Gayle in Thailand

(This story is written by BletJaw, and is submitted to you all with love and prayers.  He asks that if possible could you pray for us in this work, not only for the health and conversion of the people we serve, but for our safety on these deplorable, life threatening roads that we must travel day after day, and other constant dangers. Words just cannot describe it all.   Our lives are hanging in the balance so many times).

We need cement block for making a wall in front of our house. It is to keep the loose dirt from washing away during the rainy season. We can buy cement blocks from two places – MeDooGlow or Meta. MeDooGlow side is closer. It is only one and a half hours away. It is not dangerous, and the road is not so bad, but, the cement block is a poor quality. Meta side is far away, the road is very steep and very bad, plus it can be very dangerous, but the cement block is a good quality. Which cement block do we want for the important wall? The wall needs to be strong. .

The rainy season is just about to start. It has rained several times already, but we begin driving with nice weather and everything is good. We had been told by the villagers that wild elephants are out somewhere on our way to Meta. We had a patient from another village that wanted us to take them back to their village, so we took them and continued on our journey. We had to go through the mountains – up and down. Some places are dense jungle areas. The road goes in and out of the jungle. Almost halfway to Meta we saw fresh elephant tracks on the road. That elephant might be ahead of us! We were alert and continued carefully.  Soon we saw fresh elephant dung and heard the elephant’s loud trumpeting sound. I slowed down the truck as I turned the next corner. There – right in front of us where the elephant sound had came from, were 2 elephants, one off the left side of the road and the other one right on the road where we needed to go through! We were very close to the elephants because they were at a blind corner. I felt like my heart beat went up to a thousand beats per minute! I backed the truck up around the corner and waited some distance away for a few minutes. We prayed to God for help, and then drove around the corner again. I drove really slow in that corner – there they were still on the road looking toward us! OH NO!!!   My heartbeat went up again to 1000 beats per minute! I backed up the truck again. We waited for several more minutes. After a long time we ventured around the corner for the third time. I drove the truck very slowly. We did not hear anything. This time, however we saw 3 elephants, one in the middle of the road, one off to the left and another off to the right. Once again my heart beat went up to over 1000 beats per minute! I backed up the truck again. We can do nothing – only wait. We were not going to give up easily. We wanted to go forward and get good cement block, because we really need it. Finally we decided to try to get around that corner the fourth time. I started the truck and drove slowly to the corner. This time we saw four elephants. Three were going up the bank on the left side of the road, and one more elephant was following them. They were making loud trumpeting sounds. We would not dare to go through that corner any farther, because we did not know if there were more elephants on the other side of the corner. What made us even more scared was seeing another bigger elephant standing on the right side of the road! Now we see 4 on the left and one on the right. We were looking at five large elephants in all!  Once again my heartbeat went up to over 1000 beats per minute. I have to back up the truck again. Until this point, we had not given up the plan to go ahead and buy the much needed good quality cement block. Because we need it quickly before it really rains hard day and night.

We saw one of the big elephants coming toward us. She stopped at the beginning of the corner, and started to play with a small tree branch, she then threw dirt on her back with her trunk. We had been waiting and watching for a long time. Later her son came and played with her. Now the two of them were on the road playing and slowly coming toward us. The little one has chains tying both front feet together. Later we found out that he has chains on his feet because he likes to chase people! Even though he has chains on his feet, he can jump pretty fast! They both have bells around their necks, so we are pretty sure they are tame elephants and have owners.

This picture was a video, where you could see the one on the right jumping toward us with his front feet chained together,  but we could not figure out how to get it on the web page.

Now we see another traveler coming up behind us on a motorbike. He stopped and we told him about the elephants. He turned around and stopped his motorbike heading away from the elephants. He began walking toward the elephants, throwing rocks and yelling at them. The man kept throwing rocks at the elephants, hoping and wishing the elephants would be scared of him and run away. Instead of running away, the little one went back to the corner and made a loud trumpeting sound that seemed like a call for help. Immediately from the other side of the corner we heard a scary sound, and here came the biggest elephant that I ever saw in my life! The man told us that three of these elephants are tame and two are wild. We have heard stories about the wild elephants chasing people. We even saw a man who had been chased by an elephant. We also heard about a wild elephant destroying a motorbike, and killing a mother her child.

At this point we have to turn around, but we did not give up to get good quality cement block because we really needed it. We decided to go another long long way. Part of this way we had never traveled before so we have no idea how far and how bad the road would be. We had to go through 5 villages in order to reach highway 105 which takes us to Meta where the good quality cement block was.

It is hard to describe how bad the roads are here in Thailand. We passed two villages that we had never been to before. The road was terrible. It was not a busy road because trucks do not usually go there.  It was OK for a motorbike, but NOT for a truck. There were several steep sharp corners going straight up and then straight down. Also there were four places uphill that you must not make any mistakes on or have any engine problems. One up-hill we barely made to the top. It was really hard because it was so steep with loose rock, gravel and sand. The wheels were spinning, the engine roaring and only my angel helped me make it. As soon as we made it safely to the top, I praised God for sending the angels once again to help us. Even though I started my driving experience in the mountains, I told Breck, “Definitely I will not come back this way with cement block.”

