Children are a Gift from God

August, 2006

Barnabas traveled up and down the mountains of the Thai/Myanmar (Burma) border. He was intent on spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and he felt he had to make the best use of his time.

Barnabas was away in the mountains usually for 20 days of each month. During these times he would live in different villages. Sometimes they were Lisu villages. At other times they were Lahu, Akha or Thai villages. He would find a friendly home to visit and soon they would be chatting about the gospel. When night came, the host would invite him to stay overnight, usually after an excellent dinner of mountain vegetables and leaves, mixed with rice. The food was often spicy and delicious and all “natural” (no artificial fertilizers!). And he could sleep anywhere easily, content that he had done a good day’s work for the Lord.

In those days, few of the villages had electricity or phones. There were no cell phones. So for many days Barnabas would be out of contact from his family. Martha, his young wife, had to cope with raising the family herself. Many nights she felt very lonely and worried about Barnabas being alone in the mountains. Then one day his 2 year-old son Tawichai developed a high fever. The fever kept going higher and higher, and Martha became more and more worried. She wanted to talk to Barnabas, but there was no way to contact him. She tried to call the phone at a few villages, but she kept missing Barnabas.

Finally she tracked down Barnabas and frantically poured out her anxiety. Barnabas prayed over the phone with her for Tawichai, and reassured her he was racing back on his motor cycle. “Be careful, Barnabas,” she said “the roads can be very slippery from the rains!”

And so, driving as fast as he could safely, Barnabas raced back down the mountains. There were a few moments when the slippery muddy roads could have caused a crash, but he managed to arrive home safely , to bundle up Tawichai to go to the hospital for emergency care.

Fortunately, Tawichai recovered well from his fever episode and today he is a tall young man, taller than his parents, and being prepared to serve God, and follow in his father’s great footsteps.