Final Day in Thailand

Friday came all too quickly. With so many things still to do, we got to the final day of Bible teaching with our Barefoot Doctor students. Jon and Jung gave their final classroom lessons in the morning, then Jon had one more lesson outdoors with the students in the afternoon. It was the last lesson on I Peter, from I Peter 2:11-12 which tells us what to do when we are being persecuted and/or falsely accused of doing wrong.

When we went out to the shade trees in front of Rennert Hall for the lesson, we arrived just as two men were delivering 40 night stands for the dormitory rooms. The students quickly volunteered to help them carry the stands inside, help for which the men were very grateful. It showed me once again the great servants' hearts these Barefoot Doctors have.


That afternoon I had to start packing my bags and making sure things were left in good shape for the students to return home the next week. Abraham has to be ready to make medicine purchase in Yangon as soon as they arrive there. Then they will distribute some of them to each of the Barefoot Doctors before they begin their journeys home.

I also tried to say personal goodbyes to a few of the students, but that is hard to do unless a translator happens to be nearby. A couple of them gave me personal gifts for teaching them two of the three years they were here. Jung told me he would be driving me to the airport, and I was glad to hear that because I wanted to get in a final, good visit with him.

After supper, we met in the classroom for some final words of goodbye from me, then some of the students came forward to express their thanks and give me some gifts of appreciation. I received two bamboo cups (for Mountain Tea!), a nice straw picture of a scene in Burma, and a longhi (a Burmese man's wrap-around garment for his legs). Sarwang Pung said they doubted I would actually wear this longhi publicly in America, but maybe I would like to use it in my house. I assured them I would give it a try!

Then they asked me to sit in the middle of the room while they surrounded me so a few of them could lay hands on me and pray. The whole group began praying out loud so earnestly that it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life! These Burmese brothers and sisters pray so passionately! It is both humbling and inspiring to be the object of their prayers!

After this, we said our goodbyes and Jung drove me to Chiang Mai Airport. We were quite early for my midnight flight, so he came inside and stayed with me until the Korean Air ticket counter opened up so I could check my bags in. We got to talk about the future of Frontier Labourers for Christ and the work of the Barefoot Doctors ministry. Since many of the students still need to be certified for dental extractions, we are planning to have a dental training session in Burma sometime late in 2012 or early 2013. mPower has agreed to come back for this, and we are just trying to figure out where and when. Rick Astone and Dr. Bjorn Nilson plan to come for this training also, if possible.

As I left Chiang Mai, my heart was full of hope and anticipation as I thought about what these new Barefoot Doctors will be doing village after village. I am going to miss them deeply, and I realize that most of them I will probably never see again in this life. When they arrived at KLC two years ago, they were already highly motivated to help their people medically. Now they have both the medical and Bible skills to match their strong motivation. The sky's the limit for what they will be able to do for the Lord in Burma when they return there! Please remember them always in your prayers.

Two Field Trips on Thursday

On Wednesday evening we finally got some rain! The winds whipped up so strongly that we lost electrical power at KLC for almost two hours. Then the rains came, and everyone was thanking God for them. Things have been so dry here! A local pastor, Jim Arnold, came out to do the message at our evening devotions, and we had to begin the service with candles and flashlights. The power came back on partway through Jim’s message.

Early on Thursday morning, we headed out from KLC. Almost everyone in the class went up the mountain with Jon and Abraham. The government has made a park on top of the mountain, so there have been some improvements to the overlook. It used to just be an outcropping of rocks, but now there is a nice, covered overlook to enjoy. The students sang some songs of praise together, we took a few pictures, and then Jon led in prayer as we prayed for Frontier Labourers for Christ and especially the Barefoot Doctors program. We got back to the campus just in time for breakfast.

Throughout the morning Jon and Jung taught their Bible lessons, amazed at how much the Holy Spirit was overlapping their lessons. We found ourselves constantly reinforcing certain Bible themes the students needed to grasp firmly. Perhaps the most important lesson on Thursday and Friday was that the Word of God alone will stand forever, and that means the most important thing we can do is to get the Word of God out to people who need to know Him. This has, in fact, been a consistent theme of the Bible teaching here this year.

The Barefoot Doctors go out to share the love of Jesus through their medical skills and the difference they can make in the daily lives of Burmese villagers. But if they somehow fail to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they go, they have failed as Barefoot Doctors.

In the afternoon lesson, we took the class outside for a short Field Trip. It was so hot, we just couldn’t stay in the classroom any longer!

We first went to the nice grassy area under the big shade trees in front of Rennert Residence Hall. We talked about how the grass and flowers of the field will fade away, but the Word of God will stand forever. Then we walked up to the very hot and dry area beyond the dormitory where the long grass of three months ago has now died and been cut down. We talked about how short our lives are and that we need to bring glory to God while we are still living. Over and over again we said, “Preach the Word! Preach the Word! Preach the Word!” Then we prayed together. We don’t think the Barefoot Doctors will forget that lesson anytime soon!

In the next post, I’ll try to recap what happened on Friday. Thanks for following our blog.

