Day 10 Mongkol Borey

This is Karen again. The team hasn't posted in several days. Hopefully that means they are busy getting things done in Poipet. Rick has texted me several times. Everyone is well, and they had a lovely thanksgiving dinner with 21 people at the Copelands. Rick has been busy at the lab calibrating equipment. He also got to ride along on an ambulance call. It will be interesting to hear how that was.

They were planning to go to Mongkol Borey to visit the orphanage today. I haven't heard if they made it there, we'll try to post pictures here later.

They will be going back to Bangkok on Sunday evening (Sunday morning Minnesota time). They will stay at the CMA guest house overnight. Their plane to Narita, Japan leaves at 5:40 am Monday (4:40pm MN time).

Your continued prayers are much appreciated.

Day 7, A day at the Poipet CAMA Clinic

Rick and I (Greg) are currently at the CAMA office in Poipet. Dr. Kent sees patients here every Wednesday.




Teresa is at the Copeland home helping prepare for the Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. We understand that 22 are expected for dinner. (note from K: I think this is a picture of the Thanksgiving entree, at the Copeland home, not to be confused with anything happening at the CAMA clinic.)

Rick and I have been here all morning working on our specialties. Rick is setting up lab equipment and I'm working on procedures for the I-131 therapy program.

Rick was even pressed into duty helping Kent. A patient needed a blood draw so Rick jumped right in. He even made the stick in 1 try! (another note from K: Gregg, don't believe Rick if he tells you that he can do brain surgery... he always wanted to be a brain surgeon, but has no actual training in brain surgery.)

Another patient needed an x-ray. One of the CAMA workers, Matay, came up to perform that. I must say that Kent gives very personalized service to the patients. He made sure to take plenty of time to ensure the patient understood the information learned from the x-ray.

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On Monday, Kent and I visited the Thai Office of Atoms For Peace or OAP and met with the Secretary General of OAP. We also toured some of the OAP facilities and the I-131 therapy department of a large Bangkok hospital. The meetings were very good and we anticipate Thai approval for our program to be obtained.

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Yesterday, all 10 of us (the Copeland clan included) and our luggage, shoehorned our way into a 10 passenger van for the trip here from Bangkok. Along the way, we stopped for lunch and had the most wonderful roasted chicken. Tonight, Teresa will be doing English training with some of the church youth. We met some of them yesterday evening and they are really looking forward to it.

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More to come....

Day 4 Reunited in Bangkok

As I write this, Rick is on a plane preparing to land in Bangkok. God is good, and within hours (after going through customs, picking up his luggage, and finding a ride) he should be at the CMA guest house. It is almost midnight in Bangkok. I am sure he will be able to relax better once he is there, and the medical supplies are in a refrigerator. Sweet dreams, Ricky.

Here is the website of the guesthouse... aghbkk.com

It is set up as an inexpensive place for short term missionaries (like the CCC team) to stay at, also for missionaries from all over Asia to meet at for conferences. It is wonderful to see the huge web of people who are a part of taking the Gospel to people of every nation. Thank you, Lord, for each one, and the role that they play.

1:37 pm Sunday
Another update... Rick is snug in his bed now at the Alliance Guest House in Bangkok, and the medical supplies are safe in the refrigerator. Praise God, the ice was still cold when they unpacked the cooler.


Now if the Vikings could just make a big comeback in the 2nd half. This would be quite a day.


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Day 2: Bangkok and Narita

Here's a picture from last summer's mission trip of a beautiful Buddhist temple in Bangkok. 95% of the people of Thailand are Buddhist, but the government freely allows the practice of other religions.

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Rick and the Smiths don't have access to a computer at this time, so I (Karen) am updating the blog.
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I haven't heard from Greg and Teresa, but am assuming that they are resting in Bangkok after 19+ hours of flying.

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Rick, on the other hand, is in Narita, Japan. Due to some scheduling difficulties, he is not able to get to Bangkok yet. He will be spending another day in Japan, adjusting to the time change and hopefully arriving in Bangkok late Sunday.

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After some sleep, he plans to explore nearby Tokyo. I think Mt. Fuji is on his bucket list. (that's Mt. Fuji on the left, from a googled image)
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There are so many beautiful things on this planet.
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We serve an amazing God! He paints the sky every nite with a different paintbrush for us to enjoy. All glory to Him.

