micro-enterprise
God Arrived Just in Time
CBN.com – Somlak of Singburi, Thailand, spent most of her childhood raising pigs to support her poor widowed mother and six siblings. She married young with the hope of starting a better life, but as the years passed, her life grew more desperate. After two failed marriages with husbands who cheated on her and squandered her money, Somlak was left alone with large debts, no hope, and four children.
“I searched for something good to fill up my life because I felt so weary,” Somlak said. “I had to face so many problems alone and felt I couldn’t go on. I needed someone to help me.”
After watching CBN Siam’s From Heart to Heart, Somlak’s desperation inspired her to call CBN’s Counseling Center. She poured out her heart to the counselor who encouraged her to trust in God and pray to Him – and that is what she did. Every day at 5 a.m., Somlak would spend time in prayer.
CBN’s Counseling Center informed Operation Blessing of Somlak’s situation. OB contacted a local church in Somlak’s area that sent people to visit her. They listened to Somlak as she shared her story and then prayed with her. When Somlak expressed her desire to know Jesus, they led her in a prayer of salvation.
“After that, everything changed!” Somlak said. “I felt better. God answered my prayers. I found courage to face the world again because…I no longer have to fight alone. God is always with me. I used to think of committing suicide to get away from my problems, but God stepped in at just the right time.”
In December 2007, Operation Blessing provided Somlak with 12 piglets, pig food, a pig pen, 5000 fish fingerlings, and fish food at a cost of approximately $2,200. Somlak used to earn less than $25 a week collecting cow manure and working on a dairy farm. Now, with these new micro-enterprises provided by OB, Somlak is confident that she has more than enough to meet the needs of her large family and erase all the debts that she had been left with.
As CBN Siam’s Production, Counseling, and OB teams continue to work hand in hand with the local church, lives are transformed.
“I would like to thank CBN for helping me find Jesus and for supporting me with these livelihood projects,” Somlak said. “This has given me new hope to trust in God as he leads me into the future.”
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