Howdy and Greetings from Chiang Rai. Great News !!! We have a COURT DATE! This week on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:00 am (Thai Time)(Tuesday 9pm CST), my case for selling Goat Milk at the local market will be presented before the court.
Here is what we wrote back when it all happened
“On Tuesday afternoon November 4 … I sold to several regulars as I walked through the market and then proceeded to my usual spot at the front corner where I have sold our goat milk for the past 2 ½ years.
A lady purchased some milk, quickly followed by another man and what appeared to be several friends. One seemed especially interested as he was taking a video of the sale. After I made change, the man presented a badge and asked me for my ID. A quick discussion of who I was and what I was doing ensued and the next thing I knew, I was being arrested for participating in “Prohibited activities for a foreigner”. I was quickly whisked away by the police and detained at the local police station. Lots of officers were there. Several taking pictures while others wrote reports to document my milk sales activities. I was very confused because our farm has permission to produce and sell Goat Milk and shortly after when I tried to clarify what was going on, I was read my rights and advised to contact my attorney. I was in custody for about six hours before I was released on bail. During this time I was under constant surveillance and questioned continually. This was a time of intense frustration, anxiety, and fear because I had no idea what the outcome would be. I was told that this offense can carry fines and time in jail.”
My attorney has prepared all of our documents and we have been waiting and ready for this date since before Christmas. When I got the call the other day I was really excited but now that we get closer to the date, I am starting to get nervous. Obviously I am not selling milk anymore, and God has blessed us with several new sales locations in Chiang Rai, a Cheese Factory that buys lots of milk every week, and we have more regular customers than ever before. Recently we have not even been able to fill all of our orders, BUT in the past several weeks we have had more than 20 new goat kids at the farm which is increasing our production every day.
Living by faith through all of our experiences over the past year has given us interesting opportunities to see God working. My illness has taken me out of the day to day chores and my arrest has taken me out of the local market. This has put a lot more responsibility on our team and they are performing remarkably well. God is also changing the way that we do ministry and outreach to the community. In addition, we see how God is preparing us and our team for our upcoming trip to the US this summer where we will have time to have time with our family and friends, develop our ministry organization, and help to get our oldest daughter Hattie into college.
Please be in prayer for the proceedings at the court this week. Our attorney believes that we will be assessed a nominal fine, however this offense has the potential to carry with it substantial fines and jail time. Pray that we would find favor with the courts, the police, and others that we interact with tomorrow. We thank God for our attorney and friends that have supported us through this and look forward to bringing this to conclusion. I hope to email you on Wednesday after we have a sentence.
The Brittan Family, and Narrow Gate Asia is blessed to call you our friends and partners in ministry. We thank God for you, for your prayers, and for your support of our ministry.
Prayer Requests:
- Prayer that God’s Will will be done during the Court Proceedings Wednesday morning (Tuesday Evening 9pm CST)
- Pray for provision of Missionary Housing for our upcoming visit to the US in June.
- Pray for provision of financial resources for ongoing ministry cost in Thailand and for cost of living State-side while on furlough.
- Pray for our new team partners to help us oversee our project while we are away.
- Pray for Pattie and the kids to finish strong at Chiang Rai International Christian School.
- Pray for Hattie's decision for where she will attend college.
- Praise God for his guidance, protection, wisdom, and provision for Narrow Gate Asia and the Brittan Family.
- Pray that God’s Kingdom will come and Will be done in North Thailand through Narrow Gate Asia.
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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Contact us on Facebook, or at hbrittan@narrowgateasia.org
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