Finally we arrived at Meta at 4:30 p.m. We had left BYT at 9 a.m. Normally it would take us three and half hours to get to Meta on a good day! Today it took us over 7 hours! But it is well worth it to get good quality cement block. By the time we arrived in Meta we were starving hungry, but we had no time to eat because in 30 minutes the cement shop would close. Already the gates were half shut to the parking area. We rushed in to buy the cement block. After that we bought water and a small snack for our stomachs. We had no time to relax and eat our snacks because it was late and already it was raining in some places.

Finally we headed out to BYT. Up in mountains the higher we got the harder it was to see ahead of us because we were in the midst of the clouds. Carefully I drove through the roads where often the wild elephants are seen. We were so thankful to God that we did not see the elephants in the first dangerous area. By this time the sun was down, and the sky was getting dark. We came to a place where we had to make another decision. The first choice was to go the shortcut way. It will take us to BYT in 35 minutes, but the road is narrow and very steep. There are dangerous down hills in two places and it was already raining. Because of the rain the slippery mud can do you crazy, sending your brakes and steering out of control. I have experienced this once before when the truck took us just one foot from the precipice. The Lord has often saved me from Satan’s hand and I praise Him for that.

The second choice was to go the long way around which would take us 2 more hours to get to BYT, and let’s not forget that was the same road where we had met the elephants earlier in the day.

It is late, raining a little, and getting very dark, so we have a hard decision to make.

We decided to take the first choice and started rolling the truck wheels down the mountain shortcut. The longer we drove the wetter the ground was getting. Soon enough we were at the top of the first very steep downhill. Before going on down, I stopped the truck and went ahead to check the road. Sure enough the road was wet, muddy and slippery. It was not a good idea to even try driving down it. We parked the truck somewhere in jungle and began walking home. We got home very late. It was dark. We were hungry and tired. Yes, but we got home safely! We will get the truck the next day if it is dry.

Somehow, our Adventist Christian life is just like this experience in getting good quality cement block. The cement block represents our character. Satan will tell you to go to a closer place, where the road is easy to build your character on, but what you will get is a weak character. To gain the crown from Jesus is just like getting good quality cement block. You may have to go where the path is difficult. There will be dangers, you will be hungry, tired, worn, and tempted to give up at times, but if you are faithful and endure the hard times with Jesus help, you will get a good quality strong character that will stand the test of trials and temptations. God is so faithful. He will never let you face temptations that you cannot bear. He will show you the way and how to escape the dangers, so together with Jesus let us make the decision to build good quality strong characters today.

I must say that if it weren’t for trouble, there would not be too much going on here right now!  In fact several stories in this group are on the negative side!  But that does not mean that we are discouraged or despairing!  This means that the devil hates what we are doing, so we are happy.  Plus, through it all we feel the guiding tender touch of the Master’s hand, and we feel His presence.  Just one encouraging word from Him and all doubts and fears are gone!  In the darkness, the brightness of His presence is even more distinguishable and precious.

BletJaw has been digging in the dirt for 2 days.  He has dug a deep ditch across the base of the bank in front of our house in preparation for a wall, which we hope will keep the dirt in place over the rainy season.  He has leveled one area in front of our house, and has almost completed building concrete steps leading up to our house.  I think he is quite a genius to figure out how to do these things.

He also dug ditches to redirect the rapid flow of water during the rainy season on either side of the steps.  At one point he calls me to see a deadly poisonous spider that he had killed in the dirt by our front porch.  I look at the horrible, fat, black, hairy, body and brown underside.  I recognize it to be like several smaller ones that I have killed in our house before!   BletJaw tells me that you are in big trouble if they bite you.  Many people die.   One man barely escaped death, but lost the use of his legs.  That very night I killed another one in my bedroom!

BletJaw has just hooked up some PVC pipe higher up on the wall in the bathroom so we can now turn on the water and have it pour out like a shower! Luxury! It is really quick, and more convenient, than the bucket baths we are so used to. Plus, for the first time we do not have to worry about running out of water and do not have to go to the river for a bath!  A few nights ago I was in a real rush to take a shower because I was late for a worship we were to have. It was a joy to have the water come down from above – I was so happy about it, until I felt something going down my back besides the water. I thought my hair had fallen down and I glanced in the mirror to fix it. Oh! Lo-and-behold, it was a very large, hideous, fat, black, spider – the deadly poisonous kind! I don’t know to this minute how I reached the center of my back to get that thing off, but in an extremity sometimes you can do things that in normal times you cannot do!

These type spiders seem to really be prolific in our house right now. We have found and killed one in the main room where we eat and another one in the storage room, and yet another one in the bathroom!  We have agreed that we must be very careful about these spiders, but they appear when you least expect it.

