I was looking forward to this trip for a whole
month, after falling myself into another blood group. On my bike after this, I
was a bit nervous and this is the new bike as well. I drove so slow that
Toinette phoned my friends to hear where I was. Well, made it in one piece to
Prea Vehear. Brett was with me and we got more company with Ralph, Austin,
Colton and Sean, on small bikes.
Our mission was to visit some villages with our
friend, Samai, from AOC Stung Treng. He planted a lot of small churches in
remote areas and we were on a quest to visit all of them in good timing. Our
first stop was a small tribal village, near the Vietnam border. It was great to
be amongst the people again. Samai say that there were only 50 members when he
started the church, but now there are already about 150 members.
After
instructed the boys on how to give some worm-meds, they took up the challenge
and every boy and girl got a pill. Austin and Colton watched their mum doing
some medical work and they already know such a lot, and they can also speak the
local dialect. It was great to have their dad, Ralph there to keep an eye over
them, while I helped all the children and Brett helped Samai to repack some
ointments. Great teamwork.
After a good night’s rest we were on the bikes again
to tackle the next leg of our journey. This turned out to be a real challenge
through thick forest and mud covered roads, or maybe I need to call it trails….
Our next village was close to the Laos border. People here were Lao-tribal
people and we could not speak to them but Samai was in his element. He do not
just speak all the local dialects in Ratanakiri but also speak Lao…..man was I
impressed with this man.
Never before anyone else came to help them with
medical as this place was off the map and off the beaten track. For the nearest
clinic they need to get on a small bike and do at least 3 hours in either direction.
In rainy season the roads become rivers and to be sick, turns ugly. We hope to
help these people more than often, how, well, we need to drive our bikes like
boats in some areas, but I know it will be possible and a real challenge.
Clinic was a real circus as people were so wild and
just wanted meds as they know nobody will come this way again. I experience
lots of attitude like this, when I visited an area the first time. Second time
around is much better. Once again teamwork was great and Brett and Colton did
some amazing wound care while, Samai and I help the people with meds. Lots of
sick children, with bad lungs and ears and lots of cuts and burns, due to
working in the fields. Turn out to be a nice day for helping people.
Our trip back was somehow from a thriller movie. Mud
and water and what more. I got off my bike about a thousand times to help the
guys on the small bikes out of deep water and mud, what an expedition this was.
We were tired when we reached Siem Pang, but very happy. The next day, Brett
and I made it back home to Siem Riep in one piece. After 665miles, 1065km over
5 days, we were ready to get off the bikes. Time well spend.
Toinette is very busy helping to teach the ladies in
the village on Women Health Issues. The stories we hear is heart wrenching and
we know, to be a women in the village is not for sissies. Every time Twans go,
the women open up more and good relationships are busy to form. Thanks to FGC
Community Link that is helping in the village with the kids and lots of
teaching people, Toinette can help as well. The key here is to first invest a
lot of time on building relationships before you can do anything else.
Love
Rossouw-clan
What, then, shall we say in response to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
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