June 2012

Dear Moses Project supporter:

Almost six  months has past since our last update; I trust 2012 has been going well for you.  As you are aware, here in the Middle East things have not been stable recently – not any more so than for any of the past several hundred years!  Uprisings and brutal repression and unusual weather – all signs that we are indeed living in the end times.

At Moses project we are struggling with issues that we trust God will use in our lives for His glory.  Some are struggles related to growth in the work we have in the clinic – for this we are truly grateful!  Some are struggles related to economic challenges (I understand that though this is on a different scale here than in North America, we all have challenges in this regard!) and some are health related challenges.

Regarding work opportunities, growth in the clinic leads to more opportunity to reach out to more people with the good news, and also helps legitimize our presence here.  Thanks be to God, the 2008 pickup truck we were able to purchase works very well and meets our needs wonderfully.  We are now able to reach some of the poorest of the poor in areas inaccessible by car.  Our operating expenses for vehicle have gone up somewhat but with money saved from not having to rent a car month by month, we are able to cover those expenses; driving along the highway is now more safe (and more comfortable too!).  We are able to reach clients that in the past would need to give us rides to their farms.  Some still choose to give us rides as it is a little cheaper for them to do that than to pay the small amount we ask for mileage costs with our truck.  Either way is fine with me – riding in their own vehicle actually gives more time for meaningful discussion, in a safe environment.

Though work here is quite seasonal, depending on the rains, there has been an upward trend both in number of examinations and amount of medication administered and dispensed.  We are quite limited in the type of medication we can get here but are able to obtain all basic types of medication and supplements for livestock.  The small amount of companion animal work we do is limited by equipment and medication availability but with the lack of service availability in our area, clients essentially need to choose between our clinic or nothing at all.  Having said that, the number of small animal cases per month can be counted on two hands.  Still, fees for such work help support the outreach among large animal clients.

Health related concerns have to do with Dr. Joe, who has recently been diagnosed with spinal disc disease, a condition which causes considerable pain at times.  Please pray for healing there.

Your brothers and sisters in Christian churches have been very much affected by the ‘Arab spring’ of recent years, mostly in the form of increased oppression.  We ask not that you pray for freedom nor new government nor overthrow of regimes but that in all that is happening, God will work His will for His honor, and that His children (we) will prove faithful in tribulation and act in ways that are in line with His calling and bring Him glory, no matter what the cost is to us.  Do pray for us though please – we need your prayers. 

Recently it has become clear that we need to be able to raise more funds to continue the work here.  This has been a prayer concern for some time, and in response to what we believe to be God’s leading, after much prayer we have taken the step of hiring another Christian veterinarian to work in the clinic.  That might not sound like the typical response to insufficient support, but we are thrilled to have Dr. Mark join us.  Dr. Mark is a new graduate and is learning a lot from in-the-field training with Dr. Joe.  The plan is that having Dr. Mark with us as a full time worker in the clinic will free Dr. Joe up to spend more time in direct evangelism and fundraising.  This transition will take place over the next half year or so, as Dr. Mark becomes more familiar with the practice and more competent and confident in his work. 

The support we have been able to raise through CVM, together with the limited income from the clinic, will hopefully be able to continue to support Dr. Mark and related expenses.  Meantime, believing that God is calling him to more of an outreach and fundraising emphasis, Dr. Joe has declined ongoing support and is moving out in faith that God will provide.  As He always does, even though it may not always appear how that will happen moving forward.

Please pray for Drs. Joe and Mark and for Sam, the assistant, as they seek to be faithful kingdom workers.  If possible to also give to the Moses project, please do so – we need your prayer support and are also very thankful for financial support.

In the name of our King,

Your brothers in Christ

I have great memories of my first trip to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in October 2009.   I had applied to work in Mongolia as a shuttle veterinarian for Christian Veterinary Mission.

After dropping off my luggage at my apartment my Mongolian guide took me to the small animal clinic where I was immediately put to work.  Within an hour I was assisting a young Mongolian veterinarian with surgery  for a foreign body blockage using multiple enterotomies to retrieve a cloth bag that a dog had eaten two days before.  It was a great start!

I loved my time in Mongolia that first year and every October for the past 2 years I have returned to Ulaanbaatar. 

This past October my job description was a little bit different from my first two years.  This year I was asked to teach 20 hours of small animal medicine in the Masters Program,  I also taught two surgery classes at the Mongolian veterinary college and worked  at the Enerekh Caring small animal hospital and training center. 

The Masters Program is coordinated by V.E.T Net and is offered in conjunction with the Mongolian veterinary college and 4 veterinary schools in the U.S.A.  It is a graduate degree program for Mongolian veterinarians.  At the present only V.E.T. Net veterinarians are registered in the program but starting next year upper year students from the veterinary college will also be accepted.   The Masters Program is a significant collabrative relationship between the Mongolian veterinary school and V.E.T. Net. 

Mongolia is a country bordered by Russia on the north and China on the south.  It became a communist country, aligning itself with the Soviet Union after breaking away from China in 1921.  In 1992 it became a parliamentary republic with the introduction of perestroika and glasnost in the U.S.S.R.

Over 1 million people live in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The remaining 1.7 million people are herder families who live a semi-nomadic existence in the countryside as they move their sheep, goats, cattle and horses over large areas of unfenced hill country.  When an area becomes overgrazed the herders move their gers, a round tent house made of layers of felt and canvas, and move to a new area. 

