frequent visits to one bar on Loi Kroh that is for sale and we hope will close
soon. When I first walked in I met Kat,
a sweet, petite, and simply adorable woman.
She is only 34 but reminded me so much of my beautiful grandmother. I was immediately drawn to her. She sat next to me smiling from ear to ear
excited to have a customer not like most.
Eager to practice her English
she shared about her life. She has a
boyfriend in Denmark who visits every three months and supports her
financially. Although on his last visit
he brought another woman with him who wasn’t just a friend, breaking Kat’s
heart. She has three children by a Thai
man she was married to for 18 years. He
left her for another woman forcing her to move into Chiang Mai and fend for
herself.
nights with her we made a day date to visit the Royal Flora, a botanical
exhibit outside of Chiang Mai. Emily and
I walked over to her apartment right off Loi Kroh street and piled in her pick
up truck with her three children, who were visiting during their two weeks off
school. It was heart warming to spend
the day with her as a Mom not as a “girl in a bar”. Just like the first night I met her, she spent
the entire day smiling ear to ear, so filled with JOY which I found remarkable
considering all the hurt and shame she’s experienced in her life and continues to
experience every night in the bars.
Kat certainly isn’t like many
of the young girls working in the bars.
She doesn’t enjoy it; she doesn’t fit in; she isn’t yet jaded and she
hasn’t yet accepted this is her life.
She is simply trying to survive and support her family, desperately
desiring another husband and the family life she once had. If the bar closes she’ll likely work in a
massage parlor because the hours are better but her dream is to own a restaurant
one day.
Kat is a perfect candidate
for CHANGE.
new program Lighthouse Ministries is starting this May 2012. It is a 3-month program for women wanting to
leave the bars for a different life.
With all expenses paid, including tuition, food and housing the women
will receive not only practical job training but also will have the opportunity
to learn about our Creator and why He created us. Learn how we are meant to live with purpose,
passion and hope.
So many of my readers have already contributed to changing lives in Chiang Mai, but if you still want to help you can! Funds are being raised now to enroll 10 women
in the very first class of CHANGE. The cost for tuition, housing, food, and
“pocket money” women can send home is $250USD per month, or $750USD for the
whole life changing program. Please contact me or Lighthouse in Action, [email protected], for details on how you can help CHANGE a life like Kat’s and future generations to come!!
