PHYSICIAN REAPS WHAT HE'S SOWN

The same day Dr. Richard Martin committed to establishing an ear, nose and throat and general surgical clinic in Jamaica, he got a flyer in the mail advertising a 172-acre farm for sale.

The price was good. The location southwest of Cape Girardeau was good. And Martin, a Cape Girardeau otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon, had always wanted a farm.

That was in 1987. Now, after eight missions to Jamaica to provide medical care and spiritual aid, the farm is flourishing and Martin says he's reaping what he has sown.

When he learned the farm was available, Martin had just agreed to work with Medical Ministry International to set up the clinic at Black River Hospital in St.. Elizabeth Parish, on the southwest end of the island.

Martin said he and God "talked it over," and determined that buying the farm might be a good idea.

But when he went to take a look at the property, he began to wonder.

"I pictured a forest, and it was nothing but plowed ground," Martin said.

But he learned about a conservation program that would help him transform the "plowed ground" into lush forest and got to work.

Today, the farm features acres of growing lob-dolly pines, sweet gum, black walnut, bald cypress, ornamental buckeyes, red and white oak, white pine and wild dogwood.

To Martin, his medical missionary work in Jamaica and the newly-flourishing forest are intertwined. The trees are a spiritual harvest, a sign that the Jamaica missions are what he should be doing with his time and skill.

It hasn't been easy. Many of the trees were planted by hand -- "by family hand" and many volunteers, Martin's daughter, Betsy, is quick to point out -- and Martin has learned by trial and error which trees will live or die on which sections of the property.

"In the first three or four years, it was difficult to get too puffed up about this land because it just kept looking like a mess of weeds," Martin said.

Martin and Betsy and 30 other doctors, nurses, technicians, students and "general helpers" spent two weeks at the clinic in St.. Elizabeth Parish last month.

Martin's brother, Bill, an obstetrician-gynecologist, was among the volunteers. Martin and his brother treated a number of patients, and Betsy worked as a general helper, running errands, working in the pharmacy and visiting with patients.

"I've kind of fallen in love with Jamaica and the program," Martin said. "Every time we come back, we've really been brought up emotionally, spiritually, psychologically. I think it's coming back with a stronger sense of being."

St.. Elizabeth Parish is "probably one of the most untouched" regions in Jamaica, he said. While the people don't have to worry about tourists spoiling the natural environment, they also don't have the benefit of tourism dollars for their local economy.

Black River Hospital, which has a surgical team of three physicians, serves an area with a population of about 500,000 people. The medical professionals are well-trained, Martin said, but they lack the technological and financial resources, and often just the manpower, to provide specialized care.

Martin and other volunteers worked with the Christian Medical and Dental Society and Dr. Barbara Grandson, a Jamaican otolaryngologist, to set up the clinic.

Volunteers in Medical Ministry International agree to donate two weeks every six months over two years, or a month every year, to work in the program.

Martin said the program has taught him "stewardship. How do you use your time, your talents and your money? Speaking for myself, it seems that whenever I've extended myself, it comes back in many ways."