from Martha Parker, Individual Volunteer in Mission
I don't know how this really happened. I only know that when I prayed with a young girl in Cambodia, the prayer was answered. I would like to tell the story from my point of view.
My daughter Katherine Parker is a missionary in Cambodia working to improve the lives of the poor. I am a community health nurse in California, serving the elementary schools of Mill Valley, my home community. The schools have a long break during the summer and I volunteered through the UMVIM program of our church ("United Methodist Volunteers in Mission"). I raised money for my expenses and to provide funds to carry out the work of the CHAD program within which Katherine works. "CHAD" stands for community health and agricultural development.
While in Cambodia, Katherine and I visited a newly formed congregation in rural Kompong Chhang province. At the end of the Sunday worship service, the pastor told us that one of the families that was present that day had lost all hope of finding help for a 12-year-old daughter who had a heart that was not healthy. The mother said she had been to many doctors in Phnom Penh and that the girl needed to have surgery, but the family had used up all its money. In fact, she said she had sold all her land to try to get help for her daughter. She said her husband had deserted her and that she and her three children were destitute.
What I had learned from Irene Mparutsa, the nurse with the CHAD program, was that the government hospital in Phnom Penh would care for the very poor if they had documentation from their village chiefs. I also knew that CHAD had pastors who were trained to assist families with the process of going through this system. I asked the mother if we could pray about this, and the congregation and the family prayed together. I asked the mother to prepare her documentation and gather what she needed and that we would contact her. Then, I talked directly to the young girl through an interpreter. The girl said she wanted her heart to be healed, and we prayed together.
Being a nurse, I knew she probably had lived with the condition her entire life. The mother said the doctors just told her not to drink coconut milk; they did not say anything else she could do. I could feel a murmur when I placed my hand on her chest, probably something that would have been corrected as a young child in the US. It was like looking at medical books that were 50 years old about children who had murmurs that kept them from activities and that meant they always would be tired and weak. This girl had difficulty breathing and her muscles were not well developed, because she had to rest so much.
The following week, I started my volunteer teaching of the nurses at a hospital in Phnom Penh. I found out from CHAD's Irene Mparutsa that a team of Methodist missionary heart surgeons from Korea was coming the following week. All was very vague and we had no easy way to communicate directly with the woman and her daughter other than by going to the village that was a three-hour drive for us.
We reported to the pastor and made plans on our end to help the girl come for the heart clinic, but were disturbed to hear back a few days later that the girl's condition had worsened, that the mother was also sick, and that they had set out from their rural village for Phnom Penh with their letter from the village chief, but *without* the information from us as to the specific hospital to which they should go.
I was so upset! I had so hoped to connect the girl with the heart surgeons from Korea, who I had learned were doing their surgeries at Phnom Penh's large public hospital. All I could do was continue to pray, and I asked my home congregation and healing prayer group in Mill Valley also to pray.
Another week went by, and still no one had word of the woman and her daughter. The surgeons had come and gone. Katherine and I visited the village again and we all continued to pray together.
Two more weeks passed and, one day, the pastor called Katherine and me with the joyful report that the girl had returned to the village! She had had open heart surgery and was better! We drove the three hours to the church that Sunday . . . and, who was there? The girl herself and her mother arrived by bike at the small bamboo-stilt church, beaming and praising God for the miracle of the surgery.
We asked where she had the surgery and it was at the hospital where the missionary team of Korean heart surgeons had been, and it happened the week that they were there. Did they do it? No one knew, except that the girl now had a heart to provide her a normal life.
If I have ever seen a miraculous answer to prayer, this is my witness.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First Mission Conference
by Katherine Parker
Last week I served as a Conference Secretary for the First Annual Session of the Methodist Mission Conference in Cambodia. It has been a busy month as my assistant Vannak and I put together the "Conference Book" of reports and I worked together with Pastor Var Borom to take minutes of the Conference. It is incredibly exciting to be part of the church in Cambodia during these formative stages.
During Conference, the Implementing Board shared a vision based on Isaiah 54:2 of "Expanding God's Kingdom in Cambodia" and our goal of establishing an autonomous structure for the People called Methodists in Cambodia. These are goals laid out for how to establish an autonomous (not independent) church: self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting and self-theologizing. This year was a milestone as we previously were organized as a "meeting" and now we have met for the first time as a "mission conference."
