Passing the Buck - Narrow Gate Celebrates our First Intern

After five years of Prayers, Planning, and Preparing, we finally get to celebrate!!  This Past Saturday, we celebrated the Graduation of the first intern to complete our program for training Bi-Vocational pastors at Narrow Gate Farm and Dairy.  Sangtee Zillian, from Myanmar, committed to and followed through with our training and internship program and to honor this achievement we had a time of sharing, testimony, and worship to commemorate the event.  Before concluding, we presented him with a certificate, and livestock to start his farm in Mynmar.
 
One of our key partners, is a veterinarian serving with Christian Veterinary Missions named Dr. Rachel Buffington.  She came with our good friend and partner Dr. Peter Quesenberry who has advised us on many animal health and dairy issues on our farm.  Here is what she had to say about our celebration at Narrow Gate Farm and Dairy.

"This Past Saturday I traveled up to the border to celebrate with some missionary friends from Texas the graduation of their first ministry intern.  With no background in animal care, they began raising goats a year ago to teach poor pastors a way to make a living while serving in the church.  At the same time, the pastors receive Biblical training and a solid foundation to return to their own villages able to lead others.  I measure my time in Thailand by the arrival of goats on the farm last year, as we came just a few days apart.  Since then, I've spent hours working through the foreignness of this ministry with them: for me the situational surprises of raising goats in a foreign land; for them, the goats.  I have also gotten to know their hardworking intern well.  He graciously accepted our invitation to join our last animal health training where he skillfully translated from Thai to his mother tongue, which he shares with our other trainees.

They have come so far in the last year.  Their goats are healthy and happy, they work hard, and they are living out their vision by sending their first intern back to his start his own ministry.  I am proud of them!

We met under the shade of the lynchee trees at the goat farm for a ceremony which included the gifting of a plaque and 6 goats (5 does and a buck) from the farm that he will take back home with him to establish his own farm and ministry.  At the end, we took this group picture, Bertha the goat included (the guest of honor is the young man in the white shirt standing close to his new doe)."

Our farm, is not a training center, but rather, our work-force is made up of young men and women who have been called by God to be Bi-Vocational Pastors and leaders.  Sangtee and our other interns get hands on experience in the farm, and we also partner them with other local pastors so that they can have hands on ministry experience in the church.  During this one year program, the participants are discipled, study church planting, and farming technologies. 

Many of you have been praying for this special day right along side us.  We are blessed to call you our co-workers, because equipping of Bi-Vocational Church Planters would not be possible without your prayers, encouragement, and support.  From our entire team here at Narrow Gate ... Thank you!

See you in Texas in 22 DAYS!

In His Grip, God Bless
The Brittans

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Narrow Gate Asia
P.O. Box 260275
Plano, TX 75075 USA

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