Hola amigos y familia,
Happy Father’s day to all of the dads back home - we’ve missed celebrating with you today! And thanks to all of the dads on the trip with us! They were honored in church this morning as we worshipped in the church connected to the clinic. It was wonderful to worship with the people we have been serving and working with this past week. This afternoon we had lunch prepared for us by some of the missionaries here. They were kind enough to open up their home to us for the afternoon and cook some comfort food for our large group. We spent the afternoon singing and playing music together - it was a great time of fellowship! We rounded off the afternoon by walking around the city center, playing games back at the hotel and resting in preparation for the next week. Tonight the new members arrived safely at the hotel, and we are excited to get to know them throughout the next week! This week will look a little different than last week as we won’t be in the same clinic but will be setting up our own clinics in areas of need. Please pray for our week ahead, that we might be able to serve this new patient population well, both spiritually and physically. Additionally, we had a great time playing futból last night and wanted to attach a few pictures. We will also include a few pictures from our outing on Saturday that we weren’t able to post then. ¡Buenos noches!
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Hola familia y amigos,
Today has been a free day for us here in Trujillo! We started off the morning by sleeping in past 6am - a real treat after the week! We went out for lunch at a delicious seafood restaurant where we got to practice our Spanish (some were more successful than others). We then visited some ruins outside of the city from the Moche people who lived just north of Trujillo from 100-800 AD. We specifically toured the Huaca de la Luna (“temple of the sun”) to learn about how the building was constructed and more about the culture of these ancient people. It was a great outing! Tonight we are eating at a nearby restaurant known for its “chicken feast.” After that we have been invited to play a game of fútbol with the local missionaries and their friends. Hopefully they don’t go too hard on us. We’ll give the recap tomorrow! Please continue to pray for our team here and our team members that are traveling to and from Peru this weekend. We are looking forward to the week ahead! ¡Buenos noches! Hola amigos y familia, Feliz viernes! We had a great end to the week at the clinic and the hospital! We are so thankful for our awesome physicians that have been with us this week. We are sad to see some of them leave tomorrow, but we know that a great new group will be joining us on Sunday for the week ahead. This was our last day in both the hospital and clinic, as next week we will be serving patients at a different location (stay tuned for details!). In both the clinic and hospital at the end of the workday, the staff held small ceremonies to express their gratitude for our work this week and invited us to come back soon. We told them this is not “¡Adios!” but rather “¡Hasta Luego!” The staff at both facilities have been such gracious hosts, letting us work alongside them to care for their patients both spiritually and physically. One thing that was special for us was we were able to care for some of the staff we came to know over the week as patients today (see selfie above!). To finish off the day, we walked to the city center, which was festive with Friday night life. We strolled down the pedestrian shopping street and even grabbed a treat at McDonald’s. We have had such a rewarding and inspiring week here, and we are so excited for the week ahead! Please pray for rest for those of us staying and for safe travels for team members leaving and new ones coming. Buenos noches! Hola amigos y familia,
Feliz viernes! We had a great end to the week at the clinic and the hospital! We are so thankful for our awesome physicians that have been with us this week. We are sad to see some of them leave tomorrow, but we know that a great new group will be joining us on Sunday for the week ahead. This was our last day in both the hospital and clinic, as next week we will be serving patients at a different location (stay tuned for details!). In both the clinic and hospital at the end of the workday, the staff held small ceremonies to express their gratitude for our work this week and invited us to come back soon. We told them this is not “¡Adios!” but rather “¡Hasta Luego!” The staff at both facilities have been such gracious hosts, letting us work alongside them to care for their patients both spiritually and physically. One thing that was special for us was we were able to care for some of the staff we came to know over the week as patients today (see selfie above!). To finish off the day, we walked to the city center, which was festive with Friday night life. We strolled down the pedestrian shopping street and even grabbed a treat at McDonald’s. We have had such a rewarding and inspiring week here, and we are so excited for the week ahead! Please pray for rest for those of us staying and for safe travels for team members leaving and new ones coming. Buenos noches! It was a wonderful day here in Trujillo! Once again, we had a large crowd of patients at the clinic and were able to serve most of them today. The surgery team completed three much needed orthopedic surgeries at the hospital this morning, and several dermatological procedures took place at the clinic as well.
