Shanksteps #97- War Games

Shanksteps #97- War GamesHave you ever played Laser Tag?  How about Capture the Flag? War Games? Paintball? Cowboys and Indians?  You know, games where you hide behind bushes and rocks and shoot at your friends…Just 3 miles from here, several villages are playing their own war games, however they are using real bows and poisoned-tip arrows.  I know you are saying, “But this is 2008, how can this be?”  I assure you that this is the real deal.  Greg has already pulled barbed arrows out of a chest, neck, abdomen and thigh.  Most of the “warriors” refuse to come into the hospital because it would mean that they miss out on the war. Apparently the initial two villages have been enemies for years. They lasthad tribal warfare in the 1980s.  Now again, the village farther up the mountain attacked the village toward the bottom. Why are they fighting? The fight started over a field.  One village said that it was their right to plant it this year, the other refused.  As fields mean food, and food means money, it is an understandable fight. However this one has gotten out of hand. The chief of the upper village (Wopi) is recruiting all men from the village to fight. When the police or army comes to stopthe fighting, the chief tells his men to shoot at the authorities.  So far, the fighting villagers are much braver than our feeble military.  A couple of days ago they started burning down houses as well.The interesting thing to me is that there is an accepted “playing field”. This area doesn’t contain any houses.  Only certain men are chosen to fight or “participate” as they call it.  The surrounding villages have all come to watch.  It is almost as if it is all a game – although people are getting hurt and dying (and I’m sure more will die of tetanus).  At first, the war was “scheduled” to last for 4 days. Now they keep postponing the end.  We are now on day 6, with 10 more “scheduled”.The men that have come into the hospital are begging to go home to re-enter the war.  Two have already done so.  The first man came in with a hole in his chest causing collapse of his lung.  He refused most treatment (including tetanus vaccine) and fled the hospital without paying his bill.  (He recently told our guard that he plans to pay the hospital when the war is over, he was just anxious to get back to the fighting).  The next man to come in came in with a barbed arrow in his neck through hislarynx.  Greg removed the arrow and repaired the damage.  He is also trying to leave to go back and fight.  The third guy came in with an arrow sticking out of his abdomen.  Greg was able to remove it without opening his abdomen.  He had no internal damage and did well after watching him for several days.  He left the hospital today, begging to go back to the fight.  The fourth guy came in with a barbed arrow sticking out of his thigh. This was removed and he is still being treated.  There have beenmany others hurt who have refused treatment.  I don’t know what the death toll is now, but it is mostly due to overwhelming infection of the arrow entry site.When we hear of all that is happening in the world, we are reminded again that we are in the beginning of the “time of the end” where “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matt 24:6).  Please pray for the fighting to end and that these peoples hearts will be changed by the love of God.In His Grip, Audrey and the Shanks