Gayle's Ministry in Thailand

 

 Can you notice anything wrong with this beautiful two and a half month old baby boy?   Maybe it is not so noticeable in this picture.  What about this picture?

 

EhJsua was born with a 90 degree club foot, (Right foot).  He will be a cripple for life without corrective surgery.  His Mother and I would like to plead for help.  We can do range of motion exercises, but that won’t correct the problem.  The children’s hospital in Bangkok can perform the surgery.  The cost is much lower than in America, but I cannot get an estimate from this hospital.  We will begin by asking $2000.00.  If that does not cover it I will send out an emergeny plea for more help. 

This baby lives with his parents in the center of BYT.  I would love to see him run and play when he is older.  If you feel impressed to help please send donations to “EhJsua – Gayle’s Project” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

 

I felt like making a face like this also when I saw the bag of opium on the floor and when the man tried to take my syringe used to inject Lidocaine  into his wound.

 KryCo village is a remote, poor village.  It is the village farthest away from BYT that we travel to see.  We had just treated 33 patients there on the small porch of a dirty hut.  Weary from the trip in, the heat, and from struggling with supplies, and proper understanding and treatment of each patient, I climbed onto the back of our motorcycle looking forward to the breeze which would cool us as we drove home.  The way out of the village is quite steep.  Halfway up the steepest part we were flagged down by some people living in the last hut.  We want to cringe and groan inside our hearts because:

1.  We do not want to stop on a steep hill. 

2. All our medical bags are packed neatly and bungee corded onto the bike.  And,

3.  Why hadn’t these people come to the house where we were treating people for the last 2 hours?    . . . But we stopped and untied our bags.

I entered the small crooked bamboo hut carefully.  There was no ladder in, so I “gracefully” pulled myself up inside. These people were from another village.  We had not seen them here before.  The woman, WahTha, was lying on a mat, feverish and hardly able to walk.  Her history is one I do not like to hear because I do not understand it!  She said her blood is all messed up and running up and down inside her body.  When it gets to her head she cannot walk and sometimes passes out.  The blood rushes back and forth inside her making a whirring sound.  Now how do you treat that?  She was obviously sick though.  I took her vital signs and treated her as best I could with what I had and determined to come back and follow up with her.  As we repacked our bags and prepared to jump out the side of the house, a man, DooCher, 56 years old, shows us a horrid infection on his right forearm that he had had for one week.  I had him take off his jacket so I could see his entire arm.  My heart ached inside my chest as I saw the all too familiar needle track marks up his arm -another opium addict. His infection was probably caused by a dirty needle.  Numbing medicine really won’t help this, but I do it anyway to help the man understand that I do not want to hurt him, but must remove the puss.  Blet Jaw captured the moment by taking this picture of DooCher’s face as the puss was removed.  I want to make a face like this also as I see a bag of opium on the floor and the man tries to take my syringe and needle that I had used to numb his arm. 

 We prayed with these people before we left and tried to tell these dear ones something about the lovely Jesus and His power to save.

I pray again now:  “Oh dear Lord, I pray that your death on the cross and the way You were lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto You, even DooCher – Please Lord set this captive free!”

 

 

 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

 Matthew 10:29 was on my mind Wednesday morning. “One of them, (Sparrows), shall not fall to the ground without your Father.”  I thought about all the sick people that I had treated. How much He cares about all these aches, pains, fevers, traumas, lung problems and weaknesses. He is with these people.  I finished cooking the curry which would go with our rice for the morning meal, when a young man came to our door, asking us to check a girl that had eaten something that made her sick.   Upon entering the house I realized that I had a full blown case of anaphylactic shock on my hands! Apparently all of them had eaten boiled baby bees for breakfast. *  Nobody reacted to it accept a 14 year old girl, BahBlue. I quickly ran back to the house and grabbed Adrenalin and IV supplies and dashed back.  Her blood pressure at that time was 70/40.  There was no time to lose.  After taking emergency measures we loaded up in the truck, Blet Jaw driving and me standing up in the back of the truck, holding the IV bag.  We made the one and a half hour trip to MeDooGlow clinic where BahBlue would stay until stable. 

