So, here goes.
We are looking for our Esther. We know she is here, and we are trusting that in His timing, His perfect timing He will lead us to her.
Let me explain.
My team and I are working with the same organization that we worked with in the Philippines, Wipe Every Tear. They now have a safe house here in Chiang Mai, a city in the Northern part of the country, and let me tell you, it is beautiful. There are three floors worth of bedrooms ready to filled with girls and women who want to go to college and leave their old lives behind.
My team and I have the opportunity to be a part of laying the groundwork, building friendships and relationships with girls that work in the bars, allowing them to trust us and begin to consider what it might look like to make a different choice for the rest of their lives.
While in the Philippines, it felt like we were caught up in a whirlwind of God's work, here in Thailand, it feels more like a steady plod.
Then two nights ago, I felt God prompting me to stay home from outreach, and pray, because He had something that He wanted to show me.
To be honest, I was kind of annoyed. I wanted to be out there, chatting with girls and making friends. I would much rather be His hands and feet rather than be stuck at home praying.
But if I have learned one thing about God, it's that it is always best to be obedient when He tells you to do something. So I sucked it up, said good-bye to my teammates as they headed out, and started to pray.
As I was praying comfortably under the stars and enjoying the gentle breeze on our third floor balcony, I felt this undeniable urge to pick up the Bible, like there was something in it he wanted me to pray through.
OK.
He took me to Esther, and told me that He wanted to literally pray that book over the bars. He told me that there are so many similarities between the Persian culture that the book of Esther is set in, and the culture of the bars in Thailand.
Check it out.
The book of Esther is set in a kingdom where everyone is consumed with appearances, all is for show, and it's all about viewing women as something to consume all the while discounting their hearts.
Within this culture, God places a woman named Esther, who is stunningly beautiful, and also very very smart. Best of all she is a woman who seeks God. She calls on her community to support her as she risks her life to save the Jewish race from destruction.
And although God's name is actually not written anywhere in the book of Esther, His fingerprints are literally all over the story, all over the people, all over the rescue.
The same is true in this country of Thailand, and specifically within the bars. In the bars where the women are adored for physical appearance and consumed by men for their own pleasure, I believe that there is an Esther. She was not placed there by accident, after all we serve a God that knows EXACTLY what He is doing.
She is there because in His perfect timing, she will be the one to set her sisters free, to bring them to a place of safety. I believe our Esther will leave the bars, and behind her there will be a stream of women choosing a new life. And just like the story of Esther who saved her race from destruction, I believe that that God's fingerprints will be all over her story of leading her people to safety.
But here is the thing. Esther didn't go at it alone. If you check it out, she had everyone gather around and pray. And she fasted. And so did they. She knew that she needed other people. She knew that she needed God.
And so I am coming before you, my faithful friends, with an "Esther like prayer".
My team needs your prayers...our "Esther" needs your prayers. Will you partner with us in this way? Will you pray that God will lead us to the one that He has set apart? Will you pray for her rescue, and for the ones that she will lead into freedom? Will you pray with urgency? Will you pray with faith ?
It would mean so much to me. And to her. And her. And her, and her, and her.
It would mean so much to the Kingdom.
Thank you for your ongoing support this year ! You have been amazing ! Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I have some updates and announcements to share with you.