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Tay couldn’t meet us until 11:30 AM. This gave me time to exchange US dollars into Thai Baht (34.5 baht per dollar). I have $3,000.00 to give Tay to disburse to children in Mae La camp. Without Tay Tay’s help, getting money into the camp would be very difficult when I’m not on the border.
By the time we arrived at B’Shar Loe’s home in Mae La it was mid afternoon. B’Shar Loe has been a huge help to me over the years. He is pictured here with his son, Ler K'Paw Say. I met B'Shar Loe several years ago when he was a soldier and have spent many days traveling with him. He has gone from speaking no English, to calling me on the cell phone I left with him 2 years ago and passing on messages from others in the camp. Whenever my phone rings in the middle of the night it is usually B’Shar Loe. He has become familiar with cell phones and the English language but can’t seem to remember the time difference between Thailand and Hawaii!
Parents and children were crowding around us at the main gate as we arrived. B’Shar Loe gave me a big hug and grabbed my back pack.
It was so wonderful to see so many of my long time Karen friends and introduce team members to all I could. The children are all growing up. It is amazing to see the changes a year can make in a child who is getting enough to eat!
We hiked up the hill to B’Shar Loe’s home, followed by all the people who were waiting for us. We only had a couple hours that we could be in the camp, so we visited with all the people waiting for us and told them we’d be back the next day to take pictures and get updated information on our cards.
B’Shar Loe introduced me to Capt. Gay Wah, one of the officers responsible for guarding our little jungle hospital in Burma. He had lost a leg in a land mine explosion 2 years ago, but told me he continues to be a soldier and commander. He assured me our hospital is well guarded. There are dozens of Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) who have made their way ahead of the enemy troops through the jungle to our little compound looking for a safe place to live. There are dozens of soldiers at outposts in the mountain behind our hospital and they have thwarted many attempted attacks to the area. The IDP’s have cleared places to build dozens of small bamboo houses so they don’t have to continue sleeping on the ground. Another aid organization built a school. Along with other donors, IAG has helped build a nice wooden church. Capt. Gay Wah had arranged a truck to take my entire team to the river bank and have a boat waiting to take us across into Burma to visit the compound tomorrow. It is just a short climb up a steep bank and our little hosp is right in the middle of a large cleared area at the base of the mountain.
It was so good to be back in the camp again and many friends came to see us. When it was time to go, we promised them we’d be back the next day and hiked back out to the front gate where our car and truck were waiting for us. My throat was getting sorer by the minute and I was developing a bad headache. I prayed on the hike out that the Lord would heal me so I would have the stamina to do all that needed to be done in such a short time.