We were extremely hungry as we entered our house again at 2 p.m.  Our food, though shared with the ants, was still waiting for us, but we only cast our eyes upon it one time, when another young man showed up on the doorstep saying, “Two men are poisoned by mushrooms, could you please come and check them?”  Of course we would! They were located on different sides of the village, so it took us a while to check them both.  Two days ago both men were in the jungle and ate wild mushrooms.  One man ate leftovers for breakfast the next day.  Both men became intensely sick yesterday with much vomiting and diarrhea.  They were both dehydrated and suffered with abdominal pain.  We managed to get them both to our house where IV’s were started and charcoal and electrolytes given.  As I write this they are both sleeping and receiving much needed fluids — And we had our much needed breakfast at 3p.m.

Oh Father in heaven, if not one sparrow falls to the ground without You, then I know You are holding these 3 people in Your hands today!  Thank you so much. 

 

*This sounds outrageous to us, but the Karen people as well as the Thai, are in the habit of eating anything and everything that moves.  I will not mention the list of things here!

 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

During the 2 years we have been in BYT we have had only one group of visitors out here.  Just lately we have had many visitors!  This time the entire Meyers family ventured up to spend 9 days with us.  (March 26-April 3).  The purpose of their visit is to video the work here and make a presentation to show in churches and groups in America, to increase awareness of the great needs.

I became quickly aware that Preston, the oldest son, age 17, was the skilled  media person.  He had learned a lot from different groups in America and was excited about putting his knowledge to use here in Thailand.  I came to know him very well, as he videod everthing that we did for the entire 9 days. 

 

 If he includes all the video clips that he took, you will know exactly what we do from day to day.  The only exception is that Blet Jaw has hardley recovered from his appendectomy and we used the truck and went to more easily accessed villages, instead of hiking with the back packs.  One day he drove the motorbike with the supplies and we hiked.

We greatly enjoyed the Meyer’s  family and their motivation to help God’s work progress in this country through awareness of the desperate needs seen in every village.  Their hearts seem to ache with the needs of the unfortunate as much as ours do! 

Since that visit Preston has been up early to edit these videos and to bed late.  It seems like an endless job.  I would be more than overwhelmed.  He however is thrilled to find different ways to present each scene.  I thank you for your energy, creativity and hard work Preston!  I pray that God will direct all that is said and done to truly show God’s plan here and rightly represent the people that He died to save.

Thank you Meyer’s family – we appreciate you.

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

 The building project has moved slowly in the last 2 months.  We found out that the bulldozer will not come at all to fix the road to BYT and level our property.  It must be leveled before we can collect materials because these heavy items will need to be near the building sight to make it easier on the builders. It is also a bad time to bring in the posts because it is mating season here for the elephants and they cannot drag in supplies.  I am disappointed again because now we cannot hire villagers to collect sand and rock for the cement because they are now planting their mountain rice.

On top of this I found out 1 week ago that the people decided  not to let us have the hill that overlooks the village.   They need their cattle pen and when their children get married they want to build houses on that hill.

Wow, I was disappointed again, but I knew God had a plan.  Who was I to be discouraged and doubt now after the Lord had done so many things to make this work a success!  We went up the mountain behind this hill to look again at the jungle property that was the only place to go now.  I was concerned about a clinic up so high that people would have to walk that extra distance.  I really wanted to live right among the people in the village, in order to be close to them. The village water supply would not reach that high up but the head man of the village assured me that there was water up that mountain enough to supply our house and clinic.

With this information we prayed and went ahead to build on this jungle property.  It is indeed beautiful up there, quiet, and there is enough room for the 2 buildings.  A man from a far village came one day to find out where we wanted the ground leveled.  He put up markers and we told him what trees to save etc.  He was going to bring 4 men to do the work the following Sunday. To our surprise the men came on Thursday!  They heard we were in a hurry so they came early.  We told them that work on Thursday and Friday was fine, but we kept the Bible Sabbath from sunset Friday evening until sunset Saturday and they must not work on that day.  They were fine with that and so Blet Jaw and I took off on the motorbike to get food for them to eat and money to pay them.  When we returned to BYT we were very sad to discover that the men had left.  They will not return, but went to do the other job first!  Perhaps they did not like the Sabbath requirement, in any case we were back to square one and did not know what to do. 

