Three years ago Braverly opened its doors for the first time. On this Fall day, life was business as usual for 99.9% of the world. Kids went to school. Government bodies met and argued about something. Somewhere a recent college grad moaned about the struggles of adulting. 

Life.as.usual. 

But a small group of people in a quirky Thailand border town felt a little anxious and excited and completely full of anticipation. Their hearts beat a little faster, and their steps held a little bit more purpose. On that day, a dream was stepping into reality and breathing its first few breaths on its own. 

Braverly was born. 

Braverly

A quick look at street view on Google Maps shows that simple, beautiful concrete building. From the street, you can see Braverly’s logo—that big, cursive B and the words “bikes. bagels. bags.” But once inside, you see that other word that pulses through the veins of this café and sewing center—brave.

Braverly came from the dream from an American who imagined a place that trained and empowered marginalized and oppressed women—moms, sisters, and aunties trying to build a better life for their family. From there, the idea of a café and sewing center slowly began to form. Not only would these spaces give women valuable business, life, and hands-on skills, they would provide opportunities to impact Mae Sot and possibly even the world. 

Etched on the back wall is the slogan and driving force—three simple lines that inspire everything.

Live brave.
Dream bravery.
Influence bravery.

Every day the women in the Braverly family are challenged to live with courage over fear. They are stretched to dream scary, big, difficult dreams for themselves, their families, and the world. And because of their courageous decisions, they encourage bravery in others.

For three years, this has been the mission, and it has begun to make a mark on Mae Sot. Yet, there is a longing for more. This dare toward courage, this challenge to choose bravery is for the world. It’s a message we all need to hear and be wrecked by and choose every day. So while the café became known in Mae Sot, the dream grew. 

What if Questions Inspire Bold Dreams

What if these beautiful handmade products—bags, wallets, clutches, and more—were sold across the world? What if these story-carrying products created by incredibly courageous women in Thailand found their way to the arms of women in the U.S., Spain, Kenya, and Mexico? What if a simple purse was a reminder for women all over the world to choose courage over fear every day, to dream intimidating dreams, and to encourage others to choose bravery? 

What if? 

It’s the question that seems to start every big and beautiful and terrifying adventure, doesn’t it? What if humans could fly through the sky and reach places we never imagined? What if we could connect the entire world through cables and satellites? What if we took a risk, a step out? What if we tried and failed? What if we tried and succeeded, and the world became a better place because of our courage?

What if?

For Braverly, the questions have always been simple—what if one woman found freedom, wholeness of heart, empowerment, and life in the Father? What if that one person became two became three became a whole family, community, a whole nation? 

Why it all Matters to You

Last week, the dream stepped a little closer to reality when Braverly’s online store launched. Yes, people of America, you can now buy beautiful products made by incredibly brave women in Mae Sot, Thailand. You can show off a unique headband crafted from beautiful Thai fabric. You can carry a one-of-a-kind clutch or bag created by someone you have more in common with than you know. 

The dream of Braverly was never just about Mae Sot, about the people who invest so much of their time and skills, heart and soul into this place. It was always about the world—about you and me. It was about all of us, because if we pause long enough, we just might see that we have more similarities than we ever could imagine. 

You get the opportunity to be part of the Braverly story. You get to choose courage over fear, bravery over insecurity. What if we became a people marked by courage? 

What if we were a people marked by Braverly?

Join the movement, and check out these handmade, story-carrying product here. 

The post Why a Café in Mae Sot, Thailand Matters to You appeared first on Kate Berkey.

Let’s get real about living in Thailand.

Real talk…
Every time I go to the bathroom at a certain coffee shop in town, I check for snakes.
When I speak Thai, I usually say “Thank you” when I mean to say “Hello.” Honestly, it’s confusing for both of us.
Once, I almost ran over a chicken with my bike.

Real talk…
Every time I eat cheese in Thailand, my whole body feels like it might die. This has made pizza a real challenge. 
I’ve never eaten so many Tums in my entire life. 
Sometimes Kristy and I spend $11 on a pint of chocolate ice cream, and honestly, we don’t have any regrets. 

Real talk…
About four times a day, I almost get hit by a car or motorbike. At this point, I’m a pro at dodging fast moving vehicles. (Seriously, don’t worry about me, grandma.)
The most common word out of my mouth is, “What” followed closely by the most common phrase I say, “Sorry, what?”
Once a week, a sweet woman cleans our house. Unfortunately, she thinks she knows how to organize our house better than we do. I’m still looking for an iPhone cord she “organized” when I visited Kristy for a week last April.

Real talk…
I had to get a chest x-ray from a machine so old, they had to load film in it each time. I’m told this is a huge improvement from the time my teammates had to get a chest x-ray done in a van.
Every time my neighbor coughs, I can hear it in my house. At this point, I’m seriously concerned for his health.
When I first moved to Thailand, my team kept saying that “Paw Majah was going to stop by Braverly.” It took me two months to realize that this was a branch of immigration and not the name of a small Thai man.

Real talk…
Sometimes we have no idea what people are telling us to do, so we end up writing “warranter” (whatever that is…) on an official document before we realize that people were telling us to write “volunteer.”
Sometimes I respond to people in Spanish. It’s about as effective as you might imagine.
Sometimes I pretend I don’t see the cockroach in our bathroom so Kristy has to kill it. Sorry, friend.

Real talk…
I don’t have a skin disease. Those are mosquito bites.
I guess I always imagined I would consume some sweetened condensed milk in my life, just not every single day of it.
Just because the store’s security guard salutes you when you walk inside, doesn’t mean you should salute him back. He salutes everyone. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s paid to do. Don’t be that American. 

