Friends, it's been a while...

It has been quite an eventful month for me! I went with a team from our church on a medical mission to Haiti. Our objective was to assess the kids at the orphanage sponsored by our church and then to open the "clinic" to the local community.

This is just one of 300 photos I took on the trip. Here are a few of my impressions:
1. God is strong when we are weak...and He has not forgotten Haiti. The worship service was lovely. Familiar hymns were sung and the people were praising!
2. The people are gracious and grateful. Our clinic offered free treatment of those things we could fix in our brief visit. Even children who waited with parents were well behaved and all were patient.
3. Although Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, the people are mostly happy. They seem to have learned to live in the "now" rather than worrying about yesterday and tomorrow.
4. Basic infrastructure issues seem to keep the people in this poverty. Water filtration and waste disposal would go a long way in helping their overall health.
5. They are real people with real love and concern for their families. Moms would wait for hours to get care for children; teens brought grandparents; most were dressed in Sunday best, even if they walked quite a distance to be seen.

Too often I have seen the news of another disaster on TV, been saddened by the images, purposefully prayed for their plight. Eventually, I have moved on to the concerns of my own world, relatively safe but narrow. My motto since deciding to go on this mission has been that "I am weak, He is strong." I don't have experience in field medicine (again only the safety of bedside nursing in a major teaching hospital) so I was very light on the value added component for the team. I was totally out of control for this entire mission and it was quite freeing. Each of us were on this team by a Divine plan. We were privileged to have briefly touched their bodies, while they touched our hearts. I have new compassion for all His people...

I would encourage everyone to watch for opportunities for God to grow you. Be warned, it will mean stepping out of your comfort zone!

Blessings!