Ratanakiri Adventures

Josh and I spent the past two weeks with some of our favorite people from the Everett, WA area who came to serve at our annual medical clinic. Foursquare Children of Promise here in Cambodia and New Life in Everett have hosted these types of medical clinics once a year for the past three years. This year's clinic (after a few changes) was located in the Ratanakiri province in the upper Northeast corner of Cambodia.
We drove to Ratanakiri over the course of 2 days, venturing through everyone's favorite place, (especially those with arachnophobic tendencies) "Spiderville." Where dreams come true, an assortment of fried creatures come at a reasonable cost, and brave pregnant women smile calmly as live tarantulas are placed delicately upon the stomach that holds their unborn child.

Ah, the joys of traveling.

This was my first time to Ratanakiri and it was worth all the muddy roads we were forced to encounter both going in and out of the province. The first guest house we stayed at afforded us beautiful views like the ones below.

Rick Sawczuk and Scott Lang put together a program/schedule for the team that included morning journaling and worship together and then times in the evening to process the day and allow a few people at a time to share what New Life calls "My Stories."

I love this concept. We all have a story. And each one of them is worth sharing. It is amazing how much you can learn about someone in 5-7 minutes and how the stories draw people in closer to community and trust.
We set up clinic on Tuesday, July 21st and officially opened on Wednesday the 22nd. We saw upwards of 1,600 people over the course of 3 days as New Life's team of 32 partnered with our Cambodian doctors, dentist, a handful of our youth, as well as local Cambodian pastors.

Patients would filter in through triage to receive a card with their information and symptoms written down and were then seated in a tent that featured traditional Khmer dancing, singing, some comedy, and personal testimonies.

Our medical clinic had 12 stations set up with medical staff seated at each table along with a translator..or two..or three... :)

Ratanakiri is unique in how many different tribes have made their home there, with many distinct dialects spoken in the vicinity. Khmer was only one of many possible languages patients spoke. This involved multiple translations at times for both our Western and Cambodian staff.

In addition to the main clinic stations we also had:

-Srey Pin helping to provide people with eye glasses.

-Vonna and our Cambodian dental student Ratah (along with others) working in the dental room.

-Kari and other volunteers serving in the Scabies wash and wound care tent.

-Our beautiful little pregnant friend Robyn working in the ER/OR room.

-Our favorite pharmacist Greg making sure all the pretty colored pills were properly sorted and distributed in the pharmacy.

-Lou and other support staff lovingly praying with and for each patient who came through the doors.

-An evangelism tent set up where patients would hear the gospel from local Cambodian pastors (representing the varying dialects) and have another chance to be prayed for as well as given a pamphlet that succinctly explained the gospel.

-Various support staff members efficiently and coercively making sure the entire staff stayed hydrated :)

On our second day of clinic one of the medical staff, Jennifer, had a 28 year old girl come to her station. This young woman had not been able to speak or hear since the age of 10.

After realizing there was nothing medically that could be done for the girl, another of our medical personnel, Jan, commented "maybe she needs a miracle.." and they called Lou and a few others over to pray.

They all gathered around and laid hands on the girl...the outcome of which was a large room full of people, including her mother and younger siblings, witnessing a young woman now able to speak and hear after 18 years!!

Absolutely incredible! Why do I ever expect anything less of God?? He is able. We saw His faithfulness and power in action firsthand. We see it every day but sometimes it takes something entirely out of the ordinary to grab our attention.

These are the girl's three younger siblings who prior to the miracle had always spoken to their sister in whispers but were now talking to her at full volume because they knew she could hear them! :)

On our third day of clinic we got word that the local government officials wanted to meet with the pastor of the church in Ratanakiri because they were questioning the clinic and whether or not they would let it continue, regardless of the fact that we had received a permit to put it on.

After some lengthy meetings, the government did close it two days short of our original ending date.

The team was of course disappointed, but I cannot imagine a group of people handling such news with any better attitude. They knew that the Lord had given us 3 very full days of clinic, an amazing number of miraculous healings, and they saw the beginning seeds planted that will continue to grow and spread for generations to come. The Lord healed people, freed people, and showed Himself faithful in our circumstances. He is truly unchanging.

In lieu of the clinic, the team spent some time exploring Ratanakiri, including an afternoon swim at Crater Lake where Cambodian myth tells us that if you're not careful you will get eaten by the White Crocodile.

While we can't vouch for fair skinned crocodiles consuming humans, we can vouch for humans consuming many freshly made waffles and fried bananas sold by local vendors. In a related story, I have developed a deep affinity for the Cambodia Waffle Man. I will miss you when we go friend and your Maple flavored delicacies.

Some highlights in terms of jumping synchronization/creativity at the lake include:

The day after Crater Lake, the team set out on an hour's van drive to the local ferry dock.

Not this one...

But this one, where we all bravely made our way, ponchos in hand, into three trusty (because the word "sturdy" seems too generous..) wooden boats to embark upon an hour journey across the Cambodian amazon fending off white crocodiles and eventually making our way to our most remote church orphan home, Olalai.

We got to spend some time with the kids at the home (who offered both smiles and stares at this mysterious group of 35 foreigners suddenly appearing upon their property... :)

The kids sang some songs, we sang some songs with them, prayed together, and heard the pastors of the home share a bit, one of them who was a former witch doctor and had come to know the Lord! It was tremendous to see such evident joy and hope in his expression and communication.

I loved the reminder that Rick offered us that we were in the company of our brothers and sisters. We are truly the same family. And it is a family that stretches across the globe.

On our last day in Ratanakiri we went with the team to visit a local waterfall that also included elephant rides.

Depending on your interpretation, this waterfall is either a magical Rootbeer Waterfall (yes please, with ice cream), or a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Waterfall.

Either way it is magical. And delicious.

But not really. And that's speaking from experience...

I like this picture below because,

#1. I feel like it should be featured on a tourism brochure about Rootbeer Falls.

#2. It looks like we super-imposed Jock into the picture but we didn't. And thus is the magic of choclatey water.

We are neck strainers. Every time in every self-portrait. And we don't know if we can change.

Among the many varieties of wild animals at this waterfall are also included wild monkeys.

Or at least one monkey who possessed both a semi-effective chain, a fair tolerance for large dogs, and a nasty right rear foot kick. Watch yourself.

Our "Leaving Ratanakiri" adventures were no less exciting and eventful than our time spent within the province itself. We set out on Wednesday morning the 29th.....and what was meant to be a 5-6 hour bus ride to Kratie turned into a TWELVE hour bus ride to Kratie courtesy of some mud, inclines, and other large vehicles (busses, gas trucks, vans and such) who had fared poorly on the road before us.

After a brief 4 hour layover approximately 30 minutes from where we first began, we and our most patient and flexible team members were able to make our way through with a nervous bus driver and a very capable group of men from Everett who most likely never imagined themselves pushing this large vehicle through the muddy backroads of Cambodia....

We made it safely to Kratie just in time to rest up for another day of driving back to Phnom Penh. We saw the team off to the airport on Friday, celebrating the fact that a mere four weeks from that day we ourselves would be boarding a plane for home! :) Our next, and final, team comes from Snohomish next Monday!