Just yesterday, I used the washcloth on the sink to wash a plate.  I put a little soap on the cloth and washed.  When I was finished I squeezed the washcloth out and began to hang it over the side of the sink, when the largest, fattest, hairiest, horrific, poisonous black spider popped right out of the cloth, running through my fingers and across my hand!

He is good and dead, but you can get the idea of what he looks like.

The same God that closed the lion’s mouths for Daniel, has also closed the spider’s mouths for me!

PeWah, our beloved “Aunt” next door just told us this morning that there is a black and white spider where she used to live not far away that kills you so fast that you don’t even have time to look up at the sky!  She really has a way to express herself!  However, these spiders are not that bad.  At least you may have a little time!

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Here is a good place to tell you about our plague of flies!  Every year in the beginning of April there are a couple of days when these fancy, long winged flies come in droves.  I believe they are something like butterflies, (only ugly), because they only live long enough to lay their eggs somewhere.  But the next year there are twice as many of them! In the last four years that we have spent here, the number really has quadrupled!  They come in the evening and by morning they lie dead everywhere.  The wings drop off and go floating around all over the place.

The Karen call these flies “BeBea” They love to eat them.  Last week all the flies came in droves.  Your only defense is to put up your mosquito net and turn out all the lights.  In the morning there were 2-3 inches of them dead on the front porch in places!

It surely seems like a plague to me, the air is thick with them.

Close-up!
They are inside the house like this too.  They seem to like to drown themselves in the water.

We will find wings in everything for a very long time!  The good news is that they do not bite, sting, suck your blood or give you diseases that I know of!

This is what I call a “ScorpioPede!”  I forgot the Karen word for them. I have seen some over a foot long!  They are not so bad  though because when stung, a normal healthy adult will not die.  Its sting will just hurt more than a scorpion I am told!

Sometimes the road is rough and the future unclear.  Sometimes it appears that all those around us have turned away from the truth that we love and present time after time.  Sometimes it seems the relentless devil has full control of everyone around us.  Sometimes we feel overwhelmingly alone in such a vast vineyard, with no one who really cares, no one who understands.  Sometimes all we see in any direction are obstacles, all we feel is rejection, all we hear is empty silence or worldly wicked music. Again and again the devil makes direct attacks on BletJaw and I separately in our personal lives and together as a team.  Sometimes we have hand to hand combat with the devil over here! But is anything too great a sacrifice for one lost sheep?

Example #1

It must have been 9:30 when I finally went to sleep on Wednesday night, April 16.  At midnight I awoke suddenly with a heaviness in my throat and chest.  In spite of the hot humid air around me, a chill shivered through my veins.  My arms, legs, and hips were painful at the joints.  The very atmosphere was oppressive.  Oh my!  This is the devil, I thought.  My mind immediately went to the last verse in the Bible that I had read the night before: 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  1John 4:18  I told the Lord:  “I need Your perfect love so badly.  Please give it to me just now, and in your name, dear Jesus, cast out the devil that is causing me to feel so terrible!”  The heaviness and pain left me.

Just then a piercing scream rent the air from the village below, followed by what seemed like children’s voices screaming in agonizing, abject, terror, time after time!  I can still hear it in my mind but cannot express it in writing. I shall never forget it. What could be happening?  I expected loud knocking on our door any moment with the bleeding victims of some horrible slaughter!  Then I heard an angry man yelling and howling in rage!  It seemed his voice rang out through the entire length and breadth of the village.  How are the dear villagers doing?  Are they in danger?  They must be terrified. Has someone been killed? These noises lasted about 15 minutes and then died away.  It seems to me that the lives of these dear ones may never be the same again after such a traumatic night. 

No one came knocking at my door that night.  Two days later I found out that a BYT man, ChweeCoo, had become drunk and flew into a rage, kicking his wife, DahBlet, and threatening his two daughter’s lives, age 10 and 12.  The poor little grandmother, age 75, who is blind in one eye, had bravely stood between this devilish brute and the 10 year old, perhaps sparing her life.  This man has no restraint on the use of alcohol and opium.  We know ChweeCoo well.  He has a bad reputation and has been abusive like this before, but each time he gets worse.  I was able to go to their house and help DahBlet and the girls.  I hear now that soon both the man and his wife will move to Bangkok.  The girls will stay here and go to school.  They all need your prayers.

DahBlet with her Mother, two days after the assault

Example #2

The school next door is holding a celebration with the monks.  As we assemble on the Sabbath Day to worship God in our small church with our tiny frail congregation, we have competition in singing our Sabbath songs, because the monks are chanting loudly into a microphone, the monotonous monotone of their language, which nobody understands.  They continue all day and far into the night!  The entire schoolyard is filled with all the students, teachers and many villagers bowing with their faces to the ground and praying to a large ugly, shapeless Buddha idol filled with no meaning what-so-ever.  Monks and idols receive the admiration and solemn, reverent worship of almost all of the Thai and Karen people, while the Creator and ruler of the universe is unknown, unrecognized and unwanted.  He is not recognized nor wanted because they just do not know Him.  Where are all the missionaries to tell them?  You could put your finger on any spot in Thailand and it will be filled with people that do not know.