Wonderful wonderful Sabbath.  What a blessing to have this day to pray about our situation.  I knew the devil hated what we were doing.  I prayed all throughout the Sabbath hours and when I finally went to my mat that night I prayed earnestly.  “Oh, Lord, I cried, please give me that hill. I do not ask for an entire mountain, I only want that hill.  You can turn the hearts of this family like water in Your hand. (Proverbs 21:1)  Please hear this prayer and turn their hearts so we can build on this hill!  But do whatever is Your will, not mine.  Thank you dear Saviour!”  Then I went sound asleep.  In the morning as I was preparing the curry for breakfast I saw the O-Bah-Dau (Man in charge of the buildings etc.) standing and talking with the neighbor and Blet Jaw.  I ran to join them in their conversation.  This is what I found out – The neighbor had gone to the people who owned the mountain and spoken to them about the property.  They said, yes you can have it, we only need 2000 baht to move the cattle shed to another location.  There is no problem, you can go ahead and have it.

 

Thank you God.  How can I thank Him enough.  How can I even understand the goodness of God and His power to work out His will in every situation.  I know without a shadow of a doubt that this project belongs to the Lord.  He is in charge. He will make it a success because He loves these people for whom He died!  In speaking about 2Chronicles 14:11 Mrs. White says:  “When the God of Israel undertakes work for us, He will make it a success!”

God has promised that  He will move mountains in answer to the prayer of faith.  I believe that moving a hill into our possession  is just as much a miracle!

Thank you so much dear Lord. 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

That is certainly true!  On Thursday, March 8, 2012, Blet Jaw and I blissfully enjoyed our new motorbike, taking it for the second time to 2 villages.  But —-The very next day we were on our way to Chiang Mai hospital in a medical vehicle for emergency surgery!!

Before you get too concerned let me tell you how God helped us through a difficult time.  At 3 a.m. Friday morning, I was woken up by groans of pain!  Blet Jaw was experiencing excruciating pain in the upper right quadrant of his abdomen.  This has happened before and I thought it was gallstones, However, soon the pain localized in the right lower quadrant with rebound tenderness.  This means appendicitis!  I thought quickly – we are 6 hours away from any facility that can do surgery.  That is    3 hours to Omkoi hospital which does not do surgery, and another 3 hours away from a hospital near Chiang Mai that does surgery. The pain and other symptoms could mean the appendix was soon to rupture.  Time could be really crucial.  I did not tell Blet Jaw this, but I was nervous, praying and telling him that we must get to the hospital.  He finally did consent to go.

To complicate matters a little, we had a visitor, Sunny, in BYT who had been with us one week.   Now we had to abandon her with no possible way to let her know how long we would have to be gone.   She cannot speak any of the language and does not know anyone there.  But stay she must — and go we must.  (Let me add here that she did excellently there, enjoying the time alone)!

Forty minutes into our drive to the hospital, the pain lessened, which instantly made Blet Jaw want to turn around and go back.  I was behind the wheel and I certainly was not going to turn around for anything!  He told me then that if it had felt this much better before leaving he would not have come.  However, now I was really nervous, because this could mean the appendix had ruptured!  Later I realized that it was the miracle working power of God who held off the pain and the danger until he could have surgery.  When we arrived at Omkoi hospital we found out that the lab tests etc certainly did affirm appendicitis and the offending part must be taken out.  Now he needs to go to the larger hospital in Chaing Mai where he can have surgery.  This was certainly not what he wanted to do!

