We are lovers of Jesus, each other, long walks most anywhere, stories, snacks, and lots of other things. Lots more about us will come this way sooner or later (note: we don’t seem to have updated this in years)!

We’re presently starting (we ask ourselves, how long will we keep saying “starting”??, we’ve been here for just over 3 years now!) Rak Teh, a ministry of YWAM Thailand reaching out to young men involved in male prostitution here in Bangkok, Thailand.

Why Bangkok?

Kashmira Says: I took my first trip to Thailand over six years ago (nine years now) as a student with YWAM. Since then I have yearned to go back long-term. In 2003 I spent three months in Bangkok as an intern with a Thai church. During my internship some Thai Christian friends brought me to Pattaya, a coastal city which exists primarily as a place for foreign sex tourists. They had prepared me by saying, “When you go there, you will see lots of Thai women prostitutes with old white men and it will break your heart.” I did see that there, and the reality of it was startling, but I also noticed something else. Not as common as the women, but still very visible were dozens of young Thai men also prostituting themselves and accompanying older Western men. When I asked my Thai friends about these men they didn’t know what I was talking about – they had not even noticed their presence. Upon returning to Bangkok it was even more obvious and prevalent. After having my eyes opened to this desperate group I have searched and searched but have not yet been able to find a single ministry reaching out to Thai male sex workers. Since learning of this great need and already feeling drawn to the people of Thailand, I have been compelled to pursue moving there to start or join a ministry reaching out to these young men.

Iven Says: From our very first date I knew that in courting Kashmira I was also courting her call to Bangkok. For a time I wrestled with that – sure, I like Thai food, but was this how God most wanted to use me? It’s true that I had never been to Bangkok when I decided to marry Kashmira, and to this day God has never said, “Iven – you need to move to Bangkok.” But God has been teaching me to love the urban poor since my first real conversation with a homeless woman (her name was Mary) back in 1998. And God has been leading me to love the nations and people of other cultures for almost as long. From my first rather reluctant missions trip to Albania through my “part-time-just-to-pay-the-bills” administrative work supporting global missions, God has made it abundantly clear that he desires for me to serve him overseas. Whether praying in the slums of Mumbai or learning about how important hope is from a homeless artist in Portland, God has called me to love the poor. And I am certain that my passion to see that people are well fed, adequately housed and full of the hope found in Jesus can grow just as fruitfully among the 1,024 slums of Bangkok as it can in the streets of Seattle or Portland or Calcutta. “Why Thailand?” That’s easy, because God loves Thai food! And God loves Thai people too.

Mailing Address

Our mailing address in Thailand is:

Iven & Kashmira Hauptman

c/o YWAM Thailand

PO Box 20

Thungsetthi

Bangkok, 10263

THAILAND

Phone Number & Skype

For those who like communicating the old fashioned way (and the new-fashioned way too!) we have a Seattle area-code based phone number that finds our computer in Bangkok, courtesy of Skype (the coolest internet tool ever).

206.201.2134

or you can Skype us as: ivenandkashmira

Our mobile phone number in Bangkok is:

Country Code: (+66)

Mobile Number: 08 614 5017 (if dialing from overseas replace the first 0 with the country code)

If you would like to be on our email list then let us know by filling out the following form:

Thank you friends, we love you!