Christian Forums - Spirit-Filled / Charismatic

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We met the manager at the LP branch of J*** B C, and her story was very inspiring. A devout Christian, 10 years ago, back in the US, an image of a child in a cage had come to her in a vision after which she sold up everything and came to Laos. After a couple of months (on the day her money ran out) she met the owners of J***, who were looking for a manager. Since then she has been rehabilitating, educating and training women in the hospitality industry. She employs them on a fair wage (read: double what most get paid in hospitality), for a maximum of 40 hours a week, again a new concept. These women come from forced labour, prostitution or otherwise challenging backgrounds, and yes, children do spend time in cages when sold by poor villagers in pure desperation.

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It was at the Northern J*** that I met Debra, an incredible 40-something lesbian who'd moved unexpectedly from Harrisburg, PA, to Luang Prabang, Laos. "I had a vision, you see." "A what?" "A vision. I'm a devout Christian. And I know it sounds crazy, but I woke up one night having a vision, and had to move here."

It takes a few minutes to pry the full story out of her, and when she tells it, her eyes really do start to well up with tears. "There was a little girl, and she was being held in a cage. A small cage - it was only this big. And it broke my heart to see her like this. I didn't know who she was, but I knew she was in Laos. I didn't even know what Laos was, where it was. I didn't know anything, except that I had to help her. I'm a feminist, and a Christian, and I knew it was my mission to help her. So I sold everything I owned - I mean everything - and bought a ticket to Laos. I didn't even have a passport before this. My friends thought I was crazy. They thought I'd be back immediately. But that was four years ago."

"So you're a missionary?"

"No, it's not my place to preach. I don't want to push my religion on these people. I don't even go to church, here. I have private prayer. When you go to the churches, because you're white, it's suddenly about you. It's not about Christianity, it's about you. So I have quiet prayer, and help the girls here in my own ways. I teach them. I don't speak Lao to them - I make them speak English, to pull them out of their comfort zone, and help them to learn."

I wanted to ask about her comfort zone -- "You're in Laos, why not learn Lao, crazy lady!" -- but quickly realized she was coming from a completely different place than I. She'd never left the US before. She moved to Lao because of a single vision. She'd left her comfort zone long ago.

"So what happened when you moved here?"

"I did what I could, but my money eventually ran out. After two years. I didn't want to ask anyone for anything, because I knew Christ would take care of me. I believed 100% in Christ. I only had 1000 kip left, a single dollar, and didn't know where I could sleep. So I slept on the street. And then I used that money to check my email. And you know what? I had an email. Without asking, without anything, someone had just deposited money into my account. So I knew this was right."

"And now?"

"I'm the manager at J***. It's great here. We help the girls. We train them, and give them education they wouldn't get elsewhere. And we don't let the men get away with the s**t they normally do. Here at J***, everyone's equal. You know how the newest employee gets the worst jobs? Well, here, that's cleaning the toilet. One day, I told a new man to clean the toilet, but when I checked up on him, a woman was on her hands and knees. I asked 'what are you doing?' And she told me, she told me, 'it's not a man's place to clean a toilet.' 'Oh yes it is,' I told her! And I marched over to him, handed him the brush, and watched while he cleaned it."

Such passion, such devotion.