Betsy's Letter #20

SUBJECT: Betsy's Letter #20
AUTHOR: Betsy Burgdorf, her husband Ted, and the youngest of their three girls - Kara, work with her sister Becky Gates and family in Guyana.
DATE: September 3, 1997

Dear Family and Friends,

August has been an interesting month here! The village has been visited by a "tiger" (probably a jaguar) who has killed about 15 of the village dogs. On Aug. 5 we got some molds of it's paw prints, which are about 4" across. The next day, Aug. 6, the "tiger" struck again, this time at our closest neighbor's house. It attacked Piggy, the teacher's dog, who was asleep right on their porch. The neighbors made lots of noise to scare the "tiger" away, and it left without killing Piggy. But he was left paralyzed. The teacher took her dog home, and 4 days later the "tiger" came back and finished Piggy off. My parents have heard it growling at least twice. We felt very vulnerable with our wide open 3' x 5' windows in the living room, so Ted nailed 2 boards horizontally across the window. The cats can still jump in and out, but hopefully it will keep the "tiger" out.

Several times the village men have gone out hunting the "tiger", but so far no luck in finding it. Actually they think there are 2 or 3 of them. Abel, our neighbor, crossed the river one night to hunt the tiger. As he was walking along, he flt something strike his leg. He turned around and shot a huge snake! He was very thankful that he had just put jeans on, though he only had thongs on his feet. The next morning Ted crossed the river with him to get the snake. It was a huge, 7'10" Fer-de-lance, the same kind that killed Joy, but twice as big. We are so thankful that Abel was not bit by that snake. Ted has it's skin now, to add to his collection.

On Thursday the 7th, David and Katie returned from a trip to Georgetown. David had a black eye and we found out they had been assaulted while walking to the hospital one evening. David had his computer with him, as well as some tithe money that one of the villages had sent with him to give to the Conference. Just when they were almost to the hospital, 2 men began attacking them, hitting them with clubs on the head. David hung onto his bag for dear life with one hand, and hung onto Katie's leg with his other hand. When a car came by and the headlights shone on them, the 2 attackers fled. We praise God that nothing was stolen and that David and Katie were not hurt worse than they were. The attackers are now in prison, one for a year, and one for 9 months.

On Friday, the 15th, at 4:50 pm we were heading up to the church for the Friday evening video. Leif, a student missionary who helped David fly the plane to Guyana, was the last in line. He saw a piece of cloth by the trail that looked like a snake. He didn't want someone to get frightened by thinking it was a snake, so he picked it up and walked off the trail to throw it into the bushes. At that moment he was bit by a snake on his toe! (He was wearing sandals). Fortunately we were close to home and were able to react quickly. We sent Kara running home for charcoal, and Ted began sucking hard on his toe to get out as much poison as possible. Within 5 minutes Kara was back and we had charcoal on his toe. Ted had also removed his shoelace and tied it around his toe. Then we carried him down the hill to the house.

Ted decided to try the shock treatment on Leif, since he was agreeable to trying it. Several people have sent us information on snake bites, but we had only read about the shock treatment and never tried it on anyone before. Ted used the weedeater to deliver a series of low-current electric shocks around the bite. We also gave him Especifico, which is supposed to be an anti-venin taken 2 orally. We don't know how effective it is, but it is the only thing available to us here, so we use it. We figure anything is worth a try when a life is at stake.

By this time, word reached those at church that Leif had been bitten by a snake. The meeting was cancelled and all the church members came down and crowded around the outdoor kitchen where Leif was lying in the hammock. They all got a hands-on first aid class on treating snake bites. We hope it made a big impression on them, because Leif made a remarkable recovery, quicker than any other snake bite we've treated. He was bit by a small Fer-de-lance, probably less than 2 ft. long. Some of the neighbors went looking for the snake. They killed 2 other snakes along the trail, but didn't find the one that bit Leif. However, he got a good look at it and it was able to identify it. We don't know what caused the quick recovery, whether it was the quick reaction with sucking and charcoal, the shock treatment, or if he just got a small dose of venom from the snake. Or maybe a combination of all the treatments. Whatever the case, we praise God for his quick recovery. Other than a lot of pain, he had no swelling of the toe or bleeding of the gums or other bad effects. By the next day he was up walking around with just a slight limp and by Sunday he wasn't even limping. Other snake bite cases we've treated which seemed to be minor cases with very little swelling, still suffered pain for weeks afterwards.

After this incident we decided we needed to take more precautions against snake bites. I fixed up a snake bit kit with suction cups, charcoal and an ace wrap in my fanny pack. We decided we would not leave home without this fanny pack, even just to to to church, which is only a 10-12 minute walk away. Also we would wear tennis shoes and jeans if we were going out in the evening or early morning, and we would stick to the trail, and not go even 1 or 2 feet off the trail. I especially worry about Francey and Corwin since they don't have long pants to cover their legs. I asked Ted to pick them up some jeans in the States.

A few days after Leif was bit, some boys brought a huge, almost 9' Red-Tailed Boa to Ted. Ted and Leif managed to get a rope around his neck, which wasn't easy because the snake would strike and hiss when anyone got near.

Kristen decided to go to Laurelbrook also, since the adoption seems to be taking much longer than we had anticipated. Classes began the 25th, and Ted decided to fly with Kristen to the States to get her in school. They wanted to leave Monday the 18th, but were unable to get on that flight, so they had to leave on Monday the 25th. We had a court date for the adoption on the 26th, Tuesday.

