This month we are here in Chiang Mai, Thailand! We have two teams serving in Chiang Mai this month at a ministry called Lighthouse in Action. The vision of the ministry is focused on preventing and ending human trafficking here in this city. We are working in Zion Cafe, doing slum ministry, going on prayer walks around the city, participating in monk chats, and going out to bars to build relationships with the women there. I’m really excited about this month and I am expectant to see God move in big ways as He sets the captives free. The red light district in Chiang Mai is a hub for human trafficking, so join with us in prayer as we try to be His light in the darkness that lingers here.
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
-Isaiah 42:6-7
There’s a darkness that fills the streets of this city. We prayer walk during the day before we do ministry at night. During the day the red light district is set up with tourist shops, massage parlors and restaurants. It looks like any normal touristy area during the day, but when the sun goes down it is another world here with flashing neon lights everywhere.
Lighthouse in Action is divided into three separate ministries: X-life, Zion Cafe and Love Acts
Love acts is loving in action by going out to the local bars in the red light district to build trusting relationships with the women, children and lady boys there. The hope of this ministry is that the people met there will want to leave the red light district. A lot of the women working there have been exploited and sold a lie of a better life. They are trapped in the commercial sex trade but, Love acts seeks to bring freedom to these women that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus.
X-life is a ministry focused on reaching people with Christ in remote villages around Thailand. The villages are often visited by sex-brokers who are looking to purchase the children living there. The parents are not aware of the evils that are awaiting their children, and if they are, they view it as a means of sustainable income for the family.
Zion cafe’ is a coffee shop and hostel in Chiang Mai and is part of the ministry. It is where our team is staying this month. Some of the girls working here have been rescued from human trafficking. Zion has a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. Thai people are also welcome to come in and practice their English.
