We started today with a beautiful breakfast at Tamar House. Our stay has been wonderful here. In an area where there is so much darkness, Tamar House has been our place of rest and safety. Similar to Shear Love, Tamar House is dedicated to showing the love and compassion of Jesus by offering hope, healing, and a new life to victims of trafficking in Pattaya. They do this by reaching out, building relationships, offering shelter and housing, providing vocational training, counseling and Bible teachings. At our particular location, Tamar allows short term mission teams to stay while they are in country for ministry. All of the employees are really excited for us to stay here because they have been training to run the hostel. It has been such a welcoming and peaceful environment. 

Once we arrived at Shear Love, we opened with staff morning devotions and then we split up for ministry. Some of the team went to help half the students in English class. Today I went up to Sew Free to share the morning devotional. As the students get further into their school program, some students might worry about what is next for them after graduating from barber or beauty school. We discussed the story of Moses in Exodus and how God told him to go rescue his people out of Egypt and Moses came up with excuses to not follow God’s plan for him. We talked about how it is easy to get worried about the future because we do not always know the plans God has. Although this can be scary, we can rest well knowing that God has a plan for us. After the devotion, we open up a time for questions or anything they might want to add to the conversation. One of the women shared with the group that she did not have any fears or worries for the future because God has given her everything she needs today. It was so encouraging to hear her full of confidence in the Lord. This was beautiful because there are girls who are younger and newer to the program at Shear Love. Some felt a little nervous for what is next for them and they were able to hear one of the staff share her faith in the Lord. We ended our time of devotions by praying for God to guide each and every one of their lives and for his peace to cover them in the waiting. 

To end the day, some of the team headed to the beauty school for manicures, hair cuts and hair color. The students were so excited to show us their skills! It was an amazing time for us to get to know one another more.   The students are so talented and it was amazing to see them doing what they love. I am so very grateful to be on this team! 

-Ariel

The Day 5 devotion reminded us that the Lord is our banner: Jehovah Nissi, which symbolizes God’s presence, God’s power and God’s provision.  It’s also a reminder that we need to depend on Him for victories in our daily battles, and not on our own strength.

This afternoon was also a reminder that the Lord dearly loves widows and disabled persons.  Sam, who is physically disabled, but by no means helpless, has a heart for the extremely poor.  He was abandoned by his family at 8 years old and left with missionaries.  Now grown, married & successful; he pays it forward by visiting the extremely poor, providing food, friendship/compassion and prayer.  I got to be a part of Sam’s ministry alongside other members of this group. We went out in two teams hitting different homes per team.  My team visited three homes and delivered food, we purposely prayed for individual situations, laid hands on them and assured them God sees them.  We even did some light cleaning for the blind widow, who could not see the spider webs around her bed.

The night was capped with a prayer walk on Walking Street in the red light district.  It’s a very dark, hedonist place; but God is saving the world and we have the awesome privilege of working alongside Him. To God be the glory!

-Neil

As we started our day on day 4, we awakened to an amazing morning breakfast prepared by the Tamar Hospitality Team. Each day has been a unique array of homemade breakfast items which our team has raved about daily.

On this special day we celebrated the birthday of our illustrious leader of Crossroads International GO ministries, Lisa Mitchison. With balloons and lights and cake all put together by our Cam /Thai team. 

Our morning continues with Devotionals and Conversational English with the Thai students at Shear Love. It was an amazing experience being given the opportunity to help prepare these beautiful young minds with the tools needed to go out into the world after graduating this March. 

At lunch, we continued the celebration with a homemade chocolate birthday cake with strawberries made by the Tamar Bakery Team. 

In the afternoon, the men of Thai/ Cam went to Pastor Gideon’s church to do some needed maintenances to spruce up the church signage. While some of the ladies were getting their hair done by the Shear Love students. 

As we brought our day to a close, we gathered back at Shear Love to share a beautiful traditional Thai meal, yellow curry and coconut soup prepared by the Shear Love staff and students.

Then Pastor Craig closed out the evening with a devotion inspired by Mark 6:35-44. If we focus just on ourselves, we will fall short, but with the help of Jesus Christ anything we do is possible.  

What an amazing day to remember. God is Good. 

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

-Chris

My first time in Thailand on this GO missions trip has been nothing short of life-changing. My heart is heavy with what I’ve seen and experienced so far. There have been moments when I’ve been speechless, struggling to comprehend why so much suffering and injustice exists in the world. My heart has been overwhelmed, and it’s hard to process everything at once. However, even in the midst of this darkness, our God is so good. He has given me a peace that transcends understanding, reminding me that there is HOPE. Despite seeing  the most heart wrenching things that I will never forget, I have also witnessed the powerful impact of LOVE and COMPASSION and I am encouraged by the incredible life changing work God is doing here with Shear Love. 

We hear stories, see pictures, and watch videos of Shear Love from afar, but NOTHING can truly compare to witnessing it firsthand. I have been deeply inspired and I am in awe of Dianna’s ministry. The ministry is dedicated to rescuing and training men and women from all walks of life. These individuals are coming from many backgrounds and situations of life such as poverty, abuse, exploitation, or trafficking. It has been a powerful and beautiful picture of the Lord’s loving kindness as He uses Dianna as a vessel of healing and restoration. The impact she is making is REAL. It’s a reminder that God’s love can break through the darkest of circumstances and bring freedom to those trapped in despair.