We continue to see interesting clinical cases, but we have also seen several well children whose parents were worried about growing pains and picky eaters. It is always encouraging to see when patients are well cared for and a good reminder that we are more alike than we are different! One thing that all of us have enjoyed is working with our great translators. They are from all over the community and have different backgrounds - medical students, dental students, and English teachers. They have helped us tremendously in understanding the needs of our patients and more about Peruvian culture. We have loved getting to know them! The work of the week has been catching up with us, and we are having to rely on the strong Peruvian café a little more. Please pray for energy for us to finish the week strong and serve this community well! Buenos noches! Hola amigos y familia,
We had another great day serving patients at the clinic as well as performing surgeries in the local hospital. It was a busy day - we saw 99 patients! After dinner every evening, we take time to worship and reflect on the day. Shout out to Jacquelyn and Sean for leading us in worship! The stories that have been shared about how our patients have expressed great faith have been inspiring to say the least. In one encounter, a lady with an untreatable condition shared how her faith in God gives her peace and hope, and it definitely doesn’t stop her from cooking ceviche for her neighborhood. We also saw patients who had not experienced the love of Christ. After experiencing the love of Christ through our team that was caring for him, this patient wanted to know more about our faith and ultimately committed his life to Christ and joined the local church- hallelujah! One thing we didn’t get to share from last night that we couldn’t leave out is a few local church members came by to share a taste of Peruvian music and dancing. They brought pan flutes, a charango (Peruvian guitar!), and drums. It was a blast seeing some our team doctors work on moves, and the local musicians share a piece of their culture with us. Please pray for us as we serve this community and our hearts continue to be touched in return. Buenos Noches! Hola amigos y familia,
Today was our first full day in clinic with Peru Mission. Each day this week, we also have orthopedic surgeries running at the hospital during the mornings, as well as some outpatient procedures back at the clinic in the afternoons. We saw one patient for surgery at the hospital in the morning, and we were able to complete two procedures in the afternoon. The patients we saw were very thankful for receiving surgical care that they had been waiting for. In clinic, we had dermatology, pediatrics, and three family medicine physicians and one internist. We were either paired with a physician, helping in the pharmacy, triaging patients as they arrived at the clinic, assisting with clinic flow, or stationed at our evangelism table at the end of the clinic. We saw approximately 90 patients total. All the patients were grateful for the care that they received and welcomed us to the clinic with smiles on their faces. One thing that we have enjoyed is that the clinic shares a courtyard and playground with an elementary school, and we’ve enjoyed getting to play with the children once school lets out for the day. We’ve made a few new little Peruvian friends, and our favorite activity has been fútbol! Two of the members who attend the attached church have prepared traditional Peruvian lunches for us, so we’re eating very well- don’t worry, parents! In addition to providing medical care and getting to learn from the physicians, we offered to pray with our patients at the close of each encounter. Many of us recall some of our patients being moved to tears by the gesture of caring for their spiritual well-being in addition to their physical ailments. Needless to say, it’s been a rewarding experience, and we’re only on day two! We wrapped up our full day of clinic around 5 PM, and a group of us were able to take a walk to the city center in the temperate Trujillo weather. (It’s 65 degrees here... Shoutout to the 95 degree weather back home!) Please continue to pray for us as we contribute to the work God is doing here by trying to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of the Trujillo community. Also, we are including some photos from the past few days in Lima and Trujillo so you can catch up on what we’ve been up to. ¡Buenas noches! CMMA Peru Mission Team Today we started our first day of clinic and are happy to report it went great! Our team is doing a great job of working together. We were able to evaluate many Peruvian citizens to see if they are good candidates for surgery this week. Tomorrow starts our first normal day of the medical clinic. The surgery team will be performing 3 surgeries in the hospital as well.
