Flooding in a nearby village. (Not my picture but copied from Facebook.)
It was like standing under a waterfall. In Oklahoma, the rain always comes down sidewise, or at least at a slant. No winds “sweeping down the plains” here, so the rain beats straight down. Usually it ebbs and flows, raining at least once a day during rainy season. This time it beat down with deadly, unrelenting force for days. After an unusually heavy rainy season, the pounding rain was too much for the new dam. It broke and water from the swollen river flooded the streets already swamped with rainwater. Many homes and possessions were destroyed. Five people, including a baby, were killed in a mudslide and one man was reported drowned.
Rick, Samuel, and Wichai delivered our donation to the disaster relief center.
We were thankful to be safe up on our little mountain, but our immediate thought was how to help those who were suffering. Wichai called the local government authority to find out what we could do. They asked for donations of food for the mobile food stations – particularly meat. Wichai went shopping, knowing better than I what supplies would be most needed. We delivered the supplies, including several large bags of pork, to the disaster relief station, and they were gratefully received. We aren’t officially organized yet, but the Grace and Peace Baptist Church made her presence known in our town by showing up to give. We pray that this start to our service to our local area will also be a start to reaching the people with their far greater need – the Gospel.
We also heard from our brethren in Myanmar. Their condition is even worse, as the same weather system washed away the whole town where our Bible School is located. The school buildings are on higher ground and suffered no damage. The village, though, was decimated. Here in Thailand, the local government is in charge of disaster relief. In war-torn Myanmar, no government aid is available. We were blessed to be able to send funds to help those left homeless and helpless.
Those sheltering children whose home villages are in the war zone were also affected by the flooding. They had the added burden of caring for all the children during the disaster. Another portion of our new church benevolent fund went to help two pastors who have taken in children, one in Thailand and one across the border in Myanmar. The money went to buy food and clean water for the children.
Bro. Ephraim and the children in Myanmar.
The Myanmar children living in the border village of Bon Saw.
We are looking forward to the visit of my pastor, Bro. Keith Brown of Sherwood Baptist Church, and Bro. Danny Roten next month. Bro. Roten, who is a missionary to the Hispanic people in Oklahoma City and an elder at Sherwood, has taken on the role of advisor and counselor to our mission here since Paul died so unexpectedly. He has been teaching Wichai and Moses each week, preparing them for ordination and for the official organizing of Grace and Peace Baptist Church.
It goes without saying that the last seven months have been the hardest in my life. Yet, I can see how all the hardships, from Paul’s death to the uncertainties of finances – and everything in between -- have been a part of God’s plan. The forming of a local church with a pastor and a presence in the area is clearly His intention and all the painful events led to making that happen. Throughout it all, He has walked with me and held my hand. I’m thankful.
At the aquarium at the Chiang Mai zoo.
On a lighter note, we took the children to Chiang Mai for a long-planned outing. Our first goal is to raise these kids with the Gospel permeating every part of their lives. We want to watch out for harmful habits and activities and provide opportunities for each of them. We want to give them a childhood secure with love. And we want to give them happy childhood memories. Some haven’t had many so far. Almost all come from a background of poverty and pain.
Aarg! A couple of familiar pirates, Vee and Samual
So, we went to the zoo! They enjoyed the animals, but the main attraction was the Snow Exhibit. The room was cooled to -10 degrees. Thankfully, that was centigrade. In Farenheit, it was 14 degrees. Cold enough for all of us used to tropical weather! The kids enjoyed seeing and touching the snow for the first time in their lives. They threw snowballs and rode the innertubes down the snow hill with lots of screams and laughter. I rode down it, too, but once was enough!
Playing in the snow.
Wichai, Moses, Mali, and Pat also took the kids for a bike ride at a nature park. I passed on that one, but we all went to the mall. We don’t have a mall or shopping center in our town. The closest we have is a Lotus – comparable to a small Walmart – in a nearby larger town, so we all enjoyed that part of the outing.
Wichai and Pat spent the night with the boys at our Chiang Mai office, which is where our college students always stay. We have one going to the university in Chiang Mai now. Jay has been with us since he was 13 years old and is finishing his junior year at Ratjapat University, studying accounting. We have another young man, Pat, who shows great promise. He’ll attend next year. It has been a help to have a place for them to live, which also helps with the costs.
Jay joined us for the outing at the zoo. This is exactly how Paul would have posed for this picture!
The price of higher education is very inexpensive compared to that in the U.S. and it’s a good investment. Wichai and Prasit, who both came to us as older teens, have graduated and are set on their careers. For Wichai that means working with us as administrator of the children’s home and, now, as pastor of the new church. Prasit graduated with a degree in Renewable Energy and works in the solar energy field.
Moses, Mali, and some of the younger children stayed at the hotel where Paul and I always stayed when in Chiang Mai and the girls stayed with Pann, who is our foundation administrator. She handles all our financial records and keeps us legal with ever-changing Thai laws. We were glad she and her family were able to join us on the zoo outing.
Moses with pastor Joseph, who is also Moses' grandfather.
We completed the trip on Sunday by attending a service in the mountain village of Pang Hok. Moses spent many of his growing up years in this village and his grandfather is pastor of the church there. I don’t often get to hear Moses preach in the villages, as it’s my job to teach Sunday School and play the piano for services at home. It was a joy to my heart to see him preach with obvious zeal and sincerity about “running the race.” The congregation was small by American standards, but several new families have been added since I was there last. We were glad to see the church growing, and especially glad to see their attentiveness to Moses’ preaching.
The children sang for the service. These two little guys speak only LaHu and are just now learning Thai. They were so happy to be able to sing this LaHu song with the others.
Jake, who lives in a nearby village and attends our afterschool classes, took the Sunday School materials to his pastor.
Even the younger ones help in the ministry. Here is Vee helping pack medicine bags for the villages.
Otherwise, our regular ministries are ongoing. This week we are distributing Sunday School materials as well as clothes, shoes, and other supplies that are headed to Myanmar. Our after-school classes and Saturday classes keep me busy. On Sunday afternoons Mali and I teach the girls a character study on a women in the Bible. This past week we studied Zipporah – and learned of all the amazing things her rebellion kept her from enjoying.
Then we work on a craft together and have a special snack. Please pray for these four girls, that the Lord would save each of them and raise them up to be godly women. And pray for us as we care for them and teach them.
And, of course, we celebrate birthdays! One day a month we have a party with pizza and cake. In September we celebrated Lala who turned 15 and Timmy who turned one.
It’s a privilege to be serving here with these precious people, and it’s a balm to my heart. God is good!
Comentarios