There were many exciting reports at Conference that pointed to the successful steps in increased autonomy. There is a time-line in place for the goal of self-government to be achieved by 2016 with the election of the first Cambodian Bishop. To this end, we celebrated the ordination of 11 new Deacons and 8 new Elders. Self-propagation has always been a strength of the church in Cambodia. Many new baptisms and full membership reports were given and for the first time congregations were designated as Local Church, Preaching Point or Outreach. The Treasurer gave an astounding report on the goal of self-supporting. The "5% offering" from local churches to MMC increased from $364.06 in 2007 to $3,729.36 in 2008 and the Cabinet resolved to raise $10,000 from local congregations in 2010. The first book of Cambodian sermons will also be published this year towards the goal of self-theologizing. The vision is moving forward.
The vision for the CHAD program parallels this development, has grown, and is bigger than just establishing livelihood development projects for rural communities and training health advocates. It is also to help create local organizational structures to continue this work. We are focusing not just on the current activities, but the long haul, and how to support the next generation of the church in Cambodia to continue the work of being the hands of Christ in this world.
At the same time, Bishop Roy J. Sano reminded us that sometimes we get caught up in building organizational structure because that is actually easier than the hard work of creating a just and peaceful society. He encouraged us to stay focused on our true goal.
CHAD is excited for the coming year again to support the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the MMC as it implements its vision: Inspired by our faith in God, Methodist Mission in Cambodia churches are working together with communities to improve the quality of life and to respond to emergency and disaster situations in Cambodia. Based on the Community Based Organization (CBO) model from The Philippines, CHAD is working with passionate pastors to help establish what we are calling Local Social Concerns Committees (LSCC) in some of the communities where we are working.
One of the biggest challenges we have faced in all of our work as CHAD is monitoring and following up to support the various projects and ministries as they face challenges and adapt to meet current community needs. One immediate dream is that the LSCC will be able to work with the SCC to help solve some of these problems so that we few folks in the central office don't spend all of our time running around the country on crisis calls. But the long term goal is that there will be transparent structures in place to initiate ministries of social concern that lead to personal and communal transformation.
Last week I served as a Conference Secretary for the First Annual Session of the Methodist Mission Conference in Cambodia. It has been a busy month as my assistant Vannak and I put together the "Conference Book" of reports and I worked together with Pastor Var Borom to take minutes of the Conference. It is incredibly exciting to be part of the church in Cambodia during these formative stages.
During Conference, the Implementing Board shared a vision based on Isaiah 54:2 of "Expanding God's Kingdom in Cambodia" and our goal of establishing an autonomous structure for the People called Methodists in Cambodia. These are goals laid out for how to establish an autonomous (not independent) church: self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting and self-theologizing. This year was a milestone as we previously were organized as a "meeting" and now we have met for the first time as a "mission conference."
There were many exciting reports at Conference that pointed to the successful steps in increased autonomy. There is a time-line in place for the goal of self-government to be achieved by 2016 with the election of the first Cambodian Bishop. To this end, we celebrated the ordination of 11 new Deacons and 8 new Elders. Self-propagation has always been a strength of the church in Cambodia. Many new baptisms and full membership reports were given and for the first time congregations were designated as Local Church, Preaching Point or Outreach. The Treasurer gave an astounding report on the goal of self-supporting. The "5% offering" from local churches to MMC increased from $364.06 in 2007 to $3,729.36 in 2008 and the Cabinet resolved to raise $10,000 from local congregations in 2010. The first book of Cambodian sermons will also be published this year towards the goal of self-theologizing. The vision is moving forward.
The vision for the CHAD program parallels this development, has grown, and is bigger than just establishing livelihood development projects for rural communities and training health advocates. It is also to help create local organizational structures to continue this work. We are focusing not just on the current activities, but the long haul, and how to support the next generation of the church in Cambodia to continue the work of being the hands of Christ in this world.
At the same time, Bishop Roy J. Sano reminded us that sometimes we get caught up in building organizational structure because that is actually easier than the hard work of creating a just and peaceful society. He encouraged us to stay focused on our true goal.