The bad appendix came out at 8p.m. Friday evening.  Blet Jaw was discharged Sunday morning.  It was not difficult to leave the 32 bed ward of patients with a poor small baby crying incessantly in the next bed and me sleeping on the floor under the bed and hardly any food available to eat!  But it was difficult for poor Blet Jaw, just 40 hours post surgery to catch a ride in an OLD bus 6 hours to Omkoi, where we got into our own truck and drove another 5 hours all the way around to the school, LKY, where he would spend some time recuperating. (I must say though that it is always sad to say goodbye to the people around you that become very dear as you help look after each other).

As I look back on this experience, I can only fall on my knees and thank God for lovingly caring for us that day and making a way and saving us from disaster. 

Psalm 17:7, 8 says:  “Show Thy marvelous lovingkindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee. …Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.”

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

We get very few visitors!  Sunny  is from Idaho.  She had attended Faith Camp last June in Idaho and heard my presentation and burden for BYT.  She felt the Lord wanted her to come to Thailand and see what I was doing.  Come she did with a donation that helped us purchase this brand new motorbike, even though the prices have gone up because of the flood!  

We put this motorbike to good use immediately.   We were amazed and so thankful for so many things this bike does for us! 

1.  It saves us much time!  We are now arriving home a while before sunset and can easily do 2 entire villages.

2.  We can bring more supplies!   Even water and a picture roll.  Now by the end of the 2nd village we are not running out of medicine.  I am having a wonderful time packing more medicine and supplies in those backpacks, knowing we will not have to shoulder them all day.  

3.  We arrive home fresh!   We are not tired.  We especially appreciate this right now because the hottest season of the year is just beginning.

4.   Even though we still must walk to some villages, this bike can get to villages that a truck cannot.  This saves us a considerable  amount of money, because the wear and tear on the truck is expensive!

Sunny stayed with us a little over a week and was able do 2 worship talks.  We want to thank you Sunny for your visit, your support of our project, and for helping us purchase this lovely bike! 

This quote comes to mind each time my needs are so abundantly met:  “God knows our wants and has provided for them.  The Lord has a treasure house of supplies for His children, andcan give them what they need under ALL circumstances.”   Thank you Lord!

 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

 

 

 

 

 

Today is the BIG day, Monday, February 20, 2012.  I was in a small guest room behind Omkoi hospital, packing a few belongings into my small backpack in preparation for a huge adventure that I felt unprepared for.

Let me explain.  Dr. Prajin runs this hospital and had graciously invited me to stay for free in their guest room and work in various departments of the hospital as I desired for training and education.  I wanted to work in labor and delivery and also with the dentist to learn how to pull teeth. I arrived Thursday afternoon and sat down with Dr. Prajin to discuss my schedule.  Friday I would work with him, Sabbath, I would take off and worship my God, Sunday I would spend in the hospital and Monday he invited me to go with his hospital team on a 5 day medical hike through the jungle.  His team would stop and treat patients in the village school houses on the way.  I was warned that the hike is very strenuous.  The mountains are very steep.  The villages are very remote.  2 ladies from Pennsylvania had gone with them one time, but had gotten tired, weak and sick and could not go on.  This caused the team much time and trouble.  Oh, wow, the last thing I wanted to do was cause trouble.  I thought about my condition.  I hike to villages 3 days a week, I run 2 miles almost every day.  I feel good all the time, but these things are not equal to hiking straight up mountains 5 solid days in a row with no rest until time to sleep!  “Oh, Lord I prayed, what am I doing here at such a time as this! I have committed myself to go on this trip, but I am so different from the others.”  God assured me that He would not leave me nor forsake me, and didn’t he promise the disciples after leaving this earth and sending them out to teach all nations – “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”  To me this means – even through the deepest steepest jungles of Thailand!

I called my friends in Chiang Mai, the Rawlings.   Steve Rawlings told me: “Well, if you don’t make it and they have to drag you out of the jungle, I’ll come and get you!” I called and spoke to my son, Micah in America about it and he said: “Mom, I think that is just a little much for you!”   -but you know what?  I prayed about it and was determined to go – even if I was over twice age of the others, and I had not come to Omkoi prepared to do it!  It seemed that Dr. Prajin really wanted me to go and I felt so privileged to be included.  God had promised: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 -Thank you Lord for that promise to me!

