FYI

I just created this blog as a separate place for reflections on a trip that I took in September 2007, "River Land."
Just about everything is uploaded, except I plan to upload a few more pictures. Hopefully all will be uploaded by the end of April, 08 :)

Email update to friends...

SUMMARY OF RIVERLAND TRIP.

Short Version:
“Watching the river…” My Trip to Riverland –My first vision trip went very well - pray for some friends whose homes were destroyed or damaged in recent flooding.
“I remembered the stories…” –a local believer who found encouragement in the stories, in spite of his home being flooded.

Longer Version:
“Watching the river…” My Trip to Riverland…
In spite of the rain, we still went to a few villages to share stories and do some story training. Along the way we crossed several bridges over rivers. At each bridge, there were people just standing apparently watching the water. I thought, ‘this is South Asia, what else do you have to do?’ But on our way back, I realized they weren’t just watching the water. They were actually watching the water rise. That night, the river rose about 3-4 feet over the bridges. The next day, we walked nearly waist deep in water on the main road! The local people said “flooding is normal here, but it’s never been this bad in our town before.”

“I remembered the stories…”
One of the hardest things in Riverland was seeing the flooding. We ate dinner in the local Workers home one night and the next day, he had 2 feet of water in his house. I wanted to cry seeing some their situation. I asked him and his wife, “how can you be smiling?” He said, “I remembered the stories you told yesterday in the village about David and the tall man (Goliath), and about the three friends in the fire (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), and how God was with them. I am asking God to be with us now, and I know that just like He was with those men in those stories, right now He is with us too.”

To recap in short, the past week contained the following:
- meeting with national Workers who showed me their ministry in different areas
- visiting a training center (a great place for future storying workshops!)
- visiting an elementary school (where I shared two stories with the students)
- visiting a village where some of the women aren’t fully clothed and in which they have their own tribal religion.
- visiting a Buddhist village where chickens, pigs and other animals share the same house with the people
- discussing how storying could be used in some unreached groups there
- enjoying a great cultural discussion with a monk
- traveling by motorbike everywhere (in the rain too)
- traveling to a village by boat because the rising river had made travel by land impossible
- doing mini-storying training in a bamboo hut with mud floor
- people swimming to come to the training
- being escorted by policemen to different places – there was increased security in that area due to a recent kidnapping in the area
- walking in waist-deep water to visit national friends whose home was flooded
- eating rice three times a day
- making friends with large cockroaches

P& P for Riverland
- Praise Him for the contacts and relationships made in Riverland.
- Praise Him for the storying training I was able to do in two villages with new believers.
- Praise Him for safety while traveling and during the rains
- Pray for the people whose homes were damaged/destroyed by the flood
- Pray for how I may continue to pray for and serve the people of Riverland.

In Him,

~ Elizabeth
“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me…” Psalm 138.8

Back to the capitol.

I travelled via bus 6 hours from Chit City back to the capitol of Riverland today. Tomorrow, I fly back to India and get ready for my next trip. It's been a whirlwind tour of Riverland and the people groups that live in the hills...we'll see how God plans to use this experience in my life!

Lots of Questions

Today I travelled with ZL to Chit City, to stay the night with Emily and Erin (colleagues).

We woke up, and waited for the taxi that was supposed to come from Chit City. He was supposed to come at 10:30. We waited until 11:15, then sent someone to call and find out what the situation was. The phone in the hotel didn’t work due to the rain. Oh, and we hadn’t had electricity for maybe 48 hours. They had cut it off since there was too much water in the city. Since I didn’t really have anything that needed electricity, it really wasn’t a big deal.

The local leader came back. The news was that the taxi hadn’t come from Chit City because the road was blocked. One suggested taking a taxi from here, going a different road.

But, it turns out that the only three roads between Kha town and Chit City were not only blocked with landslides, but bridges were out – not even bicycle rickshaws could go through!! Finally, they said, “You could go by taxi up to where the bridge is out, try and walk across by foot, and then maybe find a vehicle on the other side. So, that’s what we did – not knowing what we’d find.

We did find several landslides, but they were halfway cleared so we could continue on. We also found the bridge that was halfway gone (it is about 20 feet above the river). We asked people what to do. There was a small foot bridge, made with bamboo they said we could take to cross the ravine and maybe find something on the other side. So, we did that – the bridge was pretty shaky, I wasn’t sure if we’d make it across! But we did. Then we got in a bicycle rickshaw for about 5 minutes to find some other kind of transportation to Chit City.

