God spoke to me through Psalm 146, and called me to work with the hurting, the poor and widow. He also gave me a burden for Thai families. Because of the weak families in Thailand, we have many social problems, such as child trafficking, addictions to drugs and video games, sexual activity at young ages, violence, and child beggars. After sensing a call to help, my next question was, how? I looked at the gifts God gave me and two gifts stood out, a love for children, and the ability to teach. A school that was accessible to everyone, but especially the poor seemed like the logical place to begin. The fact that I wouldn't only be working with the children but also the parents fit my vision as well. I quickly realized because of the amount of legal work involved in establishing a Thai school, the best way to start would be through a nursery. Our long term goal is to eventually start an elementary school as well. I am certain if God wants the nursery to grow into a school, then He will bring that to pass. In December of 2011 God opened the door for me to go to America for 7 months. My purpose was to study the Mennonite families and the reasons their families are so strong. I believe if the family is strong then many of the social problems will disappear. I also wanted to observe daycare centers in America. The burden grew for my father, Pastor Kiat, as well. For 2 years we prayed, fasted and waited for God’s timing. We had nothing but our vision. We needed staff, land, a building and money. The beginning of September a lady contacted one of our church members. She had just finished building a big house beside our church. She also owns the land where our church building is located and we rent from her. Due to some unanticipated circumstances she decided she wanted to live close to her family and thus needed to find someone to rent her new house. Because she knew we wanted to start a nursery, she asked the church member if we found a location for the nursery, yet. They told her we hadn’t, and she asked if my father’s phone number was the same. Through the grapevine, my dad found out about the conversation and was so excited he couldn’t wait until she called him, so he called her! They came to an agreement on the amount and a 3 year contract was signed, but we weren’t ready for the nursery until January of 2015. She agreed to allow us to begin paying rent in January! What a gift! Though the lady was building the house for herself, it’s not at all hard to imagine God was behind the way she designed it. It is designed, not as a typical Thai home, but more like a school. The house is big enough to accommodate our goal of about 50-60 children ages 1 month to 6 years old. The kitchen is large and includes 3 sinks! There are even 2 restrooms side by side, one pink and one blue! Thanks for walking with us as we follow God on this adventure! Please pray for us as we follow Him and impact young children for His kingdom. Thank you!
- Nueng