Christian Veterinary Mission is  “share Christ’s love through veterinary medicine” and more specifically to engage in continuing education for Mongolian companion animal and food animal veterinarians.  Equally important is V.ET. Net’s involvement with the education of herder families and their children.

V.E.T Net employs about 80 Mongolians who work as teachers. veterinarians, animal health technologists and administrators.   There are also 8 full time expatriates who act as advisors and receive all their financial support from donors outside Mongolia.

Throughout the year about 65 “shuttle” veterinarians from North America, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain travel to Mongolia to work with V.E.T Net.  They are committed to the continuing education of Mongolian companion, food animal and equine veterinarians.  In addition to teaching veterinary medicine, shuttle veterinarians are called upon to lead Bible studies and devotions for the V.E.T. Net team in Ulaanbaatar or in the countryside. 

During the summer months teams of teachers, veterinarians and animal health technologists travel from the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, into the countryside.  They are involved with the education and personal development of herder children and their families as well as continuing education with large animal veterinarians.  The summer teams work in 21 aimags (provinces) in an area approximately the size of Alberta and British Columbia combined.   It takes 5 travel days to reach the most western province.    Although planting churches is not specifically V.E.T. Net’s mandate, many house churches result from V.E.T Net’s three year involvement in a countryside community. 

The Enerekh Caring small animal clinic and training center in Ulaanbaatar is a fully equipped veterinary hospital operated by Mongolian veterinarians.  Dr. Karen Smirmaul, from the USA, is an advisor for the clinic.  It’s a busy practice with several thousand charts. 

This year during my afternoons at the clinic I helped evaluate radiographs of a fractured femur repaired earlier with an external fixator, sutured a macerated external ear flap, replaced two prolapsed vaginas in central Asian Shepherds, and did a total ear ablation on a Cocker Spaniel with chronic otitits externa. 

The Enerekh Caring small animal clinic is well equipped with an X-ray unit, a laboratory and a surgical suite with gas anesthesia. It is the only small animal clinic in Ulaanbaatar with this kind of equipment. All surgical procedures are done under sterile conditions with surgical caps, masks and gowns.   As a service to the other clinics in Ulaanbaatar the V.E.T. Net small animal clinic periodically offers Saturday training days in surgery, anesthesia and sterile technique. 

Every week 60 or more veterinary students gather together at the V.E.T. Net office for supper followed by a Bible study.  Some of these students from previous years have become Christians and are now on staff at the veterinary clinic or work with V.E.T. Net in the countryside.  Many students from the veterinary school also attend the biweekly teaching sessions held at the Enerekh veterinary small animal clinic on various aspects of small animal practice.  During my time at the clinic last year I taught a session on reading and interpreting radiographs. 

Shuttle veterinarians are often invited to give lectures in companion and food animal medicine and surgery at the Mongolian University Veterinary School. Last year I taught two “lectures” in companion internal medicine:  one case in dermatology and another in endocrinology and introduced the students to the problem orientated case based learning model.  They worked together in small groups to formulate a diagnostic plan.  This year I helped the students work through two surgical cases using power point presentations and videos. 

In August a Canadian colleague Dr. Dana Caswell, from Ontario, travelled to Mongolia with V.E.T. Net.  She  spent most of her time in the countryside.  The countryside is a never ending landscape of rolling hills and sparsely covered grasslands populated with herders who slowly move horses, sheep, goats, and cattle to new grazing areas. There are few fences in Mongolia.

Large Animal “shuttle” veterinarians join a V.E.T. Net team and travel into the remote areas of the Mongolian countryside for a period of 2-3 weeks.  In small settlements and villages Mongolian large animal veterinarians gather together for 2-3 day continuing education seminars on various topics and procedures such as: Caesarean section, parasite monitoring and control, and animal nutrition.

Dana writes:

"We drove to the far west side of the country to a province called Uvs.  Our team consisted of Toodoo our driver, Tsoomoo a large animal vet, Inkbayar a small animal vet, Melissa a veterinary tech and long term missionary and myself.  Our goal was to visit with the countryside veterinarians and meet with some of their herders to do training and also to follow up with the herders who were finishing the model herder program.  The herders were all very happy with the programs, and reported increased cashmere, and healthier animals because of the drugs V.E.T. Net provided. We also saw and treated some sick animals with the countryside vets as we went.

Visiting with the herder families in their gers was some of the most interesting and rewarding time spent on the trip.  Travelling the Mongolian countryside is truly an adventure, and an eye opening experience in terms of cultural differences, living conditions and generally a good exercise in learning to trust in God and to be flexible!  The country is beautiful and I will treasure the many pictures I took.  I hope the time the team spent together with the countryside herders and vets will have strengthened relationships and allow for further opportunities to share the gospel in the future." 

My October visit to Mongolia with V.E.T. Net was my best time so far.  I became friends with the other team members and felt I belonged in this work.  I loved Ulaanbaatar and plan to return in October 2012. 

I decided to go to Mongolia as a volunteer with Christian Veterinary Mission to share the experience I have developed over  many years of practicing veterinary medicine in Alberta and Saskatchewan.  

Mongolia is great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to share Christ’s love through veterinary medicine.