Letter April 2005

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It has been over six months since we last corresponded with you and we want to bring you up to date on the activities of the Christian Medical Ministry to Cambodia/Jeremiah’s Hope ( CMMCJH ).

In late October, 2004, Dr Smith and our lawyer, Mr. Mike Reagor, flew to Cambodia to meet Dr. Nam Cho from Korea and pastor Setan Lee and his KFC ( Kampuchea for Christ ) staff to work out some of the logistics of becoming recognized by the Cambodian government as an official international NGO ( non government organization ) and solidifying our relationships with the local government in Kampong Chhnang. We determined that the land that had been promised was not acceptable for our project but that it might be feasible to remodel the old hotel into a hospital. We returned very positive about the future because of the enthusiastic support of the local governor and health officials for the project. We then arranged for the shipment of a 40 foot container of medical supplies with the help of Project C.U.R.E. to solidify our relationships with the local officials in Kampong Chhnang. We also arranged for a team from Engineering Ministries International ( eMi ) to come in January to evaluate the property for retrofitting into a hospital.

January 17 – 30, 2005 we took a team of 7 physicians, a CRNA, 12 nurses, and 3 support staff to Phnom Penh . We were joined by our Korean brother, Dr. Nam Cho, and his team of 8 plus a pediatrician from Phoenix , Dr. David Beyda. It was another awesome medical trip with the following accomplishments:

  1. saw God work in the hearts and lives of the team members as well as the young Cambodian physicians with whom we worked.
  2. taught a 2 day course in Advanced Trauma Life Support to the Cambodian surgical community.
  3. did 35 operative procedures in 3 hospitals over a 5 day period.
  4. held a 2 day outreach clinic in Kampong Chhnang province in which approximately 500 patients were seen and treated.
  5. taught medical students at the bedside and in the operating rooms. We continue to be encouraged by their desire to learn and are looking for ways to bring some of them to the USA for short periods of training and to give them a view of what the future can be in their country.
  6. interactive lectures were given by our nursing staff for 2 hours everyday to 6 – 10 Cambodian nurses.
  7. Dr. Sheehan evaluated 34 cardiac patients, 14 of which need surgery soon at a cost of $2000 – $4000/case.

The eMi team of 7 engineers/architects and 3 wives arrived on January 26 and spent 7 days evaluating the old hotel plus the possible water, power, and sanitation possibilities for a hospital in Kampong Chhnang while their wives taught in the New Development Center . This was very valuable as it was determined that remodeling the hotel would be more costly than starting from scratch; we are now looking for some land to purchase in conjunction with KFC to enlarge their activities and to build a clinic/hospital on a portion of the land. The eMi team will remain a very integral part of the process as we move forward.

During our January trip, we were able to get a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are now a recognized international NGO in Cambodia . We have a similar document in front of the Ministry of Health and the KFC staff is working though the “red tape” to get this signed in the near future. On this trip, like all previous trips, the work of Setan and Randa Lee and the KFC staff in helping with the logistics has been invaluable and we remain committed to continuing to work with the Cambodian Christian community. Our relationship with Dr. Kendrick Kahler and the CSI Clinic has grown stronger over the last 4 ½ years and he remains our point of contact. Dr. Kahler is a West Point graduate who became paraplegic following a motor vehicle accident in North Africa while in the military. He then went to medical school, did a family practice residency, and committed his life to medical missions, most recently in Cambodia where he specializes in complicated medical problems and in teaching young Cambodian medical personnel. It is his plan to move the CSI Clinic operation to Kampong Chhnang once our facility is completed.

On the local front, the CMMCJH board continues to meet regularly and are hoping to enlarge our numbers in the near future to give us a broader base of expertise. We have completed our bylaws, our statement of faith, and are working on a policy manual. The organizational structure has shifted slightly in that Dr. Smith has assumed the position of President/CEO and Dr. Sheehan is Chairman of the Board. Our 501c3 application has been with the IRS since the end of August, but only in the last 3 weeks has it been reviewed; we just received notice that we are tax exempt effective May 12, 2004. Praise God for another blessing!

As stated in our last letter, the process moves more slowly than we would like but trust that our Heavenly Father is in control and it will all work out in His time! We are seeing the Lord’s fruitfulness in the lives of the patients we treat, our Cambodian brothers and sisters, the American and Korean team members, and our supporters. We pray daily for His guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the project.

We have scheduled our next medical team trip for January 16 – 29, 2006 . Most of the members of the 2005 team want to return and are recruiting from their offices and staff. We also have tentative commitments from members of previous teams and some new members, so we are expecting the 2006 team to be the largest yet.

Although we are not yet ready to launch into a big time capital fund raising effort, we do have some financial needs which we would like you to consider and pray about.

  1. As mentioned previously, we have identified 14 patients who need heart surgery within the next year at total cost of about $30,000. Eventually we plan to take care of these kinds of situations in our hospital, but must arrange for them to be operated on in the French Heart Center for now.
  2. We have 2 young Christian Cambodian physicians, Sokchan Sim and Tola Hok, who are obtaining their specialty training in and surgery and internal medicine. They have committed to being a part of our operation in Kampong Chhnang once it is open and they have completed residencies. They both come from very poor backgrounds and they receive no compensation during their training. We have committed to paying them $150/month during their residency training.
  3. The medical trips are all paid for by those participating. The cost is $2800 per person. We have found that many of the nurses have difficulty raising the money and so we have established a restricted fund for their assistance.
  4. Though very small, we do have some ongoing administrative costs which must be met.

We hope that this information is helpful to you as you consider supporting God’s kingdom work in Cambodia . Enclosed is a card on which you can designate how you would like your contribution to be used. Above all, continue to pray with and for us.

In His Service,

Mark Sheehan, MD
Daniel Smith, MD