FBC Missions

the following is a letter from Steve Neubauer;

Yes, a medical mission trip that treated one patient over the entire course of the trip!

We unexpectedly met this young girl in Burma at a local clinic staffed by one of the medics from the Backpacker Health Workers team. Much to my surprise, she had an IV and was receiving IV antibiotics, just as I would provide one of my patients in the emergency department. The medics pulled out an impressive flow sheet of her vitals, medication administrered, etc., just as I would review for a patient in the US, outlining her five days of treatment in this bamboo clinic. After I repeated a difficult history and exam, given the language barrier, the medic and I came up with a treatment plan which eliminated the need for a painful and dangerous transport across the border into Thailand for treatment.

(photos below - Dr. Steve examines young girl. Girl’s mother and baby brother stay close by.)

This case demonstrated to me and, I hope, illustrates how humble one should be when doing missions trips. I had visions of providing care and utilizing my skills to save the masses but that was not God’s plan. Instead, the group came away with a greater awareness of the Karen people’s needs, as well as a vision of how we can become more involved in their struggle.

Humbly, I am now aware that my time and effort to make the long journey meant a lot to these people and our financial help will go directly to opening a medical clinic where the Backpacker Health Workers Team medics can provide care to their people.

This trip certainly also brought me great hope as many kind people donated an overwhelming amount of money and prayer. The four of us have lots of ideas and certainly have a vision of how the church, volunteers, and financial supporters can continue to respond to this crisis.

Thanks again for all your support.

Steve Neubauer, MD

The following is a letter from Brett;

Traveling companions can make or break a trip, and in this case I had great guys to travel with. Steve and Todd came expecting to do some medical work, but our inability to cross the border the second time changed all of that. I don’t know that Bill, a masonry contractor, came expecting to use his masonry skills, but we ended up building three handicapped ramps, couldn’t have done it without him, wouldn’t have even thought to do it. Flexibility and a willingness to adapt seem to be qualities in great demand on these short term trips. No complaints were issued and lots of fun was had, I would travel with these guys anytime (not sure the converse is true!).

Karen 2008 Team Photo;

This trip wasn’t my idea; I was the last to sign on. But I am thankful I did. Not only to have my perspective of the world broadened, but to have the exposure to good and faithful people; not just my traveling companions, but all the people I have mentioned prior to this entry. Each person we met is investing their lives with a sense of purpose, and our fellow believers with an obedience that is inspiring. God uniquely equips his children to serve Him; you could see that very clearly on this trip. No more evident is this fact than in the life of Robert. His story is interesting and unique, but his life experience has equipped him to serve in Thailand and Burma and enjoy every aspect of the work.

Robert is nothing if not focused on, and committed to, the Karen people. The bulk of what Robert does is to meet the needs of the Karen people displaced within Burma. He does this in cooperation with all the groups I have mentioned, and in many ways is a common denominator using his gifting and skills to secure resources and link people like us to the cause.

We should all envy Robert his “purpose”, many go through life never finding what it is God has called them to do (some don’t look very hard), Robert has found his call. Ours does not need to be as exotic, overwhelming or challenging as Robert’s, but it does need to be aligned with God’s purposes.

One thing I noticed with all the men and women who are caring for the Karen, they are quiet, unassuming people going about their business with no fanfare. Each would not like the tone of this letter, but would endure it if is serves to motivate us to join the cause in some fashion.

The four of us want to thank Robert for his service and for serving us this week. Whether he liked it or not, he was stuck with us and was a gracious host, guide and friend. We also want to thank each of these ministering Saints we met; the encounter was a huge blessing to each of us. If you are reading this, most likely you have been praying for us, thanks we needed it. It could also be that you sent along money or equipment to be used to support the Karen, these gifts have made a huge difference and will continue to, thank you.

Some of the money will be used to finish and staff the clinic FBC built on the Thai side (remember Elephants skidded the Teak from Burma). Some will be used to help First Karen Baptist of Mae Sot finish the church they are building in a remote Thai Karen village in which they already have a mission worker. Some will be given to Bob to help meet the administrative costs of his work, Bob spends all his money on rice and supplies for the IDP’s and frankly needs our encouragement to care for those in his office (food, paper, ink, etc). Please don’t interpret this as negligence on his part; it is purely compassion for his people.

There are still projects that need our support. A “mobile clinic” (Western Shelter) and bamboo school in the first IDP village we visited. A water pump and pipe to supply water to this village. Another bamboo medical clinic near the IDP’s we were unable to visit and the constant, daily, never ending, overwhelming need for food and medicine. I think for good measure we need to find a way to help support the back pack medics and the already existing bamboo clinics. The church in Mae Sot needs bunk beds for their children’s dormitory and has big plans to send out 5 more missionaries to remote Thai villages. Lots of great people and projects to partner with.