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Please continue in prayer for this team. Especially for Dr. Copeland and Greg in the next couple days, as they get permission from the Thai government to transport the nuclear medical materials to Cambodia.

Also for Rick, that he would get to Bangkok safely on Sunday, before the ice melts in the cooler filled with medical supplies. It is supposed to last 2-3 days. Pray also that he would easily find the Copelands and the Smiths at the Bangkok airport, as he is having some difficulty with his cell phone working.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. 2Cor 9:8.

Day 1

Today's the big day...

Got up early to repack the laboratory items into the little cooler that World Wide Labs sent us a few days ago. It took a while to get everything to fit back in, with fresh ice.

Then we packed the cooler into the luggage, along with a letter from the Lab certifying that this is indeed, medical stuff, cranberries for Thanksgving, some other lab supplies, and extra duct tape for any sort of emergency.

Here's our carrier pigeon at the airport with one bag full of Bibles, another bag with the cooler and lab stuff, and one bag for himself.

And he's off...

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Meanwhile in another time zone somewhere, Greg and Teresa are alreadly waiting for their flight to Tokyo. They left Rochester quite a bit earlier than Rick, so no photos from the airport. The Smiths will fly to Tokyo from Detroit, Rick is going via Minnneapolis. Hopefully they will find each other there, and take the same flight to Bangkok.

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I did find this picture of Greg and Teresa with the photo of the orphan they are sponsoring in Mongkol Borey... Just so you all know who you are praying for.

Many thanks to all you prayer warriors.

Return to Poipet

It started in October 2008, when Dr. Kent Copeland and his family were special guests at Christ Community Church's Mission Conference. Kent ran the CTC emergency hospital in Poipet, Cambodia. His wife Chris was a nurse there (besides caring for and educating their 5 children). The CTC provided free health care and Christian love to the poor people of northwest Cambodia. They asked for prayers for direction for this medical mission. We prayed, and God has been working...




Fast forward to November 2010, and God has brought together a team of people from CCC who happen to have just the right skills to take a big step forward in the Copelands' medical ministry.

This is Greg, Rick, and Ronald in July 2010 in Bangkok. Ronald will not be helping with the medical mission.

Fortunately for Greg and Rick though, Greg's wife, Teresa will be accompanying them. Teresa had been to Cambodia on a short term mission trip in 2008, and is anxious to return. Here's a picture of her at the bottom, center of a human pyramid.

The final piece of this puzzle will be Dr. Peter Tebben, an endocrinologist at Mayo, who regularly diagnoses and treats patients with thyroid disease using radioactive iodine. He is planning to make the trip in early 2011, helping Dr. Kent with thyroid patients.



Now for some details...

Greg, Teresa, and Rick will leave Rochester on Thursday, November 18. They will arrive in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday night. In their luggage they will have replacement parts for some laboratory equipment, supplies for laboratory tests (that will be packed in ice because they have to be refrigerated), Bibles, some personal items the Copelands have requested, pictures of 80 families from CCC who have sponsored orphans in Mongkol Borey, lots of care packages for all the Poipet missionaries from the wonderful members of the congregation at CCC, and a can of cranberries. Their first mission is to get themselves and their luggage to Bangkok, where Kent and Chris Copeland will meet them (and they can get those medical supplies into a refrigerator before the ice melts). They will spend a few days in Bangkok catching up with the time zone, shopping for gifts for those of us who are holding down the fort back in Minnesota, and getting permission from the Thai government to take nuclear medical supplies across the border into Poipet. Fortunately Greg worked in Radiation Safety at Mayo, and can accompany Dr. Kent to reassure the Thai government that good care will be taken of the radioactive stuff.

Please pray with us for this trip.

We are so amazed and filled with joy that God has chosen to use us to minister to the people of this poor country. Their history is one of war, genocide, disease, and corruption. God is opening doors for Christians to show mercy and love to the Cambodian people.

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Check back with the blog for updates, we hope to be updating it daily.

cambodia 2010

Gregg, Teresa, Rick, and Karen (holding down the fort).

cambodia 2010

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At right is a photo taken in October 2010 on a street in Poipet. Many families lost their rice crop in this flood.