"WOW! Nine Years!"

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved; … in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”… Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, … blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:15-18

 

Nine Years … I was telling my daughter Emma a story the other day about getting off of the plane in Thailand and meeting our team for the very first time.  I could recall every detail, every image, every sound, every smell, and every emotion.  It was all right there , just as if it was yesterday.  On the other hand, I look at my children and how they’ve grown, I look at our ministry at Narrow Gate Asia and the way God has lead and Provided and so much has happened. 

Nine years ago we began our work in Thailand as volunteers with a Christian Community Development Organization,

Six Years ago we came stateside as a family to announce and form a new ministry called Narrow Gate Asia.

Three years ago, we came stateside for a brief visit to share and celebrate the graduation of our first pastoral intern from Narrow Gate Asia, and reconnect with churches, friends, and family.

This year we are looking forward to having time as a family to “visit” the States once more.  This trip is going to be much different than ever before.  It matches the same three year interval, but that is where the similarities stop.  In the past we have made relatively short trips to focus on ministry and partner development while incorporating visits with friends and family as we have been able to fit it in.

Just as when God called us to come serve Him in Thailand, He is now calling us to rest in Him for a season that will  give us much needed time to be with our children, our parents, extended and church family.  We have shared a lot of late, about how important “RELATIONSHIPS” are in the context of our ministry, and as we look to the long term future of our family and ministry, we can see that this time to rest will be crucial to the nurture of our closest relationships.  Over the past several months we have been praying with a group of friends and mentors about what our upcoming trip to the US might look like and we anticipate arriving there in mid-June and staying for one year. 

During this time, we look forward to visiting with all of you whom we love and miss … and we will also have specific tasks, as we rest, re-tool, and prepare for our family’s continued ministry in Thailand.

-    Hattie will be enrolling and getting settled in college this summer.  Pray for her as she makes final decisions on where to go.  She has been accepted to Messiah College in PA, Tarleton State in TX, Texas A&M, and we are waiting to hear from Cornell in NY and about scholarships that could help us to determine where she will attend.
-    Emma is currently preparing video applications for Summer Intensive Ballet programs as she hopes to pursue a career in dance.  Coming to the US is a great opportunity to help her develop her skills.  Pray for Emma as she applies and also for God’s financial provision of resources for these programs.
-    Harry V plans on attending Boy Scout Camp, Church Camp, and VBS this summer as he reconnects with friends and family in Texas.  He is very active in scouts here in Thailand and we are praying for help in connecting him with a good troop on the west side of Fort Worth.
-    Nellie is looking forward to going to camp and VBS while in Fort Worth, and this will be a special time for her to have memories and experiences of her own will she is in the US.  Pray for Nellie as she was only a little baby when we came to Thailand  and there will be lots for her to learn during a year in the US.
-    We are praying about school for next year and pray that the Lord will lead our family to a great school for our children and that he will provide for all their educational needs in the US.
-    Pattie will be pursuing her teaching certificate in Texas and for ACSI, to further prepare her for her teaching and leadership roles at Chiang Rai International Christian School.  Pray for the application and approval process and that she will be certified to be the great teacher that she already is.  If possible, she would like to do her student teaching / internship at a Private Christian School in the community that would complement what she is doing to serve here in North Thailand.  The experience in another school would give her greater diversity as she returns to Thailand.
-    Harry will be working to complete his Masters degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and partnering with a local Goat Dairy to gain practical experience in farm management and cheese making.  Pray that these classes are a time of encouragement and blessings, as well as a time to further refine skills and relationships that will develop our ministry in North Thailand.
-    As a Family we look forward to times of retreat and refreshment, travel to visit friends and family, and time to relax and hear God speak into our lives and family.
-    Having time in the US will give us much needed opportunity for health care and recuperation as well.  Please pray for God’s provision for health insurance, and for doctors that can assist us with specific health needs.
-    This next year will also be a time to further develop Narrow Gate Asia as a thriving organization, and to develop relationships with individuals, organizations, and churches that will propel Narrow Gate Asia into God’s plan for the future.  Please pray for the guidance of Narrow Gate Asia’s board members and that we will grow our ministry into the organization that the Lord wants it to be.

To make this trip possible, we would ask for your help to pray for the following requests:

• Housing – We are praying for missionary housing in the west Forth Worth, TX area.  Maybe you know of a church that has a house available for missionaries or possibly an individual that would make housing available for a returning missionary either as a donation to NGA or at a reduced rental rate.  Please pray for a place to call home and for the financial resources to run and maintain a home while we are in the States.
• Vehicle -  Please pray for reliable transportation while we are in the US.  Not only will this be necessary for day to day work, but also for longer trips to visit churches, partners, and family.
• Airline Tickets – Please pray for God’s provision for airline tickets.  This could be provided in the form of Airline Miles, Contribution of tickets from an airline employee, or through a designated gift towards the purchase of these tickets.  Today, it takes about 80,000 AA miles to travel from Thailand to DFW airport, while one ticket is approximately $1,000 usd.  Please pray for God’s provision.
• Financial provision -  Please pray for God to lead people to give and be a part our ministry and family at Narrow Gate Asia.  While we are serving Stateside for one year, our project and ministry will continue through the work of our team members and partners.  Our projects in Thailand as well as Missionaries will continue to live by faith, through your financial support.  We are grateful for your faithfulness to serve along with us in this way.

I have to be honest … the decision to come Stateside for one year has been even harder in some ways than coming to Thailand in the first place.  We are excited about going on one hand, but cannot imagine leaving on the other.  Thailand is our home.  God has called us here and provided in amazing ways for our family and ministry.  He is also calling us to the States for this season, and will continue to provide for and guide our ministry while we are away.  So please be in prayer for this transition.

We look forward to seeing you all!  It will be a wonderful reunion and we can’t wait to share more with you about God’s faithfulness, as we seek for God’s Kingdom to come, and Will be done in North Thailand through you and the Narrow Gate Asia Team.

We would also like to hear from you, if you have any comments, or suggestions about housing, vehicles, airline tickets, or opportunities to provide financially for any one of the needs that we are praying for.

Thank you, and Blessings from the
Brittan Family
Harry, Pattie, Hattie, Emma, Harry V, and Nellie.
 
Send Letters and Tax Deductible Contributions to:

Narrow Gate Asia
P.O. Box 260275
Plano, TX 75026-0275 USA

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