My friend Gwang and I, wearing matching shirts with a popular Thai phrase!
This month is known as (wo)manistry, a month of the Race where the guys and girls are separated to do ministry and grow together in ways that we otherwise wouldn't. I am blessed to be serving with an incredible team that includes team leader Jillian as well as Sarah, Alyssa and Lauren. We picked what I think is the best team named ever: Team RAW(r), which stands for ' really awesome women (redefined).' They are all such amazing women of God and I have been so blessed to spend the last few weeks with them! The atmosphere of this all girls month is so fun, and I have loved the intimacy and growth that has come from it!
Lauren, me, Jillian, Alyssa and Sarah, dressed up for a girls night
Another interesting addition to the month was the Parent Vision Trip, a week where, for the first time, parents were invited to come out and join the Race and do ministry for a few days. My parents were unable to make it, but we were able to spend a couple of nights hanging out with the parents, and it was such a blessing! I had Skyped with some of the parents over the last nine months, so it was really crazy seeing them in Thailand of all places! It was a really great experience getting to know them and worship together while they were here.
Melanie Blair, my friend KJ's mom, and I when we finally got to meet!
Yet another curveball that was thrown at us this month was with our ministry. Generally on the Race, you are assigned a ministry to work with for the month, and that is that. This month, five of the six girls teams were assigned to work with Lighthouse in Action, a ministry in Chiang Mai that is fighting sex slavery. We were all assigned to different aspects of the ministry, from working in the bars to construction work in the village to working at a coffee shop. However, upon arrival, we were told by our contact Emmi that there was a huge need for help in the villages because she had just acquired land for a retreat center for women coming out of sex trafficking. She asked us to all pray about if we felt God calling our teams to help in that area of ministry.
Emmi and I. She's way cooler than I am. ha
My team was one that was assigned to work at the coffee shop, which I was so excited for. The idea of maybe not doing that was really hard for me. Our team took some time to individually pray about where we felt called, and in that time God asked me to last down my plans in the month for His. When I finally did that and was okay wth either ministry option, God then spoke to me that He would bless whatever ministry our team chose to be involved with, but that it was also okay for me to want to work at the coffee shop and to follow my desires. When my team got together to discuss our options, we discovered that God had basically spoken the same thing to each of us, and so we decided to stay at the coffee shop. Crazy enough, every team felt God telling them to stick with their original assignments. It really didn't make much sense, because there was who much work to be done in the village, but we trusted that God had big plans for us!
There are perks to coffee shop ministry!
And so, we began work at WonGen, a coffee shop right by Chiang Mai University, where we had the opportunity to minister to the college students, especially those who wanted help with their English. We also got to know the amazing WonGen staff, a group of women I absolutely fell in love with! Although only a couple of them speak fluent English, we found plenty of ways to communicate. Over the couple of weeks we have worked at WonGen, my heart has just been filled with the Father's love for the women, and I have loved every moment I got to spend with each of them.
The amazing women I got to work with all month!
I also spent the last week tutoring an amazing new friend of mine, Aor! She is a university student who wants to work in America, so I helped her practice her English. We also got to go to the massive mall in town and eat Thai food and way too much ice cream. Jillian taught Aor's friend and this week they gave us the amazing experience of floating Thai lanterns. It was such a magical evening!
Aor and I! What an awesome girl!
So we knew God had big things in store when He told all of our teams to stay in Chiang Mai, and earlier this week, we found out what those plans were. Our contact, Emmi, had been trying for quite a while to find a new location for the coffee shop, somewhere closer to the red light district that could also serve as a base for that ministry. She had pretty much given up hope of it ever happening, but this week, God unexpectedly provided at an extreme discount a six story building just a few minutes walk from the red light district. And so, this week we not only cleaned the new building, but we packed up the old building (complete with two floors of bedrooms and dorms) and began to move it to the new place. It was pretty incredible seeing God provide for the ministry, especially as their lease was about to end and the landlord wanted to increase the price. Even more proof that God has His hand on this ministry!
Moving day! One of many, that is…
We have gotten to work with a lot of amazing ministries, and every month of the Race has been wonderful, but this is probably my favorite month so far! It was such a blessing to be a parry of this ministry during such an important time. Emmi told us recently that at the beginning of the month, she was feeling hopeless in ministry and considering just giving up. In the short time we've been here, we have gotten to see God restore her hope and her heart for her calling. He is moving in big ways in Emmi's life and in the city of Chiang Mai!
Team RAW(r) floating a Thai lantern!
If you want to learn more about Lighthouse in Action, or if you are interested in helping them out financially, please visit their website: www.lighthouseinaction.org.
I have also started a personal fund to help me with things like food (when our budget doesn't cover it), internet, toiletries, etc. If you are interested in donating, please visit www.gofundme.com/katiemcneil.
