Clinic Day - Phnom Penh

 Clinic - Phnom Penh

We got an early start for our first clinic day; we were packed up and ready to leave at 6am. The drive to the Kandal Province was about 2 ½ hours long with the last half hour being very very bumpy! Luckily the van made it and so did all of us! We arrived at Life Learning Organization (LLO) and were blown away by their beautiful facilities. They had a large pavilion, several classrooms, a kitchen, a water collection system, and a playground. The couple who runs the center were born in Cambodia but pushed out during the genocide in the 60’s. They lived in the US for about 30 years and then returned to Cambodia to open this school and church. They were so happy to have us and happy to help in any way.

Well, we had our first patient of the day within the first 15 minutes of our arrival.  Our own AnnaMaria ripped her toenail on a picnic bench and required a bandaid!!  Once she was patched up, we set up various stations including triage, examination, pharmacy, an eye glass station as well as hygiene education, prayer, and games for the kids. We forgot our game props, but they were not necessary.  The kids found ways to have fun with us.  One game favorite was Duck Duck Goose! with Christian and Jack.  In the same location, we had our waiting area and hygiene talk.  Through our translator, Donna and Colleen were able to teach the village folks about clean water, how to brush your teeth (please use a circular motion), and the importance of clean hands, fruits and vegetables.  The translator was fantastic and prayed for the people waiting for medical services.

Thank you, Lord, for our translators.  They played a vital role in our communications.  First stop – Triage with Sherri and AnnaMaria in the morning and Donna and Christian in the afternoon.  Our translator, Davi, helped us learn patients names, age and presenting complaints.  Our folks took vitals and sent them on their way to the exam portion.  Next stop - medical exams.  When asked for feedback, the first thought is what a lovely group of people.  Dr. Marc and Angie saw a number of toothaches, anemia, cataracts, high blood pressure, watery eyes and itchy bumps.  Funny story – our translator wanted to know why Angie’s accent was so much different than ours (Angie is originally from England). Many of our patients didn’t want to leave.  They would leave the treatment area but return multiple times to thank us.   So Sweet!  Fun Fact – The ratio of males to females was almost 50/50 this visit.  In the past it was more like 80/20, favoring the females. Now off to the pharmacy with Lynda and Kim.  Our patients would bring their medical forms, Kim filled meds and Lynda educated the patients on diagnosis and meds.  Our own Jake Gabriel’s was their interpreter.  Jake probably spoke to every patient that passed through the clinic!  We also relied heavily on David to write instructions in Khmer for those who were very confused by the explanations. On a side note, we determined Kim’s hidden talent – Photo bombing pictures of Dr. Marc!!  Finally, our patients were off to see Jane Drebes for eyeglasses.  Our clinic saw about 60 people.

We got to experience two people accepting Christ as their Savior.  This was exciting!  Davi’s husband was talking with a woman, Davi’s aunt, and sharing with her.  When asked if she wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior, she asked if she could go home and think about it.  She was assured that was fine.  This woman came back with her decision to pray with Jane and Davi’s husband!  While they were praying, the niece of Davi’s aunt also chose to pray and accept Christ!   Thank you, Jesus!! 

Now it's time for some interesting experiences.  While we had sandwiches from Jars of Clay Café, there was also a meal prepared for the Khmer people.  One of the dishes included fried chicken feet.  Then during the afternoon snack, we were exposed to another delicacy, hardboiled fertilized duck eggs.  Our Khmer friends showed us how to eat them and were happy to show us beaks, bones and feathers?!

Davi asked if we could stop by her family home as we left for our hotel.  We needed to share the road with a herd of cows on our way.  Davi’s family welcomed us, and she explained a bit about their circumstances.  Her grandmother lost her husband about 1 month ago.  She also has some medical concerns, and she has lost her joy.  Her brother has some mental challenges that came on suddenly about 4 years ago. As a result of these challenges, some of their neighbors are not kind to them.  We were able to surround them and cover them in prayer.  The Khmer people pray all at once, not individually.  This was a new and amazing experience and one that I, personally, would not mind incorporating into our prayer times.

Jars of Clay

The next morning, we packed up our van and truck with many bags and many bodies!  We stopped at Jars of Clay Café again for breakfast.  While there, the owner shared how thankful she was for our patronizing her restaurant.  When COVID hit, they had a rough go of it, but God provided, and they were able to stay open.  Having our large group come blessed them.  We were asked to pray over her, the restaurant, and her staff.  We were able to pray prayers of blessing and requests for provision before we hit the road for Preah Vihear.  After a 6+ hour drive we arrived safely in Preah Vihear and are prepping for our next clinic day tomorrow!