We did find one taxi that could take us – it would cost us 3000 taka, which is about $75.00 (which is a ton of money here….). I had already spent almost $50.00 for the first taxi. I said, “no, let’s try to find a bus.” ZL also said it was a lot of money, but was concerned about my comfort on a bus. I said, not to worry, let’s see first what’s available and then decide. We went a little further, and fortunately, there was a bus, and it was going to Chit City, and it was almost ready to leave. We were so lucky!

ZL of course felt so bad that it was a local bus, and how much I was suffering, etc, etc. I told him to relax, and that actually I was more comfortable traveling this way than in an A/C taxi. And, honestly the local bus was still 5 times more comfortable than the local busses in India – we had padding on the seats. I was impressed. I think ZL is used to foreigners from America, who generally travel like foreigners– in more comfortable ways.

Anyway, we finally arrived in Chit City and took an auto rickshaw to the bank, the bus station (to get my ticket to the capitol city) and then to the guesthouse where Emily and Erin were staying. I told ZL and his friend that I would probably leave them here. ZL was unsure about leaving me, and said he could come to the capitol city with me. I said there was no need for that and he should go back to his home. I said I was very used to traveling alone, and not to worry. He also met Emily and they spoke some of the national language, so I think he was reassured.

Anyway, they left – and I immediately said, “Emily, you got so tall!!” She said, “No, you’ve just been around Riverland people the past week and aren’t used to tall people…” It was so funny, I really felt like I had shrunk. But I hadn’t, and she hadn’t grown. Anyway, we went back and talked for a while. I shared with her the pictures I had of the workers in Kha town. She said, “I really wish I had come with you.”

I told her, “I did two mini-workshop story trainings for two Cha villages. I really wish you had been able to come with me too…” I told her how I felt like the people there were ready for the stories – and would indeed use them. I told her she should go and meet those people. I said how encouraging it was to see Cha believers, sharing and doing ministry in Cha and language. I said, in our place in Kahan, there just aren’t very many leaders who actually know Kahani and do ministry in Kahani language. They use Hindi. I said ‘It’s so great and encouraging to see these leaders – their heart to reach the Cha people and who actually see the importance of the native language, and who use it!!!”

Anyway, I did talk with ZL (while we were waiting for the taxi in the morning, as well as at dinner the night before) a little more about the future and how I might be able to fit in here. I shared how I didn’t know what God had planned, but wanted to ask some more questions so I could know how it might work in the future.

Q. From what I can tell the Mar and Muu people are the more unreached people of this area. Is that right?
A. Yes. (I know that there is more work to be done with Cha and Bam people, but in my mind, if there is less work with the Mar and Muu people, I think there is greater need there- and that is where I would feel I should go (if indeed I come back).
Q. Could I live in the Mar or Muu village?
A. Would you want to live there? Could you really survive there?
- Yes. I mean, I would live there maybe 3-4 weeks at a time, and come back to the city to get money, make phone calls, or whatever…
A- Yes, you could live there, but if you stay in a Bam Christian village, that would be safer.
--True maybe, but they are already Followers– no need there. I mean, there is need, but not the same. For the Muu or Mar groups - if I approached the whole thing with the idea of, ‘I’m doing language study and research and want to live part-time in a village to gain a better perspective of the culture and be more submersed in the language…’ – would they be so opposed to that?
A- No, you’re right – that would be okay. They would probably enjoy that.
Q. Would it work as far as the police situation?
A. Yes, if you came for a longer period of time, that would be ok. If you have a visa through our NGO, you can come and do research or consultant work for us (i.e. ministry however you want to do it), and they won’t ask any questions. It would be fine.
Q. Do you think storying/stories would work with these people?
A. Yes – definitely, I think it’s a very good way to reach them.
Q. If I came back, I would focus on learning the village language primarily- we learned through our experience in India, that we didn’t really need Hindi that much. But in India, English is a little more common than here. In your opinion, do you think I would need to study some of the national language first, like survival stuff?
A. Yes, it would just be helpful to get around with…but you are right, learning the native/village language makes a big difference and would mean a lot more to the people.

FLOOD

It rained all night.

