¡Hola a todos los amigos y familias del grupo CMMA!
The group was up and at ‘em again before sunrise around 6:00am to worship and spend time in prayer before starting our day. Dr. Brian Shaw, Ivana Smith, and Mary Claire Carlton welcomed Seth Baxter (our newly christened drummer) to the team to lead the group in a time to praise God with our worship. Britton Ethridge (the author of Tuesday’s blog) brought a word from multiple Bible scriptures to remind us that God’s spirit is not only with us at all times but is going before and behind us in all things. The kitchen team (who has been dishing out AMAZING meals all week) served up some Food Network©-worthy breakfast to fuel us up for the day. Students and providers alike then split up to spend time in The Word before packing up the bus to hit the road. The team arrived at John 3:16 Baptist Church in San Pedro and the whirlwind of transforming a church building into a fully-operational multi-disciplinary medical clinic began. At this point in the week, we have all gotten pretty good at throwing suitcases full of supplies, setting up impromptu triage stations, and creating clinic “rooms” like a well-oiled machine, so setup was over before we knew it. As the patients had been lining up outside the church before we even arrived, triage began immediately – with students and providers taking histories, making diagnoses, creating treatment plans, dishing out and filling pharmaceutical scripts, providing comprehensive physical therapy, providing prescription glasses, and most importantly discussing the love, grace, and never-ending mercies of God, Jesus, and the Holy spirit. Due to a lighter clinic load today, every group was able to spend more time evangelizing and praying over every patient. While we may not have seen every patient come to a point where they felt ready to make a decision to follow Christ with their whole heart, we have been so encouraged to be able to be used by God in any way that he has planned. The group has seen spiritual growth and healing in many of the patients that we have been able to minister to, providing much-needed watering to seeds that have been planted into the hearts of many of the local Dominicans. It has been gift to be used for the purpose of furthering God’s kingdom. We have been able to see the curiosity of many people to know and learn more about God and His free gift of eternal life. Sweaty and a little tired, the group started packing up the clinic after the last patient had been seen, and in no more than a half hour, we were headed back to SCORE to devour another incredible meal of pollo fríto (fried chicken!) and enjoy fellowship with one another. We are definitely feeling a little physically fatigued at this point, but our hearts are so, so full. We gathered again to praise the Lord in worship. Singing and reminding ourselves that “His love is enduring!” and “His praise should forever be on our lips.” So many of us have felt led by the Spirit to trust God in taking steps that have initially felt uncomfortable for us – diving into the spiritual lives of others through language and cultural barriers, praying over intimate needs of people who had been complete strangers 20 minutes prior, providing medical care in very early stages of our training, and meeting our patients where they are at in any way we are able to. Tonight after worship, Dr. Bob spoke on Acts 17. He discussed Paul traveling through Athens and witnessing idolatry everywhere he went. This is not a problem of the past, but this is a problem of the heart. It is everywhere. We live in a broken world, and we are broken people, and we are in constant need to remind ourselves of the gospel – that “Jesus and the resurrection” is the foundation of our lives. There are so many things we can make idols in our lives by putting those things above the Lord, but they will fail to satisfy our souls every single time. When we share the gospel with others who are attempting to find peace and security in many different idols, we need to be prepared for all sorts of reactions and responses. Through it all, however, we can have immense peace in the truth that God is constantly working out all things for our good and for His glory. Thank you all for you continued prayers – God is listening, working in the hearts of the local people, preparing a way for us, and answering prayers daily. It has been such a blessing to be a first-hand witness to those answered prayers! Please continue to lift up prayers for the team and those that we will encounter – that God will go forth before us and open up the hearts, minds, eyes, and ears of all those that we will come into contact with. Please also lift up all those that we have ministered to thus far – that God will send workers to water all of the seeds that have been planted! Yours in Christ, The Three L’s of UAB – Lis, LC, and Luke
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Hello friends and family of the CMMA team!
