CHANGE

So it occurred to me today that I haven't done an adequate job of explaining what has filled a significant portion of my hours lately, and what has been happening in the red light district of Chiang Mai. This post will hopefully make up for the lack!

The title of this post is the name of a 3-month long transformation program that Love Acts is now doing. It is for girls who have decided to leave the bars and want to make changes in their lives. With this program comes Bible studies, English classes, and job training, and our greatest desire is that these girls will find the love of Christ transforming their hearts! We currently have 5 girls participating in the program, all of whom have left the bars in search for something better. The topic for Bible study this week is their identity in Christ--a very important subject for everyone, but especially for these girls who have been labeled and defined by their jobs in the bars by family and society.

My biggest role currently in the CHANGE program is teaching English. Along with my ministry supervisor, I am putting together lesson plans that include daily vocabulary and grammar (teaching grammar in a different language is hard!). Right now I am teaching three days a week, and in the future we'll see what happens (my role changes quite frequently--it's all about learning flexibility and faithfulness where God places me for however long!). I love to teach, so I have really been enjoying my afternoons with these girls, even though it is difficult to teach with my limited language ability. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know these beautiful ladies and have a part in seeing their lives transformed.

One of the girls has already put her faith in Jesus Christ, and there is another who is very quickly on her way. Yesterday our vocabulary lesson was on religion and I asked her what she believed. She told me, a little timidly at first, but then with greater boldness, "I follow Jesus!" I don't know if she has actually made a decision to surrender her whole life yet, but the Holy Spirit is clearly after her heart! Please pray with me for all 5 of these girls--that their hearts would be soft to the Lord and that He would truly transform their lives. It is nothing we can do, but only the work of the Spirit!