Two, almost three full days of traveling takes a lot out of a man and our first night in Mae Sot, we just wanted to sleep. Before taking us to the house where we would stay, the lovely people at the hospital blessed us with green mango and chilly-salt. At first a freaky combination, but after the second bite, heavenly.
We were taken around the block to our house that is shared with about seven 20-year olds. They are Karen boys living in refugee camps and are here to study medicine. They were very curious about their new house mates and we soon sat flat on the plank floor of the second floor chatting away in broken English. We explained what we are doing and when they realized that we are Christian, their faces lit up as they proclaimed, “Us too.”
They asked a question that was shocking but very true.&
nbsp; They wanted to know why it was that we are white and Christian, but all the other white people that they meet, especially from Europe, are not Christian. They claim not to be religious. I then had to explain that I think it is because they believe in their own abilities more than in God’s. In the western world most people have a job, house, car, insurance, cell phones, internet and TV. They don’t need God… or so they think.
After spending some more time with them, we retired for the night. Our “beds” are straw mats on the hard ground with a little blanket and a pillow topped off with a mosquito net. Luckily we are kind of used to hard sleeping, so this was a treat. A pillow and a mosquito net, how blessed we are.
We rose at 06h30 for quiet time and prayer before washing and going to work. No need to get dressed as we only have one set of clothes and we slept in it!
Work at the clinic
starts at 09h00. I was shown to the surgical ward to tend to the patients. It was fun to be back in a familiar setup and to be able to help these people in this way. Henro and Angelo were taken to an office to spring clean. Hard work from what I understood. Our tasks change daily, but we just help and serve where we are needed.
Lunch is served in the office. It is mostly some interesting local Burmese/Thai food. Some really good, some taste funny and some just burn the living daylights out of you! We are also blessed to get coffee every morning. Our God truly is alive and is a God of detail.
We leave the hospital at 17h00 in the afternoon with the rest of the staff and then spend some time at home kicking a cane ball with the guys or walking into the field and getting lectures on the Fauna and Flora from Henro. He almost caught a snake the other day, but it was just too quick. We did catch an iguana
though.
It was during one of these post work sessions that we met Sang Aung, a Burmese man living here in Mae Sot and a very passionate follower of Jesus Christ. We shared our experiences with him and he shared about himself with us. He was so excited to have met foreign Christians who travel around the world sharing the Good News and also about the fact that we are from South Africa. His first response was, “Hey, Sou Afica, Waka waka!” and then laughed out loud with his eyes disappearing as he squinted and revealed his pearly whites. He invited us to his church on Sunday and although I am certain we are not going to understand a word, the Spirit will reveal God’s heart to us. Of that I am certain as well. We are really looking forward to congregating with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
We spend our evenings chatting to the guys in the house, eating the food they so richly bless us with and then we
watch teachings and have prayer sessions for situations and people. Bed time is normally by 21h00.
We have been blessed so much by the people here at Mae Tao Clinic. We really have all we need. Soap is such a luxury and each one of us has 4 shirts now. Henro and Angelo worked in an office yesterday where two God-fearing Australian ladies blessed them with chicken sandwiches and Coke. They were very gracious to share it with me.
Mae Tao Clinic was founded in 1989 by a lady named Dr Cynthia Maung. She is a Karen lady who fled from Burma to Mae Sot and started treating fledglings in an old wooden house with the little medication and supplies she managed to get across the border. It has now grown into a full on clinic that sees about 140 000 patients pass through here yearly and the numbers keep on increasing. It has in and outpatient departments which includes medical, surgical, dental, pediatrics (children) and ophthalmology (eyes).&
nbsp; They also have training facilities, feed 2000 school children and jungle outreach programs to take the healthcare to the villages in Myanmar. The patients consist of 50% migrant population from Myanmar and the other 50% crossing the border daily to come for the free treatment. Sick people walking for hours through landmine infested jungle and many military stops to get to the clinic. It breaks your heart.
God has really led us to a piece of His heart. This is such a hopeless situation for many people and the clinic wonders where it will get funds from as many of their donors have pulled out, but I just see God’s hand in all of this. There where His sons and daughters are in need and crying out to Him, He will provide in their needs. The clinic is not Christian based, but many of the Karen people working here are Christian.
We have been so privileged to see a bit of God’s heart for Myanmar and the Karen people.&
nbsp; God will never forsake His people, never!
We might not be able to blog for the next few days, but we will be back ASAP. Remember to pledge.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEUa2K6JDSs 400x400]