January 2-18

These seventeen days are truly significant!  We always meet with surprises and never know what a day may bring forth, but during this time period things really went crazy on us.January 2, We left BYT to pick up Tarn.                             84 km   or 6.5 hrs driveJanuary 3, We returned to BYT.                                           84 km    6.5 hoursTarn is with us for a while so we can learn the Thai language. She is also a great cook!  As soon as she arrived she asked me if she could take over my kitchen! Wonderful - by all means!! She brought a lot of food.  Now our meals are on time, we are not missing meals, and do not have to wait and let the food over-cook, burn or never get cooked because of  patient interruptions.  I am immediately and thoroughly spoiled!  January 5, We walked to GeGhah                                         1hour 20 mins walkWe were called to come and check on this man. He is the one who was stomped by an elephant back in August.  I was in America at the time.  He has been in the hospital all this time - over 5 months!  He just came home for a short while.  He cannot walk.  He must go back for repeated surgeries.  They want me to take the stiches out.  January 6, We walked to LaGlah                                           2 hours round tripThis is the day I got the tick in my eye.  We went see how ChaDree was doing. He had been very sick the last time we visited.  Today we find he is better!  He gets so sick and then so well - Please continue to pray for him.  God may even now be healing him of his cancer! Also we meet BeDee, who is very sick with a liver and lung problem.  She can barely breath and her legs and abdomen are swollen.  Her blood pressure is 190 over 120!January 7,  We drove BeDee from LaGlah to Meta hospital.  64 km, 4.5 hoursJanuary 8,  Return trip                                                           64 km, 4.5 hoursJanuary 9,  Rainy trip to Omkoi with DJ                            80 km one way, 6hoursSee the story of this horrendous trip titled:  "RAIN IN JANUARY"!Back to MeDuGlow      56 km       3.5 hoursJanuary 10, MeDuGlow to BYT                                             28 km        2 hrsJanuary 13, Drove to Meta again.  BeDee had a problem. 85 km       5 hoursWe have to take a much longer detour now to go to Meta because they are putting cement down again on the Pagoda road. Another problem:  The 3rd day of her hospitalization, this lady saw what she called a vision.  It was really just a thought that someone gave her 1000 baht. Somehow this scared her to the point of panic. To her this was a bad omen. She made the doctor let her go home, even though she needed surgery, so that she could have a spirit ceremony to get rid of danger. Her treatment was not completed and she had to return to Meta again!  All their superstitions and beliefs make things really complicated.  Return trip                   85 km        5 hours January 14,  To MeDuGlow. 52km  5 hoursSomeone came asking us to go to Kry Co village.   KawPaw is 28 years old and has suffered with edema, dizzyness and headache for 3 weeks.  She cannot eat and cannot walk.  I did not have my camera on this day. No picture.Back from MDG 24km 2 hoursJanuary 15, Patient from NyeLeGwee spontaneous abortion  68 km round trip  4.5hoursNawJe has been in extreme pain all day.  It was late in the afternoon when a man came on a motorbike telling us she wanted me to come and help her.She suffered extreme pain on the way to the clinic.  BletJaw did not want to go too fast over the bumps because it caused her pain, but he wanted to get her there as fast a possible. Just 30 minutes away from MeDuGlow she delivered a 4 month old fetus, and began to bleed profusely.It always takes too long to get these patients to a bigger hospital where they can get proper care, but I heard she did make it to Chiang Mai where they have given her blood transfusions.  We are praying for her full recovery.  We got to her just in time, any later and she would have bled to death.January 16, Friday.  Our pastor does not come here often.  But today he came and visited ChaDree in LaGlah on his way in. He said ChaDree had not eaten for several days and was so weak that now he could not walk.  This is really bad news. We prayed and prayed, then on Friday, I went with the pastor on his motorbike to visit ChaDree. I thought the pastor could explain anointing to him and ask him if he would like us to do that the next day.  The pastor thought that was a good idea.  I had all my medicine with me so we treated all the patients and spent the day there.  ChaDree looked good again!  