Late 2008, our medical mission team was in the midst of being organized to provide medical aid to the people of underdeveloped Southeast Asia.  The team would provide medical check ups, attention and prevention to acute pain, and medications.  By providing medical services, it was our hopes that there would be opportunities to share The Gospel of Jesus Christ to our patients, so that they may be saved.

            After months of planning and communication via emails and phone calls, our entire medical mission team met for the first time in Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan on  July 20^th, 2009.  Our team included Dr. Ia Kue, Xing Zer Kue, Ar Hang, Naomi Hang, Vonn Lee, Yee Lee, Mo Julie Lee, Joshua Lee, Gloria Lee, and Mai Ker Thao, all residing in different parts of the United States.  We, then, traveled together to Bangkok, Thailand where we joined Rev. Naolue Kue and his wife who acted as our guides and interpreters through the entirety of the mission trip.  Upon reaching Bangkok, our team met some complications bringing our medical supplies into the country.  With no more time to lose, our team was forced to continue our mission trip without them.

            For five days our team spent our time in the Khon Kaen Province.  We were greeted by Archun Wirote and his congregation of the Nakorn Isan Church for Worship who began each of our work days with prayer and served as a crucial part in the ministries aspect of our mission trip in Khon Kaen.  With the situation of our medical supplies in customs, we purchased new medication in local Thailand pharmacies in order to provide for our patients healthcare needs.  In order to provide the best medical care, we set up stations in which each patient had to pass through.  Each patient began by having their vital signs documented.  They then proceeded to the triage table where they would be asked for chief complaints, medical history, and current medications.  Afterwards, patients were directed to the ministries station where they could chose to listen to the teachings of The Gospel as they waited for their turn to be seen by Dr. Ia Kue.  Medication, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and lotion were given to patients at the end of their examination.

            Every site was different, which called for a great deal of improvisation.  Our sites consisted of a free clinic in Ban Non Waeng, a newly built church building in Ban Phra Yeun, a Buddhist temple in Long Hoeng of Nam Phong district, and the Nakorn Isan Church for worship.  For the most part, the majority of our team worked outside in the hot humid air while the patient examinations took place in roofed buildings lacking air conditioning.  Patients were seen from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon everyday.  The General Hospital of Khon Kaen heard of what we were doing in the province and of our complications of getting our supplies from the airport so for one day, they sent a doctor and two nurses to help us in Nam Phong.  They also provided more medications for us to allow us to complete our mission.  In those four days we saw a total of 237 patients, shared The Gospel with many, including the Buddhist monk from Nam Phong, and from all who heard The Gospel, 89 accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  On Sunday, we retired from our work and on our way out of our hotel we met an elderly woman who noticed the writing about Jesus Christ on our taxi van, leading her to become curious of The Gospel.  She kindly asked to join us for church so we squeezed her into our over packed van and headed to the Nakorn Isan Church for worship.  She later thanked us for allowing her to come with us for she had finally heard the good Word.  After church we headed to Ban Phra Yun to our previous mission site to celebrate the opening of the church with food and worship.  The following day we began our trip to Vientiane, Laos.

            A full day was spent in Laos visiting friends and relatives, handing out the few medications we brought in hand,  and touring the country.  We were able to visit Lav 52 and Av Liab before taking a road trip to Vang Vieng to view historical sites along the way.  While in Viantiane, Joshua Lee had the opportunity to share the Word with relatives and neighboring friends which opened up the discussion on the hostility Hmong civilians felt would be imposed on them by the government and society if they accepted the faith.  Although hesitant to accept Christ due to worldly issues, many saw it as spiritually beneficial and remained intrigued by the teachings.  Our trip in Laos ended shortly and the following day we left Laos for Chiang Mai, Thailand.

            While in Chiang Mai, our team made a visit to HKM Thai District headquarters and provided healthcare at the location.  We were greeted by Xf. Txhiaj Kum and his wife who gladly prepared us a meal and showed us around their gardens and orphanage.  We began seeing patients after touring the area.  21 adults were seen before the 19 children returned from school.  When all of the children returned each was seen by our team and prayed for.  At the end of the day we saw 40 patients and had one accept the Lord Jesus Christ.  Mo Julie Lee had the opportunity to triage the children through N. Xf. Txawj Pe and heard each child’s heart wrenching story of how they came to live in the orphanage.  As Mo shared the stories with the rest of the team later on the next day,  the stories broke our hearts but we could only rejoice that they were being taken great care of and the love of Jesus Christ was being taught to them. 

            Chiang Mai marked the end of our work days and we had the opportunity to tour an elephant park, a large Buddhist temple, and a flower garden the next day before heading back to Bangkok where we would depart for our return to the United States.  While in Bangkok, we took a ride through the floating market and savored our last day of eating fruits and street cooking.  Before heading to the airport our team got together to pray and reflect on our entire trip.

            From the beginning, before we even arrived in Thailand, we had all hoped and prayed that God would open the hearts of the people we were there to serve as well as give us the wisdom and the compassion to shine His love out to all of them so that He may be glorified. Throughout our trip God continued to remind us to put our trust in Him alone, from losing our medical supplies to every uncertainty of what was to come next.  God made it possible in every way for us to complete the mission that He had set us out to do.  We saw a total of 277 patients, brought 90 to accept Christ, planted knowledge of Christ in the minds of countless others, and brought happiness to many people’s lives.  In everything we did, we let it be known that we were there because of Christ’s love, and people understood.  Some patients returned to shared their gratitude to what we had done for them, their family members, and friends. God continued to answer our prayers and show his sovereignty throughout the trip, making our mission trip successful in every way beyond our hopes and expectation.

By: Gloria Lee, Santa Ana Church