Y2K Hanly Newsletter
7
January 2001
Dear
Friends and Family,
Happy
2001! God has blessed us with another productive year.
In April and May we aided in the ministries of the Kwai River Christian
Mission in the rural Sangklaburi District of Thailand.
Eric spent the majority of his time at the Mission’s hospital (KRCH)
where he put to use the knowledge and skills he had acquired over the previous
four years in medical school. He
did everything from treating patients with malaria to performing minor surgical
procedures to delivering babies to “preaching” at chapel.
Jennifier primarily worked with Melodie McDaniel (the daughter of the
American missionaries there, Dr Phil and Melba), a delightful but sometimes
difficult 12-year-old girl who is developmentally disabled.
Jennifier relieved Melba of the duty of supervising Melodie’s daily
physical therapy routine, instructed Melodie in the art of bike riding, and
developed a Behavioral Management Plan to help Phil and Melba guide Melodie into
better behavior patterns. Our two-month stay in Thailand was time well spent that
stretched, tested, encouraged, and grew our faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate
minister to the sick and needy. Before
returning to the United States we celebrated our third wedding anniversary on
the island of Pee Pee, a remote tropical island off the west coast of Thailand
(where Leonardo DeCaprio filmed The Beach), where we relaxed on the
beach, did much snorkeling, and even saw a tiger shark while SCUBA diving!
Back in
Baltimore, Jennifier had resigned as the Harford County Regional Director for
Community Services of Maryland (to be able to travel to Thailand) and Eric had
completed his graduation requirements at Johns Hopkins medical school.
Upon our return to Baltimore we were busy “graduating” Eric from
medical school, packing up all of our stuff, and saying “goodbye” to all of
our dear friends in Baltimore in anticipation of our move to the Mississippi
Gulf Coast where the Air Force assigned Eric as a general surgery intern at
Keesler AFB. Living in southern
Mississippi has been another broadening experience for us where the summer was
even hotter than our time in Thailand during the Thai “hot” season.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast has it’s own unique culture.
We are becoming accustomed to drinking sweet tea, eating fried catfish
and po’ boys, and deciphering the thick southern accent.
Eric
is even busier than ever. So far in
his general surgery internship he has been able to perform many cases such as
appendectomies, breast biopsies, and hernia repairs.
A few months ago, he even sewed up the earlobe of one of Jenn’s
co-workers. During the past six
months, Eric has rotated through four different surgical services (laparosopic,
vascular, oncologic, and cardiothoracic) and spent a month in the E.R.
In January he began a three-month general surgery rotation at the Biloxi
Veterans’ Administration hospital. Eric
has somehow managed to maintain involvement in a few surgical research projects
and was recently asked to author a manuscript on disseminated intravascular
coagulation for his residency program director that will be published sometime
in 2001.
Jennifier’s
transition to Mississippi went well. She
was able to land a job right away at the South Mississippi Child Advocacy Center
where she helps felony child abuse victims go through the court process. Her job allows her to get “down and dirty” in the lives
of her clients. She has felt very
blessed by God to have been able to do so well with her career having only one
year of post-graduate education in a Masters of Divinity program since
completing her B.S. in psychology. Jennifier
spends the majority of her free time trying to keep Eric alive (bringing dinners
to the hospital, keeping the household running, etc).
After
a two-month search, we finally found and joined a church we feel comfortable
ministering in. We really enjoy Bayou View Baptist Church’s contemporary
morning worship service, its married couples Sunday school class, and its
intercessory prayer ministry, and we have begun to develop a great friendship
with another “new” couple there. We
are very grateful that God has provided this excellent place for us to plant our
feet, but it is hard not to occasionally miss Grace Fellowship Church, our old
House Churches, our Missions Discipleship group, and the many wonderful friends
therein.
In
addition to working hard, we have had a little time to do some fun things.
We have visited some local sites like Ship Island and the casinos (no
gambling though), we have canoed down the Wolf river, and, during Eric’s week
off in December, we traveled to New Orleans with Eric’s parents to visit the
infamous Burbon street, tour a swamp on an airboat, and sample some great
Louisianna cuisine.
Among all of the changes in our lives
this year, the biggest news of all for us was learning of Jennifier’s career
change. Jenn will be a stay-at-home
mom starting on August 4, 2001 (plus or minus a week or so)!
Yes, we will be expecting our first baby this summer!!!
We are very excited and cannot wait for the challenges that God will have
for us as parents. We hope that this letter reaches you in good health.
Our prayer for all of our friends and family (and ourselves) is that 2001
will be a year in which we get to know Jesus better – whether for the very
first time, or in a deeper, more intimate way.
Love
in Christ,
Eric,
Jennifier, and soon-to-be Baby Hanly