CHAD is excited for the coming year again to support the Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the MMC as it implements its vision: Inspired by our faith in God, Methodist Mission in Cambodia churches are working together with communities to improve the quality of life and to respond to emergency and disaster situations in Cambodia. Based on the Community Based Organization (CBO) model from The Philippines, CHAD is working with passionate pastors to help establish what we are calling Local Social Concerns Committees (LSCC) in some of the communities where we are working.
One of the biggest challenges we have faced in all of our work as CHAD is monitoring and following up to support the various projects and ministries as they face challenges and adapt to meet current community needs. One immediate dream is that the LSCC will be able to work with the SCC to help solve some of these problems so that we few folks in the central office don't spend all of our time running around the country on crisis calls. But the long term goal is that there will be transparent structures in place to initiate ministries of social concern that lead to personal and communal transformation.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
An open letter about chickens to the Vacation Church School children in Bakersfield, CA
From your missionary in Cambodia, Katherine.
To the children, youth and adults of the church in Bakersfield that gather this week for Vacation Church School: Grace to you and peace.
“I always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in my prayers, constantly remembering before our God your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For I know, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, that God has chosen you… And you have become imitators of Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 6a NRSV)
I hear that you are learning about Caring for God’s Creatures this year. In Genesis we learn that God wants us to care for God’s creatures in the same way that God cares for us. And so, I write to you again this year in the style of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians to remind you of the words from Isaiah that “The Lord is the everlasting God; God created all the world. God never grows tired or weary.” (Isaiah 40:28b NRSV)
Here in Cambodia, we raise a lot of different animals, such as fish, frogs, crickets, cows, water buffalo, pigs, ducks and chickens. Raising chickens is an important part of family life. Every family wants to be able to have a few chickens, even in the city.
One of the hardest parts of raising chickens is getting enough food for them to eat because all animals that are raised by families need to be fed by the family. This is how we take part in caring for God’s creatures. If you have a pet dog or cat or fish you need to feed it every day; the same is true for chickens. Chickens in particular love to eat vegetable scraps. What happens when you don’t eat all of your dinner? In Cambodia, the chickens get to eat all of the left over vegetables; they help to keep the farm clean. The left-over rice is dried in the sun and the chickens get to eat this too. Chickens also love bugs. They are particularly fond of termites and worms. A lot of families have a termite mound at their house, which is good for feeding both the chickens and the fish.
Last week, I went to visit the Minister of Agriculture in one province. He was very happy to meet me and to hear about the good work that our churches are doing. He encouraged me to support more families to raise chickens. It is a very good way for the church to help the poorest people in the community. Raising chickens is not too hard and it can give a family a good sense of accomplishment. The United Methodist Church, through the CHAD program is helping families to raise chicken in three ways.
First, we provide gift-loans to community groups so that they can start raising chickens. A group of about five families starts working together, and each family receives about 5 chickens. When the first flock of baby chicks grow to about bantee size, they are given to a new family. In this way, the gift of chickens from the church is passed on from family to family until everyone in the village has a small flock of chickens. Chickens get sick very easily, and this can kill off an entire village of chickens, so this is an important way for the church to help a village rebuild after a natural disease epidemic. The initial gift is not very big, just a few chickens for a few families, but because people share with their neighbor, everyone can benefit.
Another activity of the church is to start savings and credit groups. Every week, members of the savings group contribute a small amount to their savings account. Families can then take a small loan from the savings union to help them expand their farm. Many families will take a small loan of $25 for 3 months to help them buy chicken feed from the store so they can produce chickens to sell. When the family pays back the loan, the interest stays in the community, thus increasing the communities’ wealth.
The third way the church helps is to provide technical assistance about how to better raise chickens. Through our partner organizations we can share information about proper housing for chickens and improved feed such as worms. Chickens are not very smart creatures; they need the help of families, especially the children, to go in and out. In the morning, it is the responsibility of the children to shoo the chickens outside where they can hunt for bugs and vegetables. Then at night, the children need to gather the chickens back to their safe house again so they don’t catch cold or get stolen. With research from our partner CelAgric (which is funded in part by Heifer International), the church in Cambodia has distributed information about how to build better chicken houses. We have also provided information about what vegetables are best for improving chicken health. During my meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, he encouraged me to start teaching more about worm farming so that families would know how to raise worms, which can also improve the diet and health of chickens. We hope to start a pilot project about this in Methodist Amen Church in Kampong Chhnang province soon.
