I am thrilled to be returning to BYT after my 2-month stay in America, even if I do step off the airplane and dive into constant rain and mud!
The rainy season leaves all the foliage bright green, and as our motorbike slowly grinds uphill, the smell of damp freshness greets my nostrils. Water pours off the large leaves in the jungle like wide-open faucets, and the higher we go the more misty clouds envelope us making it impossible to see the beautiful view of distant mountains. In places it is even hard to see directly in front of us. We dodge huge piles of cow dung and blow our horn at the lazy cows, which do not even budge to let us pass by. We pass a few herds of fat water buffalo with big impressive black horns. They are quicker to clear the road for us to pass.
Mudslides cover the pathway in places and all along the way we must swerve to miss the small rocks and large boulders that have loosened up from the high banks. Some small trees have come down and I am thankful that for this trip, no large trees block our way.
Sometimes the water pours off my nose and stings my eyes. I am grateful to be the back seat passenger protected from the full force of the storm. I feel sorry for BletJhaw who has to constantly battle to keep going and to keep the motorbike in the upright position. Sometimes the back slides around to the left, other times to the right. I successfully hang onto the bars that surround the back seat, only jumping off when we cannot make it, leaving BletJhaw to slide, push, and struggle his way up the rest of the mountain. Downhills are even more treacherous.
Now we enter BYT, praising the Lord for our safe trip. We still have to precariously cross a slippery, broken and dangerously tilted foot-bridge which is the only way to our house – the roaring river is way too much for a small motorbike to forge across. We praise the Lord for our safe trip!
We have a big job now to clean up our house. Mold is on everything – the smell is awful. The black tile counters are white with mildew. Our blankets to sleep on smell very bad. All the clothes and towels have the same odor. To wash them will take 3 days, possible never really dry. A bat is living in the patient waiting room; a foot-long DahBau is scurrying across the floor, (Whose sting is worse than a scorpion). BletJhaw uses our famous house stick to annihilate him. Oh so ugly!
Obviously we are hungry, however even our sealed bags of beans, nuts and noodles have bugs inside or look blue and sticky with mold. Our water filters are producing brown liquid for our drinking water, so we resort to the rainwater off the roof.
Why do we put up with such inconveniences? Oh dear reader, just read this and weep as I have:
“If Christ left the ninety and nice, that He might seek and save the one lost sheep, shall we be justified in doing less? God Himself set an example of self-sacrifice in giving up His Son to a shameful death. Is not a negect to work even as Christ worked, to sacrifice as He sacrificed, a betrayal of sacred trusts, an insult to God? The lost sheep is to be found at any peril, any cost!” PH004 15.1
“If there was ever a time when sacrifices should be made, it is now.” MMR 9