How sick is this world?

I have just spent time at the hospital with a ten year old girl. I treated her mother about 18 months ago, using a testing kit supplied by Park Ridge Hospital. It revealed that the mother had HIV, but she denied the results and did nothing about the follow up I had arranged. So now the little thin wasted child is in hospital with a repeated bout of "tummy ache". I recommended that the hospital check her blood.... positive. Just how does a child get HIV? The mother's new boyfriend played with her! How did he get it? The mother did not share her health issue with him, so unprotected sex. Ignorance claims another child. God will perform a miracle, but maybe not now. I look forward to Jesus coming back to bring a glow of good health to this preety little girl. Tomorrow I will check out the rest of the family. Pray for the family that through this tragedy they find the will and the love of Jesus.

Three funerals in one week

I am exhausted.... really down and done. Last Friday a young mother from no man's land came in carrying her baby (3 years old). She said that the baby had been diagnoised as having malaria on Thursday, but the clinic had given the anti-malarial drug already. The baby had started to vomit that night, and had diarrehea. I gave rehydration medication, and anti vomiting medicine. The baby recovered its spirit, talking to the parents and sitting up. He still seemed a bit lethargic so I suggested we took him to the hospital for a check up... the mother wanted to wait until the father came home...... so we took him back to their house. The father arrived at our place one hour later.... the baby had died in his sleep, just "turned off" the brain. I checked in at the hospital.... they told me that 5 babies had died the same way from cerebal malaria. How very, very sad.

The next night I was called to a young man.... dead already from some sort of poisoning..... parents suspect foul play, but because they have no ID, they will not report it. Then on Tuesday night, one of our student's family called us. Dada's father had died in his sleep, cause unknown. He was a worrier and down a bit, but died peacefully.

We go house to house undertaking worship with each family, last night ending about 10.45pm. Please pray for God's strength to flow in our hearts so we can keep showing his love to others.

We have decided on a new program of encouragement.... we have invented "Bamboo Baht". If a child does an extra duty, gets a special up grade in school, or for their birthday, we give our own baht..... and we have a little shop with essentials in it (eg toiletries, uniform extras, pens, notebooks etc) This way the kids are encouraged to do good things and not to expect "handouts all the time. If anyone has any ideas on how to implement this in a better manner, please help us.

When we say enough, then God says just one more

Two more girls arrived yesterday, swelling our numbers in the dormitory to 68 children, 4 teachers and the two babies. Enough!!

Last month, Sharon and securely returned to Philippines so Sharon can complete her studies in preparation for the Medical Board examinations. I am really missing both of them, in the classroom as well as at the clinic. We have had two deaths of young people in the village. One died from a brain hemorrhage after a nasty motorbike crash near our school. I transported him to Sai Yok, and he was transferred by ambulance to Kanchanaburi, but survived only one day. Another opportunity to preach in the temple. The second death was to a young woman. She had been sent by Sharon to Sai Yok for ante-natal checkup as her baby seemed so small. A week later, she was admitted with malaria. She was discharged after 10 days. Apparently the baby died within her, causing her septicemia. She died at the hospital this week. No one had come to call us until too late. Education is an absolute necessity for young people here.

The guest houses on the hill are completed. Now my house is being refurbished, removing the snakes, rats, lizards and wasp nests...... I look forward to being back to normal..... my kind of normal, crazy as it is.