Shakin' all over

A giant Buddha who lost his head in the recent quake.

I knew life in the jungle would be interesting, I did not expect it to be this interesting.

Where to start? Well, we had a 6.3 earthquake this week. The epicenter of which was 35 kilometers from our house. This is our second big quake. The 2011 quake was a 6.9 but further away so it wasn't as dramatic (FYI the same day Japan had their tsunami). This one hit us while everyone was standing in the same room, just a few feet from the front door. Recognizing what is happening takes a second or two. You’re off balance, there are sudden violent sounds coming from everywhere at once, and things that shouldn't move are now moving in front of you.

 “Earthquake” I said. “Get out, everybody out!” “But what about David,” asks Anchalee? “He’s fine - get out!” I had no idea if he was fine or not but I needed as many people out of danger as possible. Then it was just me in the living room, torn between running for David, and getting out. Logic prevailed; there was no way to get David’s oxygen generator out the door with him, and the spare oxygen tank is 55 kg impossible to haul through 2 rooms in the middle of a quake. So I stepped outside the door - leaning on faith that God would protect him when I could not.

Then the quake ended and although there was lots of adrenalin and excited chatter, nothing serious happened on our property. Many aftershocks followed, quite a few over magnitude 5, but thank you God, we are all fine.

David on the bed with mom. Tough little guy with an easy smile.

David is home from the hospital currently, which is a very good thing. The hospital he was in just days earlier was damaged in the quake. We actually drove back to the hospital the night before the quake, because he was struggling, but he improved on the hour and a half drive there. We asked God if we should go back home and we felt peace to return. What a blessing he was not there for the earthquake.The patients were taken outside and set up in temporary wards.  It would have been a frightening ordeal for Anchalee and David.

We have been praying a lot about David’s situation. Truth be told, the doctors have not been very encouraging. His lungs have not improved and in his condition they do not want to give him the heart operation he needs. What we need more than anything is help in the spiritual battle for David’s healing. Please do take time to believe with us in prayer that David’s lungs will improve. They are full of fluid, partially collapsed, and we need them to return to normal.

Left to right: Zai, Margot, and Anchalee's cousin Nit

We were blessed with a lot of visitors lately. Normally we get very few. I finally got to meet Margot, Who is the wife of our friend Rudyard. She is doing important work determining if Thailand’s hill tribes are connected to the Miso tribe in India - a tribe which was declared in Israel, 9 years ago, to be part of the lost tribe of Manasseh. It seems there is a very good chance that my wife Anchalee is actually Jewish. Which explains why God loves her so much. Margot was traveling with Zai from India, who is the author of the book providing the evidence connecting the Mizo with Manasseh.

Kim and Diane Smith

While Margot was here she invited up her friends Kim and Diane, who are busy setting up a ministry in Bangkok. Kim and I have much in common; both of us are boys named after the book Kim, for example. But the similarities went on and on. Kim and Diane filled up our faith with their wonderful testimonies and we really loved their surprise visit. We were fast friends and we will see them again

David Blackmore and Anchalee: Friends from way back..

David and Jill Blackmore also dropped in with family members: Loraine, Renee, Daniel and Tully. It had been too long since they were here last. We had a great time working on projects around the yard and using stone-age technology to move a 1000 kilogram boulder which was blocking a stream. We also finished a dam I have been rebuilding. We christened it Tully Dam; after David and Jill’s grandson; who got his first taste of concrete work that day.  David also did a three part teaching on the Holy Spirit which was enjoyed by all. Thanks so much to all of you; it really changes things here for us, just by having some friends around.

Monocled cobra wasn't included among our approved visitors

There is too much going on to include all of it today. We are all doing fine, and our morale is up real high. We owe it all to our friends and our supporters, who keep us here in the center of God’s will, doing good works and demonstrating the reality of God’s love for all. Be blessed.