I got a call from Kenthegee. She sounded rather strange, and I asked her what was wrong. She first told me about my inverter blowing up…again! Then, she told me that Sangkhlaburi was swarming with soldiers, and the rumor was that they were arresting all the Karen people and sending them back to Burma, whether they had Thai papers or not. She sounded really scared.(the people who are sent back to Burma are generally shot)

I was still visiting the Adams, after renewing my visa, and waiting to do my seminar on Sunday. I knew that I could not just drop everything and run home, but my prayers were definitely with my students and the caretaker and his wife, not to mention all our church members and neighbors.

A couple of days later, Kenthegee called again. This time, she along with all our neighbors were hiding in the jungle, up on a mountain. The soldiers had come to our village, so everyone had fled and were hiding. She also said that nobody could go to town because of the danger, so they could not buy any food. I decided that I could wait no longer, as soon as my seminar ended, I headed home, not sure of what I would find when I got there.

As I entered town, I saw a large soldier transport truck with soldiers and dogs in it. I didn’t see much else while I was in town, other than a strange absence of many of the people. It was quiet and tense. When we got home, all the houses, except for mine, were deserted. All the people were hiding in the jungle still. The caretaker and my students came back when they heard that I was coming, so they were there to greet me.  All who dared had been sleeping in my living room while we were gone, but I am told that they did not sleep much.

This morning, the immediate neighbors came back since they heard that I was back. They all seem to have great confidence in me, although I am not real sure of what I can do to protect them. (other than we have heard that if a person has money, they can buy their way out)

So, for now, the village is quiet, everyone is listening, and jumping at every crack of a leaf. I have no idea of why this is happening, or how long the soldiers will be in the area. I am afraid for our people because the soldiers might use those dogs that I saw to track them. So, we are holding our breath and praying that the soldiers will just leave. Please keep this situation in your prayers.