8 January 2000

On March 26, 2000, we will begin a three-day journey to the Kwai River Christian Mission in the rural Sangklaburi District of Thailand. By the time we get to Kwai River we will have been on four planes, two buses, a four-wheel-drive truck, and a "tuk-tuk" (a three-wheeled Thai taxi). Once we arrive in Sangklaburi, we will spend two months (we return May 21) aiding in the ministries of the three-armed mission: the church, the hospital, and the school.

Eric will be spending the majority of his time at the Mission's hospital where he will put to use the knowledge and skills he has acquired over the past four years in medical school. Based on his summer volunteering at this American Baptist-supported Mission five years ago, Eric expects to do everything from treating patients with malaria to assisting Dr. McDaniel (the hospital's American medical missionary physician) in the operating room to delivering babies to "preaching" at morning chapel and in the Mission's church.

Jennifier will be working primarily with the children in the Candlelight program. The Candlelight program is the Mission's school-sponsored program for developmentally disabled children. She will use her experience with developing Behavioral Management Plans to help the children in this group who have behavioral disorders. She is also looking forward to working with the hospital's chaplain and exploring a dream of hers by ministering to ill patients in the hospital.

In addition to these responsibilities we both plan to help around the Mission in any way we can. This may mean painting, cleaning, and even working on maintenance of the many water systems that the Mission has built to provide the local villages with a constant supply of water. We also hope to be an encouragement to the full-time missionaries there and to represent the Church in the United States in communicating our support of the sacrificial decisions they have made to serve God in Thailand.