Two Weeks in Burma Changed His Life | by Kris Glenn

In 2009, mechanical engineering student Brook Murphy took time between his freshman and sophomore years at Montana State to help build an orphanage in Burma. Cyclone Nargis had left 60,000 kids orphaned the previous year. “I was blown away by the Burmese people who made 45-60 dollars a month as a family and they never stressed out too much, but were really happy. They took care of each other and lived in community well. On the flip side in America, we make much more but are one of the most stressed out societies. It made me think of this scripture from Matthew 6.”

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Experiencing the people of Burma during two short weeks with a Christian ministry group turned his world upside down. Brook had a perspective shift, realizing “I had always been selfish in my endeavors”, but wanted something different “where I could care for people one on one.” Two weeks before starting his second year of engineering studies, he changed his major to medicine.

Brook always intended to take up a ‘helping’ profession. But his time in medical school at the University of Washington triggered another perspective shift when he realized his generosity to others only extended so far. In Seattle, he met a lot of good people, including classmates that were Muslim, Hindu, and Jewish. He realized much of what he learned about others from his conservative, Christian upbringing in Glendive, Montana wasn’t true. “Seattle was good. It challenged and enriched my faith….what good is faith if you’re not willing to challenge it?”

For instance, at one time, he thought it was a choice to be gay. He’s repeatedly realized that’s not true. He still doesn’t know what to do with the scriptures, but has found peace with his decision to love all people. For Brook, it’s the only way that doesn’t clash with who Jesus was. “My job is to love.”

“My job is to love.”

It’s that love for the marginalized that took him to Riverstone Health. The clinic gives great healthcare to anyone who comes to the door. Brook acknowledges caring for patients can be more difficult. They’ve often grown up with trauma which has negatively impacted their lives and their health. But it’s more rewarding, with more highs and lows...like his patient with end-stage liver disease who spent seven months in hospice without alcohol and now has a good outlook.

Brook is partway through a three year residency in family medicine. In addition to the grueling residency, he’s drawn to improving healthcare access for the LGBTQ community. Brook feels they don’t get the same level of care because they’re afraid to come in…afraid of being judged. Something as simple as an intake form with a strictly binary choice of make/female can be off-putting. What choice does a transsexual patient make in that situation? Brook’s experiences have taught him, “How we treat people depends upon what we know.”

In his desire to help providers learn the gray scale of sexuality, he is joining the board working to make Riverstone more accessible to the LGBTQ community. Work on updating forms to better reflect the breadth of sexual identity has already begun and Brook is hard at work drafting an article about caring for the LGBTQ community. Look for it later this summer in the Billings Gazette.

We’re so excited to have Brook and his wife, Andrea, as part of our CMYK Core Community. Keep an eye out for them and get to know these two beautiful people. Andrea is just starting work on her own medical career as a physician’s assistant. Check out our “What We’re Lovin” article for the inside scoop on a podcast she’s been listening to.