Mark Speir ran the 2009 Boston Marathon in memory of Dr. Lowell Furman, the co-founder of World Medical Mission, and to help raise money for Memorial Christian Hospital, a remote mission hospital in Bangladesh that held a special place in Dr. Furman’s heart.

He recently had an opportunity to visit Bangladesh and see firsthand why Dr. Furman held Memorial Christian Hospital in such high regard.

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Dr. Stephen Kelley

“It was unbelievable,” said Speir, who raised more than $30,000 for the hospital while running for Team Samaritan’s Purse in the Boston and Country Music marathons. “You don’t really know what missionaries do until you go see them do their job.”

Speir, the defensive ends coach and recruiting coordinator for Appalachian State, visited at the invitation of Dr. Stephen Kelley, a surgeon and administrator who has served at the hospital for 13 years.

“What Dr. Kelley and those guys are doing over there is just mind-boggling,” Speir said. “They’re affecting 15 to 20 million people from that one little hospital!”

Bangladesh has a population of 156 million people, living in an area about the size of Iowa.

“Each year we typically manage 3,500 admissions, 1,500-2,000 surgeries, and 40,000 outpatient visits,” Dr. Kelley said. “We don’t turn anyone away based on the inability to pay, which is truly unique in a country like Bangladesh.”

Memorial Christian Hospital was founded in 1966 by medical missionaries who wanted to provide Christ-centered healthcare to desperately poor people living in what was then East Pakistan. The 66-bed hospital has survived through 43 years of recurring natural disasters, a civil war, and the birth of a new nation, Bangladesh.

World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan's Purse, has placed more than 140 doctors at Memorial Christian Hospital on short term assignments. Two physicians are currently serving two-year assignments through the Post-Residency Program.

“Maybe I can’t help the whole world, but I can help Dr. Kelley and those guys help that part of the world,” Speir said. “They are warriors for Christ.”

Memorial Christian Hospital is preparing to build a new 100-bed facility that will nearly double the current capacity, adding 10 intensive care units and six operating rooms. A new surgical ward will be named in honor of Dr. Furman.

Samaritan’s Purse has committed $1 million to the $2.2 million hospital expansion project, which is scheduled to begin next year.

Speir returned from Bangladesh with a desire to help raise $100,000 for medical equipment for the new hospital. He’s talking to friends and praying about forming a team of marathon runners with Team Samaritan’s Purse.

“I’m a die-hard now,” he said about his commitment to Memorial Christian Hospital. “I’m part Bengali,” he added with a smile.

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Samaritan's Purse , Bangladesh , World Medical Mission , The Road to Bangladesh