Today has been our third full day in the Dominican Republic. We’re beginning to move beyond the initial adjustment period and really starting to sink our teeth into the work of the week – spreading the Word of God and acting as his vessels to deliver healing to the communities of this beautiful country. The day began at 6:15 with worship from our musical team of Dr. Brian Shaw, Ivana Smith, and Mary Claire Carlton followed by a group devotion led by Lis Pettibone lifting our spirits and raising our energy for the day. Our journey today began at 8:00, and took us to the community of Quisqueya, where we set up our clinic at a local church with the wife of Pastor Miguel providing guidance and support to us throughout the day. Yesterday’s volume of 150 patients was exceeded today, thanks to a tremendous effort again by our optometrist, Brett Bryan. A total of 160 patients (100 medical, 60 optometry) were treated today physically as well as spiritually with the grace of God allowing us to deliver medications, medical advice, and the Gospel to the patients of this lovely community. Despite a new location, the process and Spirit of Christ remained the same with members of the community receiving clinical care, physical therapy, and optometry care as well as spiritual care through time spent in evangelism stations headed by Duane Baxter and Bobby Parks, with students Luke Anderson and Hope Harris, all working to spread the Word of God and soften the hearts of those in Quisqueya. After dinner and an ice cream run at Plaza Leche Y Miel, the team reconvened at 18:00 and discussed notable events of the day. Stories were shared of people who were aware of Jesus but had not yet accepted Him as their Savior before today as well as others who today only began to consider a relationship with Christ. The day was concluded as we broke into our small groups and discussed our time at the clinic, what we’ve been learning, and the reading of the day from Philippians 2:1-4; 4:4-6. We ask for all of your prayers that the members of Quisqueya may continue to live happy, healthy lives and that any seeds of the Gospel that were planted today are watered and nurtured and bloom beautifully in the future! Best, Nick Friend USACOM Medical Student To our partners in prayer and spirit,
Today began our “normal” work schedule for the week which means the full team gathered at 6:15 am to sing praises together (led by our incredible worship team mentioned in yesterday’s blog post) and hear some encouragement and guided devotion led by CMMSA staff member, Alex Foxx. He taught from the passage about Martha and Mary from Luke 10 and emphasized the importance of taking time to “sit with Jesus” as well as serving Him. After devotion, the team received their station assignments for the day in clinic. Clinic groups had a moment to pray over each other and the work that would be done throughout the day. Breakfast and loading the buses followed immediately after and we left the mission compound just before eight in route to Consuelo and the Iglesia Bautista Dominica (the local church housing us for the day). A total of 150 patients were seen during our eight-hour work day, and a special shoutout to the optometrist (Brett Bryant) who provided care, prayer, and gospel presentation to fifty of those 150 patients! We provided primary clinical care, physical therapy, optometry, and pharmacy to men, women, and children ages 3 – 77. The medical team saw patients with: intestinal parasites, sickle-cell anemia, upper respiratory infections, torn knee meniscus, hypertensive crisis, ear infections, severe skin conditions, and many more conditions. Most patients were prayed for by students/providers, as well as spending time with our “evangelism stations” on their way out. Many Dominicans would initially say they were Christian, but when asked to explain their faith were unable to describe who Jesus is, and the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As expected, there were complications throughout the day such as loss of power to the building (the fans!), a provider suffering from heat exhaustion (who needed to rest for an hour before returning), and the optometry building losing power which meant for a few hours Brett (the optometrist) was working double time sorting through over 1000 pairs of lenses and using trial and error to find the best correction for each patient. Difficulties like this are part of the process, so your fervent prayers are coveted and necessary! This evening we just finished worship, share/encouragement time, and a message delivered by Duane Baxter (CMMSA staff) where he encouraged us to not neglect the reason we began the pursuit of medicine, our hearts. He cautioned us that the world/healthcare will tempt us to focus solely on the legal, financial, and scientific aspects of medicine. He posited that the cure for a weary heart isn’t always leisure, but sometimes it is pursuing “full-heartedness” such as serving in the capacity we are this week. Please continue to pray for the safety, stamina, morale of the team as we depend in a special way on the Lord’s sustenance to provide care for the people of the Dominican Republic. With Joy in Christ, Britton Ethridge, ACOM Medical Student Hey friends and family of CMMA team members!