Sunday was very slow in the hospital.  The entire time I was present, day and night, there were no babies delivered.  The dentist was too busy to let me work with her, I really felt out of place, in the way, and out of my comfort zone.  I was tempted to think:  “My truck is right here.  I could leave any time I wish!” However I prayed and waited.  I was very glad to join the group Monday morning in the hospital parking lot that were preparing to depart into the jungle!  I feel so at home with the remote Karen people in their villages. 

This trip seemed to be larger than I had anticipated.  Rugged 4X4 vehicles were packed into the parking area.  People were everywhere. To my surprise I found out there were over 100 people going on this expedition!  They would divide into 3 groups going in different directions and cover approx. 30-40 villages in all, and I still cannot tell you how far we walked!   Much food, water, bedding supplies and medicine was bagged up next to the ambulance doc.  We only had to carry a small personal back pack – carriers would bring all the rest.  I was swept into many group photos and stood side by side with many important people.  

  Dr. Prajin informed me that I was in group 2 with him!  I was very happy about that because, he was the only one I knew, and the only one (As far as I could tell), that could speak English, and last but most important, he is an excellent Physician who really cares about the poor Karen people in isolated villages.  He organizes these biannual trips.  I would observe him and learn how he treats patients.

After a special send off ceremony, I found myself seated in a nice 4X4 truck with 3 lovely medical students that are in their 2^nd year.  They spoke pretty good English!  I don’t really know how the conversation got started, but I found myself explaining why I keep the 7^th day Sabbath.  We drove about 4 hours on the rough dirt road to our first village and then the daily routine started:  Walking, walking, walking, up, up, up, then setting up the clinic in a village school house and when all the patients have been treated, walking, walking, walking again to the next village school house.

Right now I want to tell you the rewards of living the 8 natural laws of health.  If you do not know what they are, call your local SDA church and find out how to avoid a lot of sickness and how to stay as well and strong as possible.  The most important law is trusting in God!   Oh how God blesses us for trusting Him completely and letting Him help us keep all 8 to the best of our ability and to the best of our situations!  Please tell your neighbors and friends the importance of caring for their bodies as the temple of God and keep them pure and without blemish before Him.  His rewards are great!

I only tell you this next part to glorify God, to encourage you in a healthy lifestyle and to tell you that His promises are sure!  -“They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”  Even now tears swell in my eyes to think of the goodness of the Lord to promise these things to a sinful human such as myself!  That first day was the most strenuous day of hiking.  We went up a tremendous mountain that continued up most of the day.  We stopped at 3 villages in all that day.  When all the patients were treated in one village we would pack up and continue on, up -up -up to the next and the next.  I discovered that I cannot walk like this with covered shoes on my feet.  I used my regular old flip flops that I am used to for the entire 5 days, therefore I did not acquire blisters on my toes or heels, but my feet were free and strong in the open air and through the rivers.  (One day we walked along a rocky river bed all day and had to zig-zag back and forth across that river over 20 times.  Nobody really counted it).  I was not tired the entire time, I felt strong and Oh so happy to be with this group.  I had no sore muscles and no aches and no pains.  I know it was a miracle from heaven.  God sustained me just like He promised. He did it for me and for the others to know what a great God He is!

 

 

 

 

 Let me tell you about the hospital staff that I was with.  They were all wonderful people! To think that they worked that hard to reach the villages and care for the sick. What dedication! After 5 days of toilsome hiking together you get to know one another quite well, – a bond was formed between us.  They were so cheerful, organized and skillful.  I watched them time after time quickly arranging the school houses into a functional treatment area.  Dr. Prajin explained to me in detail each patient and the treatment. I am so thankful.   I learned so much from him.   I also was able to observe and help the 2 wonderful dentists, who pulled many teeth in each village.  All in all there were 3 or 4 Physicians, one of them was a pediatrician, 2 dentists, 3 pharmacists, nurses, clerical people, a malaria check person -complete with a microscope, a vaccination team,  2 cooks, medical students and to my surprise 3 soldiers complete with guns.  I was told that they were highly trained soldiers, the one who was in charge seemed very strong and capable.  I was told that it was important that they were there because we were near the Burma border and also we were in villages that grew opium.  I thought about the missionaries living right there on the border in Mae Salit and the 10 months I lived there and still spend time there.  All the villages where I live now grow and use opium. I thought about the guardian angel that walks by my side, excelling in strength.  How thankful I am to God for all His care.