Today we were supposed to either go to a village, or, if it was raining too much, the back-up plan was for the Leaders (maybe 5-6 altogether) to come to the hotel, have a storying training for maybe 2-3 hours. I was exhausted last night to plan much, and didn’t get up early to plan anything today, but somehow I wasn’t worried about it. (picture: ricksaw transporting people through the high water)

We got up, and it was just pouring rain. We looked outside, and saw trucks lined up on the hill outside the hotel. Finally, we figured out that the town was flooded and the trucks couldn’t go through. I suggested that we go out and see. ZL was hesitant – saying, ‘you may get wet,’ I said, “yeah…so?” I didn’t say it like that exactly, but tried to communicate that it wasn’t a big deal to get wet. So we went out of the hotel.

The policeman who was stationed at the hotel (For my protection) said, “You can’t go out, where were you last night? You were supposed to report – you can’t go anywhere without us, etc, etc.” ZL explained we had dinner at a friend’s home. And how it wasn’t a big deal, etc, etc. He explained we were just going out to see the flooding and then come back – and asked if the police wanted to come with us. The police said no and went to get a higher ranking officer. That one came back and said the same things.

ZL explained what we were going to do, and said ‘if you say we can’t go, we won’t go” The policeman said, “No, we can’t tell you, you can’t go, but some police should go with you.” ZL said, “okay, if you want to come, come.” Then the policeman said, “We don’t have the people to send…” So ZL was like, “okay, then what do you want us to do?” The officer said, “You can go out, but if anything happens, it is not our responsibility.” ZL said, “okay, I will take full responsibility.” Then we left. I said, “That policeman who is stationed at the hotel for my protection – what is he doing? If he was just going to stand at the hotel all day, why doesn’t he come – if they are so concerned?” ZL agreed, and said that they just didn’t want to get wet probably… (picture ZL and me in the middle of the road/river)

Anyway, we went down the hill, and quickly were in knee deep water. Zar Lawm asked many times, ‘should we go back?”
I said, “And sit at the hotel all day long? We should go to your friend’s homes and see if they are okay.”
He said, “but it’s far…”
I said, ‘I’m fine.’
So we pressed on. We were in almost waist deep water, crossing bridges that were now the river. We saw a fence come down, people playing in the water, people fishing, homes that were completely covered in water – well the roof was showing, people gathered in shops trying to wait it out, but the water was only increasing. There were bicycle rickshaws making a lot of money since they are the only mode of transportation that could go down the street. Oh, and boats – but we didn’t see any of those…We did see a few kids in a tire tube floating around. The road had become part of the river - there was no distinction between it - the whole town was a few feet under water. And yet, in general, it seemed people were in fairly good spirits.

Finally, we reached the home of the local worker. His home had been flooded. The water had gone down when we got there, but it was actually flooded about 2 feet of water into his house. You could see the marks on his house where the water had been. They had moved the plastic flooring outside- it was hanging on a tree that functioned as a clothes line. They had put their table and chairs up, and their refrigerator. They said it was the first time the water had ever come that far. They said once, it came up before, but not inside their house. The water had gone down when we arrived, but actually while we were there (maybe 15 minutes), it rose again about 2 inches…they said it rises and lowers continually.. It was amazing to think we had just eaten dinner there the night before. (picture: a man tries to save his most valuable possession - his tv!)

After visiting them, we went to another home of a worker who had broken is leg a few months ago. They had moved in a home a little further from their own home, because their own home was made a mud, and had cracked from the water. It was still standing, but there was no telling how long it would still stand.

We then went to one of the local leaders homes. His home is built up a bit higher, and so his home was still okay. He had maybe 10 people staying with him who had either lost their homes, or whose homes were under water at the moment. We decided we would leave- since if we stayed, the local leader would feel obligated to serve us lunch. We got in a bicycle rickshaw and went back. The water was even higher than when we came, and even though we were in the bicycle rickshaw, our feet still got wet! The drivers of the bicycle rickshaws actually get off and walk the bike through the waist deep water – putting the rickshaw behind them.

We got back to the hotel, got dry clothes and then had lunch. The whole time I felt so sad for those who we had seen, whose homes were either in pretty bad shape, or even perhaps ruined from the water. I wanted to do something for them, I said I wished we could take food to them…but there wasn’t much we could do…

At the hotel, we played a game, and then ZL showed me pictures of different places. He showed me pictures of the village we were supposed to visit today. He also showed a picture of the church building that was burnt down– it was burn down by Buddhist group who doesn’t want churches/Christians there – that happened last year.

