3 months ago, my determined mind decided I was going to learn how to play guitar. And tonight I lead worship for the first time.

Wait, lead is the wrong word.

I played wrong chords at the wrong times. I sang loud and often off key. But Jesus heard and He loved it.

But here’s the best part. More than 500 other people heard our joyful noise.

Tonight, my teammates and I gathered on Bangla Road for the last time. I played the guitar and we sang loud praises to Jesus in the craziness. We attracted attention from the locals, and got a few death glares from the white people that recognized the popular western Christian songs we were singing at the top of our lungs.

I hope you are trying to picture what it looked like to see 12 white girls standing in the middle of a party scene road in Phuket, Thailand, worshiping.

Its loud, raunchy music blaring so hard I have to scream to be heard. Pole dancers to our right, flashing lights everywhere, trafficked European women dancing, caged in glass boxes. Drunk college men stumbling everywhere, seeing more male anatomy than I wanted to. Seeing more female anatomy than I really wanted to.

But in the middle of it all- Jesus got His praise.

Yes, It looked weird. And Yes, it was awkward.

Yes, It changed my life forever.

Because tonight, a Christian Thai women who could not find a job in Northern Thailand who moved south to make money, got to be encouraged and worship while at work in a dark place.

Because tonight, a twelve-year old girl, selling necklaces heard the songs and told us how sad it makes her that her country doesn’t believe in Jesus like her.

Because tonight, a Thai man, who was trying to sell women to me, who had no idea what he was saying, tried to sing in English praises to Jesus. And underneath it all- the devil understood was he declared, and he better have run.

Because tonight, “our battle was not against flesh and blood but… against the spiritial forces of evil.” And tonight, for a little while, we brought in light in a place that rarely sees it. (Ephesians 6:12)

Tonight in the middle of bars- I joyfully sang:

So let your love resound

Whereever our feet touch the ground

I've finally found my voice and I'm free

May the whole world shake

With every song that we make

Our enemies tremble and we just sing-

VICTORY.*

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*One of my teammates wrote this song, called The Victory Song, about our team after training camp, (She is incredible by the way, her name is Angela Winsor- look her up).