God’s Direction

This is a chronicle of the exciting saga and journey of a medical missionary couple and the way God led and used them to achieve His redemptive plan in the lives of thousands of people. Separated by over 700 miles in their beginning years, their paths merged in their early adult years to become one. The intertwining of their lives signaled the beginning of their journey of over 50 years of ministry together. Their story portrays how God's sovereign hand was at work in both lives from their earliest days. It illustrates how God can take any obedient follower, despite any circumstances of early years, and lead them on an amazing adventure of ministry.

Their initial place of service was in southeast Thailand where they were a part of the opening of a hospital in a remote medically under served area. Shortly after opening, the hospital inherited an unexpected group of over 2,000 leprosy patients. Loving care soon added an additional 2,000 patients. It was a wonderful opportunity to provide compassionate care to a neglected people and opened the door to a wonderful ministry that brought many people to the Lord and was instrumental in the establishment of many churches.

In a totally unexpected development a committed group of Thai national physicians joined the hospital staff years before the missionary staff thought it would happen. In addition, the former national business manager became capable of functioning as the administrator. These additions of national staff were a factor in leading the Goatchers to resign from the FMB for a temporary period to allow the nationals to assume greater responsibility. Leaving Thailand was a difficult decision for the Goatchers; they had planned for Thailand to be their home until retirement. Their return to an unknown work situation in the states led to Earl becoming the Administrator of the hospital in Van Horn, TX and Joann becoming the Medical Director for the Rio Grande River Ministry, a mission arm of Texas Baptists. She coordinated the work of many volunteer physicians and dentists who staffed clinics along the river border, primarily in Mexico, from El Paso to Brownsville, Texas.

In 1979 they were asked to return to Thailand to direct the Thailand Baptist Mission response to the flood of Southeast Asia refugees along the Thai/Cambodia border. Joann was the Medical Director of a 100 bed, M*A*S*H type hospital, providing a full range of medical care to over 20,000 refugees. Earl, with a Thai and Cambodian staff, was responsible for providing food, fuel and other services to 45,000 refugees, located in four separate camps. It was a difficult, emotionally draining but gratifying ministry for almost three years. Providing most of the necessities of life to a people who had barely survived the killing fields of Pol Pot served as an impetus for thousands to ask about the faith that prompted such loving care. Over 5,000 refugees who survived the atrocities became Christians because of what they had experienced from the God of creation.

As the refugee crisis gradually diminished Joann and Earl began an itinerant medical ministry to isolated people groups throughout Southeast Asia. A major part of their effort was spent in a remote, primitive area in India, teaching and training a group of 15 trainees the basics of primary/preventive health care. Living and working in villages intermittently for over two years brought about a significant decrease in the morbidity and mortality rates of the villagers. That work also served as an inspiring impetus for the establishment of many new churches, even in the face of persecution. In addition to the clinics in India, clinics were also conducted in Bangladesh and in remote areas of Thailand.

Concurrently with the work described above, Earl served 11 years at the Baptist Hospital in Bangalore, India, both in the role of Board Member and Interim Administrator when needed. In addition, he surveyed portions of Laos and Vietnam with a view to reestablishing a missionary presence in those countries after missionaries left in 1975. Earl also served as Administrator of the Thai Mission from 1983 to 1987.

Joann continued her work with refugees as Medical Director of a refugee transit center in Bangkok and, when possible, as a staff physician in her original hospital in Bangkla.

In 1987 Earl was asked to join the staff of the Baptist Foreign Mission Board in Richmond, Virginia in the World Hunger office. His responsibility was to review, evaluate and monitor hunger, refugee, health care and agriculture project requests on a worldwide scope. With the projects being funded through the Hunger Fund office he traveled extensively all over the world to assist the field directors in understanding the criteria for initiating a request.

Relocating to Richmond required Joann to completely readjust her work and ministry options. She divided her time between three part time jobs. One was serving as a Medical Consultant for the Foreign Mission Board, evaluating all new missionary candidates seeking appointment. Another part time job was serving as Medical Consultant for juvenile offenders for the Virginia Department of Correction. Finally, she was a Medical Consultant for the Henrico County School District, of which Richmond was the county seat.

After years of travel and much separation as a family they retired in 1991.