Learning about Caring for God’s Creatures is an important activity for the children in the church here in Cambodia and I am glad that you are also interested in learning these same lessons. We can sing praises for God’s care of creatures by saying: “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, and bring forth food from the earth” (Psalm 104:14). We are all made in the image of God and called to continue taking care of God’s creatures. Thank you for your care. Beloved in Christ, pray for us in Cambodia as we continue to keep you in prayer as well and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
To the children, youth and adults of the church in Bakersfield that gather this week for Vacation Church School: Grace to you and peace.
“I always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in my prayers, constantly remembering before our God your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For I know, brothers and sisters, beloved by God, that God has chosen you… And you have become imitators of Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 6a NRSV)
I hear that you are learning about Caring for God’s Creatures this year. In Genesis we learn that God wants us to care for God’s creatures in the same way that God cares for us. And so, I write to you again this year in the style of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians to remind you of the words from Isaiah that “The Lord is the everlasting God; God created all the world. God never grows tired or weary.” (Isaiah 40:28b NRSV)
Here in Cambodia, we raise a lot of different animals, such as fish, frogs, crickets, cows, water buffalo, pigs, ducks and chickens. Raising chickens is an important part of family life. Every family wants to be able to have a few chickens, even in the city.
One of the hardest parts of raising chickens is getting enough food for them to eat because all animals that are raised by families need to be fed by the family. This is how we take part in caring for God’s creatures. If you have a pet dog or cat or fish you need to feed it every day; the same is true for chickens. Chickens in particular love to eat vegetable scraps. What happens when you don’t eat all of your dinner? In Cambodia, the chickens get to eat all of the left over vegetables; they help to keep the farm clean. The left-over rice is dried in the sun and the chickens get to eat this too. Chickens also love bugs. They are particularly fond of termites and worms. A lot of families have a termite mound at their house, which is good for feeding both the chickens and the fish.
Last week, I went to visit the Minister of Agriculture in one province. He was very happy to meet me and to hear about the good work that our churches are doing. He encouraged me to support more families to raise chickens. It is a very good way for the church to help the poorest people in the community. Raising chickens is not too hard and it can give a family a good sense of accomplishment. The United Methodist Church, through the CHAD program is helping families to raise chicken in three ways.
First, we provide gift-loans to community groups so that they can start raising chickens. A group of about five families starts working together, and each family receives about 5 chickens. When the first flock of baby chicks grow to about bantee size, they are given to a new family. In this way, the gift of chickens from the church is passed on from family to family until everyone in the village has a small flock of chickens. Chickens get sick very easily, and this can kill off an entire village of chickens, so this is an important way for the church to help a village rebuild after a natural disease epidemic. The initial gift is not very big, just a few chickens for a few families, but because people share with their neighbor, everyone can benefit.
Another activity of the church is to start savings and credit groups. Every week, members of the savings group contribute a small amount to their savings account. Families can then take a small loan from the savings union to help them expand their farm. Many families will take a small loan of $25 for 3 months to help them buy chicken feed from the store so they can produce chickens to sell. When the family pays back the loan, the interest stays in the community, thus increasing the communities’ wealth.
The third way the church helps is to provide technical assistance about how to better raise chickens. Through our partner organizations we can share information about proper housing for chickens and improved feed such as worms. Chickens are not very smart creatures; they need the help of families, especially the children, to go in and out. In the morning, it is the responsibility of the children to shoo the chickens outside where they can hunt for bugs and vegetables. Then at night, the children need to gather the chickens back to their safe house again so they don’t catch cold or get stolen. With research from our partner CelAgric (which is funded in part by Heifer International), the church in Cambodia has distributed information about how to build better chicken houses. We have also provided information about what vegetables are best for improving chicken health. During my meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, he encouraged me to start teaching more about worm farming so that families would know how to raise worms, which can also improve the diet and health of chickens. We hope to start a pilot project about this in Methodist Amen Church in Kampong Chhnang province soon.
