One of my favorite parts of my visits to Thailand is the time I get to spend at the Freedom Homes. If the bars and red-light districts are full of darkness, then these homes are full of light and joy.
It’s here that girls get a chance at a new life. It’s here that they receive education, counseling, and become part of a supportive community. And it’s here in the Freedom Homes that the girls are introduced to the love of Jesus.
You can help introduce one girl to physical and spiritual freedom today for just $50.
Naak, whose name I’ve changed to protect her, is one of the girls I talked to while visiting the Freedom Home in Pattaya. She is from a poor village in Laos, a country on the northern border of Thailand. Naak and her older sister, whom I’ll call Suda, came to Thailand several years ago. They were hoping to make enough money to support their large family back home.
It soon became clear that no other jobs were available, so the girls ended up working in the bars. Both girls hated the work, but it especially broke Suda’s heart to watch her little sister living this horrible, abusive life night after night.
When Suda heard about the Freedom Home, she begged the staff to help Naak escape the sex industry. She told them she would stay behind to support their family, but her sister had to get out.
Naak came to the Freedom Home and was introduced to the love of Jesus. “When I received Christ into my life, I felt safe,” she said. Naak began to attend Bible school, and she never stopped praying that her sister and her family in Laos would come to know Jesus, as well.
Freedom is contagious — whether it’s freedom from cultural slavery or simply from our own fears. When you see someone who is free, you can’t help but want the same thing. And God’s love brings freedom everywhere it is shared.
Naak’s family could tell something was different about her. Today, 13 members of her family have become believers. They even started a house church in Laos that is beginning to transform their community.
When Suda heard about Jesus, she decided to leave the bars, too, and head home to share the Good News with others. She and her husband now host the house church in their home.
“My family started the home church because of love,” said Naak. And the love of God is continuing to make an impact.
What began as simply helping one girl escape the sex industry led to a church being planted in a communist country! That’s the power of freedom.
When you give, you aren’t just helping one girl have physical freedom. You are also pointing her — and often her family — to spiritual freedom in Christ.
For just $50, you can help give that gift to another girl like Naak today. You will help introduce her to freedom and provide things such as a safe place to live, education, medical attention, counseling, outreach, and more. Above all, you will share the message that Jesus loves her.