Thank you so much for all of the prayers. Please continue to pray for us. Hello all,
We have made it to Trujillo, Peru, but the internet connection isn't great. We wanted to update everyone that we are all safe, healthy and ready to for clinic today. Please pray for us as we begin clinic. We may have trouble with updates, since our internet isn't working well, but we will do our best. -2019 CMMA SMI Team Hola amigos y familia,
Today was our last day in the Dominican! We started with a later than usual breakfast. Then we headed out for the Isla of Catalina, right of the coast. We had a 45-minute bus ride to the dock and as soon as we got off we were greeted by so many people trying to sell us things. So, while running away from them, we made our way down a steep staircase to board the boat. We got on a two-story boat, and had to wait a few minutes on the boat before we departed. After departing the crew handed out tons of water and Coca-Cola. We had a smooth ride about 15-minutes to the coast of the island where we were able to snorkel. Some people even jumped off the top of the boat, which was higher than you would think. We were able to hangout in the water and get lots of water up our nose from the very large waves. After a few salty swallows of the nice ocean water, we boarded the boat to go around the island to the beach. We had to go from our large boat to a smaller boat to get to the shore. We ALL cramped into one tiny boat. Once we were ashore, we happily jumped off the boat to finally be at our destination. We were able to all get lounge chairs near each other, so we could all hang out together. We got to spend the day relaxing, drinking (virgin) piña coladas, getting massages, and of course playing spike ball. One of our providers got to share the gospel with one of the masseuses. We had lunch around 1:00 and there was grilled chicken, pasta salad, rice and beans, and salad. After our bellies were full we headed back to the beach and continued to enjoy the sun either by lounging or taking a plunge in the ocean. Some people went to the gift shop to buy souvenirs. Then we departed and, on our long journey home, the boat ride was rougher. Some of the people at the bottom of the boat played cards while others enjoyed the scenery and attempted to avoid getting sea sick. The bus ride home was the quietest bus ride we ever had. Upon returning we had only a couple of minutes until our last dinner together. Then we spent the night repacking our bags, playing cards, and nursing our sunburns. We look forward to our last breakfast together and ask that you pray for safe travels home. See you soon!!! Love, Your future PT/OTs Hola amigos y familia,
Today we started with worship and an awesome devotion by Madison. Following, worship we split up to meet with our providers and prep for the day ahead. Then we prayed and ate breakfast before having time alone with God. We boarded the bus and headed to the nursing home in another small village where one of our translators/missionaries was from. We were greeted by some stray dogs that we were told not to touch. Some of us set up therapy tables in the church and the others set up in the nursing home that way we were able to treat the community also. Today was by far the most challenging in the clinic because many of us were tired and a lot of the individuals at the nursing home spoke Creole instead of Spanish. However, we were all constantly working with patients. We prayed the Lord would bring us more people and he brought us more people. Then we headed back for an awesome talk from Craig, a Score missionary who spoke on discipleship. It was neat because we were the first group he was able to experiment a new program for short term mission groups. Then we were able to experience some fried plantains and Argentine barbecue with chimichurri as well as some personal testimonies from the local pastors. We were treated with cupcakes from the Lily House. After the dinner we had worship and we heard Allie’s testimony. Then we just shared our experience and what God put on our heart during the mission trip. There were numerous tears and laughs as we reflected on the good and challenging aspects of the trip. We met in small groups to fellowship. Tonight, was a late night but tomorrow we get to sleep in before we have a DAY IN THE SUN! Love, Tus favoritos OT/PTs Hola friends and family,
Today was another clinic day. We were able to start our day with more praise and worship for what the Lord is doing with our lives and what we are able to accomplish here in the Dominican. We then all met to board the bus for the clinic, after a quick photo-op. We were actually going to a church where one of our translators used to attend in a city called Consuelo. This church was super shaded and very pretty with lots of room. The people were willing to help us set up and move things around. The morning was pretty slow, but we were still all able to treat patients. When lunch time came one of the OT providers, Erin, and some OT students had been treating a patient that had suffered a TBI about three years ago. She then passed him off to one of the PT providers, Leigh Ann, and a group of PT students that treated this patient and were able to share the gospel with him throughout lunch time. While the others were eating lunch under a tree and getting pooped on by the birds. After lunch we didn’t have a large group of patients waiting so the translator that used to live there actually took Jason and Sabrina out through the neighborhood to help recruit more patients