From the Field
"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations."
PSALM 67:1-2 (ESV)
Coming Soon… New Students!
Interviews for new students will be held at the Rain Tree Clinic starting on February 24. Student interviews, testing, and medical exams will take 5 days. Community leaders will accompany their candidates, journeying from all over Karen State to compete for this opportunity for free collegiate-level education—one that equips them to change their people’s future.
We have 28 applicants for 12 PA slots and 10 applicants for 6 E-Tech slots. Please pray for each hopeful candidate and for the staff doing the interview process, that God brings us just the right ones.
Please pray about sponsoring a student’s education with your family, church, or business. Last year was our very first year to offer this opportunity to get involved—and 21% of students were sponsored! Thank you to all who are supporting these incredible young men and women.
This year, we’re expecting to have 75 students in our programs—our largest annual enrollment ever! Click below to learn how to become a Student Sponsor:
Storytelling Training in Mae Sariang
Our mission is to train healthcare teams to empower people in remote Karen areas with health, hope, and knowledge. Part of that is equipping them to tell both their story and ours—to build trust, educate their communities, and raise support for their needs.
In January, guests from Northeast Christian Church traveled from Louisville, Kentucky (USA) to visit and be part of a storytelling training. Jason and Jay talked about how to capture quality photos and videos, how to tell their own stories, and how to share Earth Mission’s vision and mission. Three staff and 2 PA students from RTC, along with 5 staff from Chiang Mai, came to Mae Sariang to participate.
During this visit we were also able to give a food donation of rice, instant noodles, oil, eggs, and dried fish to one of the local schools. This school has dorms for Karen children who live too far from their homes to be able to attend school.
Discipleship in Community
At the Rain Tree Clinic, discipleship is a part of everyday life. Here is a snapshot of what spiritual development in community looks like for our students, staff, patients, and families:
On Campus…
Monthly Bible study for staff and students
Daily evening devotions for staff and students
Visiting and praying for patients in the inpatient ward
Weekly church service for anyone on RTC campus, including patients and their families
Distributing Bibles (Karen, Burmese, English)
…and Beyond!
Despite so much change in 2024, we held Sunday School classes for children of our staff and local villages 38 out of 52 weeks during the year. RTC students and staff visited local churches in the area to lead Sunday School classes and teach local children about Jesus’ love for them.
We are thankful for these opportunities to show and teach about God’s love.
PA PROGRAM // Mental Health Training
Year 4 students had a 2 week training in mental health with many hands-on activities from a very interactive clinical psychologist! For regular clinic duties, they are working in four rotating teams: Administrative, Medical Supplies, Pharmacy, and Laboratory—learning the departments of a busy hospital.
Year 3 students had lectures on GI bleeding, weekly SOAP note reviews, and exams for peripheral vascular diseases and snake bites. While Year 4 students had their extra mental health training, Year 3 students were on standby to cover the inpatient department.
Year 2 students have busy days. In the mornings, they practiced history taking and physical examination with patients in the clinic, and presented these to doctors or PAs. They had afternoon class lectures on trauma, emergency, and critical care, with weekly SOAP note reviews.
Year 1 students learned microbiology, embryology, general English, Karen Politics and history, and Introduction to Public Health. They also got to teach preschool students at RTC campus!
Conflict has displaced many families throughout the country, including many families of our staff and students. Please pray for our students and their families.
E-TECH PROGRAM // Students are building
The E-tech students are at RTC for hands-on training. In January, they learned about daily maintenance, project management for building structures, and how to construct a concrete foundation:
Daily maintenance involves checking the condition of power and water supplies. For power, they need to determine whether solar power can be used or if they need to switch on the generator. For water, they need to make sure water is available in key areas such as the IPD and operating room.
This year we will construct two buildings: our preschool and the outpatient department renovation. Students estimated the quantity of construction materials required, including the number of cement bags and hollow steel beams needed.
The students learned how to construct a building’s foundation and collected sand and gravel for the water storage tank and IPD.
RTC HOSPITAL CAMPUS // Patients are coming
In January, the RTC Hospital saw 560 outpatients, admitted 178, performed 50 surgeries including 2 leg amputations, and had 9 deliveries.
The engineering department is collecting sand and gravel for several building projects. Cement delivery from the west is delayed due to the government restricting transport. Our transport picking up supplies from Thailand has a lot of wear and tear. It is expensive to buy and ship heavy construction supplies plus medical and general supplies. We need more truck and motorcycle parts. We also need more manpower to do the ordering and purchasing.
Pray for these needs as this is the prime building time while the weather is dry.
MOBILE KAREN SURGICAL HOSPITAL // The war gets closer
February 1, 2025 marked four years since the military coup. The situation is getting worse and worse.
In January, the Mobile Karen Surgical Hospital (MKSH) team saw 97 outpatients, 15 inpatients, and 10 surgery cases including 3 leg amputations. There were 27 war-related cases, including injuries due to mortar blasts, gun shots, grenades and airstrike bombing.
From the MKSH team: “PA graduate HlaWin came back from the very front line to our MKSH bringing a patient. I really see the difference these guys make. When patients are referred from this initial point, they are usually stabilized… splints, tourniquets if needed, chest tube if needed, antibiotics started. When patients come from other places, it's really a big unknown.
I am so impressed with our front line team. Raykaw (RTC Site Director) must have been really close to the strafing run himself. The whole top half of this patient's thigh was blown open by the round, including the femoral artery. You can lose one liter of blood a minute with these kinds of femoral artery injuries… i.e. dead within a few minutes. Besides dealing with a hostile jet trying to kill them, it was dark. I imagine blood everywhere blocking the view, patients screaming in pain, too high for a tourniquet. He tied off the artery perfectly and a few of the big veins. Did a type and cross in the field and found a donor. Collected a unit and gave it to the patient. Honestly… I don’t know how he did it. When the patient arrived here, Dr. Augustine used a sterile infant feeding tube as an arterial shunt. Still couldn’t get a distal pulse but capillary refill seemed better. The patient was then sent on to Thailand.” 6:38 PM January 28
Pray for every patient who receives care—both physical and spiritual—at our RTC Hospital and our Mobile Karen Surgical Hospital. Their country is in such turmoil, it is dangerous to travel. We are thankful that our Earth Mission staff and students are positioned to provide this care.
“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. “ Hebrews 13:1-2 (ESV)