Even though we are way out in the isolated villages of the deep jungle, where no truck or motorcycle can travel, it amazed me that our group of approximately 25 people had food and water in abundance.  The cook prepared the morning and evening food.  For the noon meal they gave us each a bag of rice and a bag of meat.  I found out that another doctor was also a vegetarian, but for different reasons than me.  He had made an agreement with the Buddhist priests not to eat meat for 108 days.  He was in the middle of that time period, so I always tried to go through the meal line behind him, in order to know what was vegetarian.

I saved the best part to tell you last!  The girl who sat beside me in the truck on the way out became my close friend!  Her name is Fon. 

The first night she rolled her sleeping bag out next to mine and asked me questions about the Bible and the 7^th day that I had explained on the way out.  I told her some of the Bible stories and something of the love of God, Jesus stay on earth, His death on the cross for us and His commands and promises to us.  That very night I taught her how to pray.  She and I prayed together!  Every night and morning of our trip we prayed together and had a short worship time when I could tell her more about the importance of the unseen things of heaven!  A responding cord was touched in her heart.  She told me that she has a whole month off school after this and she promised me that she would get a Bible and would pray and read every day!  (She emailed me later and said she bought a Thai Bible and was reading it, and it was touching her heart a lot)! Someday she would like to work with me!  What a dear girl she is!  She sent me this picture that she took of herself.

I loved all the people in my group so much that I prayed for God to please give me a chance to share what I know about the wonderful love of God with them, and how He answers prayer and  brings such power and joy into our hearts.  I wanted them to have the joy I had.  Before the last day of our hike, the important doctor who was in charge of our group, asked me if I would be willing to share a little about myself and my present work to the others during their ‘worship’ time the following morning.  Fon would be my interpreter.  My prayer was answered once again!  Oh thank you Lord.  Together the night before, Fon and I prayed and reviewed what we would say.  She already knew some of the divine miracles of my experience, and how God had directed my life and answered my prayers.  She was prepared, together with me to give glory to the God of heaven!!  She told me later that she prayed for God to help her speak and know my English words so she could interpret them right!  God answered this prayer and the love and power of the eternal God was lifted up!  It formed a strong bond of love between me and all the others. I felt so close to these dear people. 

During the last walk on that last day, the doctor who led our group, was walking first in line, then a lady pediatrician, next Fon and than me.  They were speaking Thai -Thai -Thai, so I had my little notebook out and was studying Karen words.  Soon Fon turned to me and asked the question that made my heart leap with joy.  She said, the doctor wants to know from you how does a person find out what God wants them to do?  How do you hear His instructions and really know?  Truly this man was a very intellectual person, for he had asked the most important question!   I told briefly about the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and providence which, after prayer can bring answers.  I also told that sometimes I simply ask God to close the door through which I am walking if He does not want me there.  She told him these things and then turned around and exclaimed – “Oh so good – good job!  He understands a little.” 

 

Please pray for Fon, for this doctor and the rest of this group, who now have heard something about God.

Fon and I will remain best friends.  When she left Sabbath morning we were both very sad.  She told me that she would never forget our walking together in the jungle and how special it all was. We have each other’s email address and if not in this world, we will share each other’s company in heaven is my fervent prayer!!

NOW -What if I had listened to the fearful, discouraging temptations of Satan to avoid my fears of the hospital and the discomfort of being in a place where I know no one?  What if I had fled to a place within my comfort zone, without the risk of embarrassment and difficulty?  What tremendous light would have been snuffed out?  What a large weight of loss?  What eternal destinies would be endangered?  What blessings lost?

