It is Sabbath morning. We have been in BYT since Wednesday evening. I preach about William Miller, the value of the Bible, and the value of our precious Seventh-Day-Adventist church. There is an exceptional attendance today, including several from WaSuTah. I am so very happy to see them and make an appeal for them to prepare for Jesus second coming just as the people did in 1844.
Yesterday several people had come from GeGhah village to be treated. They told us about a man who is very sick. He is swollen up all over especially his stomach. He does not eat or drink much. Another man said his daughter had a high fever and she seemed to shake heavily for 30 minutes. (Febrile seizures)? So, after church and after eating a small dinner, we left for GeGhah. BletJaw and I were so happy to share the contents of our heavy backpacks with Tucker! He ably carried more than his share!
Patients flocked in to see us. They were so happy that we were back after so long. We spent 3 hours caring for the sick. Many of them were very sick, but the man with the swelling was the worst. He was dying. It is liver failure, perhaps caused by cancer, but most likely the use of opium. He is a heavy opium addict. I could tell his organs were shutting down. The stomach swelling was severe, (Ascites).
The family told us they had no money but hey were all going to take a trip to the Pagoda the next day to worship the devil and ask him for help and healing.
We went into the main part of the house because I suggested we have worship. Everyone in the house thought that was a good idea. I began to talk. I told them to go to the pagoda and worship the devil would not help a bit, because the devil is the cause of all the trouble, sickness and suffering in our world. Only the God of heaven can bring healing because He made us to begin with. I asked if they would like to hear a little bit about God. They did! I thanked the Lord in my heart for an opportunity to share truth with them, and asked for words and wisdom!
I told of the 7 days of creation. How God made the trees, the flowers, the sun, moon and stars. He made everything good. I told about he seventh day. God has written us a special book called the Bible that tells us how much He loves us. We obey everything He tells us because He always keeps His promises. He can see, hear, love and help us. No other god can do these things. We love Him because He loves us, He is alive and answers our prayers. The devil is the opposite; he does not want us to know about God. He hates us. He lies and is the cause of all the sickness, pain, sorrow, death and every bad thing. God is asking you today to talk to Him and get to know and love Him. We prayed for the poor man and for all the sick people. We asked for God to help them all to know God as we know Him – a personal friend. What a lovely way to spend the hours of the Sabbath! My heart is full of love for these dear people and to the God of the universe who can give understanding to them. The lady of the house fixed us rice and chili peppers for lunch, and gives us a cucumber. Cucumbers are not the size of those in America, they are about 7-10 times bigger! (We already have about 30 at home that people have given us. This happens every year. Last year we ended up with 50)!
The children love Tucker. They immediately drape themselves over him! He is happy!
Tucker and BletJaw with the children.
Tucker has a great camera. He has taken many of these pictures.
We are called to visit several other houses where people are sick. We see the girl who I thought might have had a febrile seizure. I believe the medicine I gave the Father yesterday must have helped her.
We visit a poor old grandma who has fallen down the ladder of her house 15 days ago. She has not walked ever since, and has a decubitus ulcer on her bottom. Her son does not think anything is broken, so he feels she does not need to go to the hospital. I know her hip is broken because her leg is shorter and externally rotated. I long to take her to the hospital right away. How I love this poor lady.
We go to yet another house, where a 42-year-old man has just returned from Omkoi hospital. He seems to have been given some wrong medication for his problem. He has extreme pain over the left kidney. I check his urine and find gross blood and leukocytes, which indicates infection. After treating him for that, I feel satisfied about his treatment. We stay in his house for another 2 hours treating more sick people. Every time we think we have treated the last one, some more people enter. It is now pouring rain outside. I am glad to be in this little hut. We pray with the people. My heart is so full of love that I cannot explain it to you.
The lady of the house is preparing something for us to eat.
We eat the rice and pumpkin she has cooked. It is delicious.
We notice that the lady is preparing us something to eat even though we already ate at the first house. I wonder if it is a good idea to wait that long to eat because the sky is growing very dark – night is falling and we did not bring flashlights with us. I shudder to think about that treacherous path out there in the rain and in the dark! I inwardly pray for a flashlight. However the kind lady has prepared a nice meal and suddenly I feel hungry. I did not eat much rice and hot chili pepper before. We now eat again. It is delicious. We thank the dear people. They give us 2 cucumbers and a bag of rice. As we leave, the man gives me a flashlight! My heart is full of love.
Next we are invited to one more house. The man of this house sets a flashlight up on a stick and the lady brings out a beautiful ‘knee’ (shirt) that she has woven for me. They are so happy that we have returned after such a long time. They have missed us and wanted to show their appreciation. I model the beautiful knee and Tucker takes a picture. They give us a huge bag of rice and then hand BletJaw and Tucker each a flashlight. My heart is overflowing with love.
I am thanking the Lord on the walk back because it does not rain. We are loaded down with cucumbers and rice! However in my heart there is rain and heaviness because we do not have a truck to carry the 2 patients to the hospital. The needs of the people are great in this village as they are in every village. They need us to do more for them than what we are doing. A man is dying! We have been gone a very long time and the people are just waiting for us! What can we do? How can we take them somewhere?
This is a double rainbow arching itself completely around BYT! Thank you Lord!
The next day it rains heavily and afterwards we see the most beautiful rainbow. It is a double rainbow and arches itself all the way across our little village of BeYoTa! “Oh dear Lord” I whisper, “You are telling us that You have everything under control. You have supplied me with so much courage, faith and love! You are full of mercy, and Your love is everlasting. You are connected with us and the people here who so desperately need what You have to offer – healing, health, life and a knowledge of You! I trust You!”
I kneel by my bed tonight and pray: “Oh Lord, please send us a truck if it is Your will. You will supply our needs and the needs of the dear patients as You have all along the way! These are Your people. We wait on You.”