Brittan Family: "Is it OK to do that ... ?" A Farmer Would!


With Khun Brawoot and his Wife

Recently we were blessed at Narrow Gate farm and Dairy to have the opportunity to purchase some new production goats for our herd. I had initially said “No”, to the farmer’s daughter when she called, but after further consideration, and more importantly after God’s provision through some good friends in Texas, I called them back and said that we wanted to buy what they had for sale.

First some history:

Two years ago, we got to be friends with Khun Brawoot and his family on a goat buying trip down to Central Thailand. At the time, my daughter Hattie went with me and this family took us in as if one of the family had come home to visit. This was the first time that a Christian had ever set foot in this Muslim home. We ate wonderful food, drank lots of Goat Milk and tea made with Goat Milk, and began to build a relationship that continues to grow. We were even invited to stay with them in their extra room for several nights. In our conversations, we of course talked about goats and milk, but we also talked about how Islam was important to their family, and we shared about why being a Christian was important to us. The last night we were there, his Daughter asked my favorite question, ”What does Narrow Gate Mean?” With the Farmer and his family surrounding us, I told them that this comes from Jesus’ teachings in the Bible, and then asked if they would like me to explain it. We spent the next 1.5 hours sharing about Narrow Gate to this Muslim family.

But the story does not stop there!

When his daughter recently called to ask if we wanted more goats, She went on to explain that her 74 year old father could no longer raise them because of health issues and needed to sell them quickly. Khun Brawoot was impressed with our farm and had not offered these goats to anyone else at such a discounted price. He wanted us to have his entire herd because he could trust that we would raise the animals well. Despite our differences in faith, I was blessed to know that I had made a friend that trusted me as a farmer.


The last milking session after 50 Years.

We loaded and prepared our truck, and with a friend from Chiang Rai named Eric (He's from Michagan but we will forgive him for that.), embarked on a 12 hour road trip to buy new goats for our farm. Just like the first time, when we arrived we were treated like the son returning home. It was great fun to be there, share a meal, and fellowship with this family of farmers. On the other hand, I was saddened to see how my friend’s health had deteriorated. He was already scheduled for surgery for a Knee replacement, and for his Left Eye because he could no longer see. That morning, prior to loading the goats on our truck, we assisted Khun Brawoot with the last milking session in his farm. This man had been raising milk goats for over 50 years. It was a blessing to be there to share this moment with him.

It took us several hours and lots of sweat and straining to load the truck, which we had prepared with two levels for transport. We finalized our business transaction and got cleaned up for our drive back to our farm.

Eric helping unload the goats. Could not do it with my friend.

Before we left, my friend Eric asked if we could pray for Khun Brawoot. I paused for a moment and then asked permission to do this. Then … Eric asked, “Can I lay hands on his Knee?” My eyes got huge, and I was a bit short of breath, merely to think about doing this for a Muslim man.

So I explained, “As a Christian, it is our tradition that we lay hands on the part of the body that we are going to pray healing for … We would ask for the Holy Spirt of God to make Himself known and present, and because He is the great Physician we will ask the God of Abraham to heal this man in the name of Jesus… Would this be OK?” And, Khun Brawoot answered very simply, “Yes…”

I translated, as I watched my friend Eric kneel down in front of this 74 year old Muslim Goat Farmer. He oh so gently laid his hands upon his swollen and painful right knee, and with tears in his eyes he began to call out to Jesus to heal Khun Brawoot. There is no way for me to deny the warmth and power that I felt in the midst of that prayer. With many people from Khun Brawoot’s family looking on, we could also see in the eyes of this family’s leader that he too had been blessed by these prayers. With tears in our eyes, we gave hugs all around and boarded the truck for Mae Sai with our new Goats.

I will never forget Khun Brawoot and his family. He has completed his surgeries and is now recovering. He misses the daily activity of raising the goats, but we continue to pray for them, and that Jesus will come to live in their hearts soon.

To see more pictures from the trip, go to Facebook and look at this album:
https://www.facebook.com/hbrittan/media_set?set=a.3072600870535.1073741829.1729070076&type=3


The Brittan Family.

I praise God, that He lets me be a farmer.

Specific Prayer Requests for Ministry and Family:

Pray that God will use our little goat farm to open the Narrow Gate that leads to life for the Muslim and Buddhist people of Thailand.
Pray for God to call churches and individuals to partner with Narrow Gate Asia financially on a monthly partnership basis.
Pray for provision of needs in relation to development of facilities for our bi-vocational ministry training.
Pray for God’s wisdom and the His Kingdom will come and Will done in North Thailand.
Pray for Ronald Tan from Singapore who will arrive on Tuesday, Sept 10 to assist us with Business as Mission Development
Pray for Joshua Tyre from Harvey Baptist church in Stephenville, TEXAS who will arrive on Sept. 17 for two weeks to do ministry in the farm, CRICS, and Akha Villages in Mae Sai.

God Bless, and thank you for your prayers and support.

In His Grip
Harry, Pattie, Hattie, Emma, Harry V, and Nellie.
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Narrow Gate Asia
P.O. Box 260275
Plano, TX 75026-0275 USA

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Contact us on Facebook, or at hbrittan@narrowgateasia.org