LOVE to SPARE

George, Rita, Prateep, Baptist Pastor, Machas, & Saenthong

Prateep is a small lady with a very big heart for the Lord Jesus.

She married her sweetheart and she and her husband began a church among the ricefields in Suphanburi, Central Thailand. Besides attending to her family Prateep faithfully laboured alongside her husband to build up their congregation.

Sadly after many happy and fruitful years together, Prateep's husband fell very ill. She believes the Lord prompted him to give her some excellent advice.

First, he told her to learn how to drive their car. Then he said she would need to learn some special skill to be able to provide for herself and the children. That was the very beginning of a change in her whole life, because some time later her love of many years died. She grieved, but thanked the Lord that her husband had given her the encouragement to become independent.

Prateep learned to design and sew beautiful items for sale, such as tablecloths, place-mats, tissue box covers etc. These exquisite, lacy pieces have become so popular that she now exports them throughout SE Asia. They are usually pastel-colored and often have seed pearls attached. I have several myself.

When her business began to grow she had the idea of handing out the work to local women to help them in turn to add to their small incomes. Better still, the love of Jesus shone through her personality. She has an appealing and quirky sense of humour and loves and cares for each one of her sewing workers.Not surprisingly, eventually forty of them became believers. Machas - in the photo above - is one of them who is now a close friend.

 After my husband and I took a Sunday service in Hotel Khon Kaen for international visitors, this picture shows some of our team. Prateep and Machas regularly join Somchai & Saenthong, Thai evangelists, in their travels throughout Thailand. It has been our great joy to minister alongside these enthusiastic Thais when we minister for a month each year to tell about Jesus.