Today was an exciting first full day in the Dominican Republic. Everyone began their morning with breakfast together and attendance at a local church. The beautiful service was presented in both Spanish and English, giving us a glimpse into Dominican culture. The message was led by Dr. Bob Nilsen, who spoke on the book of Ephesians and how it shapes our definition of church. After church, the team spent the afternoon organizing the medical supplies and preparing for the clinics we will host this week. Most students spent time sorting pills, packing medical bags and learning about the flow of clinic. Following dinner, the team gathered for worship led by the wonderful Dr. Brian Shaw and CMMA students MC Carlton and Ivana Smith. Afterwards, small groups gathered to share testimonies and discuss Psalm 1:1-6. We enjoyed the time of fellowship and the opportunity to pray over the week to come. As we embark on our first clinic day tomorrow, please join us in sending lots of prayers and love to both our team and the Dominican patients we will be serving. We are praying for smooth and effective teamwork, as well as the opportunity to make a long-lasting impact on the people we will be treating. Thank you for your continuous support and encouragement. We miss you all and can’t wait to share our experiences when we return! Best, Yulong Huang and Kahlea Haladwala USACOM ¡Hola! Today marked our last full day in the beautiful Dominican Republic. We spent the day on Catalina Island, right off the coast of the DR. After a relaxing boat ride, we got to snorkel in the Caribbean Sea right off the coast of Catalina- it was the first time for many of us! While we swallowed a lot of the salt water, there were no worries as we also learned how to snorkel and explore the 4000 square feet of coral reef! Afterwards, we made our way to the white sandy beaches of Catalina Island where we were treated to a buffet lunch with grilled chicken, pork, and even fresh shrimp and fish (thanks for sharing Christina and Dr. Friday).
After lunch, some of us read on the beach, lounged in the shade of the palm trees, or got massages on the beach. Others haggled in the gift shop for the best prices, strolled down the beach collecting shells and coral, and took a whole lot of pictures! An intense round of frisbee in the water also entertained us for a lot of the afternoon. We are not sure who ended up winning that game, as most of us ended up a just a little bit red and very worn out! There was also a close call with a little sea urchin, but no worries, it was caught and released into a different part of the beach to save our feet! Our afternoon was very well spent. With snorkeling, four boat rides in total, and playing on the beach, we were able to enjoy more of the beauty of God’s creation here in the DR. We also learned more of the value spent in resting as God has commanded us and living in close fellowship with other Christians. By the end of the day, we climbed into the boat exhausted, happy, and with just enough sun for a healthy glow (though some could have used more sunscreen ;)! The ride back to the main land was extremely choppy, but very exciting as it felt like a rollercoaster at times. We have been extremely blessed today and all of this week. For our dinner, we had the opportunity to enjoy a grilled dinner hosted by some of the members of Iglesia Bautista Misionario. They inspired and uplifted us as they shared their own personal testimonies with the group. We enjoyed hearing how the Lord saved a man from living for wealth to now live for the Lord and pastor two churches in the DR. It brought us full circle as we reflected on the week we’ve had. It’s been full of sharing our own personal testimonies, learning from each other, building fellowship, and bringing healing of all kinds to some of the villages we’ve had the opportunity to visit. I cannot speak for all of us, but I know this week has been humbling and inspiring. I know I will carry this week with me as I return to graduate school. Tomorrow, we ALL get to fly home as we passed our COVID tests this morning! The easiest test I’ve ever taken… ish. Some are a little more disappointed than others – I know I wouldn’t have argued with a few extra days on the beach! Our flight arrives at 6:30 PM in ATL. We cannot wait to share all of the ways we have seen God work this week and all of the amazing things we have done with our friends, families, and supporters! Hola! Today we visited the village of Monte Criste. Our Briarwood Fellows were able to be with numerous Haitian migrants. The majority of their time was spent going door to door to evangelize as well as provide food for those in need! The fellows were allowed to share what they call “Holy Week” via visual demonstration to share the gospel as well as share the story of David and Goliath. After completing their outreach to the community, local kids from the village came up to sing in creole and quoted Psalm 23. By the grace of God, 20-30 people were allowed to hear the good news of Christ via the “bridge of life” as a way to spread the gospel. It has been such an encouraging day, and we pray the seed the Lord has planted will begin to produce fruit. While in the village of Monte Criste, PT/OT visited a nursing home that was attached to a church. PT was allowed to set up in the church for the individuals from the community to receive therapy, while the rest of the team treated the residents in the nursing home. During this time, OT was allowed to assess how residents completed eating as well as address stroke