So there I was sitting on an airplane heading from the United States to a foreign land, Thailand, where I was going to talk to men on the streets of a red light district about life and most importantly, Jesus. God had called me to go and talk to men about life and share my testimony of the void that filled me prior to being saved and knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. There I was on Walking Street in Pattaya, Thailand. There were people as far as the eye could see, it reminded me of the pictures you see of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, on steroids! I was walking and praying about the darkness that filled the street and praying that God would show us whom we were suppose to connect to. That is when one of the guys I was with saw a man standing by the 7/11 all by himself. We circled around and approached him and I introduced myself and found him to be a 37 year old man from Italy. He was in Pattaya awaiting his train to Seoul, Korea traveling on vacation. He said that he was just down on Walking Street people watching, passing time. We asked him what he thought about the prostitution and the drinking and he stated that the prostitution was not his thing but didn’t discredit it, and he had a couple beers here and there but didn’t partake in the drunkenness that was ever present. He was a gardener by trade and had a significant other back home but was not married and wasn’t warm to the idea. He questioned why we chose to speak to him and I was honest, I told him that we were interested why he was there in such a dark place. I told him that I was on a mission trip and wanted to tell people about Jesus.
We dove into his religious past and the true meaning of “religion” from a God standpoint vs. a government standpoint; he stated that he didn’t believe in God. The further we delved into the conversation I could see his heart change, we really connected and I told him my story, how I once was a non-believer and now I believe and why I believe. He at one point towards the end of our conversation, at the direction of another team member, stated that he did believe in something greater but was currently searching and needed a sign to show him direction. I responded, “Like two complete strangers walking up to you on a random street in Pattaya, Thailand and talking with you about Jesus Christ!” To which he replied, “Wow, you are good.” We all laughed and continued in good conversation and I felt like God was telling me that we had planted a seed in this man now water it, so in departing with him I asked him if I could pray for him and his travels and he agreed. In short, the prayer was for God to reveal Himself to this man and for him to seek God, also to protect his travels. He thanked us for our time and we shook hands and went on our way.
It was my first encounter of many in Thailand, but it was a great one and I feel that we really made a difference in this man’s life and I know he did in mine!
Written by: Justin M.
