Death and Life

This week has been very interesting.  It started quite normally with church on Sunday at the Nacorn Poeng Church which was planted and built by Fay and her hill tribe members. It was a lovely morning which started with prayer led by a Po Karen woman and translated by one of the ladies into Thai.  This was followed by Bible studies for adults, youth and children followed by the Church service and fellowship after the service.  We were there from 8:30am till after midday.  A normal Sunday.

That night Fay told me that she was having a fellowship with the Emmanuel Home boys at her house.  Little did I know she had an alternative motive! The boys arrived, arranged the chairs in a circle in the lounge room. We started by played Chinese whispers which was hilarious as I was the second last one to pass on the whisper and hoped I was pronouncing it correctly.  It didn’t really matter, it wasn’t what it had started as and in fact wasn’t even Thai by the time it had got to the fourth person.  We sang, prayed and shared together.  Then when I thought it was over Fay rushed off to the kitchen with Mae Wanchai and her son Suraruk and told me to stay put.  I took a photo of the group and when we had finished the lights went out and Suraruk brought in a cake lit with six candles singing happy birthday.  I joined in not knowing whose birthday it was.  I had no idea it was for me till the cake was presented to me with my name on in!  How spoilt am I!  Two birthday celebrations!  If you hadn’t guessed there were six candles one for every ten years.

Monday we received the sad new that the woman I had mentioned in the previous blog, who was in a coma, had passed away.  The coffin had been taken to the church, so back to church we went at 11am with vases, flowers and a bucket full of foliage. I helped arrange these before putting them on the stage behind the coffin.  Somehow it hadn’t registered that the body was already in the coffin till one of the men saw me taking photos and motioned if I wanted to see in side.  Before I could respond he had wiped off the coffin lid to show me the body wrapped in a sheet.  He peeled the sheet back to reveal the body dressed in beautiful new Po Karen dress.  I could only see her body and hands not her face or feet. It was quite eerie yet peaceful knowing this was the shell of a woman whose spirit and soul were now with the Lord.  Fay later said it was a shame I didn’t see her face as it was very peaceful.

The service which was held that night was lovely, with family, friends and church members including those from another Po Karen church who sang the hymn ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’.  One of the Emmanuel Home leaders brought a powerful message from 1 Corinthians 15 on our eternal hope in Christ.

The following morning we were back again at 8:30am and waited around till 10am for the second service to start.  Fay was saying, in the past the ceremonial days sometimes lasted 3-4 days while the family waited for other family members to arrive from the mountains but in this case because most of them were already in town, the service only went for two days.

While we were waiting, local church women were preparing lunch over a log wood fire on the neighbour’s property across from the church.  Here the whole community gets involved whether they are Christian or not, everyone is invited.  The service was conducted mostly in Po Karen and Thai, with another reassuring message. Fay spoke a little about the deceased who was a powerful witness to her family and friends and a faithful member of the church.  Here in Mae Sariang it’s not customary to stand up and talk about the accolades of the deceased.  The Christians here are a powerful witness of the joy of the Lord and His eternal reassurance.  Unlike unbelievers who have a fear of death and the need to appease the spirits the believers are no longer held by superstition and fears.

After lunch, under a canopy due to the rain, the coffin was loaded onto the back of a ute and driven with an escort of motorbikes to the Christian cemetery, a plot of land on the side of a hill which to my surprise hadn’t been cleared.  It looked a bit like the edge of the jungle!  There was even a small log bridge to cross before carrying the coffin up the hill to where the grave had been dug.  After prayers and a few hymns, the coffin was precariously lowered into the earth.  More hymns as the soil was shovelled over the coffin and a final word of prayer before the flowers were planted on the grave.

I had been eaten alive by all the little bugs and mosquitoes revelling in the new western restaurant that had come into their domain.  The next few days I itched madly.

Thursday 18 June, just as I was posting my last blog, I heard my mum had gone to hospital with water on her lungs which is a result of poor circulation and a sluggish heart and a cold that had gone to her chest.  My eldest sister, Trish, was the only one there to assist as the rest of us three girls live some distance away.  (Jen in Broome, Kath on the Indian Ocean somewhere as a chef aboard a service barge, and me in Thailand).  I contacted my friends in Perth who rallied around to call and visit mum.  I’m sure it was due to the many prayers that she was home on Friday evening which enable me to call for a chat.  She said she was very grateful to all those how had visited and I’m very grateful for those who also stood with me in prayer.  Saturday she took a turn for the worse and took herself back to hospital.  She was having difficulty breathing again but was later discharged.  Then again on Tuesday readmitted.  I spoke to Jen on Viber, suggesting I should go home to care for her but she told me that Trish had done a marvellous job to arrange a night nurse to stay with mum, once she returned home and until her health improved.  Jen had also helped mum to organise another assessment so that she could have a nurse visit her during the day to make sure she was ok.  She also spoke to mum who said she really didn’t see the need for me to come home as she would be perfectly ok once she was over the cold.

So one minute I was looking for flights back to Perth the next I was being reassured that she didn’t need me.

 

Pictures:   1. A beetle I found on a walk     2.  Prayer leaders    3. Po Karen after church    4. Sunday night fellowship    5.  Birthday surprise    6. Singers     7. Preparing lunch    8. Small log bridge   9. Last words   10. Grace & Jane

 

Prayer & Praise Points:
Please continue to pray that I will hear the voice of the Lord clearly leading and directing me during the remainder of my time in Thailand.

Praise the Lord for an opportunity to spend more time with my friend Fay and the work she is involved with here in Mae Sariang.

Praise the Lord for His divine health and safety while I’m here in Thailand.

Praise Him for all my friends and their generosity and love towards my mum.  It has truly been as blessing having people she doesn’t even know praying and visiting her in her time of need.

Please continue to pray for my mother, Jane, as she recovers and for her on going health challenge, I’m praying this time the doctors will be able to get her medication right or better still the Lord will totally heal her.

Thank you to everyone who has stood with me in prayer during this time and continue to support me in prayer as I continue my adventure her in Asia.