deficits. PT was able to provide new equipment to improve functional mobility for the people of the Dominican. After lunch, the PT/OT students set up group therapy in the day room for the residents to complete exercises. The residents were excited and eager to participate! Towards the end of the exercises, various songs were sung in English and Spanish to glorify Christ. This was such a powerful moment to see how universal the love of Christ and worship can be. Spiritually, it was encouraging to pray for these individuals and share the gospel as well as witness a woman come to Christ. Being able to treat individuals physically as well as spiritually has been so humbling. We pray that we are able to carry the burdens of our sisters and brothers in the Dominican and that they were able to see our love for Christ. As for the PA students, they spent their time visiting the nursing home residents in their room and were able to treat a severe sacral wound for a non-ambulatory man. Additionally, the PA students gave steroid injections in the knee of the pastor and first lady of the church. It was encouraging to be able to serve their community as well as pray that they continued to spread the good news of Christ. Today was our last day in clinic, and while our time has been short, it has been a blessing to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He has given us the ability to love the people of the Dominican and be vulnerable in so many ways that we never imagined. We pray that we continue to carry these same sentiments when we return to the U.S. We are thankful for the translators who worked alongside us and they will be missed tremendously. Although our days at the clinic have ended, we look forward to a day of fellowship tomorrow at Catalina Island! ¡Hola! Today we visited the village of Consuelo. The people were as inviting as ever and welcomed us into their beautiful community. Our group here with us from the Briarwood Fellows program spent some time in the morning buying a plentiful amount- like, 400 pounds- of rice and other goods so that they can distribute it to the community that we are visiting tomorrow. In the afternoon, door-to-door evangelism occurred where it was inspiring not only to share our faith in Jesus Christ with the community, but to hear our team mates tell the Good News and remind ourselves of the Gospel again and again. May we never grow tired of hearing the Gospel! The OT/PT students and clinicians set up in a church where, for the first time, we were not in one large room- it gave a more intimate feel to the day where we could engage and be even more intentional. Spiritually, it was encouraging to have so many patients today that had personal relationships with Christ already that were an encouragement to us. Getting to pray for them and hear about their families was a blessing. When you took the time to really look them in the eyes, you could see the love and gratefulness. Clinically, it was amazing to have patients so engaged. Many of the patients reported relief of some of their symptoms and engaged in asking about what more they could do at home to keep treating their pain themselves. Our licensed therapists performed many skills to better the lives of the people of Consuelo in the moment- such as performing a skilled manipulation to realign a patient’s pelvis or fitting an assistive device to another patient and donating it to them to continue using. For our PA students, they were again running around through the town! Well, maybe walking… it’s too hot down here to be running around all day. They visited many houses where they got to create a make-shift sling for an older woman who had dislocated her shoulder and was experiencing a lot of pain. With a different older woman, they had an emotional experience where they got to involve music and worship through song played by one of our translators. Overall, the PA students had an incredible time using their skills to make clinical decisions in a way that showed their patients their genuine care and love, rooted in Christ. Part of what has been most amazing on this trip, including today, is the community and fellowship built between our three groups as we become one during meals and free time playing games and conversing. It has been inspiring to hear the Word of the Lord spoken about on such numerous occasions- almost everything is woven back to how the Lord is teaching us something on this trip. It has inspired many of us carry over these purposeful conversations when we get back to “normal life” when we get home. ¡Hola! Today we visited the village of Paloma for another great day. PT and OT had a clinic in the church. We had a great turn out! We were able to help many Dominicans with various physical needs. We were also able to pray for them and heal them spiritually as well. A prayer was definitely answered when a man in the village gave his life to Christ! Many others eventually transitioned to having ongoing conversations with the church’s pastor. The Lord is at work here- we have been blessed to learn a different culture and be able to see their love for God. One highlight of the day was when the Dominican translators broke out into worship, and it didn’t take long before the whole team gathered around and sang praises to JesuChristo! While some of the songs were in Spanish and some were in English, both languages were glorifying our God. The biggest smiles of the days came from the crazy kids at the clinic. The fellows led them through different activities such as making balloons, playing tag, and