I wanted to clarify one fact. Yesterday I mentioned that Pastor Roger’s father served in the Burmese Army during WWII and was killed by the same army as a Karen soldier. If you recall I was struggling to get the story straight with our language barriers. Last night at dinner I had Bob’s son do some interpreting for me and learned that the Burmese army supported Japan during WWII and the Karen Army supported Britain. Roger’s father fought for the Karen and eventually died, but not in combat. We are back in Chaing Mai and will leave our guest house at 5:45 AM for our long day(s) home. See you in church on Sunday.

In Christ,
Brett for Steve, Todd and Bill

the following is a letter from Brett;

Our trip to the larger IDP camp up the river was canceled. They have been having a difficult time crossing the border in this area and we were not feeling like a 6×2 hour ride in the back of the pickup worth the gamble. These larger camps are supplied by Bob and Robert and are at the greatest risk, both from attack and malnutrition. Seeing them would have been a blessing, but it was not to be.

But this left us with the opportunity to serve this wonderful church in town. Bill observed on Sunday morning that a Karen man in a wheel chair could not make it into the church due to the lack of ramps. When I say lack of ramps, this country is the worst I have ever seen (that sounds like I am a big world traveler… not) or could imagine for foot traffic around town and into buildings, we have yet to see a handicap ramp. Anyway, Bill is a mason by trade and suggested we buy some concrete and build a ramp for the church.

We met with the pastor, Roger, and bounced the idea off of him. We did not want to run the risk of giving them something they did not want. It was determined the church wanted the ramp and were hopeful it might encourage other people with disabilities to attend, unfortunately land mine victims are a growing demographic. So we rented the truck and driver from our guest house, bought a wheel barrow, concrete, trowels (Bill complains he cannot do his best work, his “art”, with these trowels) and began to “make mud”. Oh I forgot… DOCTOR Tucker had to buy gloves! But to his credit, they did not stay on his tender “money makers” (my term not his) very long… he’s got manly man hands now!

So we spent all yesterday afternoon making the first ramp and then this AM we built a landing and two more ramps. Needless to say, they turned out pretty nice. I think it is safe to say this is the only church in Mae Sot, maybe all of Thailand with wheel chair accessibility. Bill’s idea was top notch, and very kind. He did take a fair amount of ribbing on not having his cell phone and truck, this kept him on the job site and dirty, a rare turn of events Steve tells me. 

(below photos; Everyone helps to mix cement)

Pastor Roger is the greatest guy. He is 38, looks about 20, plays football (soccer) and has the greatest laugh. He joined us in the mud bowl and was fun to work with. He speaks very little English and as you all know I struggle with my native tongue as well. But we made do. He attended 4 years of Bible college in Bangkok and as I mentioned in my earlier blog, he leads his church with a passion for the lost.

If I could have any “super power” it would not be flying or x-ray vision, it would be the ability to speak and understand any language at any time. I really feel like I miss so much with my version of “foreign language charades”… but if I repeat myself and get louder with each repetitive question, I really think I really make some headway in the language barrier. My linguistic technique did learn that Roger’s father fought for the Allies in WWII (for Burma) and was killed in action (by Burma) as a Karen soldier 20 years ago. Roger has two brothers, one a pastor in Chiang Mai and one a Karen soldier. His office was abysmal (none of us would be willing to work out of his office) and he only had a few well worn reference books, but we share the same taste in many of our books and I bet I could learn a great deal from him if I could speak Karen.

Today, after working together for a couple of days he asked me how big my church was. I was dreading that question and said “pretty big”. He’s no dummy… he laughed and pressed me for the truth. I told him about our church and he took it in stride. They have about 100-120 attending and about 300 kids on their Wed. night program. But if you saw this town, saw their building, saw their resources (whole church budget… $7,000 a year) you would know the truth about church effectiveness, they win. Roger and I are alike in one way.

At lunch today he and some church girls were eating some noodles (way too fishy for my taste) and offered me some, I declined and said all I wanted was oranges. Later Robert ordered out pizza and I offered Roger some, he said no thanks all he wanted was oranges, and sat and ate oranges. Turns out our pizza is covered with rotten smelling and tasting milk… we call cheese.

I haven’t said much about Robert, I will get to him on another day. But I can say I am proud to call him a friend and our church is fortunate to have him as one of ours! He is making a real difference in the lives of the Karen and works tirelessly in doing so. If you ever wonder if missionaries work hard and sacrifice, pop to Mae Sot and take a look. Robert meets people and makes connections, we share that gift.

