30 Jul Medical Training Week

This week we are hosting a medical training here at our team house/base.  Dr. Simon, a British missionary, and his family travelled here from Cambodia. This is so exciting as he is teaching over 20 leaders who can take basic medical knowledge into their villages and help prevent so many sicknesses with simple diagnosis and treatments.  As they do this, they will also be able to share the Gospel with the people they see and help.

In addition to the training, we also went into some of the communities and villages we work with. This has been a great help in opening relationships even more with the families we know and love.  We set up shop in one of the huts in the neighborhood and saw about ten individuals who were feeling unwell for various reasons. Stephen was even able to translate for the first time for Dr. Simon’s wife, Lynnette, who is a nurse. He absolutely loved it!

Last week, we (the Foxes, Brandon’s two visiting nieces, Tom and us) all went to Nirut’s village and had lunch with his parents (even though he is visiting America now).  His mom made an amazing spread for us and as part of Thai hospitality, they didn’t eat with us (not sure why this is so, but maybe something to do with wanting to serve guests). We felt so honored and a little out of place at the same time – we wanted them to sit and eat with us too! It was so nice to visit with them and look at old photos of their family – they have a huge box of pictures and quite a few cute ones of little Nirut!  His dad is always smiling ear to ear and his mom has one of the most humble hearts and kind faces I’ve seen – they are such sweet believers.

In other news, we have been missing Tennessee quite a bit this week.  Our families have gotten together for birthdays (Stephen’s sister, Heather, had hers on the 24th) and big and small reunions with my family too.  We have peace and comfort knowing we are exactly where the Lord wants us.  Please pray as we are still transitioning into our “long-distance relationships” while also trying to form deeper friendships in our new community with a new language.

Clinic with Dr. Simon

Stephen translating for the medical clinic

Medical Training at the Base