Posted in Malaysia by Kacie Price on 11/5/2011
You know it's month 11 when....
You stop buying shampoo and toothpaste because you're "almost home"
You stop swatting at the flies on your face because you know they will just come back
You kill ants in your bed and just leave them there
When you're told to preach and you don't plan anything, you "just wing it"
When you stop running towards chocolate every time you see it
You start throwing out you dirty clothes instead of washing them
When you think a squatty potty and no toilet paper is normal
When you're rushing around trying to get gifts for people who you forgot about
When you stop doing manual labor because you don't need any more pictures of you digging holes
When you think it's normal to plop down in some random home and eat all their food
When you stop washing your hands because who cares?
You eat with your dirty hands, because.... Who cares?
When you stop smelling things................
When you forget you're white.
When you stop caring that people are starring because you've realized you're a freak show...and start embracing it
When you stop listening when people talk because you never understand the language anyways
You think it's normal to drive on the left side of the road
When you just stop looking in the mirror because nothing can fix this mess anyways
When you stop talking because everyone has been together for a year and we've heard all the stories
You started calling someone a nickname just so it seems like someone new is around
When you start acting like it's your job to pass out any where , at any given time
When you see a KFC and you don't even get excited
When you don't even think it's weird to drink grape soda for communion
When even if you get 15 hours of sleep you still feel like you've been up for days
You stop wearing shoes because it's too much trouble to put them on
When you sleep outside on the concrete because the room with AC and a Bed makes it impossible to fall asleep
When you stop asking questions and you just do stuff because you were told, even if it makes no sense
When you start freaking OUT because you have no plan for your life
When you start getting prophecies and you think its normal
When you start over spiritualizing EVERYTHING
When you start naming all of the countries you've been to and you can't remember anything that happened in any of them!!!
When your pack is filled with more presents than clothes
When you start wearing your presents for people because you threw away all of your clothes
When spending a US dollar almost kills you because "it's too expensive"
When the only thing you've written in you journal in the past week is a make shift calendar to count down the days until home!
When you stop emailing people because you're gonna see them in TWO WEEKS anyway!!
When you cry about everything because your body is too tired to do anything else
You recite airplane announcements word for word
Your testimony gets less and less censored
You stop blogging because no one reads them anymore
You think your favorite food is now the food you once gagged over at the beginning of the race
When the squatty potty accuracy is 100% even when its pitch dark
When you stop flushing the toilet because when the next person goes it its amusing ......
You turn the AC on so high that all your stuff freezes, just to make up for all the times you haven't had it
You think living in a homeless shelter is a 5 star hotel
You don't even turn on the hot water in the shower because it just doesn't feel right
When you find bugs in your food and you just push them aside and keep eating
When you eat bones because you're too lazy to dig them out of your fish and chicken
*blog taken from Lindsey A. Gay*
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Posted in Malaysia by Kacie Price on 11/5/2011
To all of you who knew me before the race.. I did
something crazy and completely out of the ordinary.
I threw away my favorite pair of
shoes!!!
And for all of you who did not know me before the race, here is the story
about how much I loved these shoes!
Me:
Hello, I was wondering if I could get these shoes fixed up, maybe just put in a
new sole at the bottom because my old ones are torn up.
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: Let me see
shoe!
*she takes the shoes and looks at them in
disgust! While she makes a contorted face that looks like she just smelled
something that came out of a cow's butt*
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: I no fix.
These are bad shoes! Buy new pair!
Me: But I don't want a new pair. I
want these shoes, I've had them for years and years. I love these shoes.
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: Not worth
it! Go buy new shoe!
Me: Please just fix them, I will pay
anything!
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: I don't
want to take your money! Go buy new shoe! $20 down the road, go buy new shoe
there!
Me: I NEED THESE SHOES! PLEASE
PLEASE FIX THEM!
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady:
*not looking too happy because she knows
that these shoes are hopeless* fine fine I put in new sole... but, it's not
worth it. These shoes are no good.
Me: Thank you thank you so so so
much!
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: You
married?
Me: No. why?
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: You love
only one man just like you only love one pair of shoe! Very loyal to shoe.
Me: Yeah yeah yeah
I'm not so sure if you could tell, but I was so
desperately holding onto these shoes because I figured that there was nothing
else out there that I would love better than these shoes.
