Who Is Gayle?

I love getting feedback from people! I was sitting here wondering what I was going to write about today when I got an email from my brother saying that several people from his church were asking about the lady that is staying with me! That makes it easy…today I will tell you all about Gayle.I first got to know Gayle several years ago when she called me on the phone inviting herself over for Sabbath dinner! Unusual? Well, I suppose, but it worked, and we became really good friends.( she did bring the food, and I found out that she is a fantastic cook!)  Last year when the Adams family wrote to me asking me to find someone to come and help them while they went on furlough, I immediately thought of Gayle. They had a lot of sick people that they were taking care of, and Gayle was a nurse that already possessed a passport, so the fit was perfect. She left quite suddenly for Asia last June with a plan to return to the States in September. But, like so many others, once she got here, she knew that the Lord had called her to work here, and she could no longer even consider going back home. The people LOVE Gayle. She is very outgoing and friendly, and she is the same size as the people here with a short nose, which makes her a favorite with everyone. Imagine being able to be a white person and still not stick out like my own florescent self? Truly bliss! Not only do they love her for her size and personality, but she is a really good nurse! She managed an emergency room in the States for 23 years, so handling all the emergencies that come her way is no big deal to her. (she is the type of person who goes for a run in order to relax!)She worked at the LKY School for 9 months before the Lord called her to a new location. Her new village is way out in the mountains, and very remote. But, even at that location, there are 50 villages nearby that have no access to medical care and mostly no access to the gospel either. After praying about it, and counseling with the Pastors in charge of that district, she decided to accept the challenge. There was no empty house in the village, so they are building her a new house right now. It is a little bit more of a challenge to build houses there since they do not have bamboo in that area, so everything has to be hauled in by elephants.In this waiting time, Gayle has a lot to accomplish. First of all, she came over here not planning to stay, so she has no monthly support, since nobody really knew that she was here! So, we are planning to build a web site for her so that she can communicate with the world about what she is doing. I will let you know what it is as soon as we get it going. Also, they did get a donation for a truck, and Gayle’s 16 year old son Bradley is working hard to get it ready for the kinds of roads that he will have to drive on. (Stuff that no ordinary truck could handle!) That means having to take off all excess plastic parts and bumpers and things like that. Sounds extreme, but in their area, it is essential, since it will just get destroyed if they don’t! Micah, (age 15) is trying to sell his ordinary motor bike so that he can buy one that can handle the roads. Micah enjoys teaching, so he will probably teach in the government school.The forth member of their “family” was the principal from LKY school. His name is Kapachee, and is a very valuable addition. He will be their language teacher and interpreter when they first get there. He is planning to learn to do medical work from Gayle, along with the boys so that they can reach out further into the surrounding villages. Kapachee is a godly young man.  He is 23 years old, and just like a brother to Micah and Bradley. He is Karen, and has seen so much violence and bloodshed in his own village and family, that he cannot even speak about it.  However, through all of these experiences he has come forth as gold desiring to work for God with all his heart.  In order to go to this new village, Kapachee has to buy a Thai card so that he can be legal in Thailand. This will cost over $4000! Gayle has told him to just go ahead and borrow the money to get it and we are all praying that the Lord will send the funds necessary to pay for it. It is hard for Americans to understand how important that card is and why we feel that it is ok to borrow money to pay for it. But, all you would have to do is see your first cattle truck full of handcuffed people, being deported back into Burma to understand the enormity of it. Most of the people in those cattle trucks are shot once they get back into Burma. Kapachee is a valuable worker and  friend, and we will take no chances of that happening to him.So, now you know who Gayle is, and that she is patiently waiting here at my house while her house gets built. Not only am I excited that she and her family have such an exciting new assignment, but that I have such a good friend, right here in Thailand with me! She will only be 20 hours drive away from me too, which means that we can get together once in a while…..maybe!Please pray for Gayle and her family in their new project. We can already see in our minds eye the light of the gospel going step by step into that remote area. There is no greater joy than walking in Jesus’ footsteps, bringing health to the sick, and hope to the ignorant. If you would also like to be a partner in this new venture, donations can be sent to Jesus For Asia. (the address can be found on my Contact page)