and to see her old house. They were able to recruit a few more patients, and we were all able to help treat/share the gospel with at least one more person. After the afternoon, we packed up our supplies and cleaned up the clinic. We then drove about 25 minutes back to SCORE. Some people still had lots of energy so they went out to the beach for some spike ball and fellowship. The others decided to just rest and treat ourselves to the AC in our rooms. After dinner around 6:30, we were able to have more worship, testimonies, and a very encouraging devotion from one of the team members. After that, a lot of us sat around and played cards while others joined in for more time of fellowship. Today was a great day, and we are asking for prayers that the Lord would bring us more Dominicans tomorrow that we can share our stories with and encourage in their faith. Love your most prized, PT/OT’s Hey friends and family,
Today we spent the morning at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana a local Dominican church. We were greeted by friendly faces and welcoming arms. This was our first encounter with a group of Dominicans and it was a good time for us to shake our nerves. We were able to engage in worship and they also provided a translator for us so we could learn about the book of Matthew. After church we came back to our hotel to eat lunch. Then we split up and some of us went to the beach and others went to the local coffee/gift shop a couple blocks down. At the beach we lounged and played Spike ball. We tried strawberry ice cream and smoothies and purchased coffee. The weather has been super great and extremely hot. After everyone reconvened at the hotel we decided to take a swim in the pool. After the pool we went to dinner where we ate chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, fried Yucatan, and fresh fruit juice. Later on, we are going to get together for worship, personal testimonies, and prepare for our first day of clinic. We ask that you continue to pray for our safety and boldness as we go into our first day of clinic. Love, PT/OT Hola family and friends,
Our Spanish is getting better. We started our morning with worship, devotion, praying with our teams for the day, and then went to eat breakfast. Then we were able to have alone time with God and get ready for our first day of clinic! We loaded all of the supplies on the van and then headed to the church we would be treating in. As we came in we got to drive through the village and we were greeted with waves and smiles. Once we got there we unloaded the bus and started to set up our clinic, people were already waiting to see us. For clinic days we all are split into different teams with some of us getting to do therapy and others evangelism. Majority of our patients had trouble with back pain and shoulder pain. Those of us working with providers were able to use the skills that we learned thus far and also interact with the patients through a translator. There were many believers from the church that we were able to treat and pray for. One of our patients that arrived at the clinic had just been in a motor vehicle accident and he was on his motor bike. He had a wound on his toe that appeared to be broken however he also complained of neck pain and tingling in his fingers. Students and the providers were able to treat his neck pain and instruct him in proper body mechanics because he is a construction worker. During our lunch break we took a walk through the village with all the children because they were interested in us all day. We did encounter some non-believers who we were able to share the gospel with, and plant a seed for it to be watered. Today we were able to learn so much about our professions and the culture of the people we were treating. At the end of the day we packed up and started loading things on the bus in the pouring rain! We came back and ate dinner and had worship and got to hear from one of the practitioners speaking on Paul’s journey back to Rome. Some of us spent a little extra money to enjoy some pizza before bedtime. We are all looking forward to another day of clinic and getting to know more Dominicans! Please continue to pray for our time here and the Dominicans we are able to come in contact with. Love your favorite, PT/OT’s Hey friends and family,
Today we spent the morning at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana a local Dominican church. We were greeted by friendly faces and welcoming arms. This was our first encounter with a group of Dominicans and it was a good time for us to shake our nerves. We were able to engage in worship and they also provided a translator for us so we could learn about the book of Matthew. After church we came back to our hotel to eat lunch. Then we split up and some of us went to the beach and others went to the local coffee/gift shop a couple blocks down. At the beach we lounged and played Spike ball. We tried strawberry ice cream and smoothies and purchased coffee. The weather has been super great and extremely hot. After everyone reconvened at the hotel we decided to take a swim in the pool. After the pool we went to dinner where we ate chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, fried Yucatan, and fresh fruit juice. Later on, we are going to get together for worship, personal testimonies, and prepare for our first day of clinic. We ask that you continue to pray for our safety and boldness as we go into our first day of clinic. Love, PT/OT Hello all! We made it safely. Stay tuned for updates!
