Happy Thursday and last day of clinic! We started the day bright and early per usual with morning worship and an awesome devotional led by Libby on the Parable of the Sower in Mark! We had breakfast and loaded on the buses for our 30ish minute drive to Quisqueya. It was more of an active city, so it was super fun to look around (especially at the fire truck with Roadrunner on it). The back of the church had quite a bit of shade, so about half of our team was outside and the other half was inside today.
It was a solid day at the medical stations. We had some pretty standard patients, but people still got to learn and experience new things (like running urine, how fun!). Something that really struck the medical team was the joy of the Lord that radiates through these patients even when walking through the unimaginable. There was a patient who not only was experiencing physical illnesses, but had also lost some family members within the past few months. Even through all her hardship, she was still able to say that God is good. It was such a challenge to all of us to find joy even through trials. Evangelism was great today! There were some hard conversations, but we also got to see a few people come to Christ! One team shared about a man who wasn’t very excited to chat at the beginning (not even the Lakers could get him excited). They began to share the Gospel with him and slowly started to see him soften up. They were very humbled by the end of the conversation when they were prepared for a rejection and he said “I’m ready.” They read Galatians 10:9 to him and before the translation could even come back to them, he had already confessed that Jesus is Lord and was ready to pray to receive Christ! It was so encouraging to see how God can move when you least expect him to. In the words of our team member Jay, “Things were awesome at the Sunglasses Hut”! We saw a record breaking (for this week) 21 eye patients seen today! Not only that, but 19 of those 21 patients were able to receive reading glasses! Thanks to Jay, Michelle, and Ethos, the joy from the glasses station was felt across all stations. They were able to love on patients so well and bring smiles (and a pair of aviator sunglasses) to so many faces. “Kids ministry was awesome. Period.” – Daniel We got to wrap up our last clinic day with my favorite session all week. During worship, it was so sweet to see so many smiling faces and people enjoying worshiping God together. During our team debrief, we got to hear about how the Lord moved not only in each station, but throughout the week in people’s personal lives. It truly has been a blessing to serve with a team who showed so much love and humility 24/7. We ended the evening with some great small group discussions and fellowship. Thanks for reading! Catch ya tomorrow for our fun day!
0 Comments
It is Wednesday, my dudes, and while Wednesday is usually when people are starting to feel fatigued by the week, this was arguably the most interesting day we’ve seen yet! Luke, one of the Briarwood Fellows, led the devotion this morning in 1st Corinthians 12. The team is composed of Fellows, doctors, medical students, and other professionals, and Luke exhorted us to remember that with our varying professions and skills, we all serve different roles but are all part of the same body.
The team took an hour drive to a village called Concho Primo to serve with a pastor who had planted a church there. We had planned to serve at a different church he had planted and only discovered once we got to Concho Primo that we would be stationed at that village. The team adapted amazingly to the change of location, especially since the village didn’t have a central building large enough to house all of the medical stations. This is where I get to brag on our team, because we had no idea that we’d be working in the village, which was mostly in the sun, and everyone had to be incredibly adaptable. But everyone worked with joyful spirits, and we were able to set up quickly and improvise to make space. I hear Chad (one of our pastors) even made a makeshift staircase out of rocks so we could get into a building. God provided enough shady areas to house the entire setup and a wonderful breeze so we were safe as we ministered to the people. I was involved with the evangelism station today and helped as we shared the gospel. One woman said that she had come to know the Lord through the work of a medical team several years ago, which is such an encouragement to hear! One man came to Christ after talking with Chad, which is the most exciting news all day. He spoke Creole, so we had two translators (Spanish and Creole) so we could speak to him. When we asked him if he wanted to receive Christ, he started shouting “Oui, oui!” (Yes, yes!) very excitedly. There was discouragement too, as many people expressed hesitance or reluctance to accept Christ and went away without accepting Him. Please continue to pray that God would move in their hearts to draw them closer to Himself. God’s presence was evident as we witnessed to the people of Concho Primo, as he opened their hearts to His voice and our service, letting us experience their lives and minister to their needs. We returned to the compound early, and were given a few extra hours to unwind and cool down (praise the Lord!) – as much as it’s a joy to serve in the clinic, getting to decompress is essential, and the time the team spends intentionally getting to know each other is incredibly fruitful. Ultimately, we ask that you please pray for strength and joy for the team as we have one more day of clinical ministry; pray that God would open our eyes and hearts to see the people as He does, and that God would open the hearts of the Dominican people to hear His word in truth. We’re excited to see how God opens doors and challenges us tomorrow! ~The CMMA Missions Team, October 2023~ Happy Tuesday!! From before sunrise to after sunset, the vibes here have been amazing. With amazing worship prepared and led by Ethan and Hannah, a powerful message shared by Renee, and tireless physical and spiritual care provided by the whole team, today has been spectacular.
In evangelism we met an amazing woman who found Christ 12 years ago with the help of messages shared by previous medical missionaries. This interaction was so encouraging as we were able to see her in the faces of those who had the seed of Christ planted in their lives for the first time today. We were able to ponder the possibility of seeing them in 12 years and hearing similar stories of salvation. Additionally, for us medical students who have little experience leading others to Christ, it was incredible to talk to God with others and begin seeing how to incorporate evangelism in future medical practices. The Children’s team were spectacular today (as they are everyday). Their energy and enthusiasm for the children of the community did not falter even as the heat of the day peaked while they were in a fully metal building. We found joy in the children who channeled their inner Picasso on Michael’s face and filled the air with bubbles. We were comforted and impressed by the children who were so eager to help set up the clinic before and after lunch time. Finally, we were reminded of patience when mediating arguments among the kids and cleaning up the discarded toys at the end of the day. For those not on the Children’s team, we always look forward to hearing about the joy and hard work experienced by those on the team. Clinic today was filled with high highs and low lows. We were able to relate to patients not only on a physical and spiritual level, but also on an emotional level. Past pains were able to be used for comforting and encouraging others today. We were reminded that even the worst times in our lives can later be a part of sharing God’s bigger, better plans for those who seek Him. Immense learning is happening on this trip as well. Every day, we learn more Spanish phrases, and the medical students get closer to finding what medical specialty God has called them to. We were all reminded that patients deserve patience. That can be forgotten in the fast-paced culture of the United States, but it is put in the spotlight here in the Dominican Republic. As a medical student, I was comforted by 1 Corinthians 12:15-26 today as it can be easy to find my incomplete training as something holding back the group. Thank you for reading! I have to go now as Ken is sitting alone with Quirkle waiting for me to finally beat him in a game. What a Monday! We had an early start to our first clinic day – A morning devotional led by one of our 3rd year medical students emphasizing the centrality of the Gospel, how it humbles and empowers us to serve others. It was an excellent way to cultivate the proper mindset before heading out to clinic. From there, we had an hour or 2 for breakfast and devotional time with God before we left for El Peñon. The 20-30 minute bus ride got us to our destination around 8:30am, where we immediately began setting up the church for clinic. Maybe this goes without mentioning but man was it HOT and Humid outside! Residents of the village began arriving around this time and we started seeing patients around 9am. We near about doