“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” - Matthew 5: 3-4 (NIV)

Our parents arranged our marriage when we were teenagers. I was the only child in my family. I remember walking two hours on the day of my weeding to get to Yauz-Nguenc’s village. The first time Yauz-Nguenc saw me, he said I was beautiful. However, things changed throughout the years. Slowly Yauz-Nguenc became an alcoholic, go out often, became abusive, and was very jealous. He was just so mean to me. I couldn’t have children of my own so I adopted six children, three have passed away. There were so many challenges in our marriage, it’s hard to tell every single one. But the most hurtful was when he would leave the children and me. For many years, I would have to farm, cook, clean, and do everything myself. It was not easy. Yauz-Nguenc would be out with his friends or too drunk to wake up and help, and if he was awake, he was so mean. I am more of the talkative type and like to smile a lot. Yauz-Nguenc would be so upset with me if he thought I talked a little too much. It was hard for me but I bit my tongue and shut my mouth. During this time, I was searching for something to help give me strength. I started worshiping Buddhist Goddess. I remember believing in that for a few years. It became too much to keep up with because of certain times for prayers and I would have to burn incense. The incense cost money and eventually I decided to stop that.

Years later, I heard Jesus can save lives. I felt a sense of powerlessness in myself and heard that Jesus can help. I came to Him and Yauz followed me. We became believers in Christ and starting going to Church.

Yauz-Nquenc: “I have no credibility but my wife does. Her heart is so beautiful. God has given us peace in our hearts since we became believers.”

We come to this conference because these conferences help us understand how we should love each other. We still want to work on our marriage. I have become paralyzed on my right side, I cannot cook, clean, or do much at home anymore. Yauz-Nquenc is the one now that is doing all the cooking, cleaning, and he is helping to take care of me. So this conference helps us understand how to take care of each other and be there for each other. We hold hands and Yauz-Nquenc has learned through these conferences to be a forgiving man of Christ. I get 700 bhat and Yao gets 800 bhat a month but we know how valuable these conferences are. We saved all year so that we can be here. We rode two hours in the coach bus, two hours in taxi, and an hour on the back of the truck for a total of five hours so we don’t’ miss out on this. We are going to start encouraging the younger couples to attend. These conferences are very valuable and we would like this if possible to be more often and if it could be in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Prayer Request

Pray that our children will come to Christ. Give each of us strength to do our everyday work. Also help our marriage become stronger.