There are too many people I need to report to for me to write individually. Please know that as I seal each of these letters I am thinking of you and thankful for your interest.

BandS Ministries Review of 2005

This has been the most productive year of ministry since I began doing medical missions. God has blessed me with good health and sufficient funds to make nine out of country trips. I wish I had time and space to give a detailed report on each trip, but such is not the case.

January 7-8
I spoke at the Medical Mission’s Seminar in Dallas. This is always a time of great fellowship and reunion.

January 12-20
I worked in Cebu, Babag, Tagaytay and Manila, Philippines. This was my fifth trip to the Philippines and it almost seems like going home. We have many friends there and they always are a great team to work with.

January 20-29
I worked in south India helping with the tsuanami relief. I was able to get an India Visa while in Manila, so the travel was much cheaper than it would have been if I had come home. I cannot describe the memories I have of the devastation there. What burns in my mind most vividly was the “lostness” of the people. They had once worshipped the sea, taken their living from it and their children played on the shores. After the tsunami they were afraid to go near the ocean and many believed their god was very angry with them.

Two truck loads of supplies (blankets, mats, cooking pots, rice, oil, pickles, stoves etc) were provided by Caris Foundation. Dr. Carroll Osbourn, the Executive Director of Caris, and I distributed supplies to four villages and one orphan’s home. We could not have found a better working partner than Dr. Alexander and the Phillips Hospital staff. We estimated that about 500 families were helped in this way.

February 26 – March 13
I traveled with Jim Karl and the T.E.A.R.S.
team from the Lake Jackson Church of Christ to Nias, Indonesia. Nias was one of the most devastated areas following the great tsunami. We conducted clinics in remote villages and at the Lukas Hospital. The crowds were so large that it got to be a dangerous situation. We treated hundreds of patients, but there were about 2,000 in line when we arrived at the clinic each morning and we could only treat 500 each day. Many of the workers suffered from dehydration and heat stroke. This was the most difficult trip of my life. I worked every day and didn’t get sick, but it took longer to recover from this trip than most.

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