I was
comfortable in these shoes.
I knew what outfits they looked good with, and they fit my feet like a glove
because I've worn them so much that my foot imprinted into them. The only thing
is, I had worn them down so much and there was no support for my feet at all.
I might as well have walked barefoot.
Everyone but me could see that the shoes were falling
apart and that I just needed to buy a new pair. I was so stinkin' stubborn
though.. I couldn't let them go. I needed them to feel comfortable. To feel
like myself.
When I first applied for the World Race I told God, "God, If I am going to do
this... if I really am going to dedicate a year of my life to you.. I don't want
to come home as the same person, I want to be different. Take me out of my
comfort zone."
Be careful what you pray for, because that is exactly
what He did.
I cling to things that are known to me, that I am comfortable
with.
We all do. We love our small little comforts.
baby blankets
TV
clothes
your image
electricity
big comfy couches to take afternoon naps in
friendships...
Everyone has their comforts that they don't want to let
go of because it is known to us. God removed me from everything that I was
familiar with, where my identity lied in.
He
took me away from
my family
my friends
my boyfriend
boys in general (put me on an all girls team)
put me in the foreground where I had to make decisions
my appearance
my long straight hair
I hate admitting this but I gained 15 pound
makeup to make me feel beautiful
Internet
Pretty much all I had left of my comforts were my
shoes. My beloved shoes that I've had for years was the last memory or my
former life back at home. Rest in Peace shoes. So
basically... I got thrown into a year without my comforts, leaving me alone with
my teammates trying to figure out who I am in God's eyes as well as who Jesus
Christ is to me in my life.
I was holding onto my old life, a life where I could
depend on myself and I could ignore all of my sins and insecurities and just
brush them under the rug. I am now realizing that living for Christ is not
comfortable at all. You have to life by faith knowing that God is good and He
will provide for you exactly what you need. He makes you step outside of your
comfort zones to test your faith, to see how much you believe in His strength
and power. Living for Christ often involves walking up to beggars and praying
for their legs to be healed, preaching in front of large crowds at the drop of
a dime without any preparations, and giving up your possessions like the shirt
off your back or even your computer or iPod. Nothing about it is comfortable... in fact it is trying and often
times hard... but God puts us through the fire to refine us. To make us more like
Him more and more each day. Rejoice in these trials and tribulations because in
the end we are one step closer to being holy like our Jesus.
I'm not sure if you guys have ever heard of the story
about wineskins. Jesus is explaining to the disciples that you never put new
wine into old wineskins. It is said that if new wine is put into old wineskins
then the skins will burst and the wine is spilt everywhere and both the wine and
the skins are destroyed. New wine is put
into fresh wineskins so that both are preserved. My old shoes are my old
wineskins... over this year I have been transformed, my faith in the Lord has
been renewed and refreshed.. therefore I don't belong in my old shoes anymore. I
need shoes that will provide me with support, that don't have holes in them
where my toe sticks out. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus and I needed new
wineskins!...... So I did something that any girl would do. I used my daddy's
credit card and bought a brand new pair of shoes from Aldo. Wanna see?
Change is good.
Change is necessary.
It is how we grow, we mature, we move on. We leave the past behind us and set
our eyes towards God as He leads us into our future.
If I could redo part of the conversation with the
Chinese Show Repair Lady, it would have been this part.
Chinese
Shoe Repair Lady: You married?
Me: No, why?
Chinese Shoe Repair Lady: You love only one man just like you only love one
pair of shoe! Very loyal to shoe.
Me: Heck yeah I do.. His name is
Jesus *enter gospel message here because I am a missionary
and all that now, and this would have been a perfect opening to share the love
of Jesus with her*
And yes Alejo I wrote this blog all
by myself.....Happy 23rd Birthday!!!
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Posted in Malaysia by Kacie Price on 10/29/2011
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Copied this blog from Ruth Wilson. I feel like it sums up everything that I'm feeling and thinking. Enjoy :)
Dude i'm tired.
Like really tired.
To the point where I am freaking blahhh.
Dragging. Pure exhaustion.
Let me sum up this exhaustion.
We have been living out of a backback for TEN months now.