The Buddhist people of Thailand worship all the monks – young and old.  (Picture taken in Omkoi)

They worship Buddha images of all sizes and in all places.  (Picture taken in ChiangMai)

…And they worship the temples.  (Picture taken in ChiangMai)

Oh, friends, don’t sit comfortably anywhere, just taking care of your own needs, your own families and your own safety, accruing your own possessions and laughing with your own friends, because if you do you will at last loose all.  Give God all your time, all your money all your possessions, all your strength and all your energy right now. It belongs to Him anyway, and He will give you so much more in return!  Work tirelessly in the place He sends you. You will know then what is true riches, true happiness and true security.  To see a soul saved is more than worth all that you have!

Example #3

DJ is our neighbor and also acts as an elder in our church.  He holds worships in different homes throughout BYT and surrounding villages.  He helped us get started four years ago by introducing us to people and villages.  I am always thankful to him for what he does for the church.  Even though all the people around him eat pig, drink, smoke, and do opium, he has stayed clean of all these things! 

On the other hand, he does not know the Bible very well.  He always tells the Bible stories by making up crazy things as he goes along.  It is not correct.  We try to help him, but he believes he is right.  Another problem is that if anyone does him wrong, he never forgets it. He is angry at them for years on end.  It seems he has something against everyone.  His mind dwells and dwells on the things that upset him.  Even when a dog that I used to love and feed, killed one of his baby chickens, he is still angry at me. (That was 3 years ago.  They killed and ate that dog! Do you remember that story)? 

Two weeks ago DJ disappeared.  He left home about 8 p.m., telling his wife that he was going to visit me, then visit someone at the school.  He would be gone a long time.  But he never visited me, or the man at the school.  In fact by morning nobody had seen or heard of him.  We were all greatly concerned because the men here, have a dreadful habit of hanging themselves in a distant jungle tree, if even one little thing is bothering them. That day and the following day a team of 12 people set out through the jungle looking for DJ.  Several men of the village would not go because they still have mental images of finding people hanging from a tree, looking so very grotesque, they could never forget it. 

Finally someone reported seeing him.  They said he had no shoes on his feet.  They shone a flashlight towards him and he thought it was a camera.  He threw his hat down and ran. He did not answer questions appropriately.  He seems to be out of his head.  Now we think he is still alive, but with no food or water he couldn’t last too long, and he still could be suicidal.  The days now are intensely hot – April is the hottest month of the year here.  His poor wife is exhausted and beside herself with worry. 

By the afternoon of the second day, when the team of worn out rescue workers were about to go out for a second time, a motorcycle drives up to our house bearing the news that they found DJ at GweeWaWahKee village 2 hours away.  Immediately his wife and son take off to that village followed by the pastor and several others.  The next day they all came back – DJ included!  How happy we all were to see him alive.  He acted like nothing was wrong and laughed and joked as usual.  But something was dreadfully wrong.  He was seen by a psychologist in Chiang Mai two days later and given tranquilizers and heavy drugs.  Now this is causing an even worse problem for him.   Oh how he needs to look at the precious Saviour and dwell constantly on Him.  I am trying to reach him with the good news from the book Ministry Healing and the chapter entitled “Mind Cure.”  I wish I could send him to Neal Nedley’s course, which, through God’s power brings healing to so many people.  Surely there is hope for this dear man way out in the jungles of Thailand and so far from the professional godly, people who work with mental depression.   My heart aches for him.  Though I am not a mental health professional, I know God will show me how to help him before it is too late, because He knows just how to handle it.

DJ’s wife, RraeLu, far left. DJ, center with his 6 children.  This was taken one year ago.

Please pray for DJ and if you have any suggestions please pass them on to me.

Conclusion:

The above accounts are just a small sample of all the thousands of needs around me here.  As I sigh and cry over the condition of my people in this country, and as I lift them up individually and as a whole before God in prayer, I read these words:

“For the conversion of one sinner the worker for God should tax his resources to the utmost.”

“If Christ left the ninety and nine that He might seek and save one lost sheep, can we be justified in doing less?  Is not a neglect to work as Christ worked, to sacrifice as He sacrificed, a betrayal of sacred trusts, an insult to God?”  PK 370

Oh, let’s tax our resources to the utmost, let’s work as Christ worked and sacrifice as He sacrificed for the precious lost sheep!

It is so relaxing to trust in Jesus!  He makes sure we are in the right place at the right time to help others.  None of us know anything about the future and what is best for ourselves or for others.  I could not even tell you how many times our well laid out plans have been dashed to pieces, and a totally different course pursued.   Later we discover it is because we need to be in a particular place to help someone in need.

