^ a little preview of some of the fun & unforgettable memories from this past month in Thailand! We have been so privileged to be able to enjoy our days off exploring the countries breathtaking views and experiencing God’s beautiful creations…so thankful!
So aside from all the crazy adventures, I would like to share a little bit about our ministry from this past month…
We lived in Chiang Mai working with a ministry called, Lighthouse in Action & my amazing team leader Patty Reed sums it all up in one of her many talented and enlightening blogs, so I decided to post it below..I couldn’t have said it better myself!
“In the heart of Thailand, in the center of some of the darkest corners of the world, God has ignited a light. Her name is Emmi, and she is a daughter of the most High God. Emmi is a woman in pursuit–in pursuit of her Father God. And in pursuit of the women and children right outside the front steps of her coffee shop.
That’s right, a coffee shop. Her coffee shop, known as Zion Cafe, serves as the front lines for her fight for freedom, as the evidence of the burden she carries, and as an oasis for those looking to find hope and safety on the streets of this city. Located right around the corner from the red light district, God has provided Emmi with the perfect location to love the people she was made to love.
According to Emmi, the mission of Lighthouse in Action is “to glorify God, who restores the lives of the poor and needy to a better and successful life, to help them out of the trap of prostitution and human trafficking in ChaingMai and around Thailand.”
The red light district is full of women longing for safety and freedom, women caught in a lifestyle that traps and consumes them, women in search of a better life. That is what most of us can say about it, but for Emmi, this place is full of her friends. Its a place of hope and potential, a place where God is living, breathing, and moving. Its a place full of people that have been chosen by God to something more, a greater freedom and a fuller life. Its a place full of her brothers and sisters and she is on a mission to get them back.
With the ministry that God has started through her, Lighthouse in Action, she is able to reach farther into the depths of the hurt she is surrounded by every day and begin to watch change happen. The ministry is divided into three parts, Xlife, LoveActs, and Zion Cafe. The vision of Xlife is prevention. By pouring love into the kids in the nearby slums and villages and educating their families, they can be protected from the deception that often lures them into unsafe trafficking situations. Sharing other opportunities with them and giving them the knowledge of better options keeps them out of the bars and safe at home.
Through LoveActs, Lighthouse in Action meets people exactly where they are at–in the bars. People from Lighthouse go into the bars to meet people and simply love them with the love of Jesus. Through simple interactions, men, women, and children alike are shown that they are valuable people that matter, rather than objects only worth what they cost. Lighthouse believes that people are not property, but instead irreplaceable children of God worth running after. LoveActs seeks to make this message its goal.
By helping to teach english, Lighthouse also seeks to build relationships with local college students. Through learning better english, students are better prepared to obtain better jobs outside of the bars. Better english means greater hope for many of these students, and our God is a God of hope, a hope that Lighthouse is committed to proclaiming.
The third facet of Lighthouse, Zion Cafe, serves as a safe haven of sorts. The vision Emmi has for the cafe is “to build a successful and profitable business that enables us to empower people to take a higher road for their life and their family to meet their destiny in Christ.” The people of Lighthouse in Action believe that God has a greater plan for peoples lives than the darkness they are entangled in, and they desire to provide a way out.
Always packed with foreigners, it is a place local Thai people can come to practice their english in a normal environment and build relationships with people involved in the ministry. The cafe holds game nights and open mic nights to try and draw in a local crowd. The cafe is also intended to provide a secure financial foundation for the rest of the ministry, and help to support the hostel that will exist above it in the near future.”
If you are interested in becoming a part of what God is doing through Emmi and Lighthouse in Action Thailand, or if you just want to learn more about the ministry, you can visit the website or contact her HERE!
These are some of the most adorable women we were able to work alongside this past month.We lived above the cafe with three different teams. Each team had a different focus within Lighthouse ministry. I was SO excited to find out that my team would be working in the cafe all month. Not only did we get to connect with the women who worked there, but we also had the opportunity to meet people from the city and build relationships with them. I was able to meet one of the most hilarious, light-hearted, and incredible guys in town, Jomin. We would meet up for lunch, have coffee dates, I would help him with English (mostly teaching him slang and answering all of his crazy, ridiculous questions) and we would just talk about life and sing Katy Perry while walking down the streets like no one was watching! Such a sweet and memorable experience and one I will never forget.
LIFE LATELY…
WORLD RACE: MONTH 10
We are currently in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia living at an orphanage called The Good Shepherd. Our contacts, Floyd and Nancy, are from the Philippines and have been able to enlighten us through daily devotionals and teachings, their welcoming hospitality, and through the humble lifestyles they both lead. They have been so kind to show us around the surrounding villages to share the gospel and they have even been able to treat us to Cambodia’s finest treats…no worries, I only took a nibble off the leg.
The children are on holiday break right now so our routine schedule in not yet underway. BUT tomorrow school officially starts back up and we will begin helping out in the pre-school and continue with our daily devotions that we have with some of the older kids in the home! SO many memories to come! Looking forward to my month here in Cambodia.
Many Blessings & LOTS of love.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” -Proverbs 31:25