His latest buddy is an older English gentleman named Fred Stockwell. Fred in now a US citizen and lives in Ashland. He is a photographer by trade and very good at what he does. He likes to use his art and talent to support a cause, and his cause de jour is the Karen people. He has been traveling every step with us taking pictures of every thing we have done, he even endured my sermon and the 3 hour service. Fred is in his 60’s seen just about all of the world, been in 4 plane crashes and is a GREAT guy. He gets our sense of humor and has begun to pick on me just like the rest of the gang. He is committed to doing shows to highlight the plight of the Karen people and raise money for the cause. You might want to check out his current web site. http://www.stockwellphotos.com/ I would hope to have Fred do a show in Eugene so you could all invite a friend and meet him.

Today after we finished the concrete work we “headed out the highway looking for adventure, what ever comes my way… born to beeee wiiiiild” and the gang zipped up to “friendship bridge”, a big, ironically named, rarely used bridge across the river to Burma. The helmets that are standard issue with the bike are sort of glorified hard hats made for really small Asian people, needless to say “I am stylin” in my lid. Frankly, it is a pointless endeavor to wear one, but Steve sports his on a regular basis. It looks so funny on him, Todd and I just about crashed in laughter. Last night I hiked my pants up a skosh and I wore my helmet into the dessert restaurant and shared some American style with the locals. A shaved noggin the size of mine is just not seen in these parts.

I know you know this, but the only difference between Americans and Karen, Thai, Burmese… is money and opportunity. We have it and they do not. This gives us advantages and to some degree takes away some of the beauty and kindness they emulate. The tendency of short term’ers like us is to hammer this fact way too much, I will try to avoid that tone. But, the reality is still there, we have it and they don’t.

I wish you could see the opportunities we have with our giving. We need to finish the FBC Eugene’s clinic on the Thai side, kitchen, bathroom, supplies and staff… $3,000. Support FBC Mae Sot’s mission in the remote villages, $50/month per missionary! Support a back pack medic, $50/month per man. Build a bamboo school for the IDP camp we visited and support the teacher so he/she does not need to forage… $2,500 for the building and a years salary. The list goes on and on.

Many of you supported our trip, and we have/will give it all to meet some of these needs, but more should be done. Much of the need could be met by those outside the church and outside the faith… I mean schools, rice, teachers, medics, all of our friends and co-workers could jump on that wagon. Let’s try and figure a way to broaden the circle.

OK, these are turning into novels. I will quit. We leave Mae Sot tomorrow, tonight we take Robert, Fred, Bob and his son, Roger and His wife out for a grand dinner, wish you were joining us!

In Christ,
Brett for Steve, Todd and Bill

the following is a letter from Brett;

The most common method of travel in this country is in the back of a pick up or on a 125cc scooter; millions of both.

Yesterday we jumped in the back of a pick up and rode 2 or 3 hours to visit a couple of IDP camps, actually IDP villages. The difference being these small communities have been in place long enough to begin to resemble something of a village. We jumped in a long boat and were taken across the river into Burma. In the villages we found traditional bamboo huts most raised off the ground and nearly 800 people in each village.

(photo; Long boat - a typical mode of transportation)

The organization Robert works with had just delivered rice to keep these people alive. When I say “organization” please don’t think in your mind of a UN vehicle swinging by the camp to drop off food. It is a man I will call Bob and his son who left Burma on foot 10 or more years ago, they have spent most of that time living in a refugee camp on the Thai side of the river with 50,000 other Karen refugees. In fact his wife is still in the camp and teaches in the bible school for the kids; yes she lives in a bamboo hut. Bob and his son have been our constant companions; the son is like sunshine he is so happy all the time. He is the driver of our pickup; he drives fast, aggressive and laughs as he does it.

In an odd way, two doctors, a pastor and a contractor sit in the back of the truck trusting this young man with our lives, and frankly enjoying it. Bob was an attorney in Burma and now lives a couple of days in the refugee camp with his wife and the rest in his “home office” working who knows how many hours a week. I think it is safe to say every Baht Bob receives buys rice, medicine, gas and goes to print a magazine highlighting the plight of his Karen countrymen. Oh to be like Bob. Bob’s son was educated in the refugee camp and has been studying law in S. Korea, he hopes to move to the US and finish a law degree.

Back to the camps… you cannot imagine how rough this life is. Granted, many of the Karen are rural people who live in these circumstances most of the time, but now they cannot farm, have an aggressive army over the next hill and never know when they will be attacked. As a result, life is reduced to existence.

But in a proud way they rise above this, in one village they had a bamboo clinic, a school, and a church. They instruct their kids in the school, hold services each night in the church and the clinic is staffed by a Back Pack Medic. It is truly amazing.

In the first village we entered they showed us a sight they have selected for a clinic (this village had no clinic, church or school) and were hopeful that some Western Shelters from Eugene could be supplied to get them established. (This is another story, but I will make a presentation to WSS when I return and am hopeful they will support this effort). In this village, Todd and I played a form of volleyball in which you can only use your feet, knees and head! We watched the young men play and decided to give it a whirl. Needless to say it drew a crowd and lots of laughs (I tend to ham it up a bit). But in the end, we did pretty well and I did not pass out of heat stroke, my main goal.

