I did get an opportunity to talk to her about her a life a little when I got a chance. I hate not being relational. She is actually from Isaan, where her family lives and she moved to Pattaya to teach English. She studied for 16 years before actually speaking English and was forced to speak when she got the job. I told her she was smart, and asked if she was pressured to make money. She said no, and we got to talk about the other girls from Isaan that come to work in the bars. She said she was jealous they make so much, but I affirmed her that they are not happy and at least she is doing something she is good at it. It was encouraging to see a girl choosing a different lifestyle than those so many pushed out by their families to make more money.
Jess and I then went and had a huge English breakfast at a cafe down the street. I think Thai breakfast is weird here...sometimes it consists of a big hot dog with maybe an egg, a piece of lettuce with a cucumber and a piece of toast. Overall I love Thai food, and especially the venders are the best for fresh meat or soups, but there are definitely some weird things of late I have found and tried and swore on never eating again. I bought a package min pancakes the other day at a foodmart and in between was a red beat!!! yuck! What a surprise! Also asking what the meat is... chicken and chicken butt is two different things! It's all part of the learning experience...
Here's one good experience! Coconut milk right out of the coconut. Jess brought it home for me yesterday to try. It's really good for you! And will somebody please note how long my hair is getting...
We then went to one of the bars to meet up with another Thai girl from Tamar to connect with one of the bar mamas to see if Convergence church and us could lead worship there in a few weeks. I sat at the bar and ordered a coke just to let them chat with her on the other side, and within a minute an man white white long hair probably in his fifties saw me sit down and said hello and began a conversation. After a few words he asked if he could sit next to me. He grabbed his beer in his cozie and started asking me if I was hear on holiday. I kept it brief and asked him questions about his life.
His name was Billy (real name William - second William in the week. I looked it up cause I was curious of what it meant: will, desire, and helmet protection.....hmmm) and he was from Scotland (not too far from my other friend I met last week in Ireland), and although he was vague why he was here other than "vacation", I asked him what he did and he said he was a man of many trades. I asked him if he did construction, and he said a bit but because of his arm, and he proceeded to try to lift his left arm which didn't rise higher than his chest. I then asked him if he wanted to be healed and told him I had seen God do some pretty neat miracles the last few weeks.
He then asked me which God. He went on to talk about religion and the many Gods, and the contradictions and if I was referring to Jesus, and he then told me who Jesus was from many religious points of few... and as I listened Jess returned to sit next to me and ordered a water quietly. I then asked if we could pray for him. He said yes, until we leaned over and he reacted! "No, not here!" I kind of laughed, and told him God wanted to heal him and that because He loved him. I told him he was a good man and why wouldn't he want to use his arm again. It was quite funny in the midts of it...
I kept thinking, God you're funny. I could be offended right now that this man is being super stubborn and could receive completely healing but is refusing it. I felt like God was showing me that He wasn't offended, so it made it a lot easier for me to continue loving on him. We continued to talk some more about life. He kept talking about God and finally it came down to me asking if he had children. He said yes, two. I then asked if he loved them. And he said very much, but that he was a bad father and doesn't talk to or see them anymore. That one lived in England and the other near him, but he was out of their life, because he was bad. I then told him, if his children were hurt wouldn't he want to take that away if he could. That he loved them so much he wouldn't want them to be in pain. That was the breaker.
I could see as I starred in his eyes with so much love for him, he said with assurance, YES! I then proceeded to tell him that's how the Father is with us. He doesn't want us to be in pain or unwhole. He heals us because He loves us. Another seed. I don't know what it is about these Williams I run across that I have so much love for, and they are so tender at one moment, then shut down so stubbornly, but I still have so much faith, God's on them and with them and just tugging on their hearts like crazy! He's so good like that!
I think my favorite thing Billy said in and out of the conversation at one point was that if Jesus was real and sitting next to him, he would buy him a beer! I laughed, because I think Jesus loved that! Another man next to us started talking to us to and it became a pretty nice conversation for about 15 minutes about Pattaya and life and euro money vs. Baht and American money. We then left, and felt to tell Billy he was good father, and I believed it. They told us it was nice talking to us and we hopped on Jess' bike back to her house again.
I am still processing a lot, and asking God a lot of questions, but I think one thing I love so much about Heidi Baker is the simplicity of just stopping for the one. Today it was Billy, tomorrow...who knows, but it's so not overwhelming to think we can just love on one person at a time, and hear what God is saying or doing with them, even if it's such a fraction of their experience of Him. Even being in the midts of such darkness here and surrounded by it everywhere I go, I love that I know over everything dark, my Father loves me just as much as all those we are reaching, and I need His love just as much. I think that's what broke me so hard for the girl we prayed for at the House of Prayer. Hearing her heart cry out in pain, mine met it and I too cried knowing everyone needs to be loved and comforted, even me. So in this time of resting these past few days, it's been a huge necessity in hearing my Papa say to me in the moments, I love you and I care just as much for you and what I have for you!
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