Hey guys!
We have completed our last day of clinic and it was the best so far!!! The boys really got into their groove by the end of it and we saw around 35 patients!! For three dental students, that is very impressive! We also were not partnered with the medical team today so it was nice to have just our team together for the final day of clinic. We prayed this evening for God to water and grow the seeds that were planted by the students as they shared the gospel this week with their patients. We pray that we have been an encouragement to the local pastors and believers as we helped serve their communities by taking care of their dental needs. Tomorrow we are headed for a much needed day of rest at Catalina Island. Thanks again for faithful praying for us!! Sincerely, DR boys and one girl
Hey guys!
We successfully completed day two of our dental clinic in a village called La Cubana. Our clinic was held in a tiny church but the boys were very flexible and made that small space work! We saw 15 patients that had extractions and cleanings done while one patient even had to receive some sutures! A visitor that joined our team for the day kept commenting on one of our dental students and how amazed she was that he shared the gospel with every single patient. While the lidocaine was taking effect, this student kept sharing the gospel with them!! After clinic, the boys took a nice dip in the pool and we are all looking forward to some sharing this evening and listening to Dr. Bob give a short message. Please continue to pray for our team unity and a flexible spirit. We have really enjoyed working together as a team and we are all thankful to be here serving our Lord. Sincerely, DR boys and one girl Hey guys!
We just completed our first day of clinic! We were in the village of San Pedro at a place called Monte Cristo. We were able to help the people in this community with their dental needs! Our three wonderful dental students saw around 15 patients today. That's an impressive amount of patients!! Our team is working wonderfully together and really enjoying each other's company. We pray that God will bless the gospel seeds that were sown today amongst the people. Please pray the same with us. We are looking forward to seeing where we will serve tomorrow. Stay tuned!! Sincerely, DR boys and one girl Hey guys!
We had a wonderful day of worshipping our Father at a Dominican church with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Then we did some prep work for clinic tomorrow. Afterwards, the three boys on the team went to the beach for some fun in the sun. They topped it off with some brownies, ice cream, and espresso coffees. Hopefully they will sleep tonight!! Pray for our clinic time tomorrow. We will be partnering with a medical team that is here so we are looking forward to working with them. Sincerely, DR boys and one girl Hey guys!
We have made it safely to the Dominican Republic. We have settled into our rooms and getting ready to go to bed early. Thank you for your prayers for our safe travels! We spent our entire last full day in the Dominican Republic touring the capital, Santo Domingo. We spent the morning at the Straw Market, a fun cluster of shops full of souvenirs. Some students got to practice their negotiation skills with the salesmen to save some money on their gifts (I’m looking at you Zach Sollie). So be looking forward to all of the knick-knacks and mementos coming back with us.