That's a freakishly long time.
We can be summed up as those weird backpackers who will do whatever you tell them to do.
Rake the forest? alright.
Preach on the street? okie dokie.
Love on these orphans? cool.
Sing us a song? Let's.
Build a house? We're on it.
Teach English? mhm we know English.
Hang out in bars? donezo.
Hold these babies? here we go.
Play with these street boys? Absolutely.
Take an off day? we don't know how anymore.
YES we know how to sleep... but I have no idea how to shut my brain off.
I feel like I am constantly watching my back. or my purse. or my teammates backs & purses.
It's exhausting being out of your comfort zone and its
just now catching up with me.
About time eh? Month 11. I am finally a mess.
I cry in an instant.
I can't believe this thing is just about over.
I am SO ready to be done...
but Im so scared that I haven't changed the way people expect me to.
I feel like the same old same old.
I know I'm not but thats how I feel.
I feel inadequate.
I have no idea what I am going to say when 500 people ask me "how was your year?"
Dude I don't know. It was long? it was brilliant? it was hard? it was beautiful?
It was _______ (fill in the blank... it was that.)
The past 4 days we traveled from Australia to Malaysia.
Caught a ride from Kybrook North Territory Australia to Darwin.
Got on an 5 hour airplane to Singapore..
where we slept in the airport and got AK47's pointed at us because we were "not allowed there"
woke up walked for a mile with our extremely heavy backpacks where we barely caught a 6 hour bus to
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
where we got on two trains and a taxi to catch our
next overnight bus for 7 hours
where we arrived at our contacts only to get on a train to another part of Malaysia.
That's where we are now.
So, we're tired.
And ready for home we think...
but trying to still blow up being where we are.
It's hard... but the Lord is good.
My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak.
Me and the team did a little game on travel day.... these are anonymous because.. well you'll see.
You know it's time to go home when:
"You collapse in front of a convenient store crying after carrying your pack for miles and miles"
"When you take a shower with the bidet."
"When junk food is your diet for 4 days straight."
"When your leggings have been worn so long you can see through them."
"When you hate everyone."
"When you don't even care if you have toilet paper anymore"
"When your leg hair is longer than 2 inches"
"When you don't talk to your 40 best friends on travel days."
"When your body is here and your mind is not."
"When you look forward to a night in the airport on the floor."
"When you think McDonalds in a nice meal."
"When you daydream of home."
"When finding a Chilis in the Malaysia mall makes you weep."
"When people stop emailing you back because you'll be home soon"
"When you wish the bus ride was longer so you can sit in the AC"
" When you have kankles for 4 days after travel."
"When you swipe your card without even knowing what the exchange rate is."
"When you are too sweaty to go to the bathroom."
"When you can't even think straight"
"When you are a zombie"
"when you have $92 to your name."
"When you dramatically sob to your parents via skype"
"When you have nothing left to talk about during team time"
"When you have loved as many people around the world as possible"
"when showering every 5 days is normal"
"When you have written out a calender in your journal of days til we are home"
"When you have told your mom what you want your first meal to be."
"When you sleep or cry in an instant."
It could go on and on but you got the drift.
Keep us in your prayers the next 25 days... we need it hella bad :)
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Posted in Cambodia by Kacie Price on 9/26/2011
Thank you for your continued prayers and loving support! I love ya'll and miss ya'll like crazy!
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Posted in Cambodia by Kacie Price on 9/12/2011
Cambodia
I am happy to say it is month 9 and this is where we are. For most of you who don't know Cambodia is lovely. Seriously. Lovely. Luckily we are here in the rainy season so it rains everyday pretty much all day long.. which is good for us because if it weren't raining we would all die from the heat! This place is insanely hot and I literally swear 24/7. I wake up sweating, go to sleep sweating, and all throughout the day I sweat.... so unless it rains. I sweat. Lets face it.. either way.. I'm getting wet :)
So this month we were finally introduced to our first "World Race" experience.. like a for real one. We live in a really small village in the Kampot Province of Cambodia where about 200 families live. Everyone here, for the most part, are all rice farmers. No electricity, no running water, no air conditioning, I'm tenting and sleeping outside, and going to the bathroom in squatty potties, and I'm showing with pond water.. but guess what! I love it so much :) I wouldnt have it any other way because there literally are no distractions around me. Just me and my new team (an all girls team) and the Lord...