I know how frustrating it can be to be sitting in your place hearing us tell you how rough these people have it… seems like short term missionaries do lots of that. So I will say this, it as bad as you could imagine and maybe even worse… except for their spirit to survive and stay planted in their homeland, and their faith, which gives them hope.

Near each IDP camp or village is a Karen Army Outpost. We walked to one of these as well. The Karen Army is defensive only, they do not fire on the Burmese Army they only defend themselves and the camps. There are 500,000 Burmese soldiers and 8,000 Karen Soldiers, these brave men are really at risk.

In the camp I sat and visited with the commander, he joined the Karen army at 22 after school and is now 62. His wife has died and his children have fled to the US. It is an all volunteer army, I mean volunteer; they are not paid. They depend on food and medicines from the camps, and or they fish, forage and sometimes log and sell the wood. The camp was clean, orderly, had a flag pole with a white picket fence around it. They live in bamboo huts and meet to worship each night. By the way, I have better weapons in my hunting arsenal than this camp had at its disposal… WW2, Korean War arms, and a few really bad M16’s.

Remember the other form of transportation I mentioned? Well, last night Todd and Bill rented the only two scooters available at our guest house and Steve and I jumped on back. I think, no I know, trekking into camps in Burma was safer than riding with frustrated “bikers”. Today Steve and I rented our own motorbikes and lowered the risk only slightly. Did I mention that it is left hand drive here and that I am dyslexic… it has been a real adventure. But this combination is still preferable to embracing Todd from the passenger seat as we hurtle down the busy streets of Mae Sot. OK the bike gang just rolled up and are making a scene… time for dinner.

In Christ,
Brett for the rest

the following is a letter from Brett;

I left you last time telling you we would be visiting a clinic in Mae Sot and the leaders of the Back Pack Medic teams, another eye opening day. For some perspective…

Karen who have medical needs in the Karen State in Burma only have 3 options for treatment. First, if they are living in the jungle in hiding as over 1/2 million are, they must wait for a back pack medic to reach them… if they can get word to the medics. If they are close to one of the bamboo hut clinics scattered through out the State they can walk to the clinic, zig zagging between Burmese army outposts. If the medics or the clinics cannot be of help, their last option is to walk out of Burma to Thailand, sneak into Mae Sot and find the Mae Tao Clinic.

The Clinic is best described as a large slum treating about 100,000 Karen people a year. The treatment is done by “trained medics” and a handful of doctors, most on 6 month volunteer rotations from the West. It is hard to describe how grim it looked, felt and sounded. But the amazing thing was the resolve in the faces of the Karen people and those serving them. Since the clinic is located in Thailand, all the Karen are illegals, but the government turns their head and allows the work to continue. Next year will be it’s 20th year of service.

(photo below; Team visits an In-patient ward at the Mae Tao Clinic.  Notice the bare feet; shoes are not worn indoors)

NGO’s are everywhere in Mae Sot, and lots of Westerners in town serving in these international organizations. They are able to address needs in Thailand, but it is “illegal” for most of them to fund or resource any needs in Burma. That is the tragedy, very few are willing to help the people of Burma.

We met with a courageous group of men and women who comprise the Back Pack Medics. Most are young Karen men who come from their villages in Burma to receive basic first aid training. We were able to meet with the leader of this group and watch a training session in progress. The session was led by an ER doc from California, a team of ex military medics from Australia and an Indian dentist from California.

The young trainees will walk back into Burma and serve from a bamboo clinic for months at a time, some of the “walks” take up to 8 weeks! They pack rice on their backs and forage in the jungle for the rest. The new recruits are paid 500 Baht a month ($15) and the senior members are rewarded with 1,200 Baht. For reference… our dinner for 7 last night cost 1,200 Baht! These young men (and a few women) will be faced with land mines, gun fire and ongoing hunger. They will be asked to amputate legs, and carry people back to Thailand. I am overwhelmed with their courage and compassion.

All that was yesterday, today we ventured into Burma and visited two IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) camps and a military outpost. More on that later.

I could not ask for better traveling companions, no complaints and willing to venture out. We have each been struck with the overwhelming nature of the dilemma and how little money it takes to make a HUGE difference. The medical clinic the church built is not made of bamboo, but instead of Teak… get this hauled by elephants over the mountains of Burma to the river and then floated to Thailand. It is a substantial building that will stand the test of time… this clinic cost $3,500 US Dollars!

Listen, I need to quit and meet the guys for dinner. I will jump on again tomorrow and tell you about the camps in Burma and more.

In Christ,
Brett, for Steve, Todd and Bill