A letter from Amy Davisson Galetzka serving in Thailand
Fall 2014
Dear Friends and Family,
In my opinion this year has already been overly full. And we are not quite three-quarters of the way through. I understand that all of these events had good results. However, the process of getting through them, of waiting, communicating, and trying not to be anxious about the future was not easy. Some of the events to which I am referring:
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at the performance with Benjawan, Mat (another Pan Rak employee) and Laurie (Co-Executive Director of Pan Rak Foundation)
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Nadia and I
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At my computer in the Pan Rak office—daily scene.
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Naw Chi Gay Paw – young patient we are supporting.
• A new job for my husband after a few months of wondering where or what he might be doing. I felt confident that he would be an amazing part of any group and it was a sure thing that he would be asked to join, but the waiting and wondering about the future and wanting him to have something to do that he loved was a test of my patience.
• Wondering if my mom would have a clear report on her next CT scans to see if her lung cancer had returned.
• I have to fight against being overly worried after Nadia’s illness.
• Major transitions in work that seem to be constant, lengthy and complicated.
As I am searching for encouragement in God’s Word, these verses stand out as something to hold on to:
Transition: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13.
Hope: …through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. Romans 5:2-7.
Updates
The Pan Rak Foundation is a registered non-profit organization in Thailand with the vision to “Share God’s love in tangible ways that bless people, to inspire relationships with God, and to help people share this love with others.” I work full time with this foundation as a long-term international volunteer with the PC(USA).
Pan Rak board meeting: We had an amazing time together with the board of directors, management team and staff, program coordinators and participants. It was a rich time of planning and sharing, with wisdom and direction revealed during our strategic planning time. We have a new vision: To share God’s love in tangible ways that bless people, to inspire relationships with God, and to help people share this love with others.
We also established a foundation of guidance from our founder/executive director:
1. Know that love comes from God and experience this love in everything that we do
2. Understand that our motivation is more than love—it is shared conviction that this love comes from God
3. Understand that communicating the gospel is a part of everything that we do
The president of the board: P’Sugar is president of the Pan Rak Foundation. We were able to visit her amazing home in Bangkok. We are blessed by her wisdom.
Audit Update: We had a check-up of the first six months of our finances. They gave us a positive report and had no serious recommendations for change to our procedures or records.
A Story of Hope
One of the health projects that Pan Rak supports is caring for patients who come from Burma (Myanmar), where there is no adequate health care. The Pan Rak Foundation facilitates the funds that help pay for the transportation and care of patients like this young girl:
Naw Chi Gay Paw is a 4-year-old little girl who has osteomyelitis of her right femur. She first came to the Jungle School of Medicine–Kawthoolei (JSMK) in July with a three-month history of an abscess of her thigh. This abscess was very deep. An X-ray of her leg at JSMK revealed that the growth plate of the femur had separated from the bone and the entire length of the bone was infected. Trusting that God would provide a way to finance this little one's care, we decided to bring her out of the jungle for more specialized medical help.
Upon arrival at the specialty hospital, Naw Chi Gay Paw was admitted for emergency surgery to try to clear the infection out of her hip and bone. It was discovered that she had a second fracture of her femur near her knee. Pins were used to hold this area in place and pins were also used to try to re-attach the growth plate to the end of the femur. She stayed in the hospital for a month to receive IV antibiotics and she ended up having two more surgeries to try to remove more of the bone that had died as a result of the infection.
At this point Naw Chi Gay Paw and her father are staying at a rural rehabilitation hospital where she can continue to receive IV antibiotics and recuperate. This little girl, who has already experienced more pain in her short life than most of us ever will, still has a very long journey of healing ahead of her. She will need at least four more months worth of medications and it will take a long time for her bone to heal and become strong enough for her to walk on it. Please pray for healing for Naw Chi Gay Paw, strength for her father, who accompanied her to Thailand and is separated from the rest of his family, and for the family who remained behind to continue to be able to farm and keep up their livelihood.
Prayer:
I am the deputy director for the Pan Rak Foundation, directing the staff and making sure programs and funds are accountable and efficient so that people in need, like Naw Chi Gay Paw, get quality care. I ask your prayers for wisdom in continuing to establish the Pan Rak Foundation structures and environment. I pray for blessings and encounters with the love of God for the employees and program participants and all who come in contact with us. We hope to show God’s love in all of our relationships and work.
I am sincerely thankful for your love, care, support and prayers, and ask that you continue with me to bring about God’s reign here. What an amazing privilege to partner with you all in this work!
I would love to be in touch with you—please send me an email, coordinate with me to plan a Skype call or a visit to learn more about my work. If you would like to know more about any of the work I have described in this letter or past letters please let me know.
God Bless you!
Amy (for Nadia and Johnny too!)
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 224
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 235
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