A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

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Written By Gayle Haberkam

I had a lovely present this Christmas. BletJaw gave me a Karen shirt. That was lovely, but what made it even better is that the pastor's wife made it. But even way better than that even was that he and his wife had the same shirt and wanted me to look like them. To me this is a huge compliment! Thank you BletJaw and WahNeePaw!! Jonathan is a real sweetheart and best of all he loves me! He has just had his first birthday December 26 and was dedicated on this day at the MaeSalit church. He has had to be in the hospital twice in the past for lung problems, but we pray he will quickly grow out of that. God bless you Jonathan! The poinsettias grow wild and beautiful here from September through February. Poinsettias grow into tall bushes here. Some are almost like trees. All you have to do to grow your own is cut a twig and stick it in wet dirt until it roots than plant it where ever you wish! Merry Christmas!  IMG_2298 Every month of the year is a beautiful month for flowers here! December is cold, but January will be even colder. The people really do not have enough warm clothes. When I run in the early morning I see them sitting around an outdoor fire to keep warm. BletJaw and I have resorted to the same morning routine! (When I say cold I am talking about 58 or 60 degrees)! That is very cold to us. The solar system. All eight panels on the roof! They brought the wrong size cabinet the first time. It was twice the size!Now they brought the right size and we can fit both of our cabinets on that wall. I gave a lady an IV while treating the other patients in NeLeeGwee. After it was D/C'd the children had the best time playing with the tubing! This one had the tubing wrapped around his neck several times. They also love to walk on their home made stilts. The very small children could do it well, even on the muddy slope in the rain! There is an old lady in the village of NeLeeGwee, who lives in this little tin house all by herself. When you ask her how old she is she will tell you - 190 years old! Here is her sad sad story...Nobody seems to know how old they are around here, especially the older people.  This lady has no children and no family.  She spends all her time alone.  Nobody cares much about her. She looks like she never bathes. She is filthy and always has the same clothes on.She barely gets enough food to exist.  When she was young she had a child out of wedlock.  This is looked down upon by the Karen and rightly so.  However this lady herself must have been ashamed because she killed her baby!  Then she married a man but they could not have any children. The people of the village all said that it was because she had done wrong and she was being punished.  That is why they do not help her.  Her husband died a long time ago.We visit her every time we come and bring her food.  One time she really wanted something sweet.  Another time she wanted 'MaMa' (Noodle).  When it gets warmer if she is still with us, I will give her a bath and clean clothes.  She is loved by God the same as any elegant, popular person.  My heart aches for her.  The rainy season is hard on her as is the cold season right now.Good news!! Several villages have worked together to make a roadway wide enough for a truck up the shortcut way to the pagoda! We took the truck out that way for the first time last week!! It saved us 2 hours off our trip, but the road is ruff and very steep. With 4WD low we barely made in in places! Guess what? This is ChaDree's new baby granddaughter. Her name is EhPo - meaning: Love small one. Now that family has 4 girls and one boy.  This is ChaDree's daughter with her new baby and only boy. This is her husband and middle girl. The 2 older girls were not around on this day. This is where you get your drinking water when you stay in people's homes. Everyone has these earthen vessels. They say it keeps the water fresh and cold. The ladle on the top is made from a coconut shell. I don't get the feeling it is too fresh because you never know what you might ladle up in that coconut shell! Many floating things! More to be added later,In His Care,Gayle    

Gayle Haberkam
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