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  2Timothey 1:9

“Those with whom we associate day by day need our help, our guidance.  They may be in such a condition of mind that a word spoken in season will be as a nail in a sure place.  Tomorrow some of these souls may be where we can never reach them again.  What is our influence over these fellow travelers?”  PK 347

 

 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

There are many reasons why this is not just an ordinary wedding. 

1.   The first reason is that God put these 2 together.  They are matched by His direction, and dedicated to His work whatever, wherever and however He leads.  Their hearts beat together to have a godly family.

2.  Blet Jaw is my oldest ”son,” and WahNayPaw is now my “daughter-in-law.”  They are family to my boys and I.  When we first came to Thailand, June 2009 my youngest son, Micah began to teach English in the LKY school.  He and Blet  Jaw, then principle of LKY became fast friends.  What a blessing for him to have such a dedicated Christian friend.  Bradley and I were close to him also and when in April 2010 we made the big move to BYT, Blet Jaw felt God’s call to come and help us.  For the past 2 years what a blessing he has been in the work there.  We could not have done this work without him.

3.  This is a Karen style wedding which is special in itself.  It is not formal.  Mistakes are allowed.  The ceremony is simple and sincere with an air of sweetness. 

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle

Do you remember two stories ago I told about a new born baby that was septic and needed hospital care quickly or it would die?  Well this babies’ name is CauNahWood, and please listen with all ears to the rest of the story!

It is not that the parents here do not love their newborn children, but these isolated and uneducated villagers, have no concept of the importance of life or the possibility of intervention to bring healing.  They have always lived their lives with sickness and suffering.  Some die and some do not.  It is brand new to them for someone to come in a try to save them.

You remember that now it is the 3^rd day since we discovered this infant.  It was now 15 days old.  I prayed earnestly that the parents would let us take them, or even just let us take the baby before it dies!  This morning the Father agreed to take the baby himself and go with us.  The Mother would not go.  When I now checked the still living little form, I quickly saw that the apnea was 15 seconds duration.  This indicates severe septicemia.  How we prayed as we drove the long rough distance to Meta hospital on the west side.  We came to the rest stop area where there is a cross road.  To the right is three grueling hours over outrageous ruts and rocks.  We did not want to travel that way.  To the left is a road that takes a little more than one hour.  It had just been rendered passable, but straight ahead is what we call the steep way.  It takes only 45 minutes, however, for weeks or maybe months they have had that road blocked for repairs and you cannot get through.  We would be delayed quite a bit if we took that road and then found out we must turn around and take the alternate route.   The sign had been moved to the side a little bit, and somehow I was impressed to say with determination: “Go straight ahead!  We’ll try it!”  The result was that 15 minutes was successfully cut off from our trip and we drove straight into the ambulance driveway (none-too-soon), in order to get prompt attention.  Attention we got when I called to the attendant, “Apnea.”  The attendant swooped the baby up and just as he placed that little blue infant on the stretcher, it stopped breathing. The medical staff worked fast and soon had an ET tube in place, with oxygen and an IV.

They wanted to send this baby to a larger hospital, but the 3 that are in their transfer area were all full, so it stayed there that night.  In the morning they were able to transfer it out.  We heard that it was on a respirator.  I thought to myself, “It may not live, or it could be months.” Then I was prompted to put away doubt and recall the providential events here-to-for.

1. We did not even plan to go to that village that day, and didn’t really feel like going there! 
2. The Lord had answered our prayers and made the Father finally willing to bring the baby.
3. The shorter road was open and passable so that we got there just in time.

Yes! God did want to save the babies’ life!  In just 2 days we heard that baby was coming back to Mae Sot hospital.  It spent 2 days there and then was sent to Meta hospital. After 2 days there it was  discharged, healthy as can be!!  Here is another testimony for these people of the healing power of our God.  The father has been introduced to prayer and seen its awesome results.  He is amazed.  I cannot wait to get back to their village and have a happy reunion with them.  We certainly have a strong bond of love between us and an open door to their hearts.

Filed under:
Uncategorized by gayle