This just happened yesterday.  We had plans which did not work out because the patients just flowed in that day.  Finally at 7 p.m. we sat down to eat our 2nd meal.  How starving we were!  Just then we hear the sound of a chocking, wheezing old motorbike, straining to bring 2 people up the last hill to our house.  Most people park below and walk up because it is so steep, but when the motorbikes attempt to come that way it is usually because someone is really sick.  We hear coughing at the door.  Karen people do not knock on the door, because their bamboo houses do not have doors, they cough or talk loudly to announce their arrival.  BletJaw answered by asking them if they want to eat with us.  This is always how we greet people when we are eating.  We invite them to eat with us.    The young man said:

“Whow Ai Ya,”  Which means:  “A snack has bitten me!”

Instantly our meal was forgotten and we half carried DahTee, age 24, from WaSuTa, to our clinic.  It had already been 4 hours since the bite.  He had been cutting bamboo far up in the mountains when he was bitten.  He thought at first it was a poisonous caterpillar, so he stepped forward, and as he did the deadly green pit viper struck him the second time on his right foot.   Now he has two doses of venom in him.  His foot is blue and swollen tight.  He barely can stand the pain and tightness which radiates up his entire leg.  I quickly gave pain medication and mixed a poultice of Charcoal and Psyllium seed.  It is impossible to keep antivenin because there is a different one for each type of snake,  it is very expensive, and its effectiveness expires very quickly.  

BletJaw has already turned the truck around and checked the water and oil levels. 

Shortly after 7p.m. we were off!  Truck rattling all the way.  Some things are very loose near the front wheels and we wonder if it will hold together.  Anything on this truck that can be shaken, will be shaken, let me tell you!  The front passenger seat is completely broken.   It just lies flat on the back seat, but when going down the steep places it bullets back and forth!  I perch on the edge of the seat hanging onto anything that can be grabbed to keep me in place as the truck lurches all over the place .  We have to go all the way to Omkoi because we already know that the truck they use in MeDooGlow to transport patients has been wrecked and the driver is injured.  (We had to make the same trip to Omkoi just 2 days ago with another patient which is why we know).  BletJaw and I have not fully recovered from that trip.  BletJaw’s back hurts from putting in concrete steps up to our house.  Now we drive 7-8 hours round trip again.

I don’t know what happened to me, but I was extremely car sick the entire way.  This seldom happens to me, but when I am tired and have not eaten, plus we are drinking the muddy water straight from the mountain because our good drinking water had turned as green as sea weed for some strange reason.  We have not had time to boil it.  I guess this gives me plenty of reasons to be car sick.  But at least I am not fighting poison from the fangs of a deadly pit viper!  Let’s put our sympathies in the place where they belong because DahTee has suffered intensely all the way.

We leave DahTee and his friend at Omkoi with a prayer and take our long journey home.  I sink into my sleeping place at 2:45 a.m. I tell God:  “Oh please send this one more patient back home restored to health!”

I am so abundantly thankful to the Lord for directing our steps today. Oh how He loves us to help those in need!  Oh how I love to fill my small place in His vineyard and love the people He loves,  and be what He wants me to be to those around me! 

It is  seven a.m. Monday morning, March 10, 2014.  I tune into the noises around me.   There are 15 young and enthusiastic college men and women from Bozeman Montana sitting on the floor of our, usually quiet, living room, eating breakfast and laughing and chatting together excitedly about their experiences of sleeping on the hard wooden floor of our old house and all the other strange sights and sounds that surround them here in BYT.  There is the wailing of a small baby in the clinic as I give him a nebulizer breathing treatment to help relieve his asthma.  Below in the village I hear the terrorized screams of a pig being slaughtered for a wedding feast that will take place over the next three days.  And there is heavy drum beating music that they think will set the mood for the feast. People have come from a far village to take part in this feast and I can hear their loud talking. Above all these noises is spread a serene deep blue velvet sky with the peaceful, lingering, outline of a full moon.  I marvel to myself at how, no matter what the ambitions of man are, no matter how many people, what the deadlines are, or how pressed and hurried things get, there sits a God above, controlling all things in His calm eternity.  I take His hand and resolve to follow His lead and trust in His providence for all my needs.

“Above the distractions of the earth He sits enthroned; all things are open to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He orders that which His providence sees best.”

From Sunday through Friday March 10 through 14, five ADRA workers and the 15 Americans worked, digging a pipeline from the water source 2 kilometers up the mountain, to the water tanks, then branching off to our house, the school, and in the other direction it goes throughout the entire village.  The villagers helped.  Even 10 of the bigger boys from the school marched out in a row, hoes over their shoulders and helped dig.  The work went fast because there was so many of them, working in a team.  They all lined up, each one digging their 3 foot space in front of them and then they all moved down to the next section. 

DeGua Mo, the cook from Sunshine Orchard volunteered to come and do the cooking for this large group.  What a blessing!  ChaGooGoo, a Thai teacher and B’NayHtu, a tenth grade student, came to help.  It was school break and a perfect time for them to come!  Do you see God’s providence at work here!

