Healing, Teaching, Chicken killing

Physical and spiritual healing

Cameron was on the first station checking for vitals and writing out the patient's concerns.

On Tuesday, we held our first clinic at one of the teacher's house. One of the elders in the nearby church had been telling people in the area about it so that they were already lined up when we came. We had the station where Rylee, Ream and Cameron assessed the person's need, a station for the medication they needed and then a station for praying for the person before they left. Fortunately, they were able to see all 23 people who came in the time frame we had.

Rylee treated things like colds, rashes, diarrhea, joint and muscle pain etc. with basic medication that these people did not have access to.

On Wednesday, we went back to the village we were at on Sunday to follow up with those we met and to see new patients. One woman who came on Sunday said she prayed she would be healed that night after taking the medicine. The next morning, she was feeling much better and was eating normally! Her family sent her back to get more medicine and to make sure we prayed for her again. It was so encouraging to hear positive feedback.

Another woman who had been demon-possessed and was taken to the church to be prayed for and healed, came to the clinic for a minor rash. She served as a reminder to us that nothing is impossible for God and almost laughed at the confidence we had that He could heal her rash. This time we were able to see the 33 people who came in the same time frame so we are settling into the flow.

A group of people wait to see Rylee and Cameron. We had 23 on Tuesday and 33 on Wednesday.

It's been a mental tug of war going between what we know of American health care and what is available in the villages. In the states, Rylee as an EMT and a nurse one semester away from graduating headed into medical school, would not be in charge of so much. But as Kit and Ream have dealt with so many nurses and doctors visiting through the years, they have stressed that any medical training is more than most of the village doctors.

Many buy their licenses and treat their patients poorly so that they will come back asking for more medication, thereby making them a continuous profit. The other alternative is witch doctors who routinely beat those they don't know how to treat because they believe by beating their patient they will release the disease or "bad spirit."

School teaching

Some of the 120 kids at A Heart for Wisdom school.

Each morning, we have taken turns teaching the morning Bible lesson to the 120 or so kids at A Heart for Wisdom School. Then we teach the first and second grade English classes for an hour. The regular teachers have taught the kids a lot, but they enjoy having native speakers come to further the childrens' learning.

Hannah then teaches English for another hour to other grades while the rest of us go back to the orphanage to prepare for the afternoon. The children are so eager to learn and it is drastically different than what the high school kids experience at the public school.

Second grade student in English class led by Hannah, Cameron and Caleb.

For example, one of the kids' teacher at the public school will just write a problem on the board and say, "If you want to know how to do this problem, see me after class." But after class, the teacher is found playing volleyball in the school's courtyard with the other teachers! Another time, the teacher was 30 minutes late — late enough that the kids could go home without penalty — but when he showed up, he was angry that the kids were still there, "Next time, just go home! Now I must teach since you're still here."

Since this is the first year for A Heart for Wisdom School, there as limited space and there is only K-6. As staff and resources grow, they hope to add on middle school and high school, but for now, they are focusing on what they can do and leaving the timing up to God for the rest.

"I should've stabbed it in the heart!"

Hannah got her taste of everyday Cambodian living. After days of begging, the older boys let her kill a chicken. The video of the happenings somehow got messed up, but feel free to watch what happened. Children and vegetarians beware.



Prayer requests

Caleb — Pray that the rest of the advertising for the concert will draw more people and that the final rehearsal tomorrow will bring the rest of the details together.

Cameron — The clinic has gone really well so far. Pray that there will more opportunities for our team to be a blessing to the kids, Kit and Ream and the staff here.

Courtney — Thank God that Matha (the baby mentioned last blog post) can hold her head up, communicate with her eyes and respond well to her mother — all things she couldn't do two years ago. Pray that we will be able to scope out the kids that need more attention and we can speak into the kids' lives in ways that they can understand (think Isaiah 61). Pray that the remaining time here will be well spent. Pray that Kit and Ream will find rest and encouragement amidst the chaos of having teams and leading the orphanage/school.

Hannah — That we as a team can love the kids in the ways they need to be loved. Tonight, we had a mournful prayer time for the kids after hearing some of their stories of their family background and how they came to the orphanage.

Laura — Pray that the interpretative dance for the Scripture reading during the concert will be received well and add to the message. Even though I love dancing in casual settings, I've never done anything like this before. Also pray that the stories told through the videos I'm piecing together will draw people in and be an avenue for revenue and praise to God for the orphanage and what God is doing here.

Rylee — Prayer for the patients that I have seen so far, especially the kids since they were the hardest to diagnose. Pray for Tong, one of the boys at the orphanage, who cut his toe open tonight and I had to stitch up. Praise God that we didn't have to take him to the mediocre clinic in the village.