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From: Pamela Davis [mailto:pam.davis@att.net]
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 6:29 PM
To: pam.davis@att.net
Subject: February News from Pam
Dear Friends,
So much has happened in my life within the past two months that it is difficult to know how to share it with you. The tsunami occurred two months ago, and as you know this event permanently changed the lives of so many here in Asia—including mine.
Many of you have written and asked me to explain more about how I have been involved in the tsunami relief efforts here. My long silence is mostly because I have found it difficult—if not impossible—to put into words what I have seen and experienced. Even with my love for writing, I’ve found writing this down to be a daunting task! With that said, let me try anyway to share the highs and lows of my work within the past two months.
Tsunami Relief Efforts
Just days after the tsunami hit, I traveled as part of a team of professional mental health care workers to the South of Thailand. Our work there included debriefing foreign volunteers who were part of the “search and rescue” operation looking for dead bodies; providing grief and trauma counseling to family members who had lost loved ones; and allowing the missionary families who live and work in the tsunami-ravaged area to cry, scream, and tell their stories.
I don’t think any of us who went on that initial trip could have been prepared for what we actually saw. The death was so large scale, with bodies everywhere—and thousands more bodies were being discovered each new day. (This was in the first few days.) Although I have been exposed to dead bodies one or two at a time, it is quite another thing to be standing in the midst of hundreds of corpses that are draped in plastic tarps, discolored and bloated beyond recognition. We wound our way through a maze of dead bodies that were being chilled by dry ice (thus giving off a type of fog, making it difficult to see our way), and I found myself wondering if there was anyone here that I might know.
Later, as I stood on Khao Lak beach (the beach that was hardest hit here in Thailand), I felt a distinct call to worship. Truly, it is God who calls all men to know of His greatness and worship His majesty! I am so thankful that I know and love and worship Him. I stood on the beach and the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” came rushing into my mind. Indeed, such devastation causes me to be absolutely silent and still before Him, and acknowledge that He alone is the Creator and Sustainer of all life.
Imagine my surprise when I returned to my Bible later that evening and looked up the context of Psalm 46:10—“Be still and know that I am God.” Is this verse written at the end of a chapter specifically describing an earthquake and then a giant wave—a tsunami? I take comfort in the knowledge that God’s Word is timeless and ministers to me today in the same way that it ministered to the writer of Psalm 46 thousands of years ago!
“Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging….
Come and see the works of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the earth….
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD…”
Since that first trip to the South, I have become part of a steering committee for a group called “We Love Thailand,” which is a partnership of Thai churches and foreign NGO’s that have banded together to provide relief to those affected by the tsunami. It is exciting to watch the Thai church work together in a unified way, regardless of denominational beliefs. I have never before seen such unity among Thai Christians! Most of the relief work here is being done by Thai nationals, as they are funneled through Thai churches for training and orientation. You may have heard that Thailand has said they don’t need volunteer help from the outside. Mostly, that’s true!! This is because the Thai churches have responded so well to the needs among their own people. Here in Thailand, the Thai church is having a HUGE impact by means of relief work!
I am currently involved in several projects as part of the “We Love Thailand” relief effort. First, I am working to provide training to those who are working with traumatized children. Last week, we provided a seminar about helping children who have lost a family member. Within the next month, I will be speaking to a group of Thai preschool teachers about how to help the students in their classrooms—all of whom were affected by the tsunami. My Thai language has come in handy here, as it is so much easier for me to be able to directly train in Thai, rather than working through a translator.
Second, I am helping coordinate training seminars for foreign workers who come short term to help out. This usually involves one-day training in crisis response as well as a one-day debrief session. I am especially grateful that my mission agency, TEAM, has been able to help fund these extra projects that were not in my original budget. TEAM has been able to do this because of so many generous donations to the tsunami relief fund!
John’s Death
Just six weeks after the tsunami, death hit home to me in a far more personal way. An eight-year-old child named John tragically fell down a three-story waterfall here in Chiang Mai while on a family picnic. He died within 24 hours. John’s mom, Shannon, is in my Bible study group—an intimate group of 7 women who meet weekly to share our lives together. I continue to grieve with Shannon, her husband, and her two little girls who are left behind. How grateful I am that “we do not sorrow like those who have no hope.” We are assured that John is in heaven. We know that God is sovereign, and that John’s life was not cut short. Instead, all of his days were numbered by God in a book before he was born. Still, we grieve and feel sad. Please pray for the family as they attempt to piece their life together after this huge loss.
John Pettit, Jr. went to be with the Lord Feb. 10, 2005.
Car Crash
In the midst of all this chaos last month, my car (yes, the same car that I begged and pleaded and impatiently waited for the money for just a year ago!) was loaned to a Thai friend who had an accident. My friend is okay—but the car, by American standards, was totaled. Of course, we’re not IN America! So, in Thailand, they fixed it. J The first repair bill was $600—which is a stunning amount of money in this country. We got the car back last week, and although it LOOKS great on the outside, there is still so much mechanical trouble that it shouldn’t be driven. So, alas, it’s back to the garage—a different garage this time. The first garage mostly just did the cosmetic work. (Before you ask, my insurance covered all the medical bills and the damages to the OTHER vehicle, but not the damages to my vehicle, since the car is 11 years old.) I’m not sure the car will EVER be the same again, or if I just need to sell it cheap and start all over again. Sigh….
My “Normal” Life
I am trusting now that life will settle back into some sort of normalcy—whatever that means! January and February are typically the busiest months of the year for me in my role as a counselor. During this time, there are many, many Christian workers who come to Thailand for a short vacation from their work in other countries, and so these past two months have found my day-to-day counseling schedule busier than it is at other times in the year.
Although life here has been chaotic and unpredictable lately, I stand as a witness to the fact that God is able to provide strength and stability even in the most desperate of times. I am finding that my own refreshment comes in small bits, as I find time to steal away for a day here and there to meet personally with the Lord. Yes, my work has felt heavy and draining lately—but there is an unusual and unexplainable inner strength that comes in an overpowering way just when I feel weakest. I know that I am doing exactly what the Lord has called and gifted me to do, and that alone gives me strength.
Please continue to pray for me as I continue in the work here. Your prayers are so important to me, because I am convinced that it is prayer that keeps me here! Thank you so much for your ongoing commitment to my work and my life in Asia. I’m grateful for you.
Warmly,
Pam Davis
Financial Contributions to:
TEAM (account # 2045)
P.O. Box 969
Wheaton, IL 60189
Personal Correspondence to:
Pam Davis
P.O. Box 43
Chiang Mai 50000 THAILAND