My new house :)
So when I arrived here on Cambodia.. i looked at the people here and something jumped inside of my heart.. I finally found out what i look like. I am half Chinese and half American.. so that blended together and it made me.. A CAMBODIAN! Seriously.. i look like all of these people here. We work with children all day long, and about 200 kids come to learn English from us in the village.. and I look like I could have birthed every single one of them. I seriously look like I'm teaching my daughters English.. these kids are precious because they are all on their summer vacations, but they choose to spend their vacation time learning English with us.
Me and Kim-ei (one of my fav students)
We live with our contact Vuthy (28 years old) and his Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Grandmother, and 2 cousins. Vuthy has an amazing story of how he used to be a Tuk Tuk driver and he started driving for a couple of YWAM-er's who introduced him to Jesus!! He then went to Discipleship Training School at YWAM here in Cambodia, where God revealed his heart for teaching English to children as well as sharing the gospel with him. He prayed about it and God has opened a door for him to finally start the English school and church in his small village. Now he runs it and he is building an orphanage in January.
Vuthy has an English school where everyday almost 200 children come to learn English and about Jesus! Most of the families here are Buddhist and do not approve of the Jesus part, but free English is a huge deal! So they come. Vuthy has completely changed the Youth here. He is a pretty cool guy if I must say so myself, and all the kids see that you can be cool and love Jesus! Its pretty awesome to watch. There are about 25 kids that have come to be really hard core Christians through Vuthy becoming a Christian and starting this school.
Some mornings before we start teaching we go out into the village and just see where the Holy Spirit leads us, and we do house visits. We have prayed healing over a limp arms and stomach tumors! Prayed over a road that was wiped out by the rains. And over a few random Buddhist temples.
So quick background story, when I was in Mozambique I was prophesied over that God has given me a gift of teaching and that he is going to refine that gift and use me in that way. Last month in Thailand I taught English to the girls from the bars, and now this month I am teaching English to Cambodian children. We teach about 4 classes a day, and each class is an hour each. I absolutely love getting to know the children and seeing them finally understand it and it clicks in their head. I'm not sure if this is going to be in my future.. but i love how God is refining me and preparing me for what is ahead :)
I would like everyone to pray for these kids to be more open to learning about Jesus, and for over the next year we want to see 150 youth come to know our savior, and for funds for the school to keep flowing in. And for two of our students who are leaving tomorrow to go to Discipleship Training School TOMORROW! They are leaving the village to go 2 hours away to school for 6 months! And for the sun to stay away!!!
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Posted in Thailand by Kacie Price on 9/12/2011
So our last weekend in Thailand... God rocked my world and he made a way for us to play a 45 minute worship set, praising Him...
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT!
to Him be the glory....
Blog Stolen from Erin Knight:
A week or so into our month in Thailand, a friend sent me a YouTube link to a video that tells the story behind the song "God of This City." It tells of a band from Belfast who gets the opportunity to play in a bar in Pattaya, Thailand - one of the worst areas in the world for the sex tourism industry (and consequently, sex trafficking as well). In the midst of such darkness, the band worships God, and out of that worship comes the well-known song "God of This City."
Little did I know that some of our own would have that opportunity in Phuket. During the third week of ministry, Annie approached the owner of the Absolute Bangla Bar about performing, and he agreed! The bar is located right on Bangla, the main road of the red light district, and the music from the bar can be heard all up and down the street by everyone passing by. Without having heard or even seen a band of any kind, the bar owner agreed to give them a 30 minute slot the following Friday.
What went down the next Friday was nothing short of a "God thing." Let me explain.
- There really wasn't a band to begin with. We have several musically talented people on our squad, including several guitarists, several singers, and one drummer. However, that doesn't give you a "band." The only instruments were acoustics guitars and one small wooden drum. The rest of the instruments - electric, bass, drum set, would all have to be used at the bar.
