Dearest friends and family,
The sweat saga continues! We're still waiting on that literal mighty rushing wind, so keep on praying. Yesterday we moved to a new location for clinic that was drastically different than the village near the city dump. We set up in a church in the city of San Pedro, which has about 250,000 people. Much of the city is at sea level, so when it rains, it floods (cue Noah & the ark). It had rained heavily in the morning before we arrived and though it had not flooded much, the clinic was rather empty in the morning. One of our team leaders Dr. Bob was the medical director of SCORE for many years and explained to us that no one was at the clinic because they were afraid of the rain and the possibility of flooding. He said that as the day moved on, they would come. He was certainly right. Though the church didn't flood with rain, it flooded with people as they day went on. A deluge of patient after patient. Including medical and eye patients, we saw over 120 people yesterday. During our lunch break, we were given a tour of the regional hospital. It was certainly very different from American healthcare standards, but we were impressed with the services they can and do provide, including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency care, intensive care, CT and MRI capabilities, laboratory testing, and many others. One of the doctors at the hospital gave us a full tour of the facility and was also the pastor of the church where we held clinic. And we think we're busy. One of the things that has been most notable on this trip thus far is how much it is bathed in prayer. We pray in the morning, when we eat breakfast, while we ride to clinic, before we start clinic, with every patient, all throughout the day in clinic, before lunch, in the evening during and after our time of sharing, before dinner, in small groups after dinner, etc. etc. etc. It has been incredible to watch prayers be answered and to watch God move through prayer. In particular yesterday, one of the students who worked at the eye station shared in the evening about a prayer that was answered so faithfully by God. In the morning, just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that station. The case of reading glasses was misplaced, one of the machine parts broke, the line kept getting backed up, patients weren't getting the glasses they needed, and everyone was beginning to become frustrated. During lunch, the group running the station prayed together and regrouped before the afternoon began. They prayed for God to intervene & for the station to run smoothly. And answer their prayer, He did. The case of glasses was miraculously found. Patient after patient received the glasses that were needed. We watched as a tiny elderly woman put on her new readers, visibly amazed and delighted at the results. Glory to God for answered prayer and that He is strong in our weakness. Two of the students worked with a precious woman in clinic yesterday who was a believer and who touched them deeply. Usually we pray for patients, but she ended up praying over them fervently and earnestly. She prayed for blessing over their lives and praised God for His goodness and faithfulness to His children. When asked what she loved about God, the translator could barely keep up with her rapid-fire admiration. We pray that all of us on this trip and everyone reading this blog will feel that way about God consistently. His gift of love & salvation is not casual. It is awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, breathtaking. This woman gets it. May we embrace her spirit and channel her love! Tomorrow we move to another location for clinic. May He become more while we become less (sweaty). We love you! Thank you again for praying!
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