My squad (all 40 or so of us) has been in Chiang Mai, Thailand a little over a week now. Our first few days were spent debriefing our month in Cambodia with the leadership of our squad. We spent part of our time debriefing and doing one-on-ones with our squad leadership team (consisting of Jeremy – our squad mentor, Jim and Sammie – our squad coaches, and Owen, Clark, and Allison – our squad leaders [these three have been with us the whole time, but the previous three had to fly in for the week]). The rest of our time was spent in worship, exploring Chiang Mai, and getting to know the rest of the squad. Some highlights were renting mopeds for a day to drive up a mountain overlooking the city and then to a rock quarry (below), finding a great burger joint, even by American standards, and one-on-ones with our leadership team.
This month is All-Squad month, so rather than it just being my team living and serving together, we are living in a hostel with our whole squad of about 40 and all working with one ministry contact called Lighthouse in Action. Lighthouse in Action has three main outreach programs: bar ministry (going into the bars to build relationships with girls being trafficked for sex and bar patrons, whether they’re seeking sex from the girls or just at the bar), Zion Café (a coffee shop that employs girls saved from trafficking), and Slum/Monk ministry (ministering to people in the slums and then going to a program called “Monk Chats” to build relationships with and teach English with the monks [I’m sure there’s a ton that can be learned from the monks and vice versa]).
My team was assigned to work at Zion Café for the month, along with the incredible ladies of Team Burning Joy. We are all divided up between 3 shifts each day, with the first shift beginning at 6:45 am and the final shift ending at 7:15 pm. We do everything that needs to be done at the shop besides preparing food and making drinks. Our main goal is to build relationships with the girls that work there. We’ll serve them any way we can at work and spend time hanging out with them on the weekends, going to movies, eating meals together, and getting to know each other.Many girls in Southeast Asia are trafficked by their parents to help provide for their families. So, between their fathers trafficking them and the men that viewed them as something to be bought for a night, they probably have a pretty tainted view of men, and for good reason. I’m excited that I, along with the other two guys on my team, have the opportunity to try to redeem their views on men.
Zion is closed on Sudays, so that is everyone’s day off. Yesyterday, we spent our day off riding elephants, cliff jumping at a waterfall, and bamboo rafting on a river! It was a blast and one of my favorite days so far. Thailand has already been so incredible. I know the next few weeks here will be too!
Fundraising Update
Right now, I have about $10,500 in my support account. I have to have $11,000 in there by the end of the month. After that, my next deadline is March 1st, and by that time I have to be fully funded – about $16,300 total. If I don’t meet these deadlines, there’s a chance I won’t be able to continue on the Race. So, any help is greatly appreciated! You can donate by clicking the “Support Me!” tab to the left!
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I’ve been overwhelmed by all the support ive gotten from friends, family, and complete strangers through this whole experience. Thank you all so much!
Andrew