- A rehearsal was scheduled for Thursday afternoon - the day before. The only roadblock was that, on Wednesday night, ALL of Patong Beach flooded and the bars themselves closed down, so there was no way to get to the rehearsal. So they never practiced. In fact, on Friday, we were told that the roads were still flooded and we wouldn't even be going for ministry that night. We didn't learn that the gig was still on until the band showed up at the bar with instruments and asked to play. (Oh, they ended up playing for almost an hour that night!)
- Annie had never played bass before, and Scott had never played electric guitar. Their first time was, well, during the performance. Woa.
- The crowd loved it. I saw people videotaping the performance (and no, not just the T-squad fan club seated in the first row). People stopped on the street to listen, or they came inside and sat down. One lady asked if the band knew specific worship songs. The servers in the bars were listening and even singing along once they caught on.
I have no idea what kind of impact the band had on Patong Beach that night, but I know this. God was in that place, and He is moving on Bangla Road. He IS the God of that city!!
Blog Stolen from John Hearn
Tonight was an unexpected night of worship for T Squad in the red-light district of Phuket, Thailand. After days of torrential downpours, flooded streets, and house arrest, our squad was bummed to discover our gig at a local bar in the heart of the red-light district had been canceled during our last night of ministry. After plans were made to hang out at the house, our contact notified us that the roads had cleared, ministry was back on, and it was still a possibility to worship in the bar tonight. Needless to say the band (the T-train band as we like to call them) was excited yet hesitant to take their act to the streets of what our contact refers to as the very pits of hell. With no preparation, no rehearsal time, and no solidified set-list, Anne Embree, Philip Cron, Amiee Wood, Tabitha Blanchard, Scott Taylor, and Vincent Farino, marched through the red-light district like the Beatles down Addison Road. With guitars in hand, the group entered a bar filled with people drinking, laughing, and smoking as they dawned bold and courageous spirit filled grins on the faces. It was an intimidating scene - like a boxer stepping into a ring for his first fight. 
As they unpacked their belongings, took mics in hand, and strummed the first chord, they began playing some of the most spirit filled music I have yet to hear on the race. People were singing, stopping in the streets, and focusing on the celestial sounds coming from a once dark corner of a bar owned by the Russian Mafia. It was as if the room itself was growing lighter and brighter as the spirit of God flowed tangibly in our presence. While the band was on stage, the rest of the squad mates interceded on their behalf in various nooks of the bar. After 45 minutes of amazing worship, the band wrapped up what I can only sum up as the baptism of Bangla Road.
The old had been washed away and the new emerged. Bangla Road will never be the same. We brought the Spirit of God into the streets of the red-light district and planted seeds that cannot be washed away. I don't think tonight was about being successful, it was about being faithful. T-squad stepped out in complete faith this evening as we were put in a vulnerable position where only God could deliver us. We did what we were asked out of faith and God performed a miracle. I recall what it was like when God told Moses to raise his staff to part the Red Sea. Honestly, there wasn't anything special about his staff - it wasn't magic and it certainly didn't have any supernatural powers. No, it was Moses' faith that God was able to use to perform a miracle, the same faith that was found tonight on Bangla Road. I'm so proud to be the squad leader for t-squad; a squad that when God says raise your staff high in the air, they reach out their arms to their fullest extent...and then some! We're so thankful God has chosen us to be a part of His story on Bangla Road in Phuket, Thailand. To God be the glory!
Watch this video....do it now! :)
Band on Bangla from Erin Knight on Vimeo.
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Posted in Thailand by Kacie Price on 9/12/2011
If you go back through our route, we have had to
"endure" the bitter cold winter of every country beginning with India and even
throughout the months of Africa. It just so happens that my team stepped foot
in East Asia right smack dab in the middle of rainy season.
I think I finally understand why they call it rainy season because..... yes, it
does rain pretty much every day during the rainy season. And I'm not talking
about a light sprinkle. Oh no.. it's like a heavy downpour of everything that
heaven has been storing up... crashing on the ground in thick sheets. I'm talking
raindrops that are the size of grapes. I'm talking huge massive amounts of
gushing water that forms a current strong enough to sweep you off your feet.
I'm talking one second it is sunny and bright, then in a blink of an eye it's
like someone just came and dumped the ocean on top of your head...
