John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

RIHTPI Motto: Reaching the isolated and under-served through Compassionate Care

I, Samuel Evans, MD and now through RIHTPI, have now been serving in the Philippines for 17 years and we have tried to serve, help, assist, fellowship with and worship together with the Lumad (Minority tribes), Moslems, and provide relief and medical assistance following multiple major Filipino disasters. RIHTPI (purpose/vision is below) has primarily been addressed through out community health education programs,

in remote areas of Mindanao. Mindanao has four out of the five highest poverty regions in the Philippines. We also serve by doing church planting and leadership training in associate with the General Baptist Church of the Philippines. Through partnerships, we avoid the problems of chronic charity (dependency).

...Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14) Merry Christmas! Keith, Carrie, Jason and Lucas The week before Christmas, our family visited a Christian school that uses the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum. This is the same curriculum that our family uses to homeschool our boys. The children's faces were glowing with excitement as the principal toured us through the school. Weeks before, Carrie asked one of the teachers, also a GB pastor, if the school could use the Literature reading books that the boys had already completed. It just so happens that they accidentally left off most of these books on an order months ago and the school greatly needed them. It's amazing how God works!

This school is in-side a church, and as the principal and the pastor (her husband) explained, "The school is a ministry of the church. The children are our connection to their parents. This makes it easier to visit their families and invite them to Bible studies." This school started ten years ago with seven students and now the Lord has blessed them with 132!

What an encouraging time we had visiting this school! We may not be with our family this Christmas but we are blessed to experience this time with the people God has placed in our lives. May you also be blessed this Christmas.

Our time is short now. All of the remaining pastoral textbooks have been donated to both groups that are continuing the training. Most all of our personal items are sold and we have started packing. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

RIHTPI Purpose/Vision: 1. To provide free medical outreach clinics and surgeries to

indigenous people in the remote areas of the Philippines where there is lack of access to medical care.

2. To provide a program to train indigenous people as health-care workers who will remain in these remote areas as medical resource people.

3. To teach indigenous communities about preventive health-care and community health.

4. To empower the indigenous people to learn to navigate their own national health-care system.

5. Being open about who we are as Christians and unambiguous in our communications; holding honesty, integrity and respect of others as core values.

6. To promote and provide leadership training and community development of these remote areas and indigenous people.

RIHTPI has Five Main Educational Programs: 1) Healthcare workers training program (10 sessions given one

week/session/month for 10 months, 2) First-aid & disaster relief trainings (2-3 days training), 3) Tribal ministry (weekly) including summer young camps (3-5

days), 4) Leadership training (potentially 4-years training, with each one

week/month for 12 months) and now 5) Starting 2019, a Livelihood Training Program to address the

financial limitations of our now over 1700 graduates with TESDA recognized certificates.

For donations: We make it easy to give online through Facebook www.reachihc.com Or send a check to: Reach International Healthcare and Training, Inc. P.O. Box 152, Caulfield, MO 65626

Contact us through Dr. Sam Evans samuel.c.evans@gmail.com Keith and Carrie Bowers ckbowers510@gmail.com Reach Office Philippines Cherry Nen Otbot nen_sheca@yahoo.com Magic Jack Phone (417) 942-6359

Weekly Updates are posted on www.facebook.com/rihtpi

Remembering His Greatness - Shielani L. Otbot, RN “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” Psalm 105:1”.

It is true that we should continue to praise God for the works He had done for us. As the team started the first week of December going to Kihan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province, we encountered some troubles along the way with some brake issues with our vehicle but by God’s grace we were able to move on for the week to do the first aid training and free health assessment at Sitio Nabol of Barangay Kihan. Before reaching the village, we had to ride a motorcycle up the hills and across the river to a village (Sitio Canaan) where we start hiking another 2.3 kilometers. Along our journey, I am reminded of how amazing and wondrous God’s creation is. The well-crafted mountains that He created and the welcoming people of B’laan tribe.

On the next day, the team had started the health assessment in a hut made of bamboo and coconut leaves. Some people came from a neighboring village (Sitio Banlas). Though they must walk from their house with the heat of the sun they have the eagerness to come for they needed the health assessment and medi-cine. Most of the people that we had checked were sick of respiratory illnesses. One of our companions, a pastor, told me that there was a boy whose finger was cut-off. Three days had pass and no treatment was done. His name is Eleazar, 8 years old. He came together with his mother and two other siblings whom I have seen also. The mother said that the boy was trying to open a coconut with a machete, but it accidentally landed on his left thumb and cut his finger off. The only treatment they did was to put chopped guava leaves to the wound which made the wound looking worse and dirty. So, the intervention I did with the help of my colleague was to soak it in the water with little amount of hydrogen peroxide and beta-dine for 30 minutes to soften the crust. After that was debridement and we put a nice clean dressing. The boy was afraid and crying that he was begging to his mother for us to stop. But that did not a hinder my desire to help him and pain is inevitably part of it. Eventually the procedure was finished and we all could breathe with relief.

What a privilege to have been a part in reaching many people to this moun-tainous area. We may never seem to see it as we go along the way, but in the end, He reveals His marvelous wonderful plans. In this case, was to minister to Eleazar and his family. I am blessed and reminded that each day of our lives God is mindful of us, He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Before After

- Samuel C. Evans, MD

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