One of the hardest nights and most challenging ministry outreaches I have ever been a part of was passing out condoms to the women along Beach Road. This is a two-mile road alongside the beach where over hundreds of women on any given night wait for customers to purchase them. As we walked through this area, I witnessed unimaginable things—things no eyes should ever see. These women are dehumanized, their worth reduced to their bodies, and the brokenness, darkness, and despair surrounding them is beyond words. The weight of what I saw is still heavy in my heart. No description can truly capture the depths of what these women experience, but I am reminded of the urgent need for love, justice, and restoration in places like these. Despite the pain of witnessing such evil, I hold onto the hope that God’s love and truth can bring light into even the darkest corners of the world.

There was so much anger running through me as I watched three different groups of men—four or five at a time—negotiating for the body of a single woman. One of the girls I handed a condom packet to looked miserable and her eyes spoke heavily of the disgust of not wanting to be in her circumstance that night. She was hunched over, cold, and looking like she was trying to hide. It was heartbreaking. Right before we left, I saw her holding the hand of her customer, walking across the street and disappearing down an alley. Looking into the eyes of these women as I passed out the condoms, all I saw was emptiness. That night, our team handed out 117 condom packets out of the 400. I was reminded that even small acts of help, kindness, and compassion can plant seeds of hope, despite how deep the brokenness.

My prayer is that by even just a smile that I was able to offer will be something they will remember, and the light of Jesus that shines through our eyes into the emptiness of their hearts will be something they will hold onto; as they open up the package of condoms we gave them, that they will read the note and truly believe it to their very core, “You are a precious and beloved person! Jeremiah 31:3 writes, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” If you need help, call this number…” That one evening our team was a beaming light walking up and down that road shining the light of Christ. 

As we walked along the beach that night I was holding onto a verse that was shared with me that day in Psalm 139:17-18 that says, “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand….” The God of the universe loves and cares about us so much. His thoughts towards these women outnumber the grains of sand that they stand on every night “working”. But even more so, He loves each one of these men and women out there on Beach Road.

In these dark and demonic places throughout Thailand, where there is SO much evil and hopelessness, the Lord is STILL GOOD. He is moving in miraculous ways through organizations like Shear Love. Despite the overwhelming brokenness, God is faithful. He is using Shear Love to reach and rescue men and women from trafficking and extreme poverty, bringing them hope, healing, and restoration. 

Today I was grateful to see some of the barber shops and hair salons that the Shear Love’s graduates have built and started. It was so encouraging to see how the Lord is using them. They are not only hair stylists and barbers but they are spiritual counselors the broken that come into their shops. It was beautiful to see how one graduate specifically opens her doors to ladies who are feeling lost and hopeless after nights of “working”. She lets them sleep in her salon, gives them water, coffee, and even takes them to the hospital if they need it, but most importantly she shows them the love of Christ and points them to Jesus. These Shear Love graduates and staff members paint a beautiful picture of how the Lord can TRANSFORM and RENEW! They are filled with CONFIDENCE, PURPOSE, JOY, HOPE, and a pure LOVE for Jesus! 

Praying that the Lord would break my heart for what breaks His here in Thailand, He has done that and my heart grieves and breaks for these women AND men. Through these outreach experiences I will NEVER be okay with what I saw, but because my eyes have been opened to this type of brokenness, I WILL for now on be praying harder for all of those women and men caught up in this awful sin cycle of exploitation or human trafficking. 

Please, please join me in prayer for our sisters and brothers in Christ out here in Pattaya, Thailand

-Jess

Today I started the day off on the rooftop of “Tamar” Hospitality in Pattaya Thailand reading our daily devotion 

1 Samuel 3:1-22. It put my mind at peace by starting the day off in the Word. We had a full day starting off with devotions for ShearLove students. I was happy to share my devotion with the students about thoughts and temptations. While devotions were going on with one class the other class was helping the students with English lessons.

The afternoon started out by working at the Red Light Church Blessing Salon. The men painted and set the facility up for church service later that evening. Once church service was over, the women passed out condoms to the people working in the red light district. Meanwhile, the men started taking a survey in the area providing valuable statistics to Dianna and her team.

After a long day, we headed back to the hotel for some rest to get ready for the events happening tomorrow. 

Ending the long day reminded me of Isaiah 41:13 NASB1995:

“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand. Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”

-Gene

While today was a day full of many highs and lows, it was a day filled with the love of God and such a strong sense of community amongst the team members. 

We started our day at ShearLove, and split up into three different groups, one helping in the English class with the students, and two doing devotionals, one with the men, and one with the women. While I was in the group with the women doing devotionals, I was able to hear about the impact the other groups got to make and the joy they experienced being able to connect with the students. I could hear the English class laughing from all the way upstairs, they had so much fun with the students. The devotionals were really powerful as well, and we all had some great conversations with the students and were able to answer their questions as well. 

