The Father's Love

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." 1 John 3:1

There is something about a father's love for his children. In the month that we have been in Thailand, I have seen beautiful glimpses of fathers' love for their children.

One Sunday, we were enjoying the singing of two young students during the church service. The girl was the daughter of one of the hospital's staff, the chaplain and when necessary, a translator. After Lea pointed out that she was his daughter, we looked over to see this father looking very proudly upon his daughter up there singing. You could even see his lips move to the songs of the word as he was encouraging her along.

When patients come to the hospital, especially from the refugee camps, a family member, or sometimes the entire family, accompanies them. It is their responsibility to prepare the patient's meals and often they care for their loved one by assisting them to and from the bathroom and bathing. (This in itself has been incredible to witness, family members do not take this responsibility lightly.) A few weeks ago we admitted this young boy, pictured. We quickly fell in-love with him and from this picture and his sheepish smile it is easy to why. :) He arrived with his father and although his mother and younger brother arrived the next day, it was a rare entity to catch him out of the loving arms of his father.

In addition to this verse, the hymn How Deep the Father's Love has been rummaging through my mind lately.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

a glimpse

Two weeks ago, Dr. Tom talked me into a 5-mile run to the nearby check-point. You get quite a few looks here for running towards the border checkpoint.

Shots taken on our run.


During a Sunday afternoon stroll on the bridge in Sangklaburi, Jess made a quick friend.

Enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon on the river. A family from Canada recently arrived at the hospital. The father is an anestiologist who has been working with Dr. Scott (the current hospital director and a Scotland-trained surgeon) on a number of surgical cases. Of course we couldn't play for too long before Lea had purchased us ice cream and a few Thai dishes. (She has found my weakness.)

And last but not least... the coolest patient in our waiting room on one particular day. Although he put his pipe away when he entered the hospital, he did wear his sunglasses inside. :)

dinner invites

Our internet has been down at our apartment, leaving us quite behind on the blog front. Over the past few weeks we have had multiple dinner invites. Although we would like to think it has to do with our charm, truth be told, it has more to do with the local hospitality and Dr. Phil's celebrity status. Day-after-day he leaves the hospital with arm loads of gifts brought by patients, mostly fresh fruit and prepared meals (that could feed armies!) but was even given two brand new pairs of shoes! He is widely known in these parts and greatly loved. We have been blessed to experience so many great meals while being here and by so many different cooks - Thai, Karen, Burmese, and Mon! Here are a few pictures representing these delicious meals.

One night we had dinner at Mo'ou (unsure on the spelling, I struggle to even pronounce it correctly) and his wife's house. Mo'ou was a patient at the hospital in his 20s with a severe case of malaria. He has done various jobs at the hospital, but now is the key radiologist technician. Someone we use numerous times a day! Tom, the fellow on the right is a doctor from the Air Force that is here for a few weeks. He replaced David two weeks ago, but leaves this Friday, the same time Dr. Phil (also pictured) leaves. We have to credit him for many of our pictures, he always seems to have his camera ready.

After church a week ago, we were invited for lunch at Paulolou's (woman in purple next to Amanda). She runs an orphange, an elderly home, and works with the Safe House (a facility for individuals, many of them HIV+ or disabled that do not have documentation or whose families have abandoned them). It is incredibly humbling to meet such caring and obedient individuals. After the meal, we were serenaded by the children and they recited Bible verses in three different languages!! (Burmese, Karen & English)

We could not post about all of the wonderful dinners without a picture of Lea. She moved to Thailand over 20 years ago from the Philippines as a missionary and nurse. She spoils us with delicious things like sticky rice & mango, ice cream, fresh fruit, and various baked breads. She takes very good care of us. And we are sure she is determined to fatten us up while we are here. :)

a picture request

In the late afternoons, if there are no more patients to see in the OPD, we conduct our own afternoon rounds of checking in on the in-patients. Kaley (our translator) has taken it upon himself to join us for these rounds so that we are able to better communicate with the patients. He is very thoughtful and gentle with the patients, and we are so blessed to have him work with us. This has become one of our favorite parts of the day.

A few days ago we were checking in on one of our young patients (more on that later) whose bed is besides this beautiful woman. In perfect english, she says "Excuse me, I want picture please." We had only heard her speak a few words in english before, so it not only surprised us but made us laugh when she requested a picture. After her request, she put on her fashionable KRCH shirt and grabbed Jessica to join her for the picture. We hope to be able to give her a copy of the picture when she returns for her follow-up visit.

