Here is my faithful worker! Today I want to express my appreciation and gratefulness for his courageous, and untiring work.
He has heard God’s calling to his heart to work in these jungle villages for the past 8 years. He is one out of thousands of young people who has not answered God’s call with the words: “I pray thee, have me excused!” He has answered by saying: “Here am I, send me!” He has put every self denying effort into making the soul saving work for God first priority in his life. ”
People have incredulously asked him,
“How can you stay in this place, so far away, so isolated, so difficult to get to, and so dangerous, for 8 long years?” It seems that nobody else wishes to “Throw his life away.” like this.
Haven’t they read and understand the scriptures saying: “He that findes his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it?” Matthew 10:39
Sometimes our work gets very tiring when we have to go to other villages and check patients, they refuse to go to the hospital, we sometimes have to return several times to treat them physically, then finally they consent to go. These trips sometimes go back to back throughout the entire week or two. Sometimes we must go in several different directions every day to take care of the sick. BletJhaw is doing all the difficult driving for hours and hours, and days upon days. Yet he does not complain, and when I ask him on a scale of 1-10 how tired he is, ( I am tired mostly from sitting so long and getting jolted and tossed around the entire time), yet he has always answered “0” or “1.” He will often say after arriving home late at night: “I could make it back to Meta hospital right now if I really had to.”
Just the amount of driving is not the whole story. It is the difficulty and danger of steep drop offs, rocks, roots, ruts and tight squeezes between passing trucks in dangerous places. One time we were going straight up the steep place on the concrete section, when a big government truck was coming down. When you stop on this grade of steepness, it is dreadful and scary to start back up, plus the concrete edge of the road was sharp and dropped down, and the weeds covered up the sheer drop-off down the side of the mountain. It was a time when we held our breath and prayed out loud. I leaned out the window examining the tiny strip of land that may not be solid, that we had to drive on, while BletJhaw pulled his mirror in and put a hair’s breath between us and the big truck. BletJhaw is praying as he is driving and the angels respond by one miracle after another. We are traveling in places where and when others wouldn’t dare to go because of the wild elephants. With his hand in God’s hand, he courageously will drive right through time and time again in order to help the sick. . . . And I haven’t even addressed rainy season! No words to describe that.
Driving the motorcycle is also his job – another amazing feat! You need nerves of steel to make it in many places where there is no smooth strip of land between a cliff and long huge ruts. Put that together with a big bag of medicine in front of him and me on the back! Rainy season is sheer torcher to all! And the danger of poisonous snakes while on the motorbike is a huge threat. One week ago a young man was driving these roads when he came across a huge cobra right across the road in front of him the size of a large man’s upper arm. It was a bad place and he could not stop. He had to run right over him. That snake lifted up his body and fanned out his hood toward him. We had a similar experience but did not have to run directly over it!
Walking in the rain is another adventure that we do not look forward to. In these mountains there is hardly any flat easy places. It is either straight up or straight down. You are wet, muddy, tired, shoulders aching because of the heavy backpack, and feet are trying to slip away under you. At times you cannot find a suitable place to rest your next footsteps, and at times you fall down. Leaches add to the discomforts and they will itch like mad for the next 2 weeks at least! All this is done with joy and thanksgiving because we are carrying supplies to take care of the people’s physical and spiritual needs. God goes with us and He promises all of heaven!
I also want to thank BletJhaw for all his preaching, teaching, worships, prayers, and leadership with the youth Sabbath School. Though the work is slow and unpromising at times, he keeps a cheerful spirit and applies himself to the work whole heartedly. I haven’t even addressed all the interpreting he does for me with patients and for all my sermons, worships, prayers and Bible studies.
BletJhaw is very humble and takes no credit for anything himself, even though he has a lot talent to add to this work. He is musical and plays the guitar for church and worships constantly.
He sings beautifully for God and has quite a lot of wisdom in handling our most difficult situations.
He loves the babies, little children and elderly people all the same. He cares for each patient with tender loving care even though we may not have eaten for a very long time, or may be dead tired, or woken up in the middle of the night. I might add that after working alongside with me for so long, he can handle most of the the patient load if he had to. He is a wonderful Father to his own children, husband, and missionary. I find myself thanking God for him and his family every day! What a privilege to work with a young person who has the same heart and passion to save souls as I do. Who is a totally consecrated worker – awake to the worth of the souls for whom Jesus died! Please pray for him as much as you pray for me in this work, as I depend on him for so much!
“Ten truly converted, willing minded, unselfish workers can do more in the missionary field than one hundred…working without deep love for souls.” Testimonies 4:602