We need more prayers for Naet, don't stop.

A few weeks ago, we put out the call for prayers for Naet who is one of the children of Blessing Home.  Naet is living with a former girlfriend of her uncle, and this woman is forcing Naet to sell drugs.  We are in the process of trying to help Teacher Pui receive guardianship of Naet.  We are also trying to get a birth certificate for Naet so she can go to school.  We asked for prayer because this is a difficult process in Naet's case.  God answered your prayers in the person of one of the members of Life Center UMC in Pattaya, named Mrs. Sutjai.  Mrs. Sutjai is a social worker with much experience in this and she is helping us each step of the way.

So here is the story.

Naet's father has legal custody of her, even though he has never met her.  Naet's father went to prison before she was born for selling drugs and her mother died of AIDS when she was a newborn.  After that, Naet was cared for by her paternal grandmother who is in her 70's.  It was at this time that Naet started coming to Blessing Home at the age of 2.  The situation in Naet's grandmother's house has been dangerous because everybody in the house, her uncles and even her grandmother, sell drugs.

This past year, everyone in the household except Naet, who is only 5 was arrested for selling drugs and sent to prison, including her 10 year old cousin and her older sister who is a teenager (both of whom were forced into being drug couriers against their will - and if they refused they would be beaten and sent out into the dangerous streets).  Now this woman who is not even a relative is "caring" for Naet and using her in the drug trade.

First, we needed to get correct information on Naet.  We needed to get the correct names for Naet, her mother, her father, plus her correct birthdate, place of birth, birthdays of her mother and father and their places of birth.  We visited Naet's grandmother in prison and had only 10 minutes to be with her.  We could not get all of the information we needed, so then we had to travel to another city to visit Naet's sister who is in another prison.  Now we had all of the information we needed.  We also had Naet's grandmother and sister sign documents saying they wanted Naet's father to give custody to Teacher Pui.  They both know and love Teacher Pui, but Naet's father does not know Naet and therefore does not know Pui as well.  We knew we would need these documents to show him that he should show compassion on his daughter and sign over custody to someone who would love and care for her.

Because it is Thai New Year, most everything is shut down for almost 2 weeks, so we must wait until the next day Mrs. Sutjai can come with us to go visit Naet's father.  Please pray he will sign the documents.  If he does, Naet will have safety, and we will also be able to get a birth certificate for her as well, because we discovered she was born in a government hospital, so they would have records on hand, which makes the process much, much easier.

Thank you for continuing your prayers.  We will keep you updated.

Urgent Prayer is Needed

Now is the time for continuous prayer for Naet, who is the poster child of Blessing Home.

We need some miracles here.  Naet’s mother soon after she was born from HIV/AIDS and her father and all of her family, including her grandmother, are in jail for selling drugs.  At this time, Naet is living with a former girlfriend of her uncle.  We now know this woman is using Naet as a mule to carry and deliver the drugs she sells, and this woman will not allow Naet to come to Blessing Home.  Naet is in danger and we need prayers.

We have contacted Naet’s grandmother at the Pattaya Prison, and she has compassion for Naet.  We have asked her to contact her son (Naet’s father) to request him to give guardianship of Naet to Teacher Pui, the director of Blessing Home.  We will be going to visit Naet’s father at Nakhon Pithom Prison next week with a legal expert to see if he will sign guardianship documents.  Everything depends upon Naet’s father signing the documents.  If Naet’s father shows compassion on her, and gives guardianship to Teacher Pui, then Pui can provide foster care for her until adoptive Thai parents can be found.  Also, if Pui has guardianship, we can then proceed to obtain a birth certificate for her, which is a complicated process that will require a lot of traveling.  The birth certificate is required for Naet to go to public school and to later get a National ID card so she can be employed as an adult.

So, this week please pray every day for Naet.  Your prayers are vital.

We thank all who have been faithful in giving to our mission.   Without your help, the ministry here would not be possible.

It is a rare occasion when we speak about financial matters, instead we speak about what the Lord is doing here in Thailand.  But undesignated giving, which goes to the General Fund, was low in March.  It is the undesignated giving (which supports the General Fund of the budget) which pays our salary, travel expenses, an all of the things which are needed for the ministry.  So if the Lord leads you to give, we really need some undesignated funds to support the general budget, the everyday mission needs.  Also, be sure to visit the Thailand Methodist Mission website at http://thailandmethodist.org, where you can give online or send a check in the mail to:

TMM

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758