donna and brick thompson - team march 2014

donna thompson

  Hello!  I am so excited for our trip.  I graduated from nursing school (University of Kentucky:  March Madness anyone?) in 1976 and became a Family Nurse Practitioner in 1985.  My nursing career has been primarily in ICU and ER.  I worked in Critical Care until I obtained my FNP.  In 1985, I began teaching Critical Care and working part-time as an FNP.   Nursing is the best profession in the world and I love it!  I began traveling with COPI in 2002.  I’ve been very fortunate to go on a mission trip once or twice a year until 2011.  I developed a Study Abroad program for nursing students in 2005 and brought students to Viet Nam with me until 2011.  There were not enough students in 2012 and 2013 for my employer to offer the Study Abroad.  I retired from the college in December and now co binh is in trouble!  There’s nothing to stop me (except finances) from tagging along whenever i get the chance!

I was born in Kentucky and moved to Utah after college.  I am incredibly fortunate to have married the most wonderful man in the world!  Brick is the love of my life and my best friend.  We were not able to have children of our own, but God blessed us with COPI’s children to love.  I love animals almost as much as children!  Right now we have two cats named Tucker and Romeow.  In addition to traveling and camping; I love to quilt, knit and crochet.  

This is going to be a great adventure and I can’t wait!    

brick thompson

Hi everybody.  My name is “Brickell”, but I go by BRICK.  I was born in Oregon, but grew up in Montana.  My family moved to Utah when my Dad became the Director of the Utah State Health Department.  He was a pediatrician and my Mom was a nurse. Medical things were second nature in our house.  I have always loved airplanes and had more credits for aeronautics in college than the business degree I received from Westminister College.  I love anything mechanical; cars, trains, planes, etc.  My brother is a builder and we are both retired now.  It’s given us a chance to work on building and mechanical projects over the past year and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  I also love the outdoors.  Camping and traveling are two of my favorite past-times. I also love to read.

I became involved with COPI when Donna decided to go on her first mission trip.  I went with her the next year and we have been making it an annual event since.  I wasn’t sure there was much I could do without a medical background, but quickly learned there is plenty of work for everybody.  I especially love watching the kids and grandmas at the clinics.  I have learned you don’t really need any special training to speak “love”.  Can’t wait to meet everybody next week.  Safe travels! 

          

frani jenkins - team march 2014

Frani Jenkins – Physicial Assistant, Certified Athletic Trainer

I have been a physician assistant since 1997 after a 21 year career as a high school teacher in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  I currently stamp out disease in a Community Health Center in Craig, Colorado.  I have lived in Steamboat for 40 years and used to take advantage of winter sports opportunities more than I do now.  I now have bionic knees so plan to get back on skis again, may be when I retire.

I really like putting on my athletic trainer hat sometimes.  I actually did rodeo sports medicine for 20 years but have retired from that when I decided I couldn’t climb the fence fast enough to get out of the way of the bulls.

My significant other is Bart and two schnauzers dictate our schedules in a very bossy way.

This will be my 7^th COPI trip.  I always learn something new on each trip.  I am especially looking forward to returning to Hue as I have only been there once.

pastor christine nelson - team march 2014

Hello Team!

I'm Christine Nelson, this will be my second trip with COPI.  I loved the trip four years ago and I am "homesick" for the beautiful children, the scrumptious food and the extraordinary country and people of Vietnam.  This trip my daughter Shellie and grandkids Evan and Makena will join me, I can't tell you how proud and happy I am, they are amazing.  I look forward to serving with each one of you and hold this team and your families in prayer.

And... I was born in 1947, you do the math!  My husband Bob and I have been married 30 years and have a 27 year old son, Aaron.  Bob is step father extraordinaire to Shellie and Victoria, my two daughters.  Victoria and her husband Bob have two newly adopted children, Luke who is 17 months and Gabriella, 9 months.  I am a full-time pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy, Utah.