Learning about Caring for God’s Creatures is an important activity for the children in the church here in Cambodia and I am glad that you are also interested in learning these same lessons. We can sing praises for God’s care of creatures by saying: “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, and bring forth food from the earth” (Psalm 104:14). We are all made in the image of God and called to continue taking care of God’s creatures. Thank you for your care. Beloved in Christ, pray for us in Cambodia as we continue to keep you in prayer as well and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Alcoholism
by Katherine Parker
This summer I have made a commitment to visit two churches in Kampong Chhnang (Solang Kandal and Methodist Amen) every other Sunday and lead a Bible study on "Mobilizing the Church." This is one of the core curriculum models being used by the CHAD team to help churches organize a local social concerns committee that can plan and implement community development activities. Last week at Solang Kandal, we studied the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37) and talked about “who is my neighbor.” It was a challenging lesson, and the class worked really hard at thinking about what it means to love your neighbor.
Alcoholism is a huge problem in Cambodia, and Solang Kandal is no exception. During rounds last week, while my mom was volunteering at Center of Hope Hospital (a free hospital for the poor in Phnom Penh), she observed 3 of the 12 beds had folks in their 30s dying of liver failure.
At a previous meeting at Solang Kandal, we prayed for a young man that wanted to come to Phnom Penh to study at the Bible School, but his non-Christian, alcoholic parents were resistant because they didn’t want to lose his labor on the farm. The pastor had invited the parents to meet with the church community and was working to help them accept that this is a good opportunity for their son to improve himself. I only observed a little of the exchange, but I admired how the pastor was able to work with the parents.
This week, two of the women leaders of the church shared during the lesson about the struggle of having alcoholic husbands. After become a Christian, one woman stopped giving money to her husband to buy alcohol. It is not easy, she said. They argue a lot; he still finds other money to drink, and he blames her for many things. We talked about how as a Christian she wants to love her husband and wants the best for him, and so she no longer supports his alcoholism by giving him money. This was a very powerful example to the class of what it means to love your neighbor. Sometimes, loving our neighbors (or our family members) means not enabling them to go down a bad path. I think it was also helpful to the members of the community to be able to express their pain to an outsider and to have it acknowledged. As a guest in the church, I cannot solve the problems, but I can help provide a space and encouragement for people to give voice to problems, and we can pray together for guidance. In the middle of our conversation, one of the alcoholic husbands joined the meeting and was able to participate for part of the Bible study.
This week the pastor called me with encouraging news. The man who joined the meeting had not drunk any alcohol this week and he had been helping his wife with the farm. Even he was able to find encouragement in the discussion. Please keep praying for these families. It is not easy, but our faith gives us hope, and hope gives us strength, and day by day with God’s help we can persevere.
This summer I have made a commitment to visit two churches in Kampong Chhnang (Solang Kandal and Methodist Amen) every other Sunday and lead a Bible study on "Mobilizing the Church." This is one of the core curriculum models being used by the CHAD team to help churches organize a local social concerns committee that can plan and implement community development activities. Last week at Solang Kandal, we studied the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37) and talked about “who is my neighbor.” It was a challenging lesson, and the class worked really hard at thinking about what it means to love your neighbor.
Alcoholism is a huge problem in Cambodia, and Solang Kandal is no exception. During rounds last week, while my mom was volunteering at Center of Hope Hospital (a free hospital for the poor in Phnom Penh), she observed 3 of the 12 beds had folks in their 30s dying of liver failure.
At a previous meeting at Solang Kandal, we prayed for a young man that wanted to come to Phnom Penh to study at the Bible School, but his non-Christian, alcoholic parents were resistant because they didn’t want to lose his labor on the farm. The pastor had invited the parents to meet with the church community and was working to help them accept that this is a good opportunity for their son to improve himself. I only observed a little of the exchange, but I admired how the pastor was able to work with the parents.
This week, two of the women leaders of the church shared during the lesson about the struggle of having alcoholic husbands. After become a Christian, one woman stopped giving money to her husband to buy alcohol. It is not easy, she said. They argue a lot; he still finds other money to drink, and he blames her for many things. We talked about how as a Christian she wants to love her husband and wants the best for him, and so she no longer supports his alcoholism by giving him money. This was a very powerful example to the class of what it means to love your neighbor. Sometimes, loving our neighbors (or our family members) means not enabling them to go down a bad path. I think it was also helpful to the members of the community to be able to express their pain to an outsider and to have it acknowledged. As a guest in the church, I cannot solve the problems, but I can help provide a space and encouragement for people to give voice to problems, and we can pray together for guidance. In the middle of our conversation, one of the alcoholic husbands joined the meeting and was able to participate for part of the Bible study.
