The tribes, the orphans and decisions in life.

God called Noah one day. It was not in a vision this time nor was it a personal visit or a booming voice from the sky. It came through Facebook from Noah's schoolmate in medical school centuries before the flood, with whom Noah had no previous association. The lady was able to reach Noah through her classmate and she was asking if Noah could help her put together a medical mission to the tribes in the north of the Indochina region. She represented a church group from New Jersey, USA that wanted to share their love with the less fortunate and they were eyeing this area.

If there is anything that Noah likes most, it is God talking to him about going to poor villages and orphanages. Noah never gives a “no” answer for invitations of this kind and he immediately started drafting the plans for the medicines and supplies to be bought and packed.

The day of departure dawns and Noah takes the stuff to Suvarnabhumi airport where he would meet for the first time the team who would be making their connecting flight to Chiang Rai. The anticipation to give and serve was felt by every cell in Noah's body, but he didn't foresee what God had in store for him. This would be evident as the mission winded up.

the Asian Mission Outreach Foundation

at Chiang Rai was the host to this team

The day after they arrived at Chiang Rai they were brought to a village were english classes were ongoing and the host organization had an existing welcome presence among the village folk.

the shed where the english classes are held.

This is the village hall where the free

medical clinic was done. at this point

the villagers were still arriving, but the 

team had to start by introducing themselves.

Jeffree and his dance number. he was in

a group dance, but his actions were worth

documenting alone.

a group photo after the clinic with

the village officials, host team and

visiting team.

The next day the team traveled to Mae Sai Northern Thailand and crossed the border to the city of Tachiliek Myanmar.

on the Thai Myanmar Friendship bridge

before getting into Myanmar.

 at the Myanmar immigration's office for the visa.
Note the breakfast of the officer to his right. No 
doubt his stomach was growling.

that's the visa

met some monks on their morning rounds

The expensive fare of this taxi didn't

guarantee a comfortable seat

After checking in at the Sansai hotel the team immediately got down to business which included:

treating sick grandmothers...

...and babies

and visiting the orphans in 2 orphanages:

 applying shampoo for head lice...

...and scabies

  the shampoo has to stay for 5 minutes to 

kill the adult lice. Louse eggs will hatch

in a week's time and the shampoo has to be repeated

washing after the shampoo. Deworming

pills were also given to each child.

 teaching the kids new songs and games while the 

shampooing is done

 bathrooms of the orphanage

 a huge hall-like bedroom for the boys

 the stove where the meals are cooked

 a huge boiler-steamer for cooking the rice

 it's chow time and the kids line up for the food

 he's back for a second serving

well nourished orphans

the orphanage activities was capped by the dabbing

of the traditional Burmese facial lotion on the

team by the orphans.

The next and last day in Myanmar was for the graduation of a batch of Bible students. It was here that God again spoke to Noah through Pastor Nestor Arellano - the commencement address speaker. He touched on the subject of never outgrowing prayer and he said that we may not hear God's voice speaking to us because we do not talk to Him often, if at all. This message found it's mark in Noah's heart and struck him like a bolt of lightning.

Pastor Nestor with a Myanmar interpreter

It could be read in Noah's previous blog entries that he just got terminated from a job at a hospital, because he already reached the mandatory age of retirement in Thailand. With the many offers (at least 3) for him to work at a hospital in the Philippines and some other opportunities (unrelated to his career as a physician), Noah was in a quandary on which step to take, and he was not hearing anything from God about this particular decision that needed to be settled as soon as possible. 

God's answer came in the moment before Noah separated from the team for his flight back home to Bangkok. The team gathered around Noah and prayed over him, and Pastor Nestor prophesied that Noah would become a witness for the gospel - not as a medical doctor this time, but in a different vocation.

With a song in his heart Noah boarded the plane home and thanked God for once again giving him a taste of His kingdom and for pointing Noah to the direction that he should take.

Noah would like to thank the team members of the Jesus Is Lord church of Tom's River, New Jersey for 'borrowing' him for a season and for being God's mouthpiece for a decision he had to make. 

Medical Camp 2015 - the Himalayas

Where:  Jungu, Dolakha, Nepal... 2,500+ meters above sea level

When:   November 3 - 5, 2015

Who:    Nehemiah Nepal of the Ananta Shalom church and the Dr.                 Iwamaru Memorial Hospital of Bhaktapur, Nepal.

I first came to know about the plans for this medical camp through Juerg Bucher who was introduced to me by Ralf. He informed me that the organizer of this outreach was Rasmira Maharjan, the wife of Pastor Kaji Maharjan of Kathmandu Nepal.

The only description I got about my "boss" for this event was that she was a very kind, loving and gracious woman who is at the helm in the efforts to uplift the plight of the Nepali people. I was imagining a very powerful lady who could manage to uproot me temporarily from my job to volunteer in distant Nepal. The description though didn't prepare me for her actual physical appearance. These photos were taken by Ruku with her cam.

Rasmira with the medical team

The four volunteer doctors: 2 Nepali, 1 Swede and 1 Filipino

The entire medical camp team

Opening ceremonies

 Registration

vital signs... all these done under the heat of the
noonday sun and they still have their warm clothes on, 
which is unheard of in Thailand and the Philippines.

some of the younger guys waiting in line for their
turn with the doctor

 some photos of the clinic activities. 

 Dr. Molly from Sweden

 most people would easily pass for a Thai or Filipino

 dental

 pharmacy

 EKG 

 This race does not come from the common genetic pool
of the India-middle east lineage. Since the Himalayas 
was part of the spice and silk road I'm tempted to believe 
that Genghis Khan, Marco Polo or some adventurous European of Spanish descent left some of his DNA in the cold mountains. 

a young mother and her infant in a basket supported

by her head and neck. 

the two interpreters assigned to me. I had much difficulty
adjusting to their head movements, because their "yes" (shaking
of the head from side to side) meant "no" in my part of the world.

 One of the many speeches in the closing ceremonies
to cap the medical camp activities.

That's my boss with her farewell address - how 
would I ever know what she said.

a final portrait with the team and the village officials

the guys in the team that made a positive difference

for me in my short stay. I had to include their names in

case my memory fails.

A nice appreciation letter mounted in a frame
that was presented to me by Pastor Kaji. The happy 
faces of my patients was appreciation enough, 
but getting something like this shows that the recipients 
of your deeds of love hold your acts in their heart.

While flying home from Nepal I had a lot of time to reflect on 

the work in Nepal and the challenges that my brothers and sisters

there face on a daily basis. I thank God for giving me the chance

to serve Him in beautiful places and among beautiful people. 

I would also like to thank the church in Kathmandu under Pastor Kaji

and Rasmira for their invitation for me to serve, and before I forget, my thanks also to an adorable kid - Kailee, and her generous mom for the round-trip ticket on this plane for the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok leg of my journey.