As the week and trip are both coming to a close, one thing has been evident – the body of Christ. Throughout our morning devotion, the clinic today, and share time tonight, the body of Christ has been mentioned repeatedly. 1 Corinthians 12: 12 says, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” This verse reminds us that as believers we are called to fulfill a role within the body of Christ. It has been amazing to see so many individuals on our team who have been called by Christ to serve selflessly and work in a way that portrays the body of Christ.
Even though there are only two clinic days remaining in our trip, we have yet to describe in detail how the clinic works. The clinic must be orchestrated in a way that allows patients to be seen in an orderly fashion. Without organization and teamwork, patients are unable to be seen and our team is unable to share the love of Christ with them. For our team, a typical day in clinic begins with each team member working together to unload supplies. These supplies are not perfectly packaged, but instead are packaged in suitcases that weigh more than some of our team members. Once the supplies are unloaded, it is time for everyone to begin setting up their assigned station within the clinic. Setup is a time of chaos where each person is working frantically to get supplies in their proper location. Throughout the day several stations work together to provide health care - floaters (individuals who make sure everyone is moving smoothly through clinic), triage, medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and eye glasses. If an individual in one of these stations is unable to perform their role, then the entire clinic suffers. It is so critical that each person understands their role because our team is working in suboptimal environments. These same concepts can be applied to the body of Christ. As Christians we each have a role to fulfill, and we must do our part in order for the body of Christ to function efficiently and perfectly. Throughout this trip, members of our team have been challenged to learn about their role with in the body of Christ. We each have been reminded that we have been called by Christ to medicine, and we can use medicine as our mission field. With only a few days left, the entire team asks for prayers of strength and healing. We pray that we will finish this trip with the same energy and eagerness as when we began. Today was our earliest morning of the trip since flying out of Birmingham. In correlation with that day, today was the busiest travel day of the trip so far—a 4 hour round-trip bus ride. Couple that with getting lost in some random town square west of Santo Domingo, fighting “rush hour” traffic in the capital, and the obscure location of this clinic, needless to say today got off to a slow start. Frustratingly, it took a while for things to change for the better. Today’s morning clinic can best be described as chaotic. Patients were beyond the description of “hot” while waiting in the sweltering humidity under the constantly beating Dominican sun. Triage was experiencing some unknown problems logging patients into “the system” which created an even greater backlog at the door. Lastly, par for the course of this morning, our translators were struggling with another barrier—this portion of the Dominican island spoke a different dialect of Spanish than our translators. Frustration was the name of the game today in San Cristobal.
Even with the numerous setbacks, the ground was fertile in this arid, yet humid, semi-costal town. The community was receptive to The Gospel, and many seeds were sown. This area was plagued with a belief of “works-based” Christianity. These people felt like though they had turned from The Lord that their good works, their kindness, and their humility would earn them a spot in heaven. Sadly, these people felt like their works held more weight than Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. This village was also plagued with many people who had fallen away from Christ. When asked for an explanation of why, it always circled back to their actions and away from the love of Christ. It breaks our heart to see these people so broken by their past indiscretions that they feel as if the Savior of the Universe/the Alpha and Omega/the Beginning and End is not able to overcome/forgive their faults. Our God is a loving God. We are His children. He will never turn his back on us. He is the light of the world, who stepped down into darkness, and for that I am eternally grateful. In the medical realm, there were a few intriguing cases. We had a post-gestational female, who had just delivered her child 17 days earlier, who presented with abdominal pains. We also had a very, very sick neonate whose condition can best be described as “day to day.” Another case was intriguing not from the pathology displayed, but by how he physically presented. Behind the building in which we held the clinic, there was a massive construction project underway (ironically to build a medical clinic). One medical station was situated outside, and this man literally jumped the fence asking to be seen during his lunch break. In the end, he presented with classic presentation of gastritis/gastric ulcers, and he was given treatment. However, during that break he heard The Gospel of Christ. That was more important that any method of GI treatment that he could be given. All in all, San Cristobal presented many challenges, but it can be considered a success. In statistics, we saw roughly 90 patients medically, 15 in the eye station, and 10 in physical therapy. We also sent teams out later in the afternoon not to treat medical illnesses, but instead to treat spiritual illness through evangelism. We are fighting short term physical battles with bouts of medication, but the eternal battles are being fought daily with the word of Christ. I write this thankful and blessed for the wondrous cross; without that, there is no reason to be here. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We have 3 more clinic days left, and with the strength of Christ, we will conquer evil—one patient at a time. In conclusion, what can wash away my sin? Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Today was the beginning of our team’s second week here in the Dominican Republic. We spent the past weekend recuperating after a long week in clinic. Our team was able to enjoy the Dominican beaches, horseback riding, and some extra sleep. Some team members left us and traveled back home, but we welcomed new, capable team members to fill their roles.
Today, the second week of clinic began in full force. Our team was able to treat 125 patients in the medical clinic and provide 25 patients with new eye glasses. The village where we worked today was more affluent than some of the villages where we have previously worked. One of the biggest blessings today was that we were able to work in a community center that did not have walls. This may sound silly, but here in the Dominican Republic most buildings do not have electricity and without electricity there is little airflow. Being able to feel the breeze on your face as you sweat out gallons (or what seems like gallons) of water, is what reminds us of the little ways in which God provides for us. In order to share a powerful story from today, you all need to understand some about the Dominican-Haitian relationship. As many of you probably know, the Dominican Republic and Haiti share an island that is found in the Atlantic Ocean. Roughly 300 years ago, Haiti held the Dominican Republic captive, and as a result a war emerged. The Dominican Republic was able to declare its independence from Haiti, and as a result of this war, there is a blatant racism between the Dominicans and the Haitians. Now, the Dominican Republic is prospering in comparison to Haiti (which is considered a failed country), and many Haitians immigrate to the Dominican Republic illegally. Several of our team’s translators are Haitian, and they have mentioned that it is better to be poor in the Dominican Republic than to be poor in Haiti. In short, the poverty we have seen on this trip is nothing in comparison to that of Haiti. Now with background of the cultural issues between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, it will be easier to understand this story. Today in clinic, a young Haitian woman presented with headaches and GI pain. The physician working with this patient felt that these symptoms where the result of an unknown stressful situation. Fortunately, one of the female students asked the patient if she would rather speak with her in private. The patient began to open up about her life and how she emigrated from Haiti almost two years ago with hopes of finding a job so she could support her son—still living in Haiti. After arriving in the Dominican, she was unable to find a job and began to live with a man she had just met. This man provides her with a home and food, but he is abusive and controlling. The Haitian woman continued to speak with our student and decided she was ready to make a decision to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. Later, as the student shared this experience with the team, she was reminded us of these verses from Matthew 5: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” This story reminds us that Jesus Christ loves each of us, and that he wants nothing more than a personal relationship with him. His amazing grace can save us no matter the situation! Our team is thankful that God is continuing to work through us even though we are weak and worn. Please pray for strength as we continue throughout our second week of clinic and pray that we will be the hands and feet of Christ. Day 6 got off to an early start, with a 5:55am worship service, and an early departure for the clinic. We went to the same village as yesterday, but today was only a half-day clinic—as the second part was used to take in the sights and sounds of the capital city—Santo Domingo. While the timing may have been shorter, there was no shortage of moving moments and interesting pathology.
As we pulled in, there was already a crowd forming under the trees, hiding from the harsh Dominican sun. These people were a perfect micro-chasm of the demographics of the Dominican. Between the age and economic disparities as well as the disease processes—a miniature representation of the Dominican was waiting in the proverbial “waiting room” sweating profusely in the beaming morning sun. We had a diverse group of expecting mothers, new mothers, pediatric patients ranging from neonates to pre-teens, men who had momentarily escaped from work, and older, typical patients who present with multiple co-morbidities and numerous complaints. In that small group, there were disease processes ranging from “agripe” (the Dominican word for a “head cold.”) to a TB patient with a positive screening test for HIV. Out of the group of over 50 waiting outside in the sweltering, unforgiving Dominican humidity, only around 30 were seen, and then approximately 25 were turned away. It is tough to imagine the thoughts of these desperate people who we turned away, but as is the reality in this desperate, yet fiscally growing country, we simply cannot treat everyone in need. We do not have the time, ability, or funding to take over this monumental task. We have to accept that The Lord will provide, and that his plan, and his provisions are more than enough. The sweaty (and probably smelly) waiting area was also a glimpse into the spiritual makeup of this dark country. As in the United States, the Dominican is a country that is growing increasingly secular. However, in the Dominican, this is also coupled with the explosion of cult, Satanic, and Voodoo practices. This group was no different. There were people who had at once been close to The Lord, but due to various circumstances have drifted away from his divine word. There are people who understand The Gospel, but just do not feel like it is “time.” There were people who wanted nothing to do with Christ. Still there were others who stood there and nodded along, giving no thought to the words that were being said to them. All in all, even though we are hundreds (thousands?) of miles from home, some things never change—people tend to rely on themselves more than the divine creator of the universe. All in all, this first week in clinic has been great. We have treated many sick patients, and spread the eternal, almighty, amazing good news of the Gospel to every patient. Yes, we are here to treat their physical illnesses, but there spiritual illness takes precedence in every patient encounter. To conclude, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” We have nothing to fear. We must be bold. With God for us, then who can be against us? We thank you all for your continued prayers. We have one week to go, with 5 new villages to spread “The Good News.” We don’t know what will be waiting for our bus as we arrive, but through God, all things are possible. Today our group traveled to another sugar cane village. This village was not as destitute as the village yesterday, but the poverty was still very real. Between the medicine, eye glasses, and physical therapy stations, our team was able to take care of 100 patients. If our group was to sum up the theme of today, then it would be that today was a day of miracles! Below are two stories of how God worked miracles before our eyes and showed our team that he is with us every step of the way.
John 9:25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” A gentleman in his mid-seventies entered the clinic this morning, and it was clear that he was in poor health. He was shaking and struggling to move to the station where patients were being fitted for eye glasses. When it was his turn to be evaluated, the medical students working at this station noticed he was unable to see anything. He lost his sight after an accident that resulted in cement damaging his eyes. Throughout the entire exam he continued to shake and struggle communicating with the translators. His entire demeanor was quiet, and it was clear that he was uncomfortable in the clinic. The team was able to find a pair of glasses that fit his prescription and he was able to see for the first time in many years. All at once the man stood up and proclaimed, “I can see, I can see! God is good, God is coming!” The students who were working with this patient shared how this experience reminded them that we should always be prepared for God to show himself. Psalm 77:14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. Part of our team has been traveling each day to make home visits for patients who are unable to travel to the clinic. Today our group traveled to the home of a lady who had a stroke three days ago. When the team arrived, the woman was laying on a mattress in the floor of a one room home. The woman was unable to speak, move, or do anything for herself. After questioning the family, the team determined that this woman suffered from atrial fibrillation, which caused her stroke. The team realized there was nothing more they could do other than leave some vitamins and pray. Of course, pray is exactly what they did! After lunch, the team returned to this woman’s home to give her aspirin. To the surprise of the team, this woman began to speak! Her family was completely overjoyed that their mother had been healed. A true miracle was performed in this woman’s life, and if this isn’t proof of God, then what is? Day 4 was starkly different than the days prior. Today was the first day leaving the semi-urban area, and heading into our first sugar cane village. The contrast was humbling to say the least. In the cities, we saw poverty first-hand, but in our first sugar cane village, our definition of poverty was rocked. The houses were in terrible shape, the infrastructure was non-existent (some bumpy dirt roads after we left the highway), and the stray animals seemed to somehow continue to grow in numbers throughout the day. The extreme, harrowing poverty was apparent in everything; nothing was left untouched by the plague of poverty that had swept through the area.
Medically, today had a much larger pediatric focus, with roughly 70-75% of our patients being below the age of 15. In prior clinics, the majority of our patients have been women and children, but today showed the greatest lack of males and surplus of children. This could partially be accounted by the fact that the men were working in the sugar cane fields which we passed on our way into the village, or this could represent the different micro-culture that could be seen in the 10 miles distance from our previous clinics. All in all, we saw approximately 130 patients (90 in medicine, 20 in PT, and 20 in eyeglasses) during our time in the village. While some of the pathologies seen were beyond the scope of our abilities, there was still an amazing ability to minister to these people with the limited resources available to us. It is still amazing how much difference a simple smile can mean to a person. Today in the blog, we will try something different. We will introduce a “case study” to convey our point. In this case, a 72 year old man with giant, arthritic fingers (a sign from years of picking sugar cane), presented with hypertension and a leg wound which had been festering for a month. To treat this man, we treated his wound (and showed him how to do the same thing himself, thus enabling him to make a positive impact in his own health), allowed him to pick out a new pair of “stylish” diabetic shoes, and refilled his hypertension medications. By caring for the physical ailments of this man, we were given the ability to spread the Love of Christ through not only our words, but also our actions. In the end, this man accepted Christ, and will be followed by the local church of his village. All in all, it is amazing to use these simple gifts which are taken for granted in the United States to open doors with these great people, and allow The Gospel to be spread with them. In reality, very few of the patients we treat will accept Christ, but the seed is planted, and that makes this entire trip worthwhile. Granted, assisting a wheezing child with “stomach breathing” find instant relief with a nebulized treatment is amazing, but we must remember this is only a temporary fix—a band-aid. However, sharing The Gospel with our patients allows them to have the eternal hope, and that is what brings us here these two weeks. We aren’t here to randomly dispense inhalers to asthmatic children or give a diabetic proper wound care, we are here to spread The Gospel of Almighty God, and medicine is merely our conduit. Writing the blog tonight was difficult. We are overwhelmed with many thoughts and ideas about the things our team saw and experienced today. While ministering to the people in a church known as John 3:16, our team delivered the Gospel, shared the news of an unwanted pregnancy, provided glasses to a patient so that they could see for the first time, and questioned a grandmother about her granddaughter’s sexual abuse.
