Come As You Are

This was her FB post after we met!

Earlier this week, we received a message from a nineteen-year-old girl who we met a few weeks ago. Our outreach team passed out gifts and cards for Valentine’s Day, where we had the opportunity to build several new friendships, one of them being, Noey (name changed for privacy). When Noey reached out, she asked if she could come visit us to hear more about our school and training center. We were expecting her to say she would come sometime during the week, but she asked if she could come right away. She came straight to our home, and we shared a meal together. Her courage to reach out, come alone, and ask for help was quite amazing to see. As we sat in the living room together, she shared the immense hardships she’s currently facing. While we’ve been in Thailand, we’ve heard so many difficult stories from women working in the sex trade, but it never gets any easier. Our hearts broke for Noey as she shared that her mom and older sister are forcing her to sell herself each night. She explained that this first began when her mom brought her to Bangkok to visit her sister during a school break. She told us that she thought she was just going for a visit, but this ended up being the first night that her mom made her head to the streets to work alongside her sister. Noey is responsible for supporting her parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, siblings, and her four- year- old son. She poured out her feelings of exhaustion and weariness from carrying these financial burdens and family pressures. She told us that her mom’s neighbor asked why she forced her daughter to do this kind of work even if she didn’t want to do it, and her mom responded by explaining that it was her daughter and therefore she must do anything she asked of her. We showed Noey the ministry building, and she kept saying how much she wanted to come. However, she also expressed how nervous she felt that her family wouldn’t allow her to come to our program. We offered to help speak with her family and step into the situation.

It’s moments like these that we feel so helpless. It was so heartbreaking to watch her leave our home and get into a taxi. As we watched her drive away, we just kept praying that we would get to see her again, and that she would have the courage to continue asking for help and allowing others in. 

After she left, we didn’t really have many words as we were just so heartbroken for our new friend. We worshiped and cried out to the Lord. The lyrics of one of the songs we sang together and prayed through are at the end of the newsletter. 

As we were talking about and praying for Noey, Mary Blake was reminded of the story in the Bible where a group of friends lowered a man who was paralyzed through a roof to get him right to Jesus. We thought about the courage that this man must have had to let his friends help him. In his desperation, he allowed others to step in and help him get to the only one who can save. His friends understood the urgency and need for him to encounter Jesus, and they demonstrated that they would do anything it took to get him before Him. 

We were amazed by Noey's courage to cry out for help and to allow others to enter into these dark places with her. Pray that we would continue to fight for Noey and the other girls who we have relationships with. Pray that we would do anything it takes to help Noey and our other friends get to the feet of Jesus. Pray that we would go crazy lengths to build deeper relationships, offer them the opportunity to study in our program, and most importantly share the gospel with them.

Please pray for the five women who just joined our program! We are in awe of how God brought them each to Samaritan Creations and how He is working in their lives!

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. We are so grateful that you are in this fight with us. 

In Christ,
​Mary Blake & Currie


"Come As You Are"
​
Come out of sadness
From wherever you've been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You're not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are

There's hope for the hopeless
And all those who've strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There's rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't cure

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You're not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Fall in his arms
Come as you are
There's joy for the morning
Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You're not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Come as you are

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