Well , today was the last day of clinics and what a day it was. We met up with our good friend and Philippino missionary Perlito. He took us to our first village which was no more than 10 minutes from our hotel in down town Poi Pet. It seems strange that we can be only moments from a seemingly civilized city and feel like we've entered the deepest backwoods of Cambodia. A bumpy trash laden dirt road led us to our first destination. Perlito, in the last year has set up a small school for the children there. No more than a lean-to the kids eagerly greeted us with warm smiles and "hellooo"s. Holly and Perlitos wife, Rose, took care of teaching and playing with the children while we set up stations to diagnose the villagers. As the heat of the morning rose so did the amount of patients. As word spread of who we were people came from all directions seeking help. Some were beyond the ability of our staff and medicine but all were seen and most were given the aid they so desperately needed.
After lunch the afternoon had more of the same. Perlito took us to, amazingly enough, the other side of the same village which borders Thailand. Our buss's couldn't get into the village so we had to haul all of our gear over a rusted razor wire fence. One small slip and lockjaw! The impending rain caused us to set up under what some would call a wall-less barn. It seemed to be a central meeting place for those living in the area. We saw even more patients than we did that morning. All in all after 2 towns and 4 clinics we saw over 6oo men women and children. WOW!!
The only sad part about that is we only saw 2 villages out of countless. The need here is so great. But we are here. And as long as there is a disproportionate impoverished, uneducated servant class we will be here. I am honored to be a part of Freedoms Promise and the people who give of their time, money, and sweat. Thank you all who gave and who served and who prayed.
