“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7: 13-14.
When you see a picture of our family, you are looking at our entire mission organization. It is a “Narrow Gate” indeed! Being part of such a small ministry, limits our access to resources and programs that other missionaries may have available to them. One such activity is Conferences and Retreats to sharpen the missionary saw.
Kids in the car on the way to YWAM last week.
But, Praise the Lord … !
Last week we had the opportunity to attend such a retreat hosted by Youth With A Mission (YWAM). In our community we have a number of friends who serve with YWAM and they invited us to join them at a resort in Mae Sai with over 150 other Thai and Foreign missionaries and servants from around the North Thailand area. We had amazing times of worship lead by my friend John Justine, we participated in workshops about missionary families, about mission administration, and we had the blessing of learning from the experiences of Dan Bauman, a YWAM missionary who has served for more than 26 years including a period of time where he was imprisoned in Iran for his work. This time of fellowship and Worship was amazing.
YWAM Conference in Mae Sai 2014
But I don’t want to tell it all. I will let the rest of the members of the Narrow Gate team share how they were blessed.
Our Friend John on Guitar
Nellie – (Age 9) – At the conference I went swimming, we went to child care, and slept. When I was at child care I colored, made crafts, we did a singing show for our parents, and we had Bible stories. The biggest blessing at the conference was that I got to meet so many new friends. I like new friends.
Lil’ Harry - (Age 11) - My favorite part of the retreat was that i made a lot of friends. Throughout the day we went to child care and I made friends with my entire class. In child care we made crafts, played a new game called Wax Museum, and we watched two movies. We had a lot of fun. We ate Buffets every meal! I was most blessed with friends.
Emma - (Age 14) -The past few days I got the opportunity to be in charge of childcare for the 5-8 year olds at the YWAM conference. I had a whole bunch of fun teaching them and helping them with crafts. The YWAM conference in general was awesome and I hope I get to do this again sometime.
Hattie – (Age 17) – Our friends asked if I would be able to help with child-care during the conference. I was in charge of the babies under 4 years old. I love little kids and they were all adorable. We got to play, tell stories, and I taught them a song called “I Wanna Be a Sheep” for the closing show. It was hard work to be in child care, but it was such a blessing to know that I was serving the kids and the parents.
Harry – (Dad) – Worship and Fellowship at the retreat was awesome. We saw so many old friends and made lots of new ones. The Theme of the weekend was “Intimacy unto Fruitfulness”. Dan Bauman, long time YWAM missionary, was there to share with us his heart and his experiences so that we might be encouraged to develop intimacy with Jesus. For me, this conferences comes after many months of struggles primarily related to my health. Through his testimony and struggles while in prison in Iran, I was reminded that “I am NOT responsible for it all!” God told me through the words of this man, “Harry … ‘I (Jesus) love you, and I promise to carry you through this!” Intimacy with Jesus is not about whether or not I have it all together, but about discovering God in both the good and the bad. These are timely words I needed to hear.
We are blessed to serve as missionaries in North Thailand. We are blessed to have friends in the local community that open their doors and hearts to minister to us. And we are blessed to serve with each of you that God has put into our lives to serve the people of North Thailand through Narrow Gate Asia.
We thank God for you. Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement for our family and ministry.
PS: Health Update: During the past couple weeks, Harry has changed doctors (Specialist in Chiang Mai) for his Ulcerative Colitis. Through additional testing, he has determined that Harry has not been responding to his treatment and he has made changes that are resulting in significant progress. Harry feels better than he has in months. That said, last week he experienced some complications, possibly as a result of the Anemia, in regards to his heart. We have begun testing and treatment with a cardiologist, and look forward to a rapid recovery. Please continue to pray for healing. Thank you.
God Bless, and Thank you from the Brittan Family
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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