At the end of January the Meyer family and myself taught a follow-up health seminar in Kathmandu for all three groups that began training last year. We could tell that Satan was trying to throw roadblocks in our way. In the beginning we had to move our classes from one place to the next, sometimes with all 16 students crowded into a little room, other times on the roof top, but finally we were able to meet in the local church—a typical Nepali house with mud floor and walls. We all sat on mats and used our laps for desks.

We were also challenged to find good translators, and I had to run somewhere on my motorcycle almost every day to pick someone up. Then I lost my voice about half way through the seminar. Fortunately, Bill and Lois Dull and Ruth Zollinger from Living Springs Overseas Mission arrived to help.

One of the students, Aristotle, also came down with severe back pain and needed a great deal of help. We tried fomentations with slight relief; the doctor prescribed medicine with little help; but several good ice massages did real wonders in taking away the pain.

It was wonderful to hear all the good reports the students brought back from their communites! (If you would like a free copy of the Nepal video which explains how these seminars work, please call our office and request the Nepal video). All had put the water treatments, charcoal, and other simple remedies to use with great results!

After the seminar I packed my bags to head south to India for two months. The Lord sent Reka to travel with me and to help with all my luggage, as I was bringing many books for sale. Traveling by night bus isn’t my first choice, but Tuesday morning we arrived at our first destination near Biratnagar, Nepal, in Pastor Petrus’ village (you may have read Petrus’ story in the last issue of Laymen Ministy News). There a real surprise awaited me! I had told one of our contacts to invite 15 students, but he understood 50—and so we had 54 students!

Although we were a mixture of several different religions—Protestants, Catholics and Hindus—everyone worked well together. I’m grateful for all the help from Pastor Petrus and his family. Teaching all the classes from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. was a real challenge, but thankfully my translator was speaking half the time, and my voice held out! It is a challenge to phrase things simply enough in English for a lay translator to understand. Fortunately, my understanding of Nepali is improving, and I could understand if my translator was getting it right. I’m thankful that we were also able to give the students a 55 page health booklet in Nepali on the major topics! We are planning a follow up seminar this summer, and the students are all eagerly looking forward to it.

Then a quick but tiring trip to the border of India to renew my visa and on to Itahari, India. Here we held an advanced health seminar for one of our previous groups. Ten students were able to attend. All shared inspiring reports of the results of treatments they had given and the changes they had personally made.

One of Pastor Petrus’ daughters, Sushila, joined me in my travels and she was very helpful, considerate and cheerful. Her mother tongue is Sentali, but she also speaks Nepali, Hindi, and English.

After Itahari, India, Sushila and I took some much needed rest and went to visit some of our students in their homes an exhausting two hour hike up in the mountains. It was Sushila’s first time to climb mountains like these, making it a very challenging experience. Each night we stayed in a different student’s home. They treated us royally and gave us their beds to sleep in (even if it was only a mat on the floor with a blanket underneath and one on top for the two of us to share—brrrr!) and very tasty mountain food. Everyone hated to see us go, but we had to rush for the next seminar.

Our next stop was Jaigoan, India, right on the border of Bhutan. Then two hours south to Kodalbasti, which is right in the middle of the jungle and wildlife preserve. Most of the students were from the village, but a few came one or two hours by bike everyday for the classes. Their nice, large church housed our seminar during the day, and at night we had evening worship, to which everyone in the village was invited. About 20 students attended the classes, and the first night 30 to 40 children and adults came for worship. By our last evening about 80 people came for the program! Even with so many people, and a large percentage of them children, it was really amazingly quiet and reverent. The people of the village said if I stayed for a month they thought the whole village would become church members! Praise the Lord! The local pastor is going to be very busy doing follow up.

In the evenings as we walked to the home where we stayed we always travelled as a group. We carried a lantern and kept a lookout for elephants or other wild animals. I was told that during rice harvest everyone spends the nights out in the fields watching for elephants, which are chased away with noise, bright lights, fires, etc., so they don’t destroy the crops in the fields. Still, every so often an elephant comes into a village and destroys a home or kills someone.

While I was in Jaigoan our class was disrupted with the news that a rhino had attacked a woman. Several students went out to see if the lady was alive, and if anything could be done. Unfortunately, the rhino had put its horn through her abdomen and then licked the side of her body, taking away deep pieces of flesh. I learned that if a rhino licks you, its rough tongue can take off flesh all the way to the bone. This lady was a church member—we had just visited in her home the night before, having prayer for her grandson who was suffering with chickenpox. The next day she was buried in the jungle. I was invited to give the message at the funeral, which I had never done before. With Pastor Kujor translating, God gave me words of hope in Jesus and the resurrection to share.

The next day Sushila and I went to the country of Bhutan and caught the night bus to Calcutta, India. These night busses are quite a trial, but we arrived safely, then flew on to Bangladesh! On arriving there we learned the visa laws had recently been changed—we were supposed to get our visa before coming into the country. But the Lord worked a miracle for us and we were both able to get our visas!

Bill and Lois Dull and Ruth Zollinger of Living Springs Overseas Mission had arranged a health fair in Bangladesh, and several people from the Union Office were there to help, as well as the Meyer family from Nepal, who work for Laymen Ministries.

The health fair was held in Jaipurhut, on the hospital grounds. There were many booths besides ours, all on different aspects of health. Our large tent was divided with a main section arranged for lectures, and the remainder partitioned into five booths:
1) temperance [alcohol, tobacco, stimulants, etc.];
2) nutrition;
3) exercise, with computerized health appraisals
4) dentistry and female problems; and
5) water, rest, hydrotherapy, and charcoal .

It was extremely hot and humid. In the tent it was over 100º each afternoon! I have never sweated so much in my whole life! Also, very few foreigners have visited this part of Bangladesh, which made us a real attraction! Over 10,000 people attended the fair every day, and more than 80% of these visited our booth. Several people returned during the course of the fair, bringing different family members to see if we could help them.

Early in the fair Bill Dull brought a newspaper reporter who was experiencing shoulder pain to see me, and I showed him how to do hot and cold fomentations on it. He had been suffering with this problem for months, but the very next day he came back, enthusiastic over how much better it was already. He was so happy! He came back several days, spending time in each of our booths. The community and hospital leaders are hoping we will return next year.

I am so thankful for God’s mercy through all these seminars, miles upon miles by bus and through all the needs along the way. Truly He has been faithful to His promise, “My God shall supply all your needs, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Please continue to keep the work here in your prayers. Thank you so much for your support through Laymen Ministries, which has made all this success possible. Jesus is coming soon! Are we and those around us ready? It is my prayer to be able to meet all of you there on that great day!

By Sandra Horner

Sandra writes from Kathmandu, Nepal, where she works as part of the Laymen Ministries health training team

Students of the health seminars have been able to use simple remedies in their home villages with amazing results. Here two ladies give fomentations to help ward off a lung infection. Two treatments brought relief.

Sandra with Pastor Petrus (back row,center) and his family.

Sandra and her translator share meals and shelter with village families when conducting health seminars.

Students in the village of Jaigoan filled the church to overflowing during the health seminar and for worship.

Sandra was recently asked to speak at the funeral of a lady who was killed by a rhino.

Part of the team of workers at the health fair in Bangladesh. From left, Joel Meyer, Joyce Meyer, Doug Bradall, Joella Meyer, Bill Dull, Flora Drong, Mark Meyer, Ruth Zollinger, Joanna Meyer, Sandra Horner and Sushila.

Each team member had a job to do as thousands of visitors came through the tent to visit booths and attend lectures.