When we
arrived in Chiang Mai to work with Lighthouse Ministry we were told we would be
going to bars and “partying” with bar girls and lady-boys. Certainly not a typical ministry assignment
but one we were all very excited about!!
Coming into the month we knew we would need to budget a couple dollars a
night to buy drinks at the bars but what we didn’t learn until our initial
briefing session was spending time getting to know the bar girls/lady-boys could cost a little more. Yes, we could’ve
sat in bars sipping cokes and praying without ever talking to bar girls/lady-boys,
but the Holy Spirit gave us bigger VISIONS and HOPES for our time here.
Our contact this
month says, “Vision without ACTION is a dead dream”. So we acted!!
My teammates and I quickly wrote blogs, faithfully prayed, and within 24
hours GOD blessed us with over $2000 USD to use to show these women and
lady-boys the unconditional and unrelenting LOVE of Christ.
Thank you to
everyone who provided my team an opportunity to help build the Kingdom here in
Chiang Mai. Here are just a few of many “date”
stories that were only possible because of you!!!
Lauren
thanks YOU!!
the bars to translate for Lighthouse ministries. We treated her and her 11 year
old daughter to a full day of fun at the swimming pool and the mall! I loved
hearing her daughter laugh so much while she enjoyed herself. I’ve witnessed
how important Christian discipleship is by seeing her read her Bible, teach her
daughter and the children in the slums about Jesus, and rescue other girls out
of the bars. Thank you so much for your generous heart. Your love will touch
more people than you and I may ever even know.
Kursti
thanks YOU!!
there for several years now. She has accepted this life, but has expressed that
she doesn’t ever want her daughter to live the same life as she does. She would
love one day to open her own restaurant. Nicole, Jess and I are taking her out
for a fun day of swimming and just hanging out thanks to your donation.
Sam
thanks YOU!!
really grown to love and have been able to pour into this month. They work at a bar on Loi Kroh street. Unfortunately, there are a short number of workers at their bar so these
girls had to work everyday, day and night.
Jenna and I tried to get them to goout to dinner with us, but they never could. WELL, we decided to not that
discourage us. We took dinner to THEM. Thankfully, we were able to have a
dinner date without any interruptions. We just talked and laughed as girls. I
found that Jaki and I shared a love of K-pop (more specifically a band called
Big Bang) and also that Joy had a young boy, whom was living with her mom. It
was a lovely evening thanks to your donation. I love these girls so much!!
Natalie
and Olivia thank YOU!
Olivia and I were walking to the bar to
meet one of our friends during our first week here. 
As we walked by another bar we heard laughter
and looked and saw three girls sitting together playing cards. We continued to
walk, saw that our friend wasn’t in her bar, so figured we would go see how it
might go with the three girls. we walked in and you could say it was love at
first giggle. Throughout the following weeks we were able to take the girls on several
dates. We took them to lunch and to the movies, to the mall, and to the cafe
for our “going away party”. One day the tables turned and we were
actually invited out by them, so we all went to the temple together. They asked
why we didn’t pray to Buddha and we explained as best as we could for them to
understand. I don’t know that they even understood what we were trying to say, but it was good for them to see a difference.
The girls are very close with their “mama,” the bar owner. She
is a very nice lady and from a non-Christians standpoint… what is she not
offering them? 
They have a job where they make almost four times as much as
they would at a normal job, they live there, they don’t go without (in worldly
standards), so they really can’t clearly see that they are missing out on so
much. Prayers would be welcome that they would become even hungrier and realize
that they ARE missing something and that there is more out there for them than
just bar work. We feel so privileged to have gotten the opportunity to really
love on these girls. By the end of our time here, we really grew to love them.
We got to see their hearts and see that they are just girls like us. Another
team will be ministering here when we leave, please pray these girls would
continue to be poured into and the seed Olivia and I planted will grow!!
Amanda
thanks YOU!
I was so scared to begin ministry this
month. Going up to people and starting conversations just isn’t my thing but
then our very first night I met Minnie, a 46 year old bar “girl” at a bar on Loi Kroh street. Her smile drew us right in. 
After that first night I felt God tell
me to pursue her so I continued to visit her each time we went out. On our
first day time date with Minnie, Emily and I were able to take her out to McDonalds,
a real treat, then afterwards we went to her apartment and sang karaoke, her
favorite, for hours! This last week I was able to go on another date with Minnie.
She told us that she hates working in the bars and wants to be a tour guide, so
we asked her if she would take us on a tour around Chiang Mai. We had so much
fun! I’m super excited because I can feel Minnie is close to gaining freedom, and
I’m so excited I got to be part of it with your help!!!
thank YOU!!!