shared the story of Jesus. The kids were very attentive and willing. They were able to share the gospel three times throughout the day. The kids treated Dr. Friday (D-fry) like he was Santa Claus! His balloons were definitely a hit. The PA group also had an incredible day of house visits. We were able to go into the village and administer several injections and medications to the sick and elderly. George did a great job of explaining the gospel with several of his patients, and they seemed very responsive to the love of Christ. While many physical health needs were addressed, more importantly spiritual needs were met with many patients. One story that comes to mind was with one of the older ladies who was having major stomach pain and limited mobility. After an extensive diagnosis, the team concluded that the patient was undergoing a lot of depression and stress which led to her physical pain. George felt as though the answer to this problem was restoration between the patient and her family. We then discussed ways the mother and the daughter can better communicate to relieve some of the stress that was causing some of her stomach pain. With prayer and some creativity, we were able to get smiles and laughs from both, and it was evident that physically and spiritual healing was already manifesting. Today we visited the village of Los Montones. O.T and P.T set up a clinic in the church, while P.A attended to a few house calls in the surrounding area. The Briarwood Fellows went door to door sharing the gospel and evangelized to the children and patients of the clinic. O.T and P.T had a busy morning with patients that had various needs such as stroke rehabilitation, back pain, knee pain, and neck pain and we were able to minister to them both physically and spiritually. We were amazed that something as simple as joint mobilizations and exercises would make a patient stand up and immediately declare they felt better already. We are sure with continued exercises and prayer they will continue to improve. We were moved by the eagerness of the patients to share what Christ meant to them, even with a language barrier. Our translators helped us communicate, and we heard beautiful testimonies that renewed our passion and energy. The PA students began their day with Dr. George at a beautiful and colorful home seeing a stroke patient who was bedridden for 12 years. He and his wife were a Christian couple and allowed the team to pray with and over them. One of the PT providers who specializes in neuro rehab later visited the couple to provide more care. They moved on to the other homes and helped, prayed, and connected with multiple families while spreading the goodness of Jesus.
The Briarwood Fellows spent the morning going door to door evangelizing to different people in the village. We connected with one of the leaders of the church who sent us to the houses that he knew had at least one person in their home that was not a Christian. Even though none of our conversations led to an immediate conversion, we were encouraged by how easy it was to connect with the people that we evangelized to. Seeds were planted today, and we are full of hope and prayer that the gospel will impact the individuals we connected with. After door-to-door evangelism, we went out and played games with children and had an opportunity to share bible stories with at least 30 children. They were very engaged and at the end of our time, many prayed to receive Christ in their own life! Overall, today was an amazing day that impacted all of us just as much as we impacted the village. This morning we went to Iglesia Bautista Missionario (the church down the street from Score International) for an enriching time of fellowship, teaching, and worship with our Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ. Even when the power went out cutting off the music, the church never stopped singing. We might have been singing a different language, “Jesucristo basta”, yet we were still worshipping the same God who is always enough even in our weakness and depravity. We also heard a sermon on Acts 3 where Peter heals a lame man outside of Solomon’s portico. While Peter did heal the man’s physical needs, he points to the man’s ultimate spiritual need- the saving work of Jesus Christ. In this passage, Peter says to the man, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” This is the motivation behind our work this week- healing physical needs while pointing our patients to the hope found in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
Despite the rain after church, our spirits couldn’t be dampened and we made our way to the beach this afternoon. We spent the afternoon swimming, reading, throwing a frisbee, and building a community with the locals through beach volleyball. Our small game with some friends we made this morning at church from Climb (a gap year program for students), turned into a crowded competition with the locals joining both teams. You could hear the crescendo of noise across the beach. It was incredible building a community with the locals even when we couldn’t speak the same language. It gave us a lot of hope for the upcoming week as we venture into other communities. Our evening ended with worship, sharing testimonies, and building relationships among our team and with our new friends at Climb. We look forward to serving the communities’ physical and spiritual needs. We’ll be sure to add pictures from the beach to tomorrow’s blog- for now, it’s off to prepare for our week! The team arrived safely in the DR.