Abundant Life Center

On Thursday Jung and Jon continued their Bible teaching with the Barefoot Doctor students. They have now been here for almost two months, and I’m sure they are getting a little tired of the classroom, but we want them to go home as prepared as possible for the ministry they will doing. It is sad to think that we may never see each other again in this life.

Mid-morning, I finally had the opportunity to visit the Abundant Life Center (ALC) which the mission has owned for several years now. Lopah and his wife manage this agricultural land where both crops and animals are raised in order to provide food for the functions at KLC. I learned we’ve been enjoying some of the meat from their hogs and eggs from their chickens. I know we have also had some vegetables from their gardens, but I have no idea what they are called. They are in the soups and recipes we eat along with our rice each meal.

Lopah and I had trouble communicating very well, but I was able to interact with the children at the ALC and give them some small gifts and candy. Some of the 23 children were at school, so the pictures only show about half of the children who live at ALC now. Included in that number are Lopah’s two children.

One of the teenage boys helped me know what the various buildings were around the 53 acre campus. There are two bamboo homes for the girls and two for the boys. House parents help take care of the children, and there is a resident “grandpa” and “grandma.”

I found the kitchen especially interesting! It has a concrete floor while the rest of the buildings have dirt floors. There is a modern but small refrigerator in the corner, but the stove is a very small cooking fire to one side. Dishes are washed in a concrete basin in the corner, then the dishes dry on shelves above that “sink.” This kitchen prepares meals for about 22 people every day!

In the afternoon, Jung and I tried to continue the Bible teaching but it was basically TOO HOT to make much progress. Everyone was wilting! So we took some time instead to discuss the medicines the students thought would be most helpful to them when they go home as Barefoot Doctors. We had a very lively discussion and eventually came up with a list of our Top Ten Medicines to purchase for them. Actually, we couldn’t stop at ten, so we ended up with our Top Twelve!

After that, we distributed some of the medical supplies a surgery center in America donated to the Barefoot Doctors ministry. Jon’s daughter, Jenna, works there and brought these donations to him all year long. You can see how excited the students were to receive simple things like latex gloves and bandages!

There is some medical equipment also needed, but we know we will be busting our budget on the medicines alone. At this point we have just $12,000 US to work with, but we are determined to make it stretch as far as possible. We have already purchased some dentistry modules that will be going back to Burma with them, too.

If you could make an extra donation to these needs at this time, we would really appreciate it! It would be most helpful if you can send it in immediately, since medicines will be purchased both in Thailand and Burma next week. The address for the FLC Treasurer is in the sidebar of this blog. Thank you very much!

Simon Says ...

Simon Percy and the students had an emotional goodbye today as he taught his final sessions for this class of Barefoot Doctors. We all prayed for him, as we did for David and Mary Tucker yesterday, and then we took pictures of the whole group.

Simon read Acts 20:32 to the students in his closing remarks, where the Apostle Paul said to the Elders of the Ephesian church, "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Simon finished a short but helpful series of lessons on spiritual warfare this afternoon, then we had about an hour for him and Jon to field any Bible questions the students had. They asked about 5 or 6 different questions, which shows they've really been thinking about things. Then we went out and took this picture of the whole group.

The morning snack was the usual Thai coffee with cream, but we had a new one for the afternoon snack. It was chunks of baked sweet potato and "mountain tea." Quite tasty, really, just a little sticky to hold in our hands.

Earlier today, Jon continued his study of I Peter. Tomorrow he and Jung Dangshing will continue the Bible teaching portion of our school. Jon is also looking forward to finally visiting the Abundant Life Center where two couples provide a home for 23 children, as of right now. The Abundant Life Center is also where FLC has agricultural land to grow many of the foods used in the KLC kitchen. So, expect some pictures of the kids tomorrow night.

This being Simon's last night in Thailand, we were glad to be able to take Deezi and Dandenia Pungya out to dinner. We wanted to show our appreciation for Deezi's great helpfulness in shuttling all the teachers around for the past eight weeks. They are a talented but humble couple, a couple that is willing to do anything to advance the cause of Christ. This is true of all of the FLC staff we have met.

Sawadee kup!

Carpentry Over and Dinner Out

We were back to Bible teaching today after a nice weekend. David Tucker shared his final lesson for this year, and he taught a great lesson about how God used Samson and his parents. He and Mary head home tomorrow, but the folks at FLC hope to see them back very soon. They were able to come all three years our current students were at KLC. Thank you, David and Mary!

Jon Ulm began a new study of I Peter with the students today. This letter of the New Testament was chosen because it is a letter addressed to people under persecution, people suffering for their faith, much like the people in Myanmar. While they do not face the threat of death very often, it is hard to do God's work in Myanmar, and this situation is very much like the situation Peter addressed in his letter to the people of Asia Minor.

Mid-day we were able to listen to a short concert by a gifted classical guitarist from Chiang Mai. He is a native of Burma who now plays guitar in one of Chiang Mai's finest restaurants. Beverley Kalnin had him come out to KLC to look around, and we enjoyed his beautiful concert! After he played for a half an hour or so, our Barefoot Doctor students sang a beautiful song for him.

After a second Bible lesson on I Peter, the students involved in the Carpentry Class finished up their class project, a new bench for the porch of the Jones Building, the main building for the Barefoot Doctors School. You can tell from the pictures that the students are very proud of the way the bench turned out!
This evening several of us were invited to dinner by Beverly Kalnin. She wanted to express FLC's appreciation to the Bible teachers and translators who teach this portion of the Barefoot Doctors School. We had a very nice dinner together at the Riverside restaurant. All the food we had was traditional Thai fare.
You can tell the Riverside is a great place to eat, with musical accompaniment, too! Thanks, Beverley, for a wonderful evening!
One final shot I had to include. This was the dessert Simon ordered when they said they had a Riverside Special. He expected it to be a little bit smaller than this, but I call it, "Percy's Decadence!" It was served on a large seashell, and it looked delicious!

A Wedding and Church at Beulah

On Saturday afternoon we were invited to a wedding at Beulah Christian Church. It was not a normal wedding, even by Thai or Burmese standards, because the couple was being restored to the church. The ones inviting us to the wedding kept saying something about a Family Prayer Service, and finally we understood that the couple was asking the church to come together to pray for them as they get their lives right with God.
They already had a child a month or two ago, but in this service they were confessing their sin to their brothers and sisters in Christ and asking for their forgiveness. The whole church family was part of the healing process, and the ceremony included special music and a very good message by Pastor Pichai from Genesis 1 and 2 and Ephesians 5.
Jon had to get a ride from the hotel to the church on his own, but the hotel staff didn't seem to know how to arrange for a taxi. Then they said their driver could take me for 100 baht. We got in the hotel pickup truck (a nice, new one) and took off down the road as fast as the driver could go in heavy traffic. After a few minutes, I realized he didn't have a clue where he was going, even though I had given him the address and shown him on a map where the church is located!
We finally took 50 minutes to get to the church when the trip is usually no more than 10 minutes away. We only got there after the driver had called someone else for help three times and then stopped to ask the help of bystanders and a policeman an additional three times. Thais are not known for their map-reading skills. For quite awhile, it seemed the driver thought that if he drove fast we would get their sooner! There's a parable there somewhere, isn't there!

On Sunday we participated in the morning church services at Beulah. Simon Percy gave the offering prayer and a greeting from his church and family, some of the Barefoot Doctors sang a special song, and David Tucker preached on the example of Caleb from Numbers 14.
Yes, I WAS paying attention to David's sermon! It was about the only part of the service that I knew what was being said! Besides, when he came down into the congregation acting out the story of Caleb and the Spies in Canaan, he made me and Amin and Jung's son play the part of the Giants in the Land. We were the three tallest guys in church today.
One of the blessings of coming to Thailand several times is the friendships/partnerships the Lord begins to form. Four years ago this young man, Chai Rot, participated in our Carpentry Class. He is on staff at FLC and one of the church leaders. Today I got this picture of him and his family.
These two boys are new friends I have made this year. The older one is Lopah's son. Lopah and his wife are in charge of the agricultural land the mission has and the new Abundant Life Center, a home for children and young people. The other boy pictured here is one of those children. I am planning to visit the Abundant Life Center one day this week. Be watching for that story.
Here are some of the many children running around the Beulah church. We had lunch together after church today, and the children knew there were ice cream treats waiting for them at the end of the meal. Here they are looking at the poster that shows what kinds of treats are available.
Tomorrow David and I will be doing the teaching, and I will finally get to start my lessons on I Peter. Simon will be back to team teach with me on Tuesday, then Jung Dangshing and I will finish out the week together.
Thanks for reading our blog.
Jon

Saturday Carpentry Class

We continued our Carpentry Class on Saturday with everyone who wanted to continue working on the bench we are making. We only had a few hours, but we got quite a bit accomplished. Here are the students sanding the boards they had cut. Then they began marking where we needed to drill holes for the screws.
We had a lot of interest in using the power drills because most of them had never used one before. It was fun watching them get a feel for drilling the holes through very hard wood. This hardwood is literally so hard we were practically burning our way through the boards (smoke and all!)

Then we used a Fortner bit to round out an indentation where the screw heads go, so they can be counter-sunk and out of the way. The students were really fascinated by this process.
Finally, we put a driver bit in a second power drill and learned how to properly drive a screw into the wood. Again, the wood is so tough that, even with a predrilled hole, it is very difficult to push the drill hard enough. If you don't push hard, the drill just spins on top of the screw and you get nowhere. Not only that, you ruin the screw and have to get a new one. With first-time users of a power drill, we replaced many screws! I finally realized we should get a second person to push on the end of the drill also.

You can see from this picture that our bench is beginning to take shape. All of the pieces are cut and sanded now, so all we have to do now is finish assembling the bench. We plan to do that Monday afternoon after we finish our Bible classes for the day.
Oh yeah, one other thing! Here is part of the lunch Simon and I had on Saturday! The Thais had another name for it, but it seemed to be a lot like a Grouper. Very tasty!