Thomas Buri, Bible Student and Teacher

"Dah Dah Dah," he called out with a distinct accent. Thomas could have sung with any music, but he was trying to teach the students a new song. In the lecture about creation I had mentioned the song "Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb." Quickly the the leader of the Bible school in this remote jungle village reached for his hymnal. For all of sixty seconds he studied the words and music. Then, moving to the small keyboard, he begin to press the keys. But the little keyboard was very tired, having been laden with moisture during the rainy season. Almost every note was bad. Looking at me he asked, "Brother Bill could you help me with funds for a new keyboard?" Then, leaving the sick keyboard and turning to the students, his voice accurately sounded each note to get the singers together. Within a few minutes the students were singing the new song, rejoicing about their redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ..

 

Little School with Dirt Floor

Later, referring to the little school building with dirt floor, bamboo walls and leaf roof, he said that he would soon need to make some repairs, but the building was adequate; it was teaching the students the precious Word of God that interested him. Thomas Buri is teaching the sixteen students of this tiny Karen Hill Tribe village on behalf of Missionary Nicky Barnett and Southeast Asia Missions. Thomas was trained in a Baptist Bible college in India. He is proud to say that his forefathers in the faith can go all the way to the first missionary sent to a foreign field by Baptists the United States.

I had gone to this little village to lecture to the students and to help Thomas make ready for the medical missions team which will be working with Nicky in some of these villages in a few months. The were all very excited and hopeful for the testimony of Jesus as well as for the prospect of receiving medical attention.

 

Mae Yod

The people of the second village we visited were especially glad to hear that some medical help might be on the way. This village is about eleven miles from the closest road. It is good that I had the use of Nicky's 4WD pickup. The people there are mostly animist, but have responded to the love Nicky has shown and welcomed Thomas and me. The dirty little preschool children were a contrast to the elementry school children who were neat and clean, sitting in good order in the Thai language classroom. The Thai teachers were openly excited about the prospect of the medical team coming. "Yes you can teach these children about Jesus, right now if you would like," the teachers agreed even though they are Buddhists. "We will be glad for the medical missionaries to sleep in the school building. We even have hot water," they told me in broken English.

Keeping Students Neat and Clean

One of the teachers was busy cutting a student's hair. It could be that the school will be the key to presenting story of slavation through blood redemption to this village whose people had never heard the gospel before Nicky and his workers began to go there just a few short months ago.

Please pray with Rita and me that God will provide funds for a keyboard for Thomas and that these people will open their hearts to the godpel!

 

Houses on Stilts, Children with Dirty Faces

The custom with the Hill Tribes is to build their houses on stilts. Pigs, chickens and cows are kept under house. Many of the villages have no electricity. Mae Yod has been blessed to have electric lights, but the village where the school is had no electricity at all until just October, 2004 when the Thai government installed a solar power unit in each house. The school is still without power.

Children have little chance of being taught to keep clean and mothers usually are just about as dirty. But in most of these villages God has opened the door to His gospel.