able to lead along side a number of other groups and nations leading as well...a group from Ireland, Australia, and some local Thai worship leaders...Every tribe and every nation! Pattaya Praise is a great picture of the unity of the brethren. And that "oil of unity" so releases God's power into the atmosphere.

Worship in the Marketplace (which is probably where we need to do more of it!)

On Friday night, the same day we went to the public schools, Pattaya Praise had 3 separate locations for worship in the market place. We visited two of them. This first one pictured here was at a major mall...it was HUGE. They set up the stage and sound system outside in this large courtyard. There were lots of Christians gathered for it, and there were a TON of shoppers who gathered and stayed listening for a long time. It was amazing. The Porters also told me that during other times of the year, worship groups have set up and played at this mall. It has been so successful because the Mall Management has seen the crowd it gathers, and they have asked these worship groups to come back as often as they can, and they are letting them use the venue for FREE! God's favor is all over these times of public worship and it really is transforming the atmosphere over Pattaya.






Here's a video of the worship at the Mall...




Here is a picture of a worship team that also played during this evening. This group set up at the Tamar Center, which as a reminder, is located on "Soi 6" street, which is one of the most well known streets in Pattaya for sex-trafficking because the girls are more aggressive in their solicitation and there are a lot of "pretty boys" (again, these are young men aspiring to look like girls...and they do).

I have been in red light districts before, but it is never easy to walk down the street and see these girls who do not know how much the Father loves them and doesn't like what's happening to them. It's also challenging, as a man, to keep your physical and spiritual eyes looking in the right direction. It was still stretching for me, but it also felt good to taste the freedom that has come in my heart over the years...I felt different than I've felt in the past walking down streets like this. That was encouraging. I did spend some time praying over myself and some of the other guys that were walking down the street. In any case, despite the intensity of the warfare on that street, how awesome is it to have worship and the gospel being sung and spoken out over these girls. If you haven't checked it out yet, visit YWAM's site for the Tamar Center - http://www.ywamthai.org/pattaya/tamar.html

A Redemption Story

I wanted to tell you about this little baby. She was fathered by a 70 year old man from Holland who was here for the sex-tourism. The mother (who is in the grey shirt with the baby towel on her shoulder) got saved through the Tamar ministry to young Thai girls caught in sex trafficking. After giving birth to the baby, she has had multiple people, at different times, tell her prophetically that this baby will be a prophetic voice to the people of Thailand and will influence many! Praise God for His power of Redemption!

If you look in the background of this pic, just to the right of the baby...you can see Nella, who is a single woman from Holland who has been in Pattaya for about 20 years. She is giving her life to see the city transformed and oversees the Tamar ministry. She is an awesome visionary and helps spearhead the Pattaya Praise gathering.

Some random, but interesting nuggets...

This is a beach that we went to relax at one afternoon. It was an interesting journey to get there. We took a ferry boat that seated A LOT of people. I was sitting on the lower deck and the water line came dangerously close to the open window I was sitting at. The boat people like to pack on as many people as they can, as it gets them more money for each trip. A little scary, but definitely a fun adventure. These ferries take you to many different islands that have been commercialized for tourists. After the 30 minute trip to an island, we got off the ferry and took a truck/taxi (a small truck with bench seats in the back) where, once again, we packed on as many people as we could. The truck ride was about 5 minutes to a beach where they had tons of umbrellas with chairs to sit on. They took your order and brought food to you...I know...this wasn't really suffering for the gospel :) but it was some well needed rest for all three of us. The water is really warm, the sun is really hot because we're real close to the equator, and the "moons are very full" ha ha (if you know what I mean) as there were many European tourists bathing in the sun :)


I have really been enjoying the Thai food here. Nothing out of the ordinary. Lots of rice, lots of chicken and fish. I have not yet however, tried the rotisserie duck yet. Eeek! Maybe if I was here for a Christmas Dinner I would...Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra :)






Here is a pic of the boardwalk/beachfront in Pattaya. They have been working really hard to clean this area up as it has been poorly taken care of because of the dumping of trash into the water. According to the Porters, the city is really working hard at cleaning up many different things, including their reputation as a sex-tourist place. They believe the city leaders are just following suit as the spiritual atmosphere is getting saturated by the worship and prayers of Christians in Thailand. Praise God!


Take a close look at this...it's a floating restaurant in the coastal waters of Pattaya. There were two or three of these, but this one was the biggest.







Thai's are not really into ground beef. Consequently, McDonald's presence has grown very slowly in this country...which could be good thing :) Believe it or not, KFC is very big in Thailand because they LOVE chicken...funny. If you look close at this pic of Ronald, you'll see him offering a "wai" which is the Thai greeting.

Public Schools

At the beginning of this day we went to two public schools where they allowed Pattaya Praise to come in and give presentations. It was great...they played live music, played games with the kids and handed out bibles. The Thai government is very open to any and all religions because they believe that all of them are doing "good things" for the people. This is great because it opens a lot of doors that normally get shut by our Americanized and supposed "separation of church and state."

Drum Worship/Intercession

After the opening ceremony at Tiffany's we took a short break and then headed down to the beach/boardwalk in Pattaya for a drum/prayer time. We spent a couple hours being led in worship by drums, taking time to pray in groups and worship over the city. It was a great time and a great finish to the opening day! Check out these videos...

Opening Ceremony - Pics and Vids

Korean Drum Troup...AWESOME!




Korean Taekwondo Troup