the following was written by Angee Langenburg for the Northern Thailand Team;
Hi Everyone,
Today is the second day of the “Esther camp”. It has been amazing so far.
A couple of days ago, we had the chance to go to a Mong village about 100 miles south of the Chinese border. The journey up to the village was an adventure to say the least. The team all piled in to the back of three trucks along with some of the girls from the HOB that are of the same tribe as the village we were visiting.
As we began traveling up the road got more and more narrow and the towns began to be few and far between. Once we began the drive up the mountain there were many places where the road was 6 inches wider then the truck that we were driving in. It was beautiful country, as rural as any of us had ever been before.
When we arrived we were presented with an amazing experience that none of us will ever forget. The people in this village were full of joy and so content. We played the Jesus film in Northern Thai, did a program for the children and a medical clinic headed up by Dr. Jim. It was so amazing to watch as the girls from the HOB took to the children in the village. They were singing songs, teaching dances and loving them the entire time.
In the clinic we got to see lots of patients that God gave us the ability to serve by helping with their medical problems, but more importantly each and every patient was prayed for. We even got to meet a 100 year old woman, who spoke next to no Thai, stood about 4 1/2 feet tall and who will be stuck in all of our minds forever.
We were able to get a tour of some of the villagers’ homes, and their hospitality was humbling. One of the homes was of a girl from the HOB whose brother had died two years ago. As we sat and listened to their story, the mother softly stroked the picture of her late son and the father wept silently in the back of the room.
This same family has donated a plot of land for Pastor Sayan to build a church in the village that will hopefully begin construction this year.
While we were there we got to lead two people to the Lord, and the joy on their faces was worth this entire trip.
Then the rain came. It came and came and came and it was harder then anything we’ve ever experienced. The rain on the tin roof of the school was so loud that we had to shout to hear the patients talk about their symptoms in the clinic. The rain was big, cold and came in sideways at times.
The thought that was going through all of our heads was the story Pastor Sayan had told us before we left. The last time they visited this village they had to walk up the mountain because the rain was so bad that the roads were not safe to drive. And sure enough, shortly after the whole village had bid us farewell, the first truck got stuck. And then the second. And then the third. It turned into a two hour; stop, get out, push, run and get in adventure. We had so much fun singing and laughing with the girls that you would hardly think that most of us were covered in mud and freezing cold.
That same narrow road that we drove up was the same one that slipped and slided all the way down, at times a small wall of mud was all that kept us from sliding down to the valley below. The girls were such a blessing as their first reaction was to pray and then sing songs. So we sang and sang and sang all the way down the muddy hill home.
Esther camp has been great. The first night “Mamma Gayle” spoke on Eve, this morning I (Angee) spoke on Mary’s visit from the angel, followed by Raemie speaking on the Magnificat. It has been a humbling experience to get to sit at the feet of these girls and learn from their innocence and purity.
I can’t believe that we leave the HOB tomorrow. It has come too soon. We are so eager to share this story with all of you back home.
Please pray for peace as a few of us have yet to share our testimonies, as well as a couple of other sermons. Also pray for the girls who will be graduating from the HOB this year and need direction as to where to go from here. Some will go to college, some back to their village, some to other adventures. Please pray that they would seek God’s hand for their lives.
At the Esther camp we are teaching them attribute of strong Godly women. Please pray that they would seek that out for their lives.Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, as the week goes on we are increasingly tired and weary, but increasingly blessed. Please pray for rest and nourishment.
From,
Angee and the Thai team
p.s. We made a quick stop to donate some books to the high school that the team from last year had the chance to visit and made a much needed contact with our friend Sisipau.
We had a lot of fun with that one.