I slept maybe ½ hour. Then the local worker, and the local leader came to the hotel! They had come by walking and rickshaw- through the water. They said after we had left, the water had gotten worse – coming in his house even more than during the night, but now it had gone down a lot. They invited us for dinner, and said, ‘why did you leave so quickly today, you didn’t even eat lunch!!’ ZL explained how we thought about staying for lunch, but due to the situation, felt it was better that we didn’t. He then explained how the police were being kind-of strict and since the weather was unpredictable, we had already told the hotel we would stay for dinner, and since almost all of our clothes were already soaked, maybe we shouldn’t go to dinner. They pressed, but finally said okay.

We talked for a while, and then they left. We ate dinner, and then went to bed.

By boat, rickshaw and by motorcycle....

(Note – since we arrived in Kha, it hasn’t stopped raining…)

This morning, we ate breakfast (omelet, vegetables, chapatti) and then left via jeep to go to two villages. We waited almost ½ hour at the police station while they decided if they would come or not. They demanded that we provide a car for the, ZL said “no.” Finally, they decided to come, in spite of the fact we would not provide a car for them. Four of them came to the first village… (at the end of the day, we ended up paying them 500 taka ~ $10.00 for spending the day ‘protecting’ us)

We got there, or at least to a small town close to it. A villager met us on the road and said, “The water is too high, you can’t go their by foot – the river has come up too high.” So, we asked about a boat- and sure enough there was a boat available. We clambered in, in spite of the mud and such…the four policemen also came with us. What a sight. They had guns too. Boy did I ever feel protected (?). We road in the boat maybe 15 minutes. On the way, I saw little islands that had been formed from the water rising. I saw some homes that had been deserted because of the high water. When we finally arrived, we got out and walked on a very muddy/slippery path to the village ‘church.’ I decided to take my flip flops off since it was easier to walk in bare feet. I felt like a true national of this country! :) ZL was concerned and kept saying we should get me some shoes – I said, “No, I wouldn’t wear any shoes- bare foot was so much better – I felt much more surefooted that way…and the ground was just mud, grass- it was pretty soft.

The building we were in was a bamboo building with mud floor. They had a large bowl with another small bowl inside of it for me to use to wash my feet off. We did the formalities of greetings and such. I then started in with the storying. The group was a mix of men/women and children. It was hard to know exactly what to do. It was also hard to hear people. It was raining the whole time and sometimes it would rain extremely hard. We were inside, but the roof of the church and most houses here is sheet metal- and thus when it rains, it is very loud. Anyway, it worked out alright. As I wondered so many times in the beginning of my time in India, I also wondered, “how did I get here again?”

(picture - a local leader telling his group a story!)

I had them read the David and Goliath story first from the Book in the national language. Then I explained how this is a long story, and sometimes we don’t have a lot of time to share a story with someone. I explained how it also had some hard names in it. I explained how having too many names in a story makes it harder to understand. I told them I would now tell them the story – potentially leaving some things out, but trying to make it easier to remember. They should pay close attention to what things I may leave out. After, I told them the story, I asked them to retell it back to me. They retold it back – pretty well. I told them that if we had time, I would go around and have each one of them, individually retell the story – but since we didn’t have time, we wouldn’t do that today.

I then did the 5 questions with them. Oh yeah, people from other homes – that had become their own “islands” due to the flooding also came – they came swimming through the water – holding their clothes on their head. When they arrived, they stood for 10 minutes to dry off, shivering since there is of course, no sun these days. Then putting on their basically wet clothes, they came in and sat down. (it was boys and men who came – I didn’t see any women swim). I wish I had gotten a picture of that, but wasn’t able to. The police were also standing close by during the whole thing – which was a little strange, but all well.

After the David and Goliath story – I spoke a little bit about storying and things to include, things to maybe not include, and how stories could be more effective/natural than perhaps preaching! :) They said they liked the story, and wanted to hear another one. I gave them an assignment. I told them the reference for the Demons story and told them to craft the story themselves.

I said, “Remember:

1) you want the story to be easy to remember [short/don’t use hard names/etc],

2) you want to make sure the main point is included [i.e. jesus healed the man],

3) if possible, see if you can connect it in any way with Cha culture.

We broke into two groups. Afterwards, they shared their ‘stories.’ The first group did alright. He forgot the end of the story – but I think it was because we were running out of time, and so had to cut their preparation time a little short. The second group told some of the story, but also threw in a little preaching/summarizing of things we can learn. I praised both of them.

