Healing

5 July 2020

Dear Phyllis,

Last week certainly was a big one. There is so much on my mind that I want to share that I have no idea where to start or what to discuss.

Pammy has a pastor friend that knew a minority Christian who had an unusual gift of healing, Reports were that several people with last stage cancer had gone to him and totally recovered, Pammy was very concerned that I go to him and have him pray for me,. I thought, “Why not? Let's give it a shot.” The only day he was available to see me was Thursday so we set that aside to go to Pai to see this unusual man of God.

Pai is one of the more unusual towns in Thailand located 140 km north west of Chiang Mai. The road to Pai is a major national highway but is a road that would make a good documentary film for Lonely Planet or National Geographic. I had been over it once on my motor bike returning from a stay on the west border next to Burma. I knew it was famous as a mountain highway and it certainly was as advertised. It was the most challenging steep, curvy, mountain road I had ever been over. Like there is not one like it in the US. It was so steep in places that I had to drop down in bottom gear on my Honda to make it up the grade. And the curves were so sharp that at times my front tire was scrapping on my license plate. (That is slightly evangelistic.) but driving over it there were times I had to literally look out my side window to see where the road was going. (That is factual.) There are souvenir polo shirts that says the Pai road has 762 curves. That means there are about one sharp curve every 120 yards. At the high point I saw a sign that said the elevation was 1,700 meters (over 5,700 feet). That is pretty high for Thailand.

We left Chiang Mai at 6:00 in the morning, and before we got there several things began to go side ways. It turned out that this was not for a miracle healing but the man who could heal me was a doctor. I asked, “What kind of a doctor?” He was a herbalist. He was a doctor of herbs. Well, that was different. But he was a Christian. It turned out that he was from Burma and couldn't speak Thai but the pastor who was taking us there was raised in Burma so he could talk Burmese to him.

Pammy and I are RADICALLY DIFFERENT. Thai and English are radically different languages, but far more than the language, our basic difference is in thinking. It isn't Venus and Mars. Our differences are more like Venus and Pluto. I have made significant progress in preserving the marriage by accepting Pammy the way she is and not to expect her to think like I do. This has helped me from going crazy but it still is a challenge not to expect her to be a little more like a homo sapien. One big problem is driving. When we were first married all I had was a motor bike and I insisted that I drive and she sit on the back. That was awful. She screamed and was hysterical every 100 meters. In intersection where I had to use maximum concentration she would grab me and almost pull me off the bike. Finally I decide that it was easier for me to trust the Lord than it was for her to trust me driving. In recent years she does nearly all the driving, but the only way I have been able to handle her driving is by keeping my eyes and mouth shut nearly all the time. Pammy has many commendable qualities but driving is not one. Some time ago we were driving down a very steep, curvy, mountain road and she was driving down this dangerous road in high gear riding the brakes I told her it would be better to down shift and use engine braking rather than burn out the brakes. She said, “But when I use high gear the engine doesn't run as fast,” She was not used to driving in mountains and had never heard of engine braking or burning out the brakes. She was driving to Pai and I was inwardly having a cow. Half way there she asked if I wanted to drive. “Yes. Please!” I got behind the wheel and was driving exceptionally cautious. I was driving so slowly that every car on the road passed me. But the guy in the back seat thought I was Evel Kinevel. I didn't know what he was saying but Pammy was laughing the whole time saying he was scared to death.

We got to Pai at 10:30 and discover that we were too late. The doctor was gone. Nice shot. What a bum day! All I could do was keep my mouth shut and not say anything, but Pammy and the pastor decided our best plan was to spend the night in Pai. Angry? Yes a little. I was so square jawed you could check the accuracy of a framing square by putting it by my chin. We went to to a reasonable resort guest house. I was so angry I determined not to get out of the car but sit there for 22 hours to wait for the doctor the next day. Four hours later I thought that was a little foolish and decided to do some walking for exercise.

I was walking down a small country road and passed an unusual, small, housing area. It was brand new and very high quality. And I outside I saw a large sign. Lumin Valley House for God Church. I thought, “My goodness what is this?”. Allowing curiosity to push me past social restraint, I decided to walk in and see who they were. I was walking past a row of houses when a falang (foreigner) lady came out. I said, “I gather you speak English” The next thirty minutes I went out of my mind. We could not have been more on the same page, She was cut out of exactly the same piece of fabric that I was. They lived in Chiang Mai and were just visiting Pai. When she told me where they lived in Chiang Mai and what mission they were with, I shouted, “I lived in that house for three weeks before they came to Thailand” I felt meeting this sister and her husband was the most providential meeting I have had in many years. I felt that was the entire reason why we went to Pai.. They are working with a group that is the closest thing to my heart. I feel this may be a major moment in my life. All the ugliness went out of my heart and I was filled with ecstatic joy. We had a great time in Pai.

The next morning we saw the “doctor” and got three months worth of Burmese herbs. I don't know. He looked like a snake oil salesman to me.. A year ago Pammy met a snake oil salesman who 100% guaranteed I would be healed of cancer in 60 days. I said, “Okay, I will play your game for 60 days”. That was cannabis oil. The cannabis oil was genuine but I wasn't healed. The jury seems to be in that cannabis oil is not effective for cancer. I don't know what to think about this salesman. I wasn't impressed but I am on a strict diet now and have to take these Burmese herbs for 90 days. The biggest take-away from this deal is that it has taken the hospital option off the table. I had told Pammy, “I would like to go a hospital here in town now.” But now that we are on the herb cure that takes the hospital option off the table for the next few weeks.

The Lord alone knows what He is doing with my eye. It has been over 16 months now and I still feel fine. The eye is starting to bother me slightly, and sometimes feels like there is dust in it, but most of the time there is no difference between my left eye and right– except that it is closed. My cheek is a slight concern as that is getting a little worse; it refuses to heal and there is a fairly consistent discharge.

The trip to Pai was unusual. I was very unimpressed with the herbalist doctor. The Lord can use anyone and this may be Jesus way to heal whatever is out of place in my body. I;ll take the herbs but I don't like being off coffee for three months, But meeting those folks from Chiang Mai has to go down in my book as one of the greatest moments of my life when I thought, this is the worse possible day and it turned out that I was slam in the middle of the wonderful will of God. Jesus specializes in things like this and I was enormously blessed.

Thank you for your continued prayer, bill