A beautiful story of an aunt and her niece.

Last year we met a young lady named Kung. Kung grew up near to our home, living in a family that she describes as ‘broken’. Kung says that she often felt unloved by her father and that her family struggled financially to get by. Kung wanted to get a good education, but her family couldn't afford to send her to a good university. Determined to study, Kung worked hard at school and was granted 100% scholarships to study at 2 well renowned universities in Thailand, completing her bachelor’s degree followed by her master’s degree.

It was while Kung was at university that she met someone who told her about Jesus. Kung decided to accept Jesus into her heart eight years ago at the start of her studies. When she finished her master’s degree, her pastor asked her if she was interested to attend a Discipleship Training School(DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). 

It was during her DTS at YWAM in Chaing Rai, in the north of Thailand, that we first met Kung. Kung was one of the students along with Diaw, a young man who came out of the prison ministry here in Ratchaburi. Little did we know at that point that Kung’s life and our prison ministry were already interconnected to a much greater degree.

Kung and Diaw

 Five years before Kung went to do her DTS, her aunt, Napa was sent to prison in Bangkok. Kung went to visit her and shared the Gospel with her. Kung encouraged NaPa to join the Christian fellowship in the Bangkok prison.

A few years later, Napa was transferred to the Ratchaburi Central Prison. Napa has been a part of the women’s fellowship for some time now, and this week began her own DTS journey as a part of the Prison DTS.

Kung says of NaPa: “Napa has a heart to serve God. God will help her and will do even more in her than He has done in me.”

Kung is now living close to home again and has begun reaching out to children who are growing up in circumstances similar to her own - many from broken families, attending poor quality schools and having to fight for the right to a better education. Kung teaches extra lessons to them after school hours, tutoring them and sharing the love of Jesus with them. Only God knows what their future will be like one day, but having someone like Kung as an example for them to follow can only encourage them to keep fighting for the future that they deserve.