It is hot right now. March and April bring the most heat – sizzling, suffocating, stifling, sweltering heat! We drive the motorbike and oven-like temperatures hit us in the face making it hard to take your next breath, to say nothing of the constant smoke from burning rice gardens and mountainsides all over Thailand and surrounding countries. This season it seems to me that all of Asia is burning up!
Have you ever heard that when there is a lot of smoke rising up into the air, that it causes rain? I heard that when I first came here and laughed because I didn’t believe it, however after several years here I know it’s true! At the height of the smoke comes rain for a day or two! Waiting for that rain now, because it is so dry here that the earth is cracking open and turning into deep powdery dust, blowing in every direction and causing the ruts to grow deeper and these dirt roads to take on more difficult dimensions. Travel is so difficult!!
Now that being said, let me quickly add that this is my favorite season of the year! The cold season brings no relief, and the rainy season lasting 4-5 months is the most deplorable season! But hot season brings dry roads, no jacket needed, no cold hands and feet, warm water for bathing, clothes dry in less than 30 minutes outside, and no need to carry warm clothes with you when you travel! This season we often find ourselves chilling when the temperatures dip below 85 degrees!
Another precaution about the heat here however:
We call the 25 kilometer road to BYT “Our driveway,” because we travel it so much more than anybody else! This heat is very dangerous for vehicles and motorbikes traveling the steep mountainsides. Just in the month of April alone, two trucks and 4 people have died on “Our driveway” due to brakes burning out, causing them to plummet over the cliffs. In the month of March there was one more death and 5 severely injured as the driver had to turn into the bank on a steep grade in order to stop when his brakes gave out. His truck flipped over and came to a halt just before the precipice. This has made us a lot more cautious when we approach the steepest downhill grades. When possible we stop and cool the brakes by throwing water on them in an attempt to cool them down. The motorbike in particular smells very bad as we brake our way down the mountainsides.
At such times I reach up and take the hand of God. I can feel the angels holding us back as I recite Psalm 91:11, 12!
“For He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
What a comfort to know that the Saviour is at the helm!
By His grace alone!