David made 2 flights to Georgetown on Tuesday the 19th. Ted and Kristen went on the first flight. Poor Kristen was scrunched in the back with the huge boa under her feet. We had decided to give it to the zoo in Georgetown. I went on the second flight with Francey and Corwin scrunched in the back. They had so much stuff packed around them you could barely see thjeir eyes peeking out! They did fine 'til we landed in Georgetown and David turned the engine off. Then suddenly they both burst into tears; I'm not sure why. But they quickly stopped crying when David promised them some ice cream. David brought Kara and Leif on orally. We don't know how effective it is, but it is the only thing available to us here, so we use it. We figure anything is worth a try when a life is at stake.

David made 2 flights to Georgetown on Tuesday the 19th. Ted and Kristen went on the first flight. Poor Kristen was scrunched in the back with the huge boa under her feet. We had decided to give it to the zoo in Georgetown. I went on the second flight with Francey and Corwin scrunched in the back. They had so much stuff packed around them you could barely see thjeir eyes peeking out! They did fine 'til we landed in Georgetown and David turned the engine off. Then suddenly they both burst into tears; I'm not sure why. But they quickly stopped crying when David promised them some ice cream. David brought Kara and Leif on Thursday, since Leif was going to the States also. 3

Many new sights, sounds, and experiences for these 2 little kids who had never been out of the jungle before. Things we take for granted like riding in a car, taking a shower, and eating ice cream and french fries (there is a KFC in Georgetown!) They were facinated with the fan (they both immediately stuck their fingers in it before I could top them!) and they also loved the shower and took 2 or 3 showers every day. (No hot water, just cold.) The T.V. hardly interested them at all, not even cartoons, which surprised me. They would watch it for 2 or 3 minutes, then go off and do something else. Georgetown streets are full of horses pulling carts, and that was a new sight since there are no horses in paruima or Kaikan. There were other new animals too, like cows, sheep, goats, and donkeys. We took them to the zoo. They mostly have local animals, but there were 4 lions. On Sabbath we went to the big Central Church. When someone started playing the piano, Francey looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and said, "what is that sound?"

Sunday night Ted, Kristen and Leif went to the airport. They spent the night there and left at 4:30 am, Monday morning. I hope Kristen is now happliy settled in Laurelbrook with Heidi and the cousins. She plans to room with Katrina.

I forgot to mention that Ted and I went to see the lawyer before he left. She was very confident about things working out for the adoption, although she did mention that we were assigned to see a different judge than the one who approved the Canadian adoption. She said this judge was a bit more picky. After seeing her we went to the U.S. Embassy. I was quite impressed with the security there. The lady there told us in no uncertain terms that we would not be allowed to adopt; that Guyana had a law that no foreigners could adopt in this country. She said in the 9 years she had worked at the Embassy she had never seen an American adopt a Guyanese child, and that our lawyer was not being fair to us if she was giving us any reason to hope that we could adopt these kids.

Well, we felt a bit discouraged after that. We talked to the lawyer again and asked her what happened if this judge says no. She said she would take it to the Chief Justice, who is a personal friend of hers, and she was sure she would say yes. It seems that even though Guyana has this rule about no foreign adoptions, they must occasionally make an exception to the rule, based on a decision by the judge whether or not to let you adopt. We know of the Canadian lady and also an English couple who recently adopted Guyanese children.

Anyway, I spent the week in Georgetown doing a lot of praying. I know in my heart that if God wants us to adopt these kids, He can work a miracle so we can adopt them. But I also have asked God that if He doesn't want us to adopt, that He will close the door at this first step. We want what is best for these kids and for our family. But as long as doors remain open, we will continue to work towards adoption.

Tuesday morning was the court date. David came with me since Ted was gone. We went first to the lawyer's office, then walked to the court with her secretary. She told us to wait outside the courtroom 'til we heard our name called, that we would have to wait about an hour. David stayed by the courtroom while I took the kids out on the porch. I spent the 4 whole time praying and singing Bible verses in my mind. Needless to say, I had some butterflies in my stomach. I've never been to court before!

Suddenly the secretary came and said, "come quick, hurry!" I got the kids and we hurried toward the courtroom. But by the time we got there, thje lawyer came out and said we were too late. She said the case had been referred to the Chief Justice. Then she was gone. We were a little confused about what had happened, because David never even heard our name called. We suspect that the lawyer was feeling uncomfortable with this particular judge and just asked that this case be referred to the Chief Justice. Even though it was disappointing to spend a week in Georgetown waiting to see the judge, only to have it cancelled, I feel at peace about it. I spent so much time in prayer, and I know others were praying also, asking that God take control of what happened in court, so I have to believe that what happened was God's will.

Anyway, we are back to square one, waiting for another court date. We still don't know if we will be allowed to adopt. If the judge says yes, that means we have permission to begin the adoption process, which may take several months. If she says no, we'll have to return the children, pack our bags, and go home. We hope that doesn't happen, because we have fallen very much in love with these little kids. Please continue to pray that God's will be done in this matter.

We had our second V.B.S. last week, with about 30 more kids. In about 3 weeks they plan to start a crusade here, to run for 5 weeks. i suggested they use the Net 95 video tapes we have, so probably that is what will happen. They really enjoyed the videos we showed on Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.

Mama saw 140 patients last month, including lots of Malaria cases and tooth extractions. David has made lots of flights with the airplane, including an 8 year-old boy bit by a snake. Someone hiked 7 hours from Arau, all night, to let us know. David flew him to Kamarang, and last we heard he was doing o.k. Must go, the plane is coming.

Love, Betsy

You may write to Betsy at: gates@andrews.edu

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