The last week of bar ministry, the navy and the marines ended up docking on
Phuket, Thailand. They wanted to give the guys a "treat" and let them have fun
at the bars for a few days since they had been out at sea for 6 months. Oh great,
as if we didn't have enough to worry about with the girls at the bar.. now we
have to fight off 4,000 men from the Navy and the Marines.
Monday came around, the day that the men docked... and
that night we headed out to the streets to visit our girls and it was
absolutely overwhelming. There were men EVERYWHERE! I had to shield my eyes a
few times because of the raunchy thing that I witnessed. When we would get to the
bars and try to find the girls that we normally visit. It was heartbreaking to
see them wrapped around a guy, completely consumed in his lust for her and
using him to make a few bucks that night. We came back to the house and just
brought the situation back to the teams that were interceding for us and
together we brought it to the Lord.
We knew that if the guys came to the bars, then more
than likely they would end up leaving the bars with a girl.. so the Lord kept
pressing on my heart. "Do you trust me?".. Yes yes I trust you.. but how do you
stop 4,000 men from coming to the bars? Then it hit me... it's Rainy
season. We are going to flood them out. So we just sat there and
interceding the entire week for an overwhelming flood from the Lord. We prayed
that his presence would just rain down over Bangla Road and the entire Red
Light District. We wanted to see the Holy Spirit rush like a river and flood
the streets with peace and mercy and make it a place that is no longer dark,
but that worships the Lord instead.
As I was interceding I was listening to Jesus Culture
and I kept praying for a flood to overtake Bangla Road. It was God's will that
I was listening to them because three songs came on in a row about God's glory
and how it rains down on us every day. Here are some of the lyrics..
"I
believe that you will come like the rain."
"You'll come like the rain, pour out your spirit."
"I see the cloud, I know the rain is coming"
"Let it rain, let it rain, open the flood gates of Heaven."
"Freedom reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace, falling on every
face, there is freedom!"
"I feel the rains of your love, I feel
the winds of your spirit, the heart beat of Heaven let us hear."
When the teams came back from the bars that night, they
said they were empty and the girls were bored because it rained all night. None
of the men came out to the bars but stayed inside where it was dry instead.
Praise the Lord! The rain continued throughout the next few days... and for the
last few nights that the Navy and the Marines could come out, it rained and
poured! I love this picture of what rain represents. God is showering his love
and mercy on the Red Light District and these girls.. he is literally showering
them with freedom on each and every one of them. I just imagine then walking
about and stepping out into the rain, and the waters just washing over them and
cleansing them making them new again. Rain
brings forth life to all things here
on earth. We all need water to live and survive, to make us clean and new
again. Heaven is opening up and God's spirit is flooding the place. I love it!
I absolutely love imagining these precious girls walking out into the rain and
just dancing, and the Lord's love is just soaking them from head to toe.
"Freedom reigns in this
place, showers of mercy and grace, falling on every face, there is freedom!"
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Posted in Thailand by Kacie Price on 9/12/2011
Her name was Ta. After meeting her for only 5 minutes,
I knew that she did not belong in the bars. It was like seeing a queen in the
midst of the slums... Just by her sweet and calming presence and the tone in
her voice, I knew that she did not want to be here either. Ta was absolutely
miserable working every night in one of the most sinful places in the world.
She was a 36 year old mother who had two teenage children, a boy 17 and a girl
14 years old. She left them at home in Northern Thailand with her parents while
she moved down to Phuket in hopes to make a few extra bucks to take care of
them. She loved them so much that she was willing to sacrifice her time to sell
her body out of the streets of the Red Light District. The highest form of love
is sacrifice, and I could tell that she had incomparable love for her family
that she would sell herself to these men for the sake of food on the table and
a nice warm bed to sleep. Ta and the two other girls that worked at the bar
lived in a small room upstairs. They had one bed that they all shared, and a
lot of times it was occupied by men that stayed over.
After visiting Ta night after night in the bars, I got
to know her and I found out more and more about who she is and where she came
from. When she was a young girl, she was bit on the foot by a Cobra. The poison
spread so fast through her body that by the time she made it to the hospital,
it had already affected the part of her brain where she is able to retain
information as well as learn. Because of this learning disability, she never
went to school... therefore she never learned how to read or write. This broke my
heart... I think back on my childhood and a good solid portion of those fond
memories came from what I learned from school and the friends that I made in
those classrooms. Ta never had a normal childhood where she could be around
friends her age, learn alongside other children, instead she started working at
a young age and she actually mastered an irreplaceable skill. She can crochet
like it's nobody's business!
