What we have seen so far

Hello everyone,

It has been about 2 weeks since our last update, and we are now in Cambodia. If we had only been here for the past two weeks it would certainly have been worth the trip! We are so thankful for how the Lord has set everything up for us!

After staying in Trat for one night we left for Pattaya and arrived there in the evening. We went downtown to explore the main part of the city and found that it is basically like Las Vegas times 10. We later learned that the main difference between Las Vegas and Pattaya is that many of the bar girls/prostitutes in Pattaya sadly have no choice but to enter the trade. While in Pattaya we also realized the immense problem of gender confusion in all of Thailand and the great need for outreach not only to bar girls and prostitutes, but also to the ladyboys, as there are many.

Downtown Pattaya during the day.

Downtown Pattaya at night.

The next day we met with a lady named Angela who was our main contact in Pattaya. She runs the YWAM slum ministry (Project L.I.F.E) in and she invited us to participate in different activities that the ministry puts on for the kids. Steve and I were very surprised to see how incredibly well ALL the ministries (from different organizations) work together in Pattaya. On our first day we were invited to go to a weekly prayer meeting where leaders from different organizations come together to share what is new, what their needs are and what they need prayer for. There were about 9 or 10 people from different organizations/ministries at that prayer meeting and it was so encouraging to see them all pray for each other and encourage each other along. Over the next few days we got to go with Angela to a few different slums and help out a little with the kids' programs. We are absolutely thrilled about Project L.I.F.E because of the way we saw the staff interact with the kids and share Christ with them. Their goal is to not only reach out to the children but also to expand as a ministry to be able to reach out to the parents and families of the children. We are so excited to see that happen!

Some of the children from the first slum we went to. They are so cute!!

Angela doing some primary health care before the program started.




The kids were playing rock-paper-scissors, so I thought I'd join in, too.

Steve and one of the little boys that loved having his picture taken.

There are also several ministries in Pattaya geared towards helping the bar girls leave the bars (those who want help, which are many). Most of the ministries provide work for the girls, such as card-making as well as artisanry and life skills training. In addition to helping them practically, they also help them spiritually by providing bible studies and mentorship/discipling. Although Pattaya looks quite grim and hopeless, God is indeed working there in amazing ways.
We stayed in Pattaya for 6 days and then left for the OMF conference in Khao Yai.

So far we'd say that the OMF conference has been the most productive part of our trip. We were able to meet with SO many different missionaries and we learned so much from them about Thailand, the culture, life as a missionary and OMF itself (the good and the bad). We are so thankful that we were able to go to this conference! We were very encouraged by it and the people we met.

The OMF conference ended just a couple of days ago, so we took a bus from Khao Yai to Aranyapratheat (which is 5km from the Thailand-Cambodia border). It was an all day trip, so we stayed the night in Aranyapratheat and left for Cambodia yesterday morning. One thing we thank God for is the Cambodia lonely planet we bought before we left. It warned us of the many "Immigration Offices" along the border which issue visas at double the cost, as well as the "Tourist Buses" waiting for unsuspecting tourists at the border. We were able to successfully get passed the scams and finally made it into Cambodia! Entering Cambodia was very interesting, as you could tell the difference between the two countries within 100 meters of setting foot on Cambodian soil. There is a stark contrast between the Khmai (or Khmer, in English) and Thai people, as well as the countries themselves.

A street in Pattaya, Thailand. The streets in Thailand are very clean, as street sweepers clean them very often during the day. Many people in Thailand own vehicles, typically Toyotas and Hondas, and they take good care of their cars.

This is the street just after the Thai-Cambodian (Poipet) border crossing. As you can see, not many people have cars. Most people here ride motos (mopeds/scooters) or bicycles because they are much more affordable. Also, the people who do own cars typically own old cars; few people are able to afford new vehicles.

Earlier today we met with the YWAM Siem Reap leader to talk wth him about the different ministries here. In a few days we will be going to the YWAM base to see what they are doing, and we are also trying to get in contact with some other missionaries in the area. We'll be in Siem Reap for the next 3 days and then we will go to Batambang for about 5 days or so. We are very excited for the next 3 weeks we have to spend here in Cambodia!


You can get more information about the ministries we have come in contact with from their websites:

Tamar Centre

YWAM Ministries in Pattaya, Thailand