Greetings from Chiang Mai!!
So I wanted to take a moment to fill you in on what’s been going on during this month. My whole squad stayed together above a coffee shop called Zion Café. Our contact here is an amazing woman named Emmi who runs an organization called Lighthouse in Action (linked here to their Facebook page) based out of Zion. Emmi has asked teams to do outreach via different ministries all month. It has been amazing to see the friends that have been made through all the ministries this month and to hear the stories of what my squad-mates are doing…
My team has the privilege and joy to help out at Zion! Our “job” this month is to get to know, hang out with, and just love on the women who work in the café. These women work 12-13 hours a day every day, Monday – Saturday. To them, this is normal. They joke and laugh (mainly at us as we try to learn the language) and enjoy their day together. Some are Christians; some are seeking the truth, but each one is beautiful and has an amazing heart. Allow me to introduce you to the hard-working women of Zion Café…
Emmi is goofing off while making coffee…
Gwang has been the one teaching my team the ropes. She encourages us to learn Thai and is VERY patient with us as we struggle through pronouncing it right. She also goes to school on the weekend. She is a student at the local university and is studying psychology.
Mai is sweet and always ready with a laugh. We work with her on her English and she, in turn, laughs at our Thai. She joined us at the night market on Sunday last week and the girl knows her way around the market. It was a blast running around with her. Here she is goofing off with Nicole at dinner on our day off!!
In these photos, Pa Gun, Pee Nuk and Bing are hard at
work in the kitchen (as always)… Pa Gun doesn’t speak very much English, but always makes what she is saying known. She is very friendly and quick with a smile. Pee Nuk is the kitchen manager. She has a great sense of humor (and style)! She takes the time to show us how she wants us to do something or if she doesn’t want us doing something, quickly finds something else for us to do! Bing was quiet at first and fairly reserved, but as the week wore on, she began to open up. She has a spunky sense of humor and tries to goof off when she thinks no one is watching. She is also very competitive!! Winning a game of UNO makes her dance around laughing and cheering!
Pa Fon helps in the kitchen, but she also helps keep the dorm upstairs where we are staying clean, too. She, too, always has a smile. Pa Fon generally will take dishes from me when I clean a table… Probably because the first time I tried to help wash them, I broke one…
Nok comes in a little later, but is always doing something. Very rarely do I see her (or any of them) rest or take a moment. She has been working with Emmi at Zion for 4 years and still comes in daily to work and help! She doesn't like having her picture taken.
Getting to know these ladies has been amazing! Sometimes, it’s a bit discouraging because it seems like we aren’t doing much in comparison to other teams, but life isn’t about comparison. It’s about continuing to do what’s important and right in the moment you are in… And these women deserve all the love they can get, too! I can’t wait to see how relationships grow over the next (and last) week in Thailand!!
Will you continue to pray for my team as we work alongside these wonderful ladies? Many thanks!
Until next time!