I thank God for this opportunity to get to know you and love on binh and the precious children we will be serving, Blessings, Christine

Makena, Evan and Shellie Hoyt - team march 2014

Hello Team,

I am Shellie Hoyt and will be traveling with my two children Evan and Makena and my amazing mother Pastor Christine Nelson.  I have been married 27 years to a wonderful man named Larry.  I am a store manager at Jcpenney's for the past 8 years.  I have beeen in the retail industry for 31 years.  I have always wanted to go on a mission trip and I am so excited and a bit nervous.  Evan is 18 and graduated from High School.  He is crazy about all sports and has played Soccer, Basketball, Baseball all through school.  He is an avid skier and enjoys any sport.  Evan has a huge fan base with our neighbor kids.  Every night the kids ring the doorbell and ask if Evan can come out and play, most of them are age 7 to 10.....Evan usually obliges them and they play catch or toss the football, kids love Evan!  Evan also works at Jcpenney and has been there about  a year and a half.  Makena is 16 and a Sophmore in High School.  She is a basketball player and is on a girls Recreational team.  She is an excellent student and very responsible.  She watches a dog after school who is blind and all he wants to do is play fetch....sometime it takes him a while to find the ball!  Makena has a witty sense of humor and lots of friends.  She is an avid photographer and is excited to capture the beauty of Vietnam.  We are so excited to have the opportunity to serve and know that this adventure will be the trip of a lifetime......can't wait to be on the plane!

Makena & Shellie

Evan (the one in black)

nancy schiff-slater - team march 2014

Nancy is on the Left

My name is Nancy Schiff-Slater.  I live in Hallowell, Maine with my husband, Scott, and when college breaks permit, with our daughter, Emily, who graduates from art school this Spring. I work as a legal services attorney representing people who are living at or below the poverty level.  I love yoga, running and meditation, and also love going to the movies and spending time with friends and family.  I've had the good fortune of traveling to Honduras, India and Ethiopia on various medical missions doing a variety of tasks from helping out in the operating room, assisting in medical clinics, working in orphanages and assessing for and giving out eye glasses. I'm thrilled to be going to Vietnam as part of COPI'S March medical team and stand ready willing and able to help out in whatever way I can.

dr. scott schiff-slater - team march 2014

Hello, my name is Scott Schiff Slater. 

I am a 56 year old family practitioner in Maine, and  I will be coming on the mission with by wife Nancy.   

Nancy and I live in an old New England river town in central Maine with a population of about 2500 people.   I work in a small two physician private family practice, about 4 blocks from our house, which was built in about 1800.  I can walk to work almost as easily as driving to work (though embarrassingly I often drive!).  We have been on a number of other volunteer medical trips together.    I did one medical trip to Honduras as medical student many years ago, and had always planned  to make volunteer work an increasing part of my life.    In 2004 I worked in New Orleans as a volunteer physician after Hurricane Katrina, and since that time we have worked four more times in Honduras, then in India, Ethiopia, and Mexico.    It is my goal to spend more time on these activities as I age.  

We have a talented wonderful 22-year-old daughter, who has traveled to Honduras and Mexico with us, and is now preparing to graduate college.   Until a year or 2 ago we also had a wonderful dog, and I believe plans are developing for a future dog after we return from Vietnam.  

I am obsessed with the outdoors, and a little bit with exercise, and I spend whatever free time I have, hiking in the mountains, bicycling, skiing, snowshoeing, etc.     I enjoy my work as a physician, as well as my role in the local community.  Family is important to me, and I spend a fair amount of time driving back and forth to Boston, visiting my elderly mother, taking her out to the grocery store, etc.    In recent years I have become interested in Buddhist philosophy and have read many of the books by Thich Nhat Hanh, a well known Vietnamese monk.      Vietnam has interested me for many reasons, only partly because of the war.    

I am thrilled to be going with COPI to Vietnam, meeting everyone on our team, and being able to take care of, and learn about, the people of Vietnam.    One of the reasons I became interested in this group in particular, in COPI, was the arrangement where about half of the people on our team will be actually from Vietnam.   In volunteer medical organizations, and medical mission trips, this seems unique. 

I look forward to meeting you all.

raina zeeh - your fearless co-leader mission march 2014

From L to R: Curtis, Thane, Raina and Nina in front

I am Raina Zeeh, your fearless co-leader. I first went on a mission trip with binh in 1994. On that trip I fell in love with the Vietnamese people and country. With binh's help my husband of 21 years and I adopted our two children, Thane age 15 and Nina age 12 from Tam Binh Orphanage (also called Good Shepherd Home) in Saigon. Since 2006 Curtis or I have served as mission team leaders for the Spring mission trip. I work as a nurse at an endoscopy center and volunteer in many aspects with COPI throughout the year. 

I am very excited to lead another mission team with binh. We will all work hard, have our fair share of fun and hopefully gain 30 more friendships from both sides of the world. I look forward to working beside each of you.