I also told them how they can use a story like this to learn more about the culture. They can easily ask questions like, “Do you have spirits in your culture? Are they good? Are the bad? Where do they come from? How do they get inside a person, how do they get outside a person…?
I then explained how it’s important when we tell a story, to just tell the story. It’s very important to then get the feedback or opinions of our friends/the listener. If we do all the talking, there is nothing for that person to contribute. They may feel embarrassed, or shy since you have already told them all the answers. It is also not much help for us if we tell what we know, but don’t listen to what they have to say. They may have some great insight, we didn’t think of before. We want to ask their opinions about different parts in the story. It can help us see if they really understand or not.

I told them how every time we tell a story, we can get better and better. I said even my story I told today can still be made better.

Then I did the formalities of closing – saying how happy I was to see them, thankful I was to be here etc. I said that I have been to a few places in the world, and my favorite places are villages like this one. I said I was sorry I couldn’t speak their language. I said I may not see you again in this world, but I will see you in Heaven, and I look forward to being able to speak with you directly (i.e. not through a translator) then, and look forward to worshipping God together there. It was encouraging to think I will see some of them again there.

We then went back down the muddy path, got into the boat, and went back to the ‘mainland.’ The police switched with some other police who then accompanied us to the next village. This wasn’t as far from the road as the first one. It was raining cats and dogs and even though we didn’t have far to walk, we were completely soaked by the time we got there. We met in a concrete building… We ate lunch there, and then I did the Shadrach story with them, and the 5 questions. There were maybe 5 women, 10 men, 3-4 kids. I didn’t do as much training with them, but did still mention the importance of retelling, being able to remember a story, and getting the feedback from our listeners…

About 10 minutes into the ‘program’ – the police officer came and said there was word that there was a landslide- and we should probably leave soon. We said okay, and I tried to ‘wrap things up’ – but it was still about 45 minutes before we left.

After we finally left, we weren't on the road long until we got to a landslide. It was pretty big, and would probably take 3-4 hours to clean up. We got out and walked across it. I’m kicking myself for not taking any pictures – but somehow I felt strange taking a picture of something that was somewhat of a calamity for them. Fortunately, there was a police truck on the other side, and they agreed to take us back to the hotel.

We changed clothes, and rested for maybe 1 hour. Then we got ready to go to dinner. It was still raining. ZL and I got on one motorbike. I pulled my skirt up so my legs were showing from the knees down. But since it was dark, no one would really notice. I held an umbrella and we set out. Within about 2 minutes we were pretty wet. Then, the motorcycle died – there was no more gas. We got off, in complete dark and completely pouring down rain and walked to where we thought there was some gas. The local leader and his friend were behind us (in a bicycle rickshaw) so we knew they would be coming eventually. ZL felt bad about the situation, but I told him I was completely fine. I said, “my father has said before – it’s just rain, a little water won’t hurt anything…” He laughed and I think that helped him to realize I really didn’t care about getting wet.

Anyway, we got to the place we thought there was gas, but there wasn’t. There was one bicycle rickshaw – otherwise, there was no one around. Soon the local leader and his friend came. They took the motorbike and we got in a rickshaw. We finally arrived at the home of the the Leader in the town. We asked for “loongis” – or a skirt type thing. It was nice to have something dry to put on.

We then ate dinner – I was again surrounded by men – though the TR workers wife was nearby. I am not saying this because I felt scared- but only because it’s so different from India and most South Asian cultures. I talked to ZL about it more later and tried to find out if it was just the culture here, or because I was a guest, or was it that Riverland people just eat together. He said it was more the culture of believers to eat together, and that I was a guest.

After dinner, the TR worker showed me the back room of his house – it’s their kitchen. The river had flooded up to about 2-3 inches below their kitchen. He said, “I’m a little worried that the water might come in…It almost came in once before, but the rain doesn’t seem to be stopping, so I’m not sure if it will stop this time from coming in…:”

ZL, and his friend (who had come with us from Ban town) and I got on the motorbike – three people! That was exciting. It was still raining- thought not very hard. We didn’t used the umbrella on the motorbike this time.

We got back to the hotel, and went to bed!

Storytime!

Today I travelled Ban town Kha town with ZL and another Leader.

We left Ban town 1at 10am, arrived Kha 4:30 – trip not as long as expected, which was nice. We ate some amazing food in Chit city – it was expensive, but really good.