This beautiful couple arrived at the hospital about the same time that we did. Each morning the wife would greet us with a big smile and "Ghaw Ler Ah Gee!" (Good morning!). Jess attempted to use some Sgaw to speak with her, with limited success. Despite the language barrier, she would chat with us each morning and afternoon. One afternoon, Kaley accompanied us to translate and the couple shared part of their story with us.
They came from Bon Dan Yang refugee camp, about 20 km up the road. Together, they run a children's home for orphans in the camp. She explained, "We are very much hoping that my husband gets better, so that we can get back to our children. There are 24 of them." This after they raised 4 children of their own! :)
Their presence was such an encouragement to us. She told us "we pray for each of you-that you will find the right medicine, and for each of the patients." Today they were discharged, but not before many, many blessings and two bags of candy "for the young girl doctors". They made us promise to send pictures for them with the next patient that is discharged back to the camp.
















This past Friday, we got to exercise the Public Health portion of our brain by accompanying the TB outreach team to Three Pagoda Pass for their monthly TB treatment day. Three Pagoda is a border town that straddles the border of Burma and Thailand. It is a very important site from a Public Health standpoint because people from the Burma side can apply for a one-day pass into Thailand to get treatment for medical conditions. The Thai government allows this on a humanitarian grounds.
Most of the patients needed refills on their TB meds, and some were there for sick visits. The first picture shows four team members sitting at the portable pharmacy. The second picture shows Pi Lea, sitting next to Amanda. She heads up many of the public health efforts (when she's not busy force-feeding us).





\Behind us are two of the three pagodas that give the town it's name. They are tiny, don't let the picture fool you. Kaley told us about the town in the 1970s, when he made the journey to Thailand. He says that the town was nothing but a few houses, a market and Three BIG pagodas.









This is the actual border crossing at Three Pagoda. Just a few miles to Yangon! :)

It appeared people were freely walking across the border, without being checked by the guards...until we got there. It turns out there is a reason the stop sign is written in English.

Sorry to disappoint Amanda's Grandma. We couldn't make it to Burma.

update on the appendicitis patient from yesterday: no pain today. hooray! (and no narcotics... amazing.)

Not quite as busy today in the OPD. Here are a few snap shots from the day.

Two of our cutest patients of the day.

Jess examining a cute little boy with the assistance of Kaley (our translator).

And one of our inpatients enjoying an afternoon snack - a cucumber.

from start to finish.

"Please take off your shoes or wipe your feet before you enter the hospital." -imaginary sign at the back and front entrances of the hospital.

It is not unusual to see bare feet throughout the halls of the hospital as most of the patients & visitors take their shoes off at the entrance. Staff customary leave their shoes on, but most of them wear sandals. I love Thailand.


Today was a very exciting day in the OPD. I believe Jess & I admitted close to 75% of the patients we saw in the outpatient department. From acute hepatitis, possible relapsed TB, bacterial meningitis to appendicitis! I must admit, that it is very satisfying to sit down with a patient and gather their history and complete the physical exam, make my diagnosis of acute appendicitis, and then assist in the operating room a few hours later when it is removed. It is incredible to see how much Dr. Phil is capable of doing. In the states, you would typically need at least three or four MDs to complete this process (ie ER doc, radiologist, anesthesiologist, surgeon). During our time here, we have seen Dr. Phil perform a c-section, pull teeth, lumbar punctures, and repair an incarcerated inguinal hernia. As we were prepping for surgery today, the electricity in the hospital went out. This has only occurred a few times since we've arrived and it usually returns in a matter of minutes. The patient had already received spinal anesthesia and we had already scrubbed so we proceeded in hopes that the electricity would return shortly. Very surreal to watch Dr. Phil make the incision and dissect through the different muscle layers with someone holding a flashlight to provide extra lighting. Half-way through the procedure, the electricity came back on and we were able to have much better lighting, suction, and air-conditioning (you would not believe how warm it was getting under the cloth gowns and mask). Tomorrow, during rounds we will check to see how our patient is doing post-appendectomy. Hopefully he is much more comfortable than today.


In solidarity with the many women around the world that must carry their water, Jess & I bought a large container of water across the road from the hospital. It took us at least 10 minutes to convince the sweet lady (without speaking the same language) that we would be able to carry it home. We are so thankful that we only need this water to drink and not for washing or bathing.






And last, but not least, our fresh laundry waiting for us when we return from the hospital. Sadly, Jess may be allergic to the soap as she has developed a mean itchy rash on the back of her knees. I sure hope this doesn't mean she has to start doing her own laundry. :)