After a 3 AM meeting time, drive to Atlanta, and long flight, our team made it safe and sound to the Dominican Republic. For our first day in the DR, we played Catch Phrase, Spicy Uno, and joined a basketball game with some of the locals. We made our first trip to Leche y Miel (the café side of Lily House- a ministry for trafficked women) for a sweet treat before a much needed early bedtime. Hello Hello!
It is with a sad heart that I say today was the final full day in the Dominican Republic. After a long week working on patients, today we got to have a fun day together as a team. A few of us started the day off watching the sunrise on the beach across from the SCORE complex…and wow was it beautiful. Next, we all had a fun little swab time with the Covid testers, and luckily we are all returning to the US tomorrow since all tests were negative (though some of us mayyy have questioned whether having to stay would’ve been the worst thing). After a yummy breakfast per usual, we set out for our embarkment. We drove to an area of the island where we boarded a boat to take us to Catalina Island for an amazing beach day. The color of the water here is ice, ice blue. We had such a fun time getting to see the beauty of this area from the water, and we even enjoyed some cliff jumping and snorkeling. After snorkeling, we went to the beach and spent a relaxing afternoon full of naps, pineapple drinks, and just enjoying being together in such a beautiful place. We have had the absolute best trip serving the people here, and we personally love every single person we have gotten to spend this week with. Thank you to everyone for following along with the blog, it has been fun keeping you guys updated on our adventures. Please pray for our safe travels and that we will continue to be able to spread the light of the Lord as we return to the United States. We are so thankful for this experience and will never forget the people we have encountered this week in the Dominican. Until next time, everyone! P.S. special shout out to the chefs for killer meals all week and an especially fabulous bread pudding tonight! I know my dad would have loved it as much as we did (not to brag but he and I are kinddd of bread pudding connoisseurs). And on that final, last, sorely sad, not excited, don’t make us leave, ok guess we have to go note… Signing off, Hal and Sar <3 Hi loyal readers!
Our hearts are so full writing this because we’ve finished our four days of serving patients and ministering to them. We’ve seen our Spanish improve thanks to our amazing translators; they have been such an important aspect of this trip. We quite literally could not have done it without them porque no hablo español. It is honestly incredible how self-sufficient the students on this trip have become over the course of a few days. Our fellow dentists have trained us well, and we are now ready to embark on patients in the USA. Ha kidding, but maybe?? Not only have we picked up on so much dentistry & optometry for Kimmie and Sam but we’ve found ways to comfort our patients and ask about their spiritual needs. It’s opened our eyes to how the Lord has provided these professions as platforms for ministry, and how we can point others to the reality of Christ in our regular workflow. In the clinics we had an evangelism pitstop for patients before they were treated, and we saw many people who knew parts of the gospel but hadn’t committed to follow Jesus. Today, Tyler was able to have a conversation with a man and lead him to Christ, and there were so many other conversations that planted seeds with these people that will be watered after we leave. It’s also super encouraging to think that some of us may be able to come back and serve these people again! Tomorrow, we’re excited to spend the day together debriefing our experience, resting, and enjoying this beautiful place before we head home. We’re having a great time writing these blogs for y’all tbh. Thanks for reading along (mom..), Hal and Sar We’re back again!!
