Village Clinic - by Mark

Thursday ll:00 a.m.
We're one hour east of Phnom Penh on Highway 1, the main road to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon, for us older folks). We're on the bank of the Mekong River at a narrow spot, 3/4 mile wide here. It's 95 degrees and sticky under the hot sun. Women and children surround our van offering fruits that I've never seen before, along with waffles and coca cola. They pass their wares through our windows as we sit in our air conditioned van. After a 30 minute wait we board the ferry with 20 other trucks, cars, assorted motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and vendors still hawking their food and drink.

1:30 p.m.
Two hours later we arrive in Svey Rieno for lunch at a roadside restaurant-fried rice with chicken and cokes as the 4 kids we brought with us watch Vietnamese music videos on the tv.while hot dusty air blows in (there are only 3 walls). We're 30 miles from the Vietnam border.

We cover our drivers lunch. Though a modern 2 lane highway, there are many obstacles on highway 1 including motorcycles, bicycles, slow trucks, cattle, and water buffalo. He's good with brakes, accelerator, and uses both lanes to his advantage.

2:30 p.m.
We drive by an attractive and well built local school in the middle of a field as children, well dressed in clean uniforms arrive for their afternoon lessons. Today we leave a cloud of dust. Soon the rainy season will arrive and the road we are on will be a gooy mess- definitely 4WD material. After several miles of teeth jarring dirt road, we eventually arrive at our village

We're greeted by the head of the village, a Christian who pastors people in his home. Rudy (a paramedic from New York City who now lives in Phnom Penh to serve the poor), and I see the villagers under some shady trees in the dusty back yard. The 4 teens we brought with us from the Ruth's orphanage act as translators as the others in our group take temperatures and help dispense the supplies that we had sorted and bagged the night before. Kim Lon, a 15 year old orphan hopes to be a doctor someday because he wants to help the poor. He is a good student, his translating was excellent and his bedside manner is better than some professionals I have seen. It is obvious he is fully capable of success but God will have to open doors for him. Surrounding us, the villagers (approximately 150) watch the entertainment. Maladies include fevers, headache, diarrhea, weakness, burns, weight loss, strokes, and rashes- many rashes. We dispense our bags of medicine-Tylenol, vitamins, iron, occasional antibiotics, worm medication, eye drops, and salves. Rudy and I see around 125 people in 4 hours, the last hour by flashlight.

This area was part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam war and was carpet bombed by B-52's for 17 straight days along with lots of Agent Orange in the early 1970's. All the buildings (primitive huts) and vegetation are new. This area has the greatest concentration of land mines in the world- planted by Cambodian troops, North and South Vietnames troops, and of course the Khmer Rouge. Removal of the mines is slow and injuries and deaths continue. I'm surprised after all this, the gratitude these people display toward us. These people expect nothing more than to survive each day (thirst, hunger, illness). Our visit has been an unusual break for them.

We know the medications we leave will offer comfort for only a short time. LIA will return in a month or two. Our touch, questions of concern, and our prayers are the medicine that will last. Most of the villagers are still Buddhists, a few have converted to Christianity under the pastor's teaching. Hopefully they will remember us as Christians who came and showed love for a day.