After devotionals and English class, the women got to wrap condoms while the men helped with construction at the local church. It was so special being able to wrap the condoms that had a paper tucked inside with a verse and a kind note that told them if they needed help to call the number listed. It felt like we were wrapping them with so much love and were covering them with the love and protection of Jesus. 

When we were able to wrap enough condoms with notes inside, we headed out for the church in the red light district. It was such a different experience for us being able to attend this church that was amongst some of the darkest things you could ever imagine. It was like a bright light shining in the darkness, and being able to buy women’s time from the brothels and bring them to hear the Word of God and experience the love of Jesus was truly special. One of the women from ShearLove was also able to share her testimony for the first time that day, and it was extremely powerful being able to witness such bravery and strength from her as she shared everything that she had gone through and to see the freedom and hope that she walked in now. It truly brought me to tears. I was also able to share my testimony there, and it was such a blessing to be able to use what I had gone  through to be able to minister to these women and let them know that they are seen and loved, and that they have worth in Christ Jesus. It was such a healing and validating moment for me, and I know that seeds were planted tonight. 

From the red light church, we went straight into passing out condoms on the street to the people that were waiting to be bought for sexual services on the side of the street. This was definitely a dark moment for the team, and everyone could feel the weight of the darkness and sin that was there tonight. However, there was also such peace knowing that we were being the hands and feet of Jesus and knowing that even showing a small act of kindness to these women and men can be life changing. To treat them with such love and respect is not something that they are used to, and we pray that God will be able to help give them courage to leave the industry behind. One of my favorite experiences from today was our debrief after because everyone had an impactful moment they wanted to share. Even though there were lows there were also so many highs and things to be grateful for. We were able to see God’s hand and presence even in a place such as this and it was something worthy to be praised. Working with the women and men at ShearLove was such an encouragement to us because it showed us that hope, restoration, and freedom is possible and is only possible because of Christ Jesus.

-Mykie

“Pra-ong dee.”  This simple phrase echoed off the walls of the 300 sq ft room with 30 people squeezed in all sitting on the 3rd floor. Two guitars and a cajon joined the hope-filled phrase, but nothing was louder than “Pra-ong dee.” The Shear Love (SL) staff and students begins each week with church on Monday morning. Today was no different. Hailing from different backgrounds, struggles, family dynamics – each staff and student has been introduced to a god that is likely different than the god they grew up with. And regardless of their background, struggles, and ongoing family dynamics, they all proclaimed through song the same thing in unison today: “Pra-ong dee.”

While I had the opportunity to share a message about the Parable of the Four Soils with the help of Gideon, our translator, that paled in comparison to what happened next: a powerful prayer moment. Dianna, Shear Love founder, opened up an opportunity for any of the SL staff and students to receive prayer. With 29 outstretched arms praying in agreement, we cried out to God for physical health, a pregnancy, freedom from sin’s bondage, praise for being cancer-free, just to name a few. Despite life’s circumstances, struggles, and worries, the declarative praise never changed: “Pra-ong dee,” which in English means “You are good.”

God, you are good, in all things. Amen.

-Craig 

Today was a powerful day filled with moments that stretched our hearts and deepened our faith. We began the morning with a team breakfast, preparing our spirits for what was to come. Afterward, we headed to Shear Love to worship with the free women and men. 

The service was beautiful, blending Thai and English worship songs that reminded us of the universal language of praise. Together, we lifted our voices, laughed, and cried as we praised the Most High God. Pastor Craig delivered a powerful message on the parable of the four soils, translated into Thai for the students. The story reminded us of the importance of the condition of our hearts in order to grow deep in our relationship with Christ. 

In the afternoon, we traveled to Soi 6, a street filled with the darkness of the sex industry. There, we gathered for a prayer meeting, pouring our hearts out to God for Holy disruption. Overlooking Soi 6 from an overhead balcony, we prayed for God’s light to pierce through the darkness.

The day was heavy but filled with purpose. After debriefing together, we ended the night with a beachside meal, bonding as a team and finding strength in each other. Tomorrow, we dive even deeper into the trenches, trusting God to guide us as we seek to be His hands and feet in this place. There is hope because He lives.

-Marissa

Today was our first official day in country. We got into our hostel at 3 AM and were ready to crash. After a wink of sleep we were up to conquer our day. Our team got to see Pattaya for the first time as we drove around the city. Dianna, (Founder of Shear Love International) graciously received us and has been a fabulous tour guide. We are starting to get exposed to the sex industry and educating ourselves on the culture surrounding us. We hope to shine bright here and win people to Jesus!

  As a friendly immersion into our work here we rested on the beach under the shade of umbrellas to help overcome jet lag. We lounged, swam, and bonded closer together over a seaside lunch. This will be our only day of rest before we jump in head first. We ended the day with a wonderful beachside dinner and some shopping in the main market. Our team is very eager to meet the students in Dianna’s program and head out into the trenches. Stay tuned to find out more about the incredible work God is doing through our time here in Thailand and Cambodia.

-Taryn

Stay tuned for updates from the team!