We went through 4 police check points. They all knew my name and knew I was coming. It went well. At the last place, they sent a jeep to accompany us to the hotel. They also came inside the hotel. 5 armed soldiers – with big, big guns. Yeah, I felt strange. They are doing it for my protection. I need not be afraid of them- they are on my side. But still, somehow it was a little nerve wracking…I tried not to notice. I am thinking it might be good preparation for Dry Land. We’ll see.

Anyway one of the local leaders was there, along with one of the Book Workers for the Cha people. It was really encouraging to meet both of them. They had a big beautiful thing of flowers to welcome me. Then we went to our rooms- which were basic, but very nice. I was shocked at how nice everything was. We chose non A/C rooms to save some money, but the weather here is a bit cooler than Ban town, so it’s not a problem. And it’s monsoon, so that makes it a bit cooler too.

After about ½ hour, ZL came to my room with the pastor and TR worker, and we talked about the program for the next few days – starting with that evening. ZL said, “If you are tired, we don’t have to go out…but if you want, one of the leaders can call some of the people and we can have a meeting and you can share a story if you want…”

We also talked about the plan for tomorrow – apparently, we may go by boat somewhere? It kind-of depends on the weather. We’ll see. Wherever we go, they said again there would be a group of people that I could share stories with/train. Whatever that means, we’ll find out. :)

After our discussion, I planned out a few ideas for that evening and for the next day. Within 20 minutes ZL was back and wanted to show me a video of a singing group from north India. It was interesting to watch.

We then left (by motorbike- I think there were 3-4 motorbikes?) to go to the local leader’s house. There were about 12 people there – maybe 7-8 men, the rest women. We sang (or rather they sang) a praise song in the national language. Then ZL said some stuff. Then the local leader said some stuff – most about how thankful and appreciative they were that I was there, and how they knew God was going to teach them and bless them through me... I then shared the calling of the disciples story. I chose it since it was a little shorter than the others. They did okay with the retelling. The discussion also went fairly well- they were more willing to speak up than the kids were. I encouraged the women to talk- saying I needed them to make me feel comfortable among all these men! They tried, but it was hard. Later ZL told me this kind of open discussion was new for them. He said it was good- but it wasn’t easy for them to speak out because they weren’t used to that kind of discussion.

We actually covered a lot of things within the disciples story itself.
We talked about the importance of retelling – what’s the point of discussing something you can’t remember/don’t understand?
I explained how a story needs to be:
1) accurate – from the Book(do not add anything…)
2) easy to remember
3) it’s important t check if the story connects, or doesn’t connect with the culture. Example – if this culture worships fish – it might not be good to start with this story, since all those fish die!

One person asked, “Why did Jesus call Peter, why not the rest of the crowd…” ZL gave one answer. Then I said, “If your friend asks this same question, I would give one of two responses…
1) Turn the question back on that person – why do you think he did that?”
2) Say, “Well, you know what – I’ve got more stories about Peter, do you want to hear them?”

After the “program” –(which was about 1 hour I think- ending at 8:30?), we went to another local leader’s house and ate dinner. It actually took a while, and we didn’t eat until 9:30. We didn’t get back to the hotel til about 10:30. I then discovered two very large cockroaches in my room. I wasn’t sure what to do, but finally decided they were too fast to catch and would be really gross to squash. So, I decided to just leave them and go to bed. I turned off all the lights, but at 4am, I woke up and one of my lights was on. I thought for about 5 seconds, “was someone in my room, and I didn’t know it?” But then I remembered I was in South Asia- and the more likely event was that the electricity just did something weird and somehow the light was on when previously it had been off. I don’t know for sure – it was a bit strange.

I also had a dream in which I was speaking national language of Riverland. I was using some Hindi, but kept saying, “donobad di” – which I’ve heard a lot in the prayers – it means something along the lines of ‘we thank you.’ Interesting dream.

I did find out about the ‘lake of fire’ term the girl used in the Shadrach story. ZL had not used that in his translation when he translated my English into the national langauge– he had just said a ‘big fire.’ The girl chose those words from her own mind- and Zar Lawm said that phrase is also used in the Bam language Book. It is not used to indicate Hell at all - it is used to describe a big/intense fire. I asked him if that phrase could be used to describe other things in large quantities like, ‘a lake of trees,’ or ‘a lake of wind’ – he said he never heard it used for anything else, but he wasn’t completely sure. Interesting.