One day when I was visiting her at work I asked her
what she liked to do in her free time... because let's face it. There are so many
other things I'm sure she would be doing rather than selling her body in a bar
to a ton of grabby guys. She told me that she makes clothing and I begged her
to let what she has made. She smiled proudly and ran upstairs to get a bikini
(yes it was crocheted) and a cute little red tube top that she wears
occasionally. I marveled at her handiwork... all the tiny little stitches that
somehow came together to form an article of clothing! With my mouth wide open
from the amazement of what she could do with a needle and some thread, she
looks at me and tells me to hold still. She then pulls out a string and begins
to measure me. Slightly embarrassed of what my measurements are compared to her
tiny little Asian frame, I watch as she marks on the string my bust measurement
and my waste measurement. Then she tells me that she is going to make me a
yellow dress because her only balls of yarn that she has left are the yellow
ones. A custom made dress by one of my dear friends.. heck yes, I'll take it!
She worked on the dress for a week and a half. I would
stop by and see her every now and then and she would run upstairs to her room
and she would proudly show me the progress that she was making. At night she
was just another girl on the street, but during the day she was a seamstress
working with her hands and doing what she loves. I watched my dress go from a
bra, to a belly shirt, to a full sized shirt, then it somehow magically turned
into a beautiful dress. The night she gave it to me, I walked in and a guy was
lingering around her. Of course her first priority is to the men at the bars
because that's where her income comes from... but I saw her in mid conversation
with him, turn... then a small spread across her face.. she cut him off in mid
sentence and ran over to tell me that she was finished and I can take the dress
home! She went upstairs, retrieved the dress then ran downstairs and showed me
that she not only made me the dress but she also made me a matching yellow
clutch... I went to pull out my money because I wanted to pay for it.. but she
absolutely refused. She said that it was a gift and she wanted met to have it
because we were friends! How precious she was to labor over this dress for
almost 2 weeks and she refused to let me pay for even the materials. I of
course paid her because I wanted to encourage her that yes.. you can make a living
selling clothing. Working in the bars is not the only way you can make money. I
know that the Lord has given her this skill and passion or a reason and I
wanted her to pursue her dreams and believe that it is possible to do what you
love.
I prayed for Ta day in and day out. The Lord hand-picked
this girl out of the thousands that are out on the streets for me to minister
to. He broke my heart for her and there was nothing more that I wanted than to
see her come to know the Lord. Also I wanted to see her get out of the bar
scene and go home to her children. I told her about SHE ministries and how we
could teach her English and help train her for a better job where she does not
have to be grabbed out and groped by men looking for fleshly satisfaction. There
would be no more late nights at the bars if she wanted it to happen. I don't
think my offer really sank in because she would always put her head down and
shake it slowly "No.. I can't. I can't read or write. I can't find a different
job. This is the only thing that a girl with no education can do." Every time I
begged her to quit, I always got the same response. The Lord instilled in me a
sense of perseverance so I kept after it. I kept praying and I kept asking her
to come with me.
Well it was our last week out in the bars and I of course went to visit my
favorite girl, Ta. She ran up and gave me a huge hug and told me that she had
something to tell me. She cracked a smile and whispered in my ear, "Tomorrow is
my last day!" I drew back in complete shock and I asked, "Wait.. what?!"... "Tomorrow
is my last day!!!" she repeated even more excited than the last time. I
couldn't believe it. She hated her job, but she didn't think that she could
leave it because she didn't have anywhere else to go.. but I really do feel
like the Lord used me to speak to her and tell her that, yes... My
beloved. You are worth more than this. You are loved and you are special. I see the desires of your heart and I want you
to have them."
So now I have a favor to ask all of you. If you are
ever in Thailand and you see a shop that sells crochet clothing.. stop in and
say hi. If the girl that owns the shop so happens to be named Ta.. give her a
huge hug for me and tell her that she is loved, she's special, and she makes
the best darn clothing in the entire world!