This week the pastor called me with encouraging news. The man who joined the meeting had not drunk any alcohol this week and he had been helping his wife with the farm. Even he was able to find encouragement in the discussion. Please keep praying for these families. It is not easy, but our faith gives us hope, and hope gives us strength, and day by day with God’s help we can persevere.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Kratie Mission Update
Dear Friends,
A lot has happened since you were here! We have had three different groups come. One was from Phum Thmei who went to CSI, a Christian clinic who partners with us and is especially interested in getting good diagnosis for the poor. Another was from Kantout, the health center where we went last. The 10 year old with epilepsy and another both went to the National Paediatric Hospital. The third group went to Luk Song Hospital because it has a good equity fund for helping the poor.
The Provincial Health Director (PHD) in Kratie has invited us to the Grand Opening of the new laboratory at the hospital. I am pleased because it indicates his interest in our continued cooperation! Rev. Joseph was happy and will go if I am busy! Do you see how the mission you did is bearing fruit?
Last week Rev. Joseph went to Kratie and reports that they dug the foundation for the church. Another fruit! Please pray for the pastor who had to take a leave of absence. Now we will need someone to continue all the work he was doing. I plan to go up in July to follow up the referrals, connecting with the PHD staff, village authorities and VHSGs. I am especially interested in seeking solutions for the large number of women with goiters. Pray for a breakthrough.
Maybe you will remember the little girl with a neurogenic bladder at Kantout. She came to the National Pediatric Hospital about 4 weeks ago. They treated her for a UTI and sent her home for 10 days. When she returned they did diagnostics and surgery. She has healed well and her mother is happy that she is no longer incontinent and can go to school. Another fruit. She will be back for surgery for the strasbismus next month.
The pale young man we saw the first day at the church site who was referred to the PHD, came to CSI and was diagnosed with schistoma melcongie (hepato-splenic type), portal hypotension, gastric ulcer stage 3, and esophageal varices and anaemic microcytic. He was sent home on treatment. At long last he has been diagnosed and treated, what a sweet release for his mother! He is due for review in August.
May God bless you richly as you have blessed others,
Irene
A lot has happened since you were here! We have had three different groups come. One was from Phum Thmei who went to CSI, a Christian clinic who partners with us and is especially interested in getting good diagnosis for the poor. Another was from Kantout, the health center where we went last. The 10 year old with epilepsy and another both went to the National Paediatric Hospital. The third group went to Luk Song Hospital because it has a good equity fund for helping the poor.
The Provincial Health Director (PHD) in Kratie has invited us to the Grand Opening of the new laboratory at the hospital. I am pleased because it indicates his interest in our continued cooperation! Rev. Joseph was happy and will go if I am busy! Do you see how the mission you did is bearing fruit?
Last week Rev. Joseph went to Kratie and reports that they dug the foundation for the church. Another fruit! Please pray for the pastor who had to take a leave of absence. Now we will need someone to continue all the work he was doing. I plan to go up in July to follow up the referrals, connecting with the PHD staff, village authorities and VHSGs. I am especially interested in seeking solutions for the large number of women with goiters. Pray for a breakthrough.
Maybe you will remember the little girl with a neurogenic bladder at Kantout. She came to the National Pediatric Hospital about 4 weeks ago. They treated her for a UTI and sent her home for 10 days. When she returned they did diagnostics and surgery. She has healed well and her mother is happy that she is no longer incontinent and can go to school. Another fruit. She will be back for surgery for the strasbismus next month.
The pale young man we saw the first day at the church site who was referred to the PHD, came to CSI and was diagnosed with schistoma melcongie (hepato-splenic type), portal hypotension, gastric ulcer stage 3, and esophageal varices and anaemic microcytic. He was sent home on treatment. At long last he has been diagnosed and treated, what a sweet release for his mother! He is due for review in August.
May God bless you richly as you have blessed others,
Irene
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A birthday thank you from Irene
As I write this, it is pouring rain, the beginning of the planting season here and everything is turning green. We are welcoming the daily rains and the short respites from the hot sun.
