“Passion … a dangerous word in our world today where it seems passion for some little thing or next to nothing burns like a raging forest fire ending in widespread destruction. Broken politics, broken lives,  broken families, broken countries. The world would be better off without it. And yet, by some  definitions, this kind of …

“I am a student at Payap University majoring in English Communication. I was born in Dawei, Myanmar. When I was 11, my family moved to one of the Karen Refugee camps. I am currently living in Chiang Mai, Thailand finishing my university studies. I begin with my childhood hobby– reading. There were few entertaining options …

Karen Revolution Day 2022 was celebrated on January 31st at Rain Tree Clinic (RTC).  Our staff and students had the day off in observance of the holiday. As a Year 1 teacher, I coordinated with our RTC on-site teacher, Naw Khu Paw, to develop a fun activity for our 13 current Year 1 students. We decided on …

Thankful to be able to see so many of you when Mitch and I traveled to the US in October and November. We had not been able to travel internationally for 2 years.  We met Gwen in person (now 15 months old) and really enjoyed seeing our other grand girls, our kids, our 4 parents …

“I am Dr Nant Htet Htet Lynn Oo. I was born in the Delta Region of Myanmar and grew up in Yangon. I am Poe Karen, however, I always get a chance to work with the Sakaw Karen community. I graduated with an M.B.B.S. degree from the Institute of Medicine (1), Yangon, in April …

For as long as I can remember, my oldest son, Judah, loved road trips. He enjoyed going to new places and spending concentrated time together. We would travel with Deanna and his younger siblings, but Judah and I started going on a few trips by ourselves. Maybe it was because his younger siblings were not …

Our students are unable to attend Year 1 of our program in Chiang Mai. Normally, the first year of our 5-year Physician Assistant training program takes place here in Northern Thailand. The social-political conflict in Myanmar is preventing our students from crossing the border rather than the current COVID-19 pandemic. We could have thrown the …

Pu Saw Kyar Htoo (70) is a Buddhist from Hsaw Ohn Htar Village, Shwe Gyin Township. After he felt tired and difficult to breathe, he was diagnosed with a Lower Respiratory Tract Infection.  He received treatment in Hsaw Hti Township Hospital for about one month. Eventually, he felt better and went back home. However, after three weeks …

Start by doing what is necessary,  then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.-Francis Assisi Much of my work is behind the scenes, making sure finance, legal, and people systems are in place. Our Chiang Mai office is the headquarters of EMA for finance, HR, and education.  Nan has been working with us …

EMA has a small number of students that have gone through the Engineering Tech program.   The engineering technology program is a 3-year training course.  Graduates are proficient in construction, engine repair, equipment repair, wiring and troubleshooting electrical systems, and power generation from solar and generators.  One of the things we discovered is that EMA’s …

I don’t know about you, but this third wave of Covid-19 is just the cherry on top. Is there a word for pandemic fatigue? What about, displacement, job role change, pandemic caused relational stress plus military coup? I know that I’m not alone. I’ve been hearing about the shifting job markets all over the world, …

Ther Ray Daw Pae (T-RAD) Clinic established in 2016 by Earth Mission Asia has been an advantage for local people and rural areas as well. It is not only for the local Karen people but also benefited other ethnic groups from the different regions who needed medical healthcare. One of our old patients U Myint Aye …

As with so many other ex-pats living abroad, I had made plans to go home to the United States, for a short stay, to participate in a family matter in March of 2020.  My short stay turned into 10 months.  To keep myself occupied during my stateside time I decided to go back to college …

“My personal Covid-19 story starts in February 2020, just  before the pandemic exploded. I could never have imagined at that time that I would be writing this from Bangkok so many months later. It is now day 2 of our family’s 15-day mandatory quarantine on returning to Thailand after 8 months away.   In early February, …

I have been thinking recently about encouragement. It’s easy these days to feel dark, gloomy, and depressed with all the bad things going on in the world, the global pandemic, and the ugly effects it has had on humanity. Recently, in the USA, we Emergency Nurses were celebrated on our annual Emergency Nurses Week. The wonderful …

“My name is Naw Lay Lay Poe. I am a Physician Assistant Year 5 student at Earth Mission Asia (EMA). Before I came to EMA, I heard that EMA was doing physician assistant training by Thara Ray Kaw and Dr. Mitch. Then I asked them how many years this training would be and they said …

“I spent almost four months at Rain Tree Clinic (RTC), consisting of many good experiences and I am going to talk about three things that I learnt there. Those are similarities, differences, and new experiences.  All of the people who are located in the surrounding area are Karen and they practice the same language and …

“In 2005 our lives were forever changed when we met the first Karen who arrived at our church in Australia.  The Karen community grew rapidly and as we reached out to help them; we were blessed by being part of their lives.  We made our first of many trips to the Thai Burma border in …

“Uncertain times in our home are not new but practice has not made it any easier. Like an unmarked hairpin turn, September 2020 finds me in a different place than I planned.  An 8 week visit to the US as a family ended in August with no viable way to travel back to Asia and …

On 21st Aug 2020, Continuing Medical Education (CME) to the Village Tract Health Centers (VTHCs) Health Workers was conducted at Shwe Gyin Karen Baptist Association Hall which was organized by Ther Ray – Dau Pae (T-RAD) clinic. Three to four health workers from our target VTHCs (4 VTHCs; Htoo Lu, Htee Mu Ta, N’wah Lay Ko and Kaw Mu Der) joined the training to improve their health knowledge and strengthen …