3rd clinic day-- village near Posat

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...."  We sang several songs in our devotion time yesterday morning ending on the doxology.  He is to be praised, as without Him we can do nothing.  It is one more reminder of God's great love for each one of us.  He is the reason we are all here to serve in Cambodia.  As I think about my team members, I am humbled and amazed at how God works in us and through us to accomplish His will in our own life as well as in the lives of His children throughout the world.  You must not minimize the EVERY DAY opportunities that He also gives to us.  He uses each one of us in amazing ways every day when we recognize that we are His hands and feet.  We experience joy when we humble ourselves and allow Him to work.  This is the ultimate love of the Father when we serve with the mantra:  "He Must Increase, I Must Decrease." (John 3:30)

It is approximately 3:30am here in Cambodia, and I am ready to be up and about preparing for the day ahead.  After a team devotion and a hearty breakfast, we will be travelling about a 3 hr distance to our next clinic site in Posat referred to as "Srey Oun's village"

Yesterday, we conducted our second medical in a small village about 15 kilometers from Kampong Chhang.  This is a new site--a public primary village school.  We arrived at the site around 10:00 AM, and set up the pharmacy tables and triage centers in two large open air classrooms as well as a third room for the prayer line.  The day seemed to go much smoother.  I believe we saw over 300 come through the clinic in approximately 5 hours of work.  One thing that amazed me was the tenacity of many of the Cambodian people.  Several traveled a great distance leaving as early as 3am to arrive at the clinic.  Another lady very active in spreading the gospel in this area had severe and chronic hip pain, and came with expectation that this would be the day God would heal her.  We gave her the best we had to offer (adjustments where indicated, several powerful meds)--our limited resources, and sent her to the prayer line to experience the ultimate healing of the Great Physician--He has unlimited resources.  We again saw an amazing array of conditions. One man had a partial bicep tear that is now irreparable.  One lady had a goiter the size of a grapefruit.  I'd estimate 90% of the women between 18 and 45 had STD symptoms.  Many had traumatic injuries.  One child, seen by Dr Rick, had been kicked in the abdomen by a cow and has permanent fibrosis (internal bleeding--she's fortunate to be alive). One man had sky high blood pressure, and was post-stroke (huge atlas subluxation was greatly reduced by his first adjustment). One seen by Dr Nelson has the early signs of leprosy (Dr Nelson is an expert in this area, as he runs a clinic in India and cares for thousands of leprosy patients on a regular basis).

QUOTING From Dr Rick's BLOG:  "One of things that I realized last year, and is still true this year is that the Cambodian people are just like you and me. They want the same things. To raise their children in safety and love, to be loved and to live a long a and full life. While the American version of a full life may include any number of things we take for granted like a shopping mall or a convenience store in the right place the Cambodian version focuses more on having enough to eat as opposed to where to eat, having a roof to sleep under as opposed to the size of the house under the roof, and things that are much closer to survival than most Americans, even the most disadvantaged of Americans will never have to contemplate.

As we begin seeing patients on this trip I am again reminded that while you may think that the health problems would be very different from in the US, there are still conditions of the spirit that affect the body in ways such as anxiety, depression, gastritis and so forth that seem out of place when you also see things like leprosy, goiter, severe infections, TB, malaria, typhoid, dysentery, and diseases that are often only ever seen by most health care professionals in a book."

With this in mind I am going to be sharing with the entire team that whether you are one of the doctors, or working in the pharmacy, or manning the prayer room, many of the afflicted we will see are ill for the reason of a lack of love in their life. They do not have the ultimate love that we as Christians all too often may take for granted. Imagine for a moment if you and your spouse where not in love. What would that do to your mental, emotional and physical health? Imagine if you did not have the greatest love of all in your life and had to face each ugly loveless day all by your self, alone and without hope. What do you suppose that would do to your health? Regardless of what we do on this team, our single biggest purpose is to bring Love. The love of a Christ who asked us to give that love through Him by the simple means of providing a cup of cold water in his name!"

Please continue to pray faithfully for the entire team.  We know it is only by God's strength that we are able to continue this mission with good health and safety.

2nd clinic day: Cheneak village

Mark 16:15, 18
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation....they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

Today we will be driving quite a distance to another remote village called Cheneak, and look forward to having a full day to see as many as possible.

We are praising God for many healing reported from yesterday. Approximately 50% of those afflicted showed immediate signs of improvement after receiving medical care and most importantly prayer for healing. I adjusted a 9-month old that has been unable to nurse without vomitting since birth.  Probably 80% had musculoskeletal complaints. All were adjusted and triaged--either sent to the MD, nurse, or directly to the dispensary. We estimate 250-300 adjustments in about 5 hours.

