Meet Mae: Mae works in the Red Light District in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She came here from Burma about 16 years ago, and when asked why she came here to work her response is “I guess my mother must have wanted money”. She has been taking care of a family of 12 for her entire life. She came to Chiang Mai and started to dance, and eventually going home with customers, in order to send money home. She has 2 daughters, 14 and 16 years old, who are living with her mother in Burma, and she has not seen them in 5 years. Eventually she realized that she couldn’t keep up with providing for everyone, and told her brother to tell her family that she is dead.
Mae’s story is filled with heartache. Abusive boyfriends, drug addiction, homelessness, a stay in a mental institution because of a misunderstanding, and so many other hardships.
Night one in bar ministry, Mae sits down to Emily and simply says “lets talk”. She proceeds, with very little prompting by Emily, to tell her life story. She tells about her past, her family, how much she hates her job, and her dreams. Because despite all the pain in her life, she still has dreams to open a school in Burma to educate girls so they don’t have to become bar girls.
Over the next two weeks Emily and Mae developed a strong friendship. Mae told Emily more and more of her story, and God kept doing some really cool stuff. Eventually Emily invited Mae to the WonGen Coffee Shop that Lighthouse Ministries runs, and she came.
At first she was hesitant to come, fearful of meeting new people. She knew this wasn’t just a normal coffee shop and was nervous about what the real reason for this meeting was. But Emily explained about WonGen, and explained part of Emmi’s story.
Emmi is the leader of Lighthouse, and her story is incredible. Her story includes her mother’s murder by her father, living in an orphanage instead of becoming a bar girl, developing a close relationship with her missionary mom, and going to university. Eventually Emmi reconnected with her childhood best friend, who had become a bar girl and was dying of AIDS. Emmi stayed with her and was able to lead her to Christ. And that was how Lighthouse in Action was born.
When Mae heard Emmi’s story, she teared up. She confessed to Emily “I have HIV. I am dying. Maybe she will understand and can help me.”
Mae met with Emmi, and it went amazingly well. God’s hands are all over this situation! It is a hard situation, because Mae is Burmese and is in Thailand illegally, and she has HIV, but at that point we knew that Mae would be free very soon.
BUT…. the story gets even better!
While all of this was going on, Kayla was building a relationship with Ning, another Burmese girl working in the same bar as Mae. Kayla and Ning hung out a lot, but since Ning only speaks Burmese, conversation was limited. We started praying that Mae could have an opportunity to talk to Ning, to tell her about WonGen, and to help her get out as well.
We didn’t expect God to answer our prayers the next day!!!
The next night, Mae and Ning were planning their visit to WonGen together – planning it in the bar, and nobody knew what they were talking about, as they’re the only 2 that speak Burmese! Plotting their exit from the bar, while sitting in the bar!
Anyway, long story short, Mae and Ning are leaving the bar. Lighthouse in Action is partnering with them to help them with what they need. And now its our turn to partner with Lighthouse in Action to take action to save these two girls.
God is moving at lightning speed. Today is June 26, and Emmi hopes to have these girls out of the bars by June 30 – four days from now! And that can happen, but there are some needs that must be met first.
The immediate need is for legal fees. Mae and Ning are Burmese and need to obtain papers to be able to stay in Thailand.
Here is what we need to give Mae and Ning completely new lives:
$500 each for legalization/immigration procedures and fees
$300/month for a year to sponsor the living expenses and salary at the coffee shop or guest house for Ning
$400/month for a year to cover the same expenses plus HIV medication for Mae
And, ideally, $300/month for a year to pay for an on-site counselor to live with the girls and help them transition into this new lifestyle and learn more about God.
The total cost is $13000. For less than the cost of this trip, two girls can have their dignity, self worth and freedom restored, and have a home in a community that surrounds them with the love of God.
If you would like to contribute to the monthly support for these girls, or if you would like to give a one time gift that will go into the account to fund their monthly needs, there are several ways you can do that.
Option 1–Donate online, go to http://www.ywamsf.org click “Donate.” Fill out your info, select “other,” and designate it for “Lighthouse in Action–Mae & Ning.” This option is tax deductible in the US.
Option 2-Donate by check, payable to “YWAM.” Include a separate note stating it is for “Lighthouse in Action–Mae & Ning.” Send checks to: YWAM SF Donor services, P.O. Box 60579, Colorado Springs, CO. 80960. This option is also tax deductible in the US.
Option 3-To donate in a way that will get the money to Emmi faster, you can use PayPal or make a one time or monthly direct deposit. To do this, email: [email protected] with your name and home address. We will have a form sent to you ASAP to get automatic monthly direct deposits set up. This option is not tax deductible yet, but it’s faster.
Option 4 (for Canadians)-Donate by writing checks payable to “YWAM.” Include a separate note stating it is for the “Lighthouse in Action–Mae & Ning.” Send it to YWAM Donor Services, P.O. Box 57100, 2480 E Hastings Street, Vancouver BC V5K 5G6, Canada. This option is tax deductible for Canadians.
If you want more information or you want to review these options, they are all detailed on Lighthouse in Actions’s website, under the “Contact” tab.
VERY IMPORTANT: No matter which option you choose or how much you wish to give, we need to know about it! As soon as you send in your gift, please send an email to [email protected] and [email protected] with your name and the amount and frequency of your gift. We need to keep track of these gifts as they are being given since it takes awhile to get the money to Thailand and the plan to get the girls out is dependent on knowing that the money will be there.
I’ve explained this story in only one post, but there is so much more to the story than this. Emily Tuttle has posted the entire story in a series of posts. If you want to hear how God is moving here, check out the whole story on her blog!
emilytuttle.theworldrace.org
Whether you are led to financially give right now or not, we do ask for your prayers. This whole situation is coming to a head this week, and the more we can cover everything with prayer the better. Thank you for your prayers!
…Loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke…
Isaiah 58:6