He was up preparing our meal and was smiling and happy! He really wanted the anointing so we planned to all come the next day, Sabbath and do that.About the time we were finishing our meal, BletJaw came on  another motorbike to get me quickly because a boy from WaSuTa had gun powder from a gun explode in his face!I hopped on the motorbike with BletJaw and we drove  home very quickly.  When I  saw JawHtu, age 14 sitting on the grass outside the clinic I was greatly concerned!Worst of all his nasal hairs were burnt off!  I am really concerned. I washed his burned arms and face with sterile saline and plastered Silverderm cream all over the burns.  Then we tried to persuade the Mother to let us take him to MeDuGlow immediately.  She would not do it!  She acted real glum and did not talk to us.  I was beside myself to try to get her to see that this is an emergency. Even though he is breathing OK now, his breathing tubes will swell up later and he will be in big trouble. However, this lady took her son and began walking away with him! My whole heart went out after them!  I prayed desperately! Just before disappearing from view behind our old house, she paused, turned around and said: "If you take him, I will go."  Oh thank you Lord for her decision.Once at MeDuGlow I prayed that they would also see the danger and send him to Omkoi.  The nurse that was there called a doctor in Omkoi to ask what to do. She took a picture of the boy on her phone and sent it to him.  They decided to hold him at the clinic overnight and then send him in the morning if he got worse.  I prayed again, because MeDuGlow clinic could not do anything if he got into trouble.  Just before we left, the Doctor called the nurse back and asked her to send the patient straight to Omkoi right away.I am so glad because I heard he did get into trouble that night.  Hopefully he will be back home soon. January 16, So our trip to MDG and back that night was  48km  4 hoursJanuary 17, SabbathChurch in BYT was very well attended with 2 young men from LaGlah visiting. The pastor had asked me to preach that day.  I was so happy for the good attendance and attentive audience.  Everyone seemed to be hungering after truth!  I preached about Jacobs' ladder - the Holy Spirit was there in power!! I feel there is a small spiritual awakening beginning around here for the very first time!  I am so happy, so very happy!  Afterwards there were several people who walked with us the LaGlah village.The pastor had never done an anointing before.  He had called someone to ask how to do it.  I only had a small amount of weak olive oil.  The pastor put the oil behind his head and on his arms.  Though it was not done the right way and the oil was not proper, God will bless because it was done with the instrumentalities that we had.  It was our best to offer the Master, and He heard our prayers that day.  His will be done!After this service, ChaDree said that he wanted to be baptized!  I will try to get to LaGlah study with him every week, to prepare him as best I can.  I could not be happier than I am on this Sabbath day!!January 18, Sunday.         48km 4 hoursThey walked to us from GeGhah village.  GaTeeDa has had extreme diarrhea and vomiting for 2 days, and shows definate signs of dehydration. Her temperature is 105.5 degrees!  It barely came down 1 degree with paracetamol and a cool bath.  A small child like this can die quickly if not rehydrated and properly attended. Away to MeDuGlow we went again!*               *              *                *              *               *                *              *              *We totaled approximately 850 kilometers.   The driving time, is approximately 85 hours and 50 minutes, all in 17 days!  This is just a rough estimate going from our odometer and watches. I could easily have miscalculated over or under.   Actually 850 km is very little for 17 days, but you have to understand what these roads are really like to know that this much is totally HUGE , because every km is painstaking.  Every km takes prayer and faith to travel there-upon. There are only 2 people in all of America that understand a little about these roads and what I am talking about here.1.  I want to thank the Lord for placing us here, providing for all our needs, giving us strength, energy, wisdom, and guidance to take care of these people's needs, physically and spiritually.2.  Next I want to thank YOU for donating the money so that we can keep going month after month, and enabling us to drive a reliable, great truck! You can see how important it is to our work!3. I want to thank BletJaw for his dedicated work and tireless driving hour after weary hour on the terrible roads.  Truly this takes enormous endurance!BletJaw asked me to please thank all of you for your prayers and financial support that made it possible for us to purchase this truck and continue God's work in the jungle!!!