Maybe you already know, but there is a great cloud of saints and angels who love this little missionary “out of Africa” into Southeast Asia and remembered her birthday this week. Throughout all this month, my mailbox has had fresh surprises for me every day and when I open my emails there is another surprise. I have felt so loved and special to have so many friends, especially all of you UMW members.
I do have for you a special story.
This week on Thursday my telephone rang. It was a 15-year old with Thalacaemia, a disease where the body makes abnormal red blood cells. Periodically, therefore, he must come to Phnom Penh to receive blood transfusions of healthy red blood cells from Angkro Sang Methodist Church in Takeo. He needed help.
He told me, “We have no food. I cannot go to school.” Sometimes, when the food runs out, parents keep children at home to help find food. Normally hiss mother,a widow who owns no land herself, works on other people’s land for food.
I was thinking, “How can I help?” Usually, I help this family with transportation-to-hospital money, but this time they are asking for food relief. Then I had a sudden idea. In February when he came to Phnom Penh in crisis, he was transfused and we sent the family home with $50 for food because he was so undernourished. So, now was he needing another transfusion?
I asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not well.”
“Ok, you come to Phnom Penh on Monday and I will give you some food money, but can you go to the hospital and get checked first?”
Can you see what was happening? The family had used up all the food money we had given them in February and now (May) it was gone. But now the 15-year-old is unwell again. Because he was calling me, I was able to inquire and discover his need for medical attention.
I am so happy because our new Medical and Welfare Relief Advance is bringing the resources to help people like this 15-year-old. Slowly, with our help, he is learning to manage his illness and to use the hospital services. The church has set up a safety net to assist his family. It is health development in its finest hour.
It makes me happy to share this story with you, both because you can see how important your prayers are, but also how significant simple money support can be in making a difference for a family and their sick child.
Love, Peace and Joy,
Irene
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Thank you to CSI Mercy Medical Center
We in CHAD are so grateful for our partners at CSI Mercy Medical Center. This team of compassionate missionary and volunteer medical staff provide among the best care and certainly the best follow-up services in Phnom Penh. Patients consistently express their appreciation for the dignity with which they have received care. It gives pastors and lay leaders hope that they really can reach out and help those poorest sick in their community when they know such an institution exists for those needing referral to the capital city. It is helpful to us (and to dispelling the patronage mentality) to have these new guidelines outlined by CSI for patient contributions.
While as much as possible we ask the patients to cover their portion as outlined in CSI Patient Payment Plan, your contributions to Advance #3020542 give us funds to help folks with transport and logistics involved in getting care and to pay the actual test and treatment costs above patient co-pays that are incurred by CSI-MMC for the people we refer (about $500 per quarter), and additional donations as funds are available. It is a multi-leveled partnership, and we in CHAD are excited to be able to facilitate your help to our pastors who are helping the poor sick to receive dignified, compassionate care from our partners at CSI.
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Dear CSI Mercy Medical Center Referring Partners (RPs),
Just as Jesus sent his disciples out “to preach and to heal” we are pleased to partner with you in the work of proclaiming His good news in word and deed in Cambodia!
Beginning May 4th (the first Monday in May, next week), we are launching a new Patient Payment Program. The intention of this new program is to enable us all to more effectively minister to the needs of poor Cambodians in a way which is as sustainable and empowering as possible. Because there are no increases in costs to you, the RP, we will assume your continued partnership unless you inform us otherwise.
Details of this new Patient Payment Program are attached. Key features and changes include the following:
New “sliding scale” (income-based) Patient Visit Fee: Over the past year, a first-visit fee of $10 and follow-up visit fee of $5 has been assessed to the RP, included in the monthly bill. There will no longer be a different first-visit fee, and the new visit fee will be USD 2.50 for the poor, 5.00 for medium income, and 7.50 for high income patients. We are asking all RPs to determine the patient’s income status as objectively as possible using a scoring system (attached and distributed each time new Referral Forms are distributed) and indicate this on our new Referral Form as a score (1,2, or 3).
New Referral Forms: On May 4th, please use our new Referral Forms as able (we will continue to accept OLD Referral Forms through May 30 only). You may stop by and pick new forms up as early as May 4th.