Our cook was complimented at every meal!  She received raving reviews!  She never seemed to get tired or run out of ideas. (The food did go bad halfway through the week and we had to run to MaeLaCamp Wednesday morning to restock)!

ChaGooGoo is an excellent cook also. He worked all day long every day!

We all started chopping food at 4 in the morning and hardly stopped until 5 in the afternoon!

B’NayHtu cooking rice in the blazing heat!

B’NayHtu: What a cheerful, hard worker and good cook! It was a delight to work with him!

They love the food!

The proof of the food is in the eating!

Much of my time was spent treating the sick because at that time there were several babies suffering with asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.  Most of the patients, however, came from the wedding feast – just as I expected!  The groom was from TeeWaGlow village some distance away.  It seems I got to meet everyone in that entire village over those three days, because they all complained of stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, a direct result of pig and alcohol!

By Friday morning the work was completed.  Three concrete pads were set for the three levels of tanks.  One large blue tank at the top directs the water to the filter on the next level and from there the 6 large blue tanks are filled that send the water to all of us.  I am so happy and so thankful to God for all the people who made this system reality.  It was so much fun to get to know all the distinct personalities of each American worker, so different, yet working together so well.

The bright blue tank received the water from the mountain and sends it to the filter at the next level.

Then the water flows down and fills these 6 large tanks.

This line goes from the 6 large tanks – straight to our house!!!

ADRA called us together Saturday night to thank everyone for their hard work.  They said that we were very lucky, to have such a nice system.  It was far larger and better than the others they had done. The filter makes the water good to drink right out of the tap!  WaSueTah was jealous.  To me I knew it was not just luck, Oh no.  The Lord answered our prayers, no doubt about it.  First, the project had been dropped almost a year ago because there was no funding.  But with continued prayer there came a large donation one month later that covered the whole cost!  I also heard that this is the last project ADRA will do.  God had fit us in right on time. His providence at work again!

God has cared for every detail of this week.  At the beginning our water ran out.  We were all bathing in the river, but we had 10 people living in our house and no water for cooking or for the toilets. That night we went to bed and prayed about it.  In the morning our tank was half full!!  This lasted just long enough for the big new water to arrive!!  “God in His calm eternity ordered that which His providence saw best!”

Pastor Allan Newbold is an SDA college campus counselor, who organized this group from Bozeman university.  He knows how to contact the person in Washington who donated the large amount that made this project possible.  I was able to send a personal letter of thanks to him through Pastor Newbold.  

Dear donor, If you read this post, please know how many people you have made happy and helped!! We praise the Lord for you because you responded to the call of the Holy Spirit who impressed your heart in answer to our prayers.  Thank-you and great is your reward in heaven!

One of the young men made his commitment to be baptized while he was in BYT. Pastor Newbold baptized him Sabbath in our small river!

By the time we took this last photo of the entire group on the last day, we felt sad.  It is so surprising that after just one week being with total strangers, you already love them and want the best for their lives, and your heart is sad and empty at their departure. 

As the last good-byes are said and the four ADRA trucks roll out, I already miss the college students that I had come to know.  I take a long look at the deep blue sky and whisper, Thank you dear Lord, I am following Your lead, and trusting in Your providence.  My hand is still in Yours. You are always beside me!”

Jesus said:  “Whosoever shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me!”

Going to church in BYT

You remember him from previous stories.  He does not know his age, he does not know the name of his Father or his Mother.  He knows nothing about cleanliness, only how to play under the house with the pigs, chickens, dogs, cows and dirt. The people in his village guess that he is 6 years old.  For almost 2 years now I have tried to relieve him of his skin infections and itchy rash due to a fungus that covers his body from head to toe.  When he comes to school in BYT, I am successful in getting him to come to my house twice a day for a good bath, medicine and clean clothes.  I begin to see improvement.  But this school schedule lets the students go home quite often.  Always SoRaChi comes back from his village in worse condition than the last time.  I found I was fighting a loosing battle.  I felt desperate to get him well because if you remember, his sister died of this same condition several years ago.  My whole heart goes out after this adorable little boy.  His Mother wants his infections to go away, but even after I taught her how to bathe him, she never does it.  She told us that if SoRaChi wanted to stay with us he could, or if he wanted to go to the MaeSalite school he could.  However SoRaChi did not want to go anywhere else.  He wanted to be home.  Of course he would want to go home he is very small and that is all he knows.

I prayed this prayer:  “Oh dear Father, give this little boy a love and trust in us so that we can help him get well.  Thank you so much.  In Jesus name amen.”

Two days later school was out for 4 days.  His skin was looking a bit better and I just could not let him go home now.  BletJaw and I asked him if he wanted to stay with us and get well.  He nodded his head, yes!  So we drove to his village, MeDeLeeGwee, (which is either 2 hours of walking or 2 hours of driving).  We told his Mother our plan for the 4 days that school was out.  She was happy to have us help him, and wonder of wonders, he was happy to go home with us!  As we stayed and took care of  the sick that day in his village, all the people gathered around him and marveled at how clean and well he looked.  As I looked at the other pitiful little children all around me that day, I saw an astounding difference in their appearance.  Oh how my heart ached for them, they were so filthy dirty and sad looking.  I gave them soap and started to take them to the water and scrub them, but they were too shy.  SoRaChi, on the other hand sat proudly by my side, helping me by handing me my stethoscope when I needed it.  The people all stared at him!

