In an October 25, 2010 Denver Baptist Examiner column titled, “John Hatch – Going Out on a Limb in Thailand”, John Hatch told readers he accepted God’s call to dedicate his life to the mission field. Hatch, a Denver prosthetist, felt God’s call leading him to Thailand to use his experience and talents from his long career building prosthetic limbs. On previous trips to Thailand he had been told of a need for helping victims of Thailand’s civil and boarder wars who had stepped on buried mines and lost legs or arms. He would provide the prosthetic limbs at no charge to the recipients.
When Hatch arrived in Thailand, he set out to identify the number of people in need of his services. He tells us of his time there in the following account:
Soon after I got to Thailand, I found out there was already a program to provide assistance to people in need of artificial limbs. I traveled all over country and found a clinic just 37 miles from the church I was associated with there. There are two systems of prosthetic care in Thailand. One takes three weeks to build a limb and won’t take care of non-citizens. I also found there were only 22 people in the area I was staying who needed prosthesis. There wouldn’t be enough need to meet my work for me to stay.
Because of the proximity of the church to the existing clinic Hatch located, the pastor said he would make sure those in need of a prosthesis would be provided transportation by himself or someone in his church. But the story of Hatch’s time in Thailand doesn’t end here. There were trials and revelations that opened up other doors, as he continues:
Early in my stay, I was riding a motorcycle in the area and was involved in an accident. I hit my head and was unconscious for a couple of hours. When I regained consciousness, there was a man standing in front of me and I was in a lot of pain from my shoulder. I could tell it was probably broken. The man asked me if I was ok and I pointed to my shoulder. In disbelief, I watched as he took out a bottle of oil and poured it over my head and prayed with me. How fortunate for me that the first person to stop to give me aid was a Christian. He took me to the nearest hospital and a doctor set the bones in my shoulder, which turned out to be broken in three places. When I woke up from the effects of the pain medicine there was a woman sitting in a chair at the foot of my bed. She was reading the Bible. I wasn’t sure if she spoke English so I pointed at her Bible and gave her the thumbs up sign to let her know I was a believer too. In a country with such a small population of Christians, I couldn’t believe God had placed two believers in my path during this time of need. After I was released from the hospital and back in my own bed, thoughts ran through my mind about my mission in Thailand and what I was supposed to do next. I prayed, asking God if He was finished with me here since there weren’t enough people in need of my services. God answered, “Yes”. The feeling that came over me was like being wrapped up in a soft blanket. It was as peaceful as I’ve ever been and I knew God had spoken to me.
We’ve been told all our lives and even experienced it ourselves, when God closes one door he opens up another. Colorado Baptists have what’s referred to as a “shoulder to shoulder” partnership with Wyoming and Alberta, Canada. “Shoulder to shoulder means that the three conventions share the same level of Kingdom challenges and fully understand each other’s cultures. As Colorado, Wyoming and Alberta partner in various projects they operate on the same level – shoulder to shoulder.
Roy Spannagel, a former associate pastor at Riverside Baptist in Denver, is now a pastor in Calgary, Canada. He and John Hatch came in contact with each other and the two are making plans for Hatch to join Spannagel on the mission field in Alberta, possibly as soon as the end of February.
The truth here is God places His servants where He sees a fit for a need. All we have to do is make ourselves available to go wherever He calls.
John Hatch had the skills and experience to fit a need in Thailand. When he arrived in the country there were already clinics within reasonable distances, but not everyone in need of this specialized care knew where they were. Hatch located them and now the people have access.
Now, in Canada, God is hatching a new plan for John Hatch.
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