The Lord and the coffee he created have been so faithful to restore our energy and get us through our first 3 days of clinics! It was a wild day, complete with Nolan exploding through a plastic chair while trying to check a filling and Zoie running her own pediatrics extraction practice in the corner. Every day, we see our team becoming more efficient at setup and dentistry/optometry, which allows us to bring more of our attention to the spiritual needs of our patients. It’s been so cool to experience the Holy Spirit moving our team to pray for patients and hear their story, even when it’s right after we’ve yanked a molar. This trip can for sure wear you out, but we are thankful for all of the discipleship that CMMA is giving us through our quiet times, small groups, and mini-sermons at night. Those aspects of the trip have rounded out our spiritual perspective on the services we’re able to provide, and helped us to envision the transition back to being regular ole students in Birmingham. So many of us will be returning home with an outlook to be a light to our classmates & patients and a desire to keep seeking the Lord. Please pray that we’d be able to serve our patients and each other wholeheartedly tomorrow on our last day of clinics. Still can’t roll our Rs, Sar and Hal Welcome back to the blog, everyone!
We just finished up day 3 in the Dominican Republic, and let us tell you…it was very special. We started our morning at 6am with prayer and worship before we set out for the day in a remote town. We boarded the buses, and the bus drivers very impressively drove us off road to our area of work. We had a long, successful day of ministering to many people and helping relieve the pain in their mouths. One of the cutest parts of the day was when Dr. Park asked a little girl if she had any feeling in her gums after she had been administered Lidocaine, and she responded “You are very good doctor, because I can’t feel anything.” This was a very special community of people we were able to serve, and we are increasingly more thankful as the days go on that each person on this trip chose to come. The work ethic and compassion that this group of people exhibits is truly inspiring. The Lord is working in everyone here, and it is a blessing to be surrounded by people so adamantly serving others. To wrap up this blog, once again, shout out to each doctor on this trip and our 4th year, Cody. They have patiently watched us pull a tooth for twice as long as it would take them and have showed us so so many skills. They are kind and eager to help us learn how to do things that we have absolutely no idea how to do. If you are a family member of any of them, thank you for sharing them with us students this week. They have been such a blessing to us and to the communities we have been serving. With that final note, we will say see you tomorrow! Thank you for your continued prayers, we love you. Hal and Sar ¡Bendiciones para ti!
Can’t you tell our Spanish is vastly improving?! We’re here writing this to you after a 12+ hour day and after running our first dental and optometry clinic! Our day starts real early with a group devotional and worship, and then we load up and drive out to the communities we’re working in. Today, we were in a school and were able to care for teachers and students and their families. In the dental sector, there were people working on cleanings, pulling teeth, and even a few brave souls restoring cavities with fillings. A lot students had their first opportunities to do composite restorations (including ya girls, Hal and Sar) or pull teeth, and we are all so thankful for the incredible dentists here for being patient and pouring into us throughout the day. Our optometrists were hard at work as well, providing many people with prescription glasses. Lastly, our groups of evangelists had the opportunity to pray over the people before their dental procedures. To say that the Lord’s presence and blessings were felt today would be an understatement. We are having the greatest time building relationships and sharing the gospel. Hearing stories tonight from teammates of how they are already seeing God at work is inspiring and motivating us to be bold this week. Thank you for your continued prayers as we venture into the great unknown of 3 more days of clinic!! Hasta mañana, Halle y Sarah Hello hello family and friends!
Sarah and Halle here to bring the latest update for our official first day in the Dominican Republic. It was a lovely little start to the morning with an incredible breakfast by the SCORE chefs (but let’s be real…every meal is incredible.) Don’t worry, we are without a doubt very well fed over here. After breakfast, we boarded our trusty vans to head into the town to church. It was a great service and powerful to witness believers from an entirely different background singing their hearts out to our God. We practiced our Spanish on some kids who would put up with us and a few of us even learned some dental phrases on the ride back to SCORE! Today was about preparing to set up and run the clinics tomorrow and coming together as a team. Everyone caught some sun as we got to enjoy the nearby beach before we did one more devo as a team & met in our discipleship groups. Everyone is doing well and there are mixed feelings of excitement and nerves for treating patients tomorrow, but we are thankful to the Lord for this opportunity and are trusting that He will show up in big ways. We are very excited for the spiritual encounters that the Lord will provide us with in the coming days, and are even hoping to share some of our quirky humor with the kind people of the Dominican Republic. Until tomorrow, our dear friends. Signing off, Hal and Sar Our Dental Team has arrived safely at the Score International Compound in the Dominican Republic.