Real talk…
Sometimes a tiny lizard sleeps under my bed.
Once, a lizard got stuck to a sticky part on a coffee bag and its tail broke off and it died on my coffee bag.
Kristy also smashed a lizard in our door.

Real talk…
At this point, I might love air conditioners more than my family.
In rainy season, I don’t know whether to get completely drenched without my raincoat or put it on and die from heat exhaustion.
I haven’t taken Thai class since October of 2018, and I don’t plan to subject myself to that humiliation any time soon.

Real talk…
Every day I pass an arcade game called “Lucky Papa.” This is why we can’t have nice things, Thailand. 
Mae Sot was awarded “worst air quality in Thailand” in 2018, and we’re on track to win it for the second year in a row.
This morning, I decided to save my lungs from inhaling our terrible air and paid to run at the gym, which has no air conditioner and also leaves the windows open. At this, I’m not exactly sure what I paid for.

But
Real talk…
I love my weird, quirky, Mae Sot, even with its crazy drivers and terrible cheese.
I am insanely grateful to have a team that believes in me and empowers me to chase after the calling God has given me. 
I am constantly humbled that I have been invited into our friends’ lives, that I have a place in the Kingdom of God, that I have a role to play in being the hands and feet of Jesus. 

Real talk…
Some days I wonder if this gift of living and working in Thailand is a dream.
Some days I wonder if any place will ever feel like home so fast again.
Some days I wonder how I will ever leave my Outpour family. 

The post The Real Talk that Never Quite Makes it into the Newsletter appeared first on Kate Berkey.

Together. Always Together
And He says,
“Let the seasons change.
Let’s do something new and
Scary and
Different and
Unlike anything we’ve done so far.”
He says,
“Together. We will do this together.
Always together.”

In November 2017, my world felt like it was spinning out of control. Events happened that I did not, could not anticipate, and I remember driving one afternoon, lost in thought like I so often was, trying to solve problems that weren’t mine to fix.

The thought was so simple and so random that it made my breath catch in my throat.

“I wonder if Outpour Movement offers an internship, and I wonder if they need a writer.”

The idea immediately began to settle into my heart, into my bones. Even in that moment, as my world twisted and groaned, I knew that this thought was not random. I already had a friend working with Outpour Movement in Mae Sot, Thailand, and so I very casually mentioned it to her a couple of days later. I remember laughing to myself, thinking, “There’s no way.”

And yet.

The best stories have an “and yet” kind of moment, the kind that shifts the story, marks a moment of change, a pivot, a swing.

I will forever remember her response. She told me that in the last week or so, God had given her and another teammate a vision and a dream to invite a writer to the Outpour team. She told me that they had big, God-sized ideas. They weren’t looking for just any writer. They were looking for a writer who loved and cherished people’s stories, and they had one person in mind—me.

That feeling of an out-of-control world, it only intensified in the weeks to come. Change has a way of spinning my mind and my heart into chaos. I’d like to think that I am good at transition, but that would be a lie. I’m a planner, a list-maker. I’m not very spontaneous. I work hard on being flexible. And this, this was not part of the plan.

And yet.

In the midst of new ideas and new dreams and a new vision for the future, the Father simply whispered, “Take a step.”

One step.

That’s all the Father asked me to take.

Just one step.

And then another.

And then another.

Time and again, He was faithful. As my friends and I journeyed together, God aligned our hearts. He aligned our dreams. He aligned our vision. He showed up time and again, proving Himself to be the ever-present, ever-faithful Father that I so deeply know him to be.

In April 2018, I had the opportunity to go to Mae Sot, Thailand for the first time. At that point, I was 90% sure this was where God was asking me to journey for this next season of life. I remember landing in Bangkok late at night, ready to see a familiar face. I remember wondering if I had just landed in the country I would call home. I remember taking a deep breath and whispering to my anxious heart, “One step at a time.”

This trip confirmed everything for me. It confirmed the place, the organization, the work, the vision. Outpour works with people on the margins, people who are oppressed, people who are just trying to build a better life for themselves. My heart bleeds for these people. It desperately wants them to realize their value and worth. It desperately wants them to feel empowered and cared for and cherished.

My heart desperately wants them to see their stories for what they are—moments weaved together by a Father who loves them and sees them and knows them.

But at times, this trip also left me feeling all kinds of insecure and unsure of my own ability.

And yet.

In the moments when I sensed God most deeply, it left me feeling certain in the most profound ways. It is the kind of certainty that is still clouded with mystery.

It is the kind of certainty that is also called faith.

And so step by step, I continue to follow the Father. I continue this journey bit by bit.

Some days are overwhelming. Some days I have the opportunity to go to my four-year-old niece’s dance recital, and I cry on the way home. Some days I have the chance to laugh with my housemates who have become some of my best friends, and a deep sadness settles in my spirit. Some days I look around at this beautiful and wonderful life that I get to call my own, and I have to remind myself of the certainty the Father gave me in Mae Sot. Because some moments are overwhelming and daunting and too much for me to hold on my own.

And yet.

I am reminded that the Father never asked me to do it alone. He never told me to figure it out by myself. He never demanded that I piece together all of the details in my own strength.

He asked me to take a step.

And then another.

And then another.

And He whispered, “We’ll do this together. Always together.”

Want to join me on this journey? I can’t do this without people who come alongside me as prayer warriors and financial supporters. If you want to sign up for my email list to receive updates on the ministry, shoot me a message here. If you want to join me as a financial supporter, just click here. Beside “Missionary Support,” write Kate Berkey. I am so incredibly grateful for support, whether it’s prayer and financial. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I cannot do this on my own.

Let’s do this together.

Always together.

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