Option of designating patients as “Self Pay”: Referral Forms require the RP to select whether the patient is sponsored (meaning the RP will be billed retroactively for his/her visit) or self-pay (meaning the patient must pay at the registration window). Sponsored patients have a YELLOW MMC ID card; Self-Pay patients have a PINK MMC ID Card.
Standard Enrollment Period: Patients sponsored by an RP will be sponsored for their first 5 visits only, and then will change automatically to “self pay” status (unless the RP notifies us to continue sponsorship). During those first 5 visits (Standard Enrollment) our goals will be to establish clear diagnoses and most-sustainable treatment plans, provide the patients with opportunity to learn about preventive health and God, and communicate at least once with you regarding the patient’s health.
Finally, we’d like to remind all Referring Partners that we welcome donations to support patient care. The Patient Visit Fees help cover only a portion of the real costs of patient care. The reality is, without significant additional donations we would need to close our doors. Please prayerfully consider: a one-time or monthly donation to support the work of MMC, sponsorship of a staff member, or sponsorship of a special-needs patient. Thanks to all of you who have provided additional donations in the past. We praise God for His ongoing provision and rest in Him to provide.
In Christ,
Doug Collins
Medical Director
CSI Mercy Medical Center
While as much as possible we ask the patients to cover their portion as outlined in CSI Patient Payment Plan, your contributions to Advance #3020542 give us funds to help folks with transport and logistics involved in getting care and to pay the actual test and treatment costs above patient co-pays that are incurred by CSI-MMC for the people we refer (about $500 per quarter), and additional donations as funds are available. It is a multi-leveled partnership, and we in CHAD are excited to be able to facilitate your help to our pastors who are helping the poor sick to receive dignified, compassionate care from our partners at CSI.
--
Dear CSI Mercy Medical Center Referring Partners (RPs),
Just as Jesus sent his disciples out “to preach and to heal” we are pleased to partner with you in the work of proclaiming His good news in word and deed in Cambodia!
Beginning May 4th (the first Monday in May, next week), we are launching a new Patient Payment Program. The intention of this new program is to enable us all to more effectively minister to the needs of poor Cambodians in a way which is as sustainable and empowering as possible. Because there are no increases in costs to you, the RP, we will assume your continued partnership unless you inform us otherwise.
Details of this new Patient Payment Program are attached. Key features and changes include the following:
New “sliding scale” (income-based) Patient Visit Fee: Over the past year, a first-visit fee of $10 and follow-up visit fee of $5 has been assessed to the RP, included in the monthly bill. There will no longer be a different first-visit fee, and the new visit fee will be USD 2.50 for the poor, 5.00 for medium income, and 7.50 for high income patients. We are asking all RPs to determine the patient’s income status as objectively as possible using a scoring system (attached and distributed each time new Referral Forms are distributed) and indicate this on our new Referral Form as a score (1,2, or 3).
New Referral Forms: On May 4th, please use our new Referral Forms as able (we will continue to accept OLD Referral Forms through May 30 only). You may stop by and pick new forms up as early as May 4th.
Option of designating patients as “Self Pay”: Referral Forms require the RP to select whether the patient is sponsored (meaning the RP will be billed retroactively for his/her visit) or self-pay (meaning the patient must pay at the registration window). Sponsored patients have a YELLOW MMC ID card; Self-Pay patients have a PINK MMC ID Card.
Standard Enrollment Period: Patients sponsored by an RP will be sponsored for their first 5 visits only, and then will change automatically to “self pay” status (unless the RP notifies us to continue sponsorship). During those first 5 visits (Standard Enrollment) our goals will be to establish clear diagnoses and most-sustainable treatment plans, provide the patients with opportunity to learn about preventive health and God, and communicate at least once with you regarding the patient’s health.
Finally, we’d like to remind all Referring Partners that we welcome donations to support patient care. The Patient Visit Fees help cover only a portion of the real costs of patient care. The reality is, without significant additional donations we would need to close our doors. Please prayerfully consider: a one-time or monthly donation to support the work of MMC, sponsorship of a staff member, or sponsorship of a special-needs patient. Thanks to all of you who have provided additional donations in the past. We praise God for His ongoing provision and rest in Him to provide.
In Christ,
Doug Collins
Medical Director
CSI Mercy Medical Center
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