Two days ago we arrived at our ministry (following two days of training).
We are in the mountains working with the Lahu people (one of the hill tribes) here in Thailand. That means that we are having an entirely different kind of Thai experience. It is not hot, but we are in the chilly mountains. The people we work with do not eat Thai food, but Lahu food – a lot of vegetables, pork, and rice, with simple spices, and very fresh. In addition, the people we work with don’t speak Thai, but Lahu.
Here is the wikipedia page about the Lahu, and it’s pretty accurate. I was fortunate enough to attend an event with many different groups of Lahu, Thai, and other peoples. While there I sat next to another missionary, and this wikipedia page presents everything that she pointed out to me during those proceedings. So, pretty cool!
So, you probably want to know what we are doing.
We are working with a Chiang Mai based ministry called Lighthouse in Action. This organization focuses on human trafficking – both in reaching out and rescuing workers, as well as addressing its prevention. We are working with X-Life, a preventative ministry. We did our training with Pi Emmi (the founder) at Zion Cafe, and then were sent out into the mountains.
I would love to tell you all that entails, but I don’t know yet! We are just beginning here. 🙂 This is an amazing ministry and I am very excited to begin taking part in these efforts.
The place that we are working is very dark. Even though it is a small village there are a lot of tourists who come through for sex and drugs (enough that we found some cafes in Thai and English). A massage house was pointed out to us, and we doubt that it is merely for massages.
Our jobs as I understand them now are to teach English at a school, work in the church in the Lahu village (particularly focusing on kids ministry), and build relations with the Lahu villagers. Please pray for the church that is growing there (10 families out of 120 so far!), for our temporary work here, and their ongoing work here, as well as spiritual strength and protection for everyone involved.
Meet our all girls team for this month! We are Fiercely Lit! From top left to bottom right – me, Devon Kester, Katherine Gavin, Victoria Castillo, Holly Smith, Grace Veker, Hannah Brown, and Jenna Martin.