Hola amigos y familia,
It’s hard to believe our time here in Trujillo has come to a close. One thing we forgot to mention about our day on Thursday, our wonderful physical therapist, Robin, gave a lecture to PT students at the local hospital. She is now a world-renowned speaker, and we are so proud! We heard her lecture went great, and she was able to equip these students with knowledge they can share with others. We had a great last day of clinic yesterday. We drove up the mountain to set up clinic in a very underserved area. Even with all the medical needs, we still saw several families coming for well child check ups. It was very encouraging! After clinic, we went back to the church to have lunch together. Then, we organized the leftover medical supplies we brought and were able to donate quite a bit to the clinic run by Peru Mission (where we worked all first week!). We know they will be put to good use! Last night, we went back to our favorite restaurant - aka the family style chicken feast. It was a great time of communion and rejoicing in all the Lord has done in our hearts and in Trujillo over these past 2 weeks. We ended the night by playing games back at the hotel. Today, we have some free time before our evening flight. We are headed to beach, where some of us will attempt to surf the Pacific left-handed waves and the rest will be sightseeing and watching from the pier above. We will have one last meal together at a restaurant near the beach, then we’re headed to the airport for our journey home! Please pray for safe travels are we make our way back home. It has been our pleasure updating you on the trip! Hola amigos y familia,
We had a wonderful last full day of clinic! Tomorrow we will be having a half day of clinic and then we will be organizing the rest of our supplies to donate to Peru Missions. At clinic today, we served in a community that was greatly impacted by the flood here in 2017. The patients we saw were gracious and welcoming, and it was a privilege to provide care for them today. Clinic set up was challenging again today, as we were split between two rooms - the town library and the municipal center. It ended up going really well, and we had a great day! Tonight, we had dinner and our time of worship per usual at the hotel, and then walked to get gelato as a group! Please continue to pray for us as our time here comes to a close. ¡Buenos Noches! Hola amigos y familia,
It is hard to believe we are over halfway through our last week in Peru! Today we were in a neighborhood closer to the mountains and mostly saw children. Even after their clinic visit some kids stayed around to play futból and run around with their neighbors. We have really loved working with our new providers this week! We have a nurse who is running the pharmacy, an emergency healthcare provider who is helping triage and any other unforeseen issues, a physical therapist to see patients after their clinic visit if needed, and 3 doctors with backgrounds in internal medicine, family medicine/emergency medicine, and pediatrics. We also have our family medicine doctor who has stayed both weeks with us and helped the transition into the second week. They are all teaching us so much and we have loved getting to know them! Please pray that we would finish this last week of clinic strong! ¡Buenos noches! Hola amigos y familia,
We had a great Tuesday! It was an exciting start to the morning. As we were pulling up to the building that would be our clinic for the day, our bus was stopped by a large crowd, a band, and men in military uniforms. It was actually a celebration for our work in Peru! A leader from Peru Missions spoke, as well as a leader from the hospital where we worked last week and a General from the Peruvian military. They thanked us for our work in Peru, and it was an incredibly humbling and encouraging way to start off the morning! The set up for clinic was a bit challenging today. We were split between two rooms, one long room attached to a daycare and one larger room that was a part of someone’s home. Some of our providers and our evangelism team actually set up in the street outside our 2 rooms. Despite the challenges in set up, we had a great clinic and served many sweet patients in this community. We finished clinic a little bit earlier than normal, leaving us with some free time before dinner. Some team members went to the market and others went on a jog. It was great to enjoy a little time off together! Please pray for us as we continue this week and the unforeseen challenges that may face us in each community we are serving! ¡Buenos Hola amigos y familia,
Today we went to a different neighborhood to host clinic in a local church. We did not know how smoothly the clinic would run, since we were in a new location. However, all of team including the new providers worked together to make a great clinic - we were able to serve 99 patients! One thing we loved about clinic today was the privilege of sharing the Gospel with a few patients who had never heard it before. It was truly humbling and encouraging to our mission here to care for these communities spiritually. We enjoyed serving in a new area, and we will be in yet another neighborhood tomorrow setting up clinic. Please pray that we can pull off another successful clinic! Buenos noches! |
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