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 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.
Pastor Nestor with a Myanmar interpreter
the Asian Mission Outreach Foundation
at Chiang Rai was the host to this team
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.
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.
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.
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