In just 9 days of prayers, baths and clotri/beta ointment, and good food, he was totally healed!  He told me, “Blellie”  meaning, “finished!”  He did not itch anywhere anymore – possibly for the first time in his entire young life!  Praise the Lord!  This is a miracle!  Now we need to go to MaeSalit for 4 days.  We drive to his village again to ask the parents if we can take him with us.  The Mother asked him if he wanted to go with us.  He certainly did, and when we were ready to leave, he bounded ahead of us to our truck without one glance back at his family.

I am almost a little frightened about the future now because it seems this little boy really really loves me and prefers me to his own Mother, and let’s not ignore the fact that I am in love with him also!  He glues himself to my side. He is always looking to see where I am.  I pray with him as he goes to bed.  We pray before we eat. He goes to church and worships with us. I taught him how to scrub himself all over with soap.  He almost scrubs himself too hard, but he gets every square inch clean.  Then I taught him how to brush his teeth and wash his own clothes. He is getting a good nourishing vegetarian diet.

He loves to help me

This balloon lasted all day

Sunday morning we left for MaeSalit.  He was well that morning, but as we drove he suddenly became sick.  It is not car sickness – no – he has never been car sick – this was much much worse!  His face got red, and his body became burning hot just in one hours time!  I am glad that I did not have a thermometer because I would be too scared to see how high it was!  The further we drove, the hotter the day got, as we descended from the high altitude of the mountains.  The road was long and horrible.  I had to sit in the back seat with him because our back seat is loose and comes right off to the floor as well as the back of the seat. I had to sit with him just to keep him on the seat.  The bumps were so great that he was catapulted off onto the floor.  (Me too)! I cooled him down with a rag and some of our drinking water.  His stomach hurt, his head hurt and it seemed he could barely move.  I told BletJaw that I wanted to go straight to Meta hospital because this had come on so suddenly it seemed he was in grave danger.  He was my responsibility!  Sitting there in the back seat with him I prayed earnestly.  He went to sleep.

When we finally emerged onto the main highway his skin did not feel hot.  I woke him up, sat him up, and asked him if his head and stomach still hurt.

“No.”  was the reply.  “I am hungry!”

From that time on he has been in excellent health. Yet another divine miracle!

Now we are in MaeSalit and he and I go to the stream every day and take our baths together.  I don’t have to do anything for him, plus this is the first time that he has not needed the clotri/beta cream!

Flashback:

I just had to add these 2 “before” pictures so you can see how totally miserable this poor child was – and this was only 9 days ago!  You cannot really see how bad it is in this photo.  BletJaw had to cut his hair so that I could treat his scalp.  I had him wear gloves because his head was so bad it was oozing pus and bleeding.

I must also add that we were able to get rid of those devil strings around his wrists!

How the dear Saviour loves the small helpless little children and answers our prayers.  How incredible this verse really is in Matthew 18:5 when you think deeply about it.  We really do receive Jesus when we receive and help the little children, meaning anyone just learning about God.  I feel a deep awe and appreciation of God – more than ever before! He gives us so many glimpses of heaven!

How valuable does that make us?!   . . .

I heard that it happened just 4 days ago.  Nobody understands why it happened.  Everybody is shocked.  Compared with the other people in these villages, he had a lot.  He owned cows.  He had a great rice field in the paddy, which meant he did not have to clear land every year for mountain rice.  He had coffee plants that brought a good income every year.  He did not smoke, drink or use opium!  It seems he had no problems with his wife and 3 lovely children.  And to top it all off he just recently bought a small truck, we saw it just the last time we visited MeDeLeGwee village.  As a matter of fact he had proudly showed us that time.  His face, as always, wore a huge smile. I believe many other people would have loved to be in his position.

. . .And yet they found his body hanging from a tree far out in the jungle.  Suicide!

I saw the wife on the back of a motorcycle the next day holding onto a large white cross for the burying place.  They must know something about Jesus dying on a cross for them!

The following week I could think of little else.  My heart ached for the wife and 3 children.  Oh Lord I must go to this village.  I must talk to this wife about Jesus love and second coming.  I must talk to everyone in that village. I must tell them simply and clearly about You and the value of a soul.  I must tell them in a way they can understand, in case anyone else is contemplating suicide.  Help me.  Help them.

We were not prepared for the deep anguish that we saw and felt as we entered that once happy home in MeDeLeeGwee village.  The large wooden house where we usually meet, is the home of many people.  The grandmother, grandfather, and several of their children with their families live there along with some other relatives.  This included their son-in –law who had committed suicide.  As we entered that house and put our things down, nobody spoke, but all held their eyes on the floor – broken hearts were everywhere.  The dear wife’s eyes told the story of deep sorrow. I wanted to sit down beside her and put my arms around her and weep right along with her.