Oh, time is so limited. Please read on Kurt's blog and connect on facebook to see lots of pictures.  I appreciate your continued prayers for our safety, and effectiveness with the Cambodian people--to lead them toward the understanding that Jesus loves them and died for them so that they may have an eternity in heaven with Him.

It's Monday and we're off to Kdol village near Kampong Chnang

PTL I was able to sleep abot 9 hours last night.  Our team meeting was at 5:30a.  After getting the luggage ready and eating breakfast, we are leaving in just a few moments for our first clinic day.  Our clinic team consists of 2 chiropractors, 1 MD from India, and a nurse from Florida.  Also, a paramedic/firefighter from Missouri will help us out with basic wound care and lots of vitals.  Today should be a good opportunity to get our "feet wet." My roommate, Kurt, has done a fantastic job.  Please see his blog !@ http://missioncambodia2010.blogspot.com/

We arrived safely at the Asian Princess hotel

It is approx 12:40a local time, and my roommate (Kurt, you can read his very well-developed blog here) and I are both up and connected to the internet to update our blogs.  We got some decent sleep on the plane, but have to get accustomed to sleeping on Cambodian time (6:30a will come very early).  We praise the LORD for safe and pleasant travels.  Through it all, no one was delayed or encumbered by security or customs. I look forward to tomorrow's church service to get accustomed with the local Christians, and to meet the rest of the team including my colleague, Dr Rick Scala.

Layover in Seoul, S.K.

I am sitting her in the Incheon Int'l in Seoul, South Korea with Sam and Ron--two of the team members on the Chicago to Seoul flight.  We just "happened" to sit right next to Regina and John, and also met up with Kurt in the waiting area.  We are all on the next flight from Seoul to Phenom Penh.  We have the majority of the core team together, and it's a real pleasure to meet these fine people with the same calling.

The LORD kept me safe even before arriving at O'Hare.  On I-94 about 7 Fri am,  an SUV attemped to avoid debris on the highway and careened out of control crossing three lanes of traffic and slamming into the barrier within about 25 feet of our car.  I praise God for His provision of safety.  And God also allowed us to clear security checkpoints in both Chicago and Seoul very smoothly.  Both times, we were through in less than 10 minutes.

I was able to sample some Korean food at the airport, and will share some pictures on Facebook soon.  The next leg leaves @ 6:50p Seoul time (3:50a CT) and is about a 5 1/2 hrs flying time to Phenom Penh.  I'm very thankful for an eye mask and well-fitting earplugs.  I actually slept pretty well on the airplane despite be awakened twice to eat.  No problem--the airline food was actually really good (or maybe I was just really hungry).  

Tomorrow morning, we will be in church and will get rested up, and then I believe we make final preparations for our tour.  We are staying at the Asian Princess in Phenom Penh, and plan to post again tomorrow.  God bless all of you as you pray for us. 

A calling

Approximately 3 months ago, I picked up the CCA journal, and read an article from Dr Rick Skala regarding his experience in Cambodia in late 2009.  I immediately felt that God was calling me to go, yet I was hesitant.  Over the next few weeks, I looked at the article several times.  Finally, I decided if God was calling me to do this that He would work out all the details.  I contacted Dr Skala, and he sent me further information (see his 2010 blog).  I also got in touch w/ the CCA mission director and also talked with family and friends about the possibility.  Every possible concern in my mind had been answered, yet I knew in my heart that it was a leap of faith.  Well, I took that leap!  In less than 24 hours, I will be bound for a 2-week medical mission trip to Cambodia.  During the following 2 weeks, we will have 11 clinic days including stops to the villages of Kdol, Cheneak, Posat, Rokakiri, Kasskrolaw, Bakroutas, Sampov Mountain, Poipet, and the cities of Battambang and Siem Reap.

Our group is organized under Transform Asia and with the logistic help of Partnership International.  It is a great privilege to be going to Cambodia with such an experienced group of doctors and mission-minded professionals.  Our intention is to provide a high quality of health care to folks that are suffering.  However, the medical care is a draw for people to be exposed the gospel of Jesus Christ that will transform their lives for eternity.  Please join us in praying for the Cambodian people that we will be serving, for travel mercies for the entire team--especially in the next 48 hours, and for robust health throughout the entire trip.

I will be posting to the blog regularly throughout the next several weeks, so please subscribe and pray for us daily.  Also, you can "friend" me on facebook to see pictures and videos (depending on available bandwidth) along w/ blog-posted notes.