Saturday, Sept 22, 2007 9:30am
My office


I've had a few questions of late regarding the trip, so I'll try to give a few answers here:

Who is Going?
Me and four people in the medical profession (specifically in eye care).
Dr. Paul Froula is the ophthalmologist. He and I have been good friends since college. He has done this trip one time before.
Dana Froula is his wife and former assistant.
Tiffany Glandon is Paul’s current assistant. By the way, I’m sure there is more professional title than “his assistant” but I don’t know what it is.
Seth Miller is a manufacturer’s rep for medical supply company. He provides equipment and supplies to Paul’s clinics.

What organization is in charge?
Actually, I was surprised to find out that I don’t think it is fair to say that any particular organization is in charge. Paul decided he wanted to do this trip. He knows others who do similar trips, and there is some good trading of information and medical equipment for such trips. But, this is pretty much a Paul Froula endeavor. This is not to say that others are not helping. A ministry that Paul supports in Knoxville, Hands and Feet Ministry, is, I think, the social outreach component of a church where Paul sometimes worships. I’m not sure really that Hands and Feet is tied to this one church though. Paul has told me of many of the efforts of this ministry, including things like car clinics for single mothers. Hands and Feet is supporting this trip, but I suspect Paul is a significant benefactor of Hands and Feet, and likely he expects to make sure that Hands and Feet does not loose money on this particular endeavor.

The organization in Suriname that is helping significantly with logistics is a missionary component of the southern Baptist church http://www.n2allnations.org/. This website tells a lot more about their mission and the region than I will be able to tell. If any organization could be said to be sponsoring this trip, it would be this one. Charles Shirey (the lead missionary) is helping significantly with logistics and arrangements, and has put together a schedule of events. I expect he is also doing all the communication to people who will be receiving medical treatment.

How is the trip funded?
I don’t know about the others, but I agreed to pay for my own trip (travel, food and lodging). I don’t yet know the amount of this commitment….maybe about $2,000. But this will be somewhat offset by contributions that I have raised (to date, about $2,000). So, I get a free trip, right? Not exactly. There are many costs for which I will not be reimbursed. I hope to raise more money than what I have already raised. I am not sure if the others are similarly trying to find individual “sponsors” or if Paul recruited them with the understanding that he would pay for their expenses, or if they are paying their own expenses. I suspect a combination of all the above. Of course there are significant costs that are not attributed to any individual….the medical supplies for example. Some is donated by Seth’s company, some by Paul’s practice, some is purchased. I hope that my fund raising efforts will go towards offsetting the total cost of the trip.

Today’s Info
Getting ready to depart for Knoxville.....sometime today, sort of depends on how quickly I can get things together. We depart in the morning from Knoxville. I don't know if and when I will be able to connect and update this blog. My brother is letting me use a handy little tablet computer, and I will use it to keep my journal and collect photos. I’m sure I will have time to write while in flight tomorrow, but I don’t know if I will have access to internet in order to post. On Continental, we go from Knoxville to Houston to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Then we switch to Caribbean Airlines and fly to Paramaribo, Suriname. I think we spend the night there (what’s left of it) and then catch a local aircraft to the interior. If I can connect to the internet, I will download more.