Love you guys.. be blessed :)
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Posted in Thailand by Kacie Price on 8/23/2011
The first night of intercession here in Thailand, I was
praying for the teams that were out at the bars ministering to the girls. My
heart hurt for these precious girls that are out on the streets selling their bodies
for as low as $10 to whoever will love them for the night. All of a sudden, the
Lord gave me a vision.
I saw a huge white floor.. and all along
the floor there were hundreds of Thai girls sitting Indian style lined up in
rows. The rows were endless... and they trailed off into the distance. I could only
see their backs, but they were all sitting straight up, all had the same hair
(length, color, etc). They had alternating color shirts... pink, then blue, pink,
blue. They all looked lifeless, still like robots, not moving, all sitting up
the exact same. Then all of a sudden my view changed and my vision zoomed into
one of the girl's faces. She had her eyes shut and it looked like she still,
lifeless. Then a huge gust of wind blew into her face, and I saw her hair tousle
in the wind... then her eyes opened up wide and she smiled. The vision zoomed out
a little bit further and I saw that my squad mate, Lauren Rush, was the one
that had just blown into her face.
I feel as if the Lord revealed to me
through this vision that we are the ones that are going to breathe life into
these girls. When these men come into the bars to pick up a girl for the night,
they don't care who they are. They don't ask them questions about their lives,
or even seek out their wants and desires. To them they are just another girl,
all of them the same just put here on earth to physically please their flesh.
But that's not how God sees them. He sees each and every one of them
individually. He knows them by name, He knows their story, He even knows how
many hairs are on their heads. He wants to single them out and make them feel
loved, special. And just like he blew life into Adam in the beginning... that's
what he wants to do to these girls. He wants to breath His Spirit, His breath
of life into them.. and he is using the World Race T Squad to do that. He is
using us right here in Patong to bring forth the Holy Spirit and breathe it on
these girls. I just pray that they light up and feel loved by us... that they feel
like they matter, that they have newness of life with our Lord, Jesus Christ.
"Then
the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."
Genesis
2:7
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Posted in Thailand by Kacie Price on 8/5/2011
Hey Supporters! During the month of August, I am working with SHE ministries in the Red-light district in Phuket, Thailand. (http://www.shethailand.org/). We have an incredible opportunity to reach hundreds of prostitutes through bar ministry as we develop relationships with these women, inviting them to lunches and offering them job alternatives with SHE ministries. During the hours of 9pm-11:30pm, our teams go from bar to bar and sit and play games with the women as we talk about their lives, their families, and their jobs. Even if a woman rejects our invitation to SHE ministries, we've still kept her from being sold for the night to one of the many men that prowl on the streets. Every conversation, every encounter, every woman is worth it.
I know that this month is going to be life changing and many seeds will be planted. But I need your support in order to have the resources I need to plant seeds and make lasting God-impressions.
In order to socialize with the women in the bars each night, we must make some sort of non-alcoholic drink purchase (coke, sprite, bottled water) or we will be asked to leave the bars. There are hundreds of bars in the red light district with over 1200 women, and we will be attending approximately 3-4 bars each night. Each drink costs approximately $2, which seems cheap, but when you add it up, that is $8 per night. We will be visiting the bars at least three times a week for four weeks, resulting in at least $100 in drinks alone. In addition, there is potential for lunch dates with the women we develop relationships with at the bars. This will allow us the chance to talk more about how to get out of the sex industry and into a life with Jesus Christ. Of course, if you invite a woman to lunch, its expected that you will pay for her if she meets you.
I am praying that many of you will feel called to help support me personally this month so that I can have the resources needed to make a significant impact here. I am trying to raise approximately $100 to use for ministry in the bars and for lunches with the women. I will need to be spending this money through my personal account not through the AIM account.
I am SO excited for the relational aspect of this ministry. Each drink is more than just a drink, its an opportunity to develop a relationship, plant seeds and potentially change the course of a woman's life forever. What could me more incredible than that? Even though you aren't here with me, this is an opportunity for you to partner with me this month and experience the fruit of our time here in Phuket.
So... Drinks on You? :)
If you feel called to help this month, no matter how big or small the donation, please contact me through my email at: kacieprice@gmail.com
*Please do NOT click the "support me" tab on my blog, because that money will not be used for this cause. *
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