This man was truly loved by all.

We conducted our time a little differently.  BletJaw first went through the village inviting the people to come and hear about Jesus.  They came.  Before even opening the bag of medicine, we had  a worship meeting with them. Oh how I wanted them to understand that they could have great hope.  In my heart I sent up a desperate prayer for the help of the Holy Spirit.  Oh how I wanted them to know the truth.

I felt like I was conducting the funeral service just then.  I told them about Jesus love for us and His death on the cross.  Although I have told stories of Jesus and Bible many times before in this village, they seemed not to remember or know.  (The wife had put the white cross on the grave, but did not know a thing about God, the Bible, or Jesus life and death).  It was a very attentive audience.  They seemed to strain to hear every word.  I showed them a picture of Jesus carrying His cross, and another of Jesus coming in great glory in the air!  I read Isaiah 49:15,16 and explained it.

I saw a glimmer of understanding and great interest in the pictures that illustrate it so well.  The grandfather picked up the pictures and for a long time, he and some others sat gazing at them.  These are special moments that I never shall forget.

One of this man’s sons is in the front far left. NoWah, the grandmother is in the front center and another daughter on the far right.  The man’s wife is not in this group picture.

This is a picture of his wife taken quite a long time before her husband committed suicide.

My job now is to go to every single village as soon as possible and tell the people how God values each one and what He did to save us.  My prayer is that those poor people who may be contemplating suicide will see their worth, and the great hope just ahead of us, and change their minds.

Here is a statement described by Ellen G. White as:  “Wonderful wonderful words, almost beyond the grasp of faith!”

“He wants to link our hearts with His heart of infinite love…It is our privilege to understand that God loves us as He loves His Son.”  Lift Him Up 332

Let’s spread the word faithfully to all you come in contact with, because you never know who it may save or when it may be your last chance.

“Jesus stood and cried, saying:  If any man thirst let him come unto Me, and drink.  He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”  John 7:37, 38

“The water of life flowing from the heart always waters the hearts of others.” MS 69. 1912

I am so overjoyed that I just want to jump up and down and scream!

You see, the Lord has given us a brand new beautiful building to live in and work out of, He has given us a great solar system whereby we are a “light on a hill,” and now He is going to give us water!  And best of all He has not done all this just for us, He has done it for everyone all around us!

Here is the whole story about water:  Over one year ago when we were planing to build on another location the other side of BYT, ADRA came with an engineer to try to locate an adequate water to supply high up on the mountain that would supply us and the entire village.  They worked on their plans for many months, but later emailed me saying the funds did not come through and they had to abandon the project.  Well, we just kept right on praying earnestly for water, because since that time we built in a different place that was even higher up, above everyone else.  As soon as the rainy season ended, we seldom had access to any water! This is a big problem for us.

Listen carefully here!  In less than one month ADRA emailed me saying that they are very surprised but most of the money had come in for the project and they were going to put their plans back into action!  One week after that they had all the money needed!  A miracle!  Praise the Lord! Because we are not talking about just a few dollars here – we are talking about $15,000!

Just three weeks and 4 days from today, an entire team of 15 young men, volunteers from Bozeman Montana, will arrive in our little village of BYT.  Together with the engineer and some of ADRA’s personnel, they will put in a state of the art water system!

Stay in tune because I will be sure to tell you what happens and how it happens!

“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, (“Never crave the world’s advantages and attractions.” RH Dec 13, 1892) but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14

Mrs. Ellen G. White says:  “You must seek to have an indwelling Saviour, who will be to you as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.  The water of life flowing from the heart always waters the hearts of others!”     MS 69, 1912

May this be true of you and I today!

May these sweet little faces be so deeply etched in your memory that you will be inspired to pray for them daily.  They are my responsibility from God and they need your prayers so desperately!

“And they shall be Mine saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels!”  Malachi 3:17

“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:  He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”  Isaiah 40:11

“He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” Psalm 72:4

“And they shall hunger no more. . .For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them!” Revelation 7:16,17

” I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick.”  Ezekiel 34:18

“Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.”  Isaiah 62:3

“I have called thee by thy name.  Thou art Mine.”  Isaiah 43:1

“The Lord God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself.” Deuteronomy 7:6

“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”          Matthew 19:14

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love.  Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3

“I will make a man more precious than fine gold.  Even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.”  Isaiah 13:12

“I will not leave you comfortless.  I will come to you.”  John 14:18

“Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”  Matthew 28:20

“I will not forget thee.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.  Thy walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:16

“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety. . .and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.”  Deuteronomy 33:12

“I the Lord do keep it.  I will water it every moment lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day.”                 Isaiah 27:3

“Sing praises unto God. . .For God is the King of all the earth. . .God reigneth over the heathen. God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” Psalm 47:6,7,8