After the Straw Market, we got to tour the Cacao Museum in the city- most importantly for the free hot chocolate and tea samples. Once everyone got their candy fill, we ventured over to a walking street in the heart of the city where we broke off into smaller groups to eat lunch. There was a variety of choices, so lunch ranged from pizza to ceviche depending on people’s preference/bravery. There are currently 6 high risk students we are monitoring for food poisoning. After lunch, we all met back up at a beautiful, breezy town square that was home to hundreds of pigeons. Of course, some of our brave guys decided to become a landing zone for said pigeons (see picture above). After lunch, we set out on a walking tour and hit some pretty cool historical landmarks that included the first cathedral in Latin America and the extravagant home of Christopher Columbus’s son. All of us definitely hit our step count for the day after walking all over the city. During our walking tour, we lost the dynamic duo Bert and George Walker. Turns out, they went rogue and started witnessing to a street vendor. To quote Bert, “he had the face that made you just want to talk about Jesus.” The man ended up accepting Christ, which was the perfect ending to our whole trip. We have grown in our medical abilities, boldness to share the Gospel, and friendships with each other. Get ready for countless stories, hundreds of pictures, and nicknames no one will understand. Sincerely, Bun Butters Mickey K-Barbs Peanut Stretch Armstrong Peaches B-Worm The Local The Plug Poe Reba Big Zika Bearded Dude Zero Shaft El Scotcho El Gringo Fuzz Mom Queeny Wee Man Prosciutto Gritni ShanWOW Slaw Dog “The Nut Man” Two Tone Tina Timón PAU!! Big Cat Sage
Today was our last clinic day- what a whirlwind the past two weeks have been. We’ve been in every size and shape of building, braved the Dominican heat, seen all sorts of medical conditions, and witnessed to people from all walks of life. We changed it up a bit today and set up clinic in a school classroom in a rural village. The quarters were tight for the medical stations, and pharmacy/evangelism were pushed to a classroom in a separate building half a football field away. The floaters deserve an extra shout-out today because they had to walk between buildings with patients in the hot sun. We were in high demand today: there was a crowd waiting to be seen all day long. Despite the exhaustion from 2 busy weeks, the day was packed with people needing care, interesting medical experiences, and special moments sharing the Gospel. Joe and Will’s first patient was a mom with her 18-year-old daughter with special needs. The mother was distraught because she couldn’t afford her daughter’s expensive epileptic medicine, and her faith was suffering from the steps she had to take to try to scrape up the money. Not only did the team give her three years’ worth of medicine for her daughter, they also set her up with Lilly’s House- a local program that gives women housing and employment. Needless to say, all of the people involved were close to tears at the end of this visit. Team members Morgan and Luke also had awesome days today- they both had their first experience helping lead someone to accept Christ into their heart. Oh, how the Lord worked through us today to reach the people in this village! There were plenty of funny moments throughout the day that kept all of us laughing. For instance, a communication mishap in triage led to medical stations getting quite a few older men with a chief complaint on their triage card as “depression,” which was meant to say “high blood pressure.” Talk about a plot twist for those medical teams during their interviews. Our wonderful floater Justin learned the importance of correct pronunciation today- turns out he had been telling people “seventy-six here please” instead of “sit here please” in Spanish for a solid 4 hours of the day. Even though every clinic day has had its share of stress, this group has kept each other laughing through it all. We also had a fresh way to show these villagers the Lord’s love after lunch. We brought multiple portable water filtration systems for the village, and Bobby presented these gifts by using them as a metaphor of the Gospel. The villagers were overjoyed, and their delight rejuvenated the whole team to power through the rest of the afternoon. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to end our clinic time in the Dominican. Wow, today was a breeze. And get this…there actually was a breeze. After several almost-accidents and some very colorful language from nearby drivers, we made it to the city of San Pedro and ventured into what could be referred to as the Ritz Carlton of Dominican churches. The multi-level church had been built recently and featured marble floors, some fabulous cross ventilation, and toilets that actually flushed. It was a dream. We set up clinic on the second level, and the surrounding forest made us feel a little bit like we were playing doctor in a treehouse.