Each of these discussions was draining physically, mentally, and spiritually. How do you sit across from these precious people and discuss things that seem hopeless? There is only one answer—our hope in God. Specifically, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is a verse that we all have been told time and time again, but how many times have we thought about this verse while seeing the brokenness of the world through another lens? For many of us, this is the first time we have been faced with true heartache and sadness. For others, maybe we have experienced similar heartache and sadness, but this does not make dealing with these issues any easier. Even though this is only Day Three of our trip, our team is growing together as a group and together in God by asking difficult questions and discussing the things about our faith that make us uncomfortable. We ask that you continue praying for our team. Please pray that God will give us the energy and the strength to mention to the people of the Dominican Republic. Also, pray that as we minister to these people, we will be filled with his Holy Spirit to share the true hope that can be found in Jesus Christ. Day Two began much like the first, granted, there was the welcome addition of a few hours of sleep—for which we were all very grateful. Day Two can be summed up in three words: amazing, yet draining. In brief summary, we saw roughly 140 patients in three broad areas: medicine, PT, and optometry. The disease processes ranged from the typical stuffy nose and congestion to a few tropical diseases, parasites, and lice.
Honestly, we could not have asked for a better day to begin the outreach portion of the trip. The weather was hot and miserably humid (as expected), but The Lord blessed us with a stiff southern breeze to cool down our sticky, sweaty, bug spray ridden bodies. It could have been worse, and it was physically draining, but thankfully The Gospel can be spread in any weather pattern—including the humidity of the tropics. While preparing for our trip we had a concern, and that was wondering how the local churches would be able to accommodate our large group (the largest group ever carried by CMMA). In this, The Lord showed his vast provision again. With a few minor adjustments, not only did we fit in the building, but fit comfortably. As an added bonus, IT HAD FANS!!!! Really, it’s the little things. The waiting area had shade with a breeze, and the building had fans. God is great. With all that said, today was about the patients and Jesus—not our comfort. We flew here to care for not only the patient’s physical needs, but more importantly, their spiritual needs. It was beautiful to send people away with the newfound ability to see or with medications that allow them to live a normal life. However, that pales in comparison to receiving Eternal Life. Pains come and go, but eternal life is, well, eternal. Today, the blind were given sight, the diseased were given the ability to heal, and the spiritual needs of 140+ people were addressed. In the end, 3 people surrendering their life to Christ, and countless spiritual seeds were planted—that is a success in every aspect. We write this not to “toot our own horn,” but to instead show the amazing, all-encompassing, beautiful, never-ending love of our savior—Jesus Christ. As today winds down, and we head off to bed (and some watch the Stanley Cup Finals), we will all sleep well having put in a long, hard day, with another still to come. In short, He>I. He is Risen. His grace is enough. “Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m (we’re) constrained to be”. Thank you for your continued prayers; to say they are greatly appreciated is the greatest understatement that I can make. Our 2015 medical mission team has officially arrived in the Dominican Republic!
The day began bright and early (or rather I should say dark and early) for the majority of our team. We departed from Birmingham at 5:30 to begin our day of travel, which consisted of flights to Atlanta, New York, and finally Santa Domingo. Our team would like to thank each family member and friend who prayed for our travel safety. Throughout the day, multiple members of our team mentioned the peace they felt knowing that you all were praying for our safety and ease of entrance into the country. The entire team is looking forward to a restful night, and we ask that you would pray for us as we begin our first day of ministry through medicine and evangelism tomorrow. |
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