On the medical side of things, our patients provided us with cases exciting enough to surpass even the beautiful building. From removing a keloid to draining a ganglion cyst, the fearless Dr. Walkers (no, they aren’t really brothers) guided their teams through new and exciting procedures. Amanda honed her ENT skills and thus if you need your ears cleaned out, she is your gal. Please call her nurse for an appointment. One member of our team sadly did not get to enjoy the beautiful building. Morgan (or as Eliz says…our fair-skinned beauty) endured some pretty strong sunshine and has the burns to prove it. She played with the kiddos from morning to night and had several important one-on-one conversations with different children. In my opinion, the cutest child of the day, also known as Rodrigo, stole the show. He ran around the clinic with multiple stethoscopes listening to the hearts (and wrists) of all who obliged. Our cardio goddesses of the day were Britni and Emily, who raced up and down the stairs to guide patients from medical stations to the pharmacy and evangelism. They definitely hit their step goal today. Eliz had a special encounter when a small boy with probable cerebral palsy arrived at the clinic. He came to her station at the pharmacy and her heart went out to him. For those who know Eliz, we all love and appreciate her passion for children with special needs. The child’s grandmother graciously accepted Eliz’s encouragement, and we know she made a difference in their day. Another victory for the Lord occurred in a medical station early in the day. A kind older woman graciously accepted medical advice and then listened as we began explaining that we also hoped to care for her spiritually. To our surprise, she answered the very next question with the proclamation that she was ready to follow Jesus. In that moment, she prayed to accept Christ. On a less significant but pretty hilarious front, Will learned that perhaps he needs to work on his Spanish a tad. Despite having a cheat sheet, he went rogue later in the day, resulting in a woman grabbing her chest when he attempted to take her blood pressure. Needless to say, we think we’ll keep our translators around. We’re still not quite sure what words were exchanged in this encounter, but we’re glad it happened and made for a great story to close today’s post. Had you been with us in clinic today, you would have heard not one, not two, but three very loud thuds. A beloved member of our team (who wishes to remain anonymous at this time), managed to fall off her stool on three separate occasions, eventually breaking the stool and providing the whole team with comedic relief. She set the tone for the day by just rolling with the punches. This small hiccup foreshadowed the chaos that was to come. Upon arriving at the church, we surveyed the building, noting that it provided the biggest space challenge to date. In the words of Chip and Joanna Gaines, it was utterly lacking an open concept. We set up several different stations, with medical in the living room, evangelism in the backyard, and pharmacy in the church’s small kitchen.
The morning was fairly low key, but once word got out, the people came in droves. We had a particularly rambunctious crowd in the afternoon, and I’m not going to lie, there was some shouting and very angry Dominicans who didn’t quite understand the concept of waiting patiently. Thankfully our faithful bouncer Shadrack kept everyone in line and restored order in no time. On the medical front, our most popular complaint was once again “gripe,” closely followed by hypertension and diabetes. Our luckiest students got to perform their first exams on some very private areas and thankfully, they lived to tell the tale. Andrew, one of our new team members who happens to be a wonderful physical therapist, made a huge difference in the lives of several patients with chronic pain. He was completely booked for the day and treated patients for pain spanning from their head to their toes. In perhaps the highlight of the day, Matthew singlehandedly ran the children’s ministry, which just happened to be all girls (see photo above). He was a wonderful sport as the girls practiced their braids and tried their hardest to style his short hair. It’s really too bad he didn’t have more hair for them to work with. On a more serious note, the evangelism team helped lead two people to Christ today. After a time of sharing the Gospel and prayer, God’s family gained two new members. After a long day, we packed up and headed home for SCORE night. The evening featured several missionary testimonies, worship, and a very spirited message from a local pastor. We concluded the night with a rousing version of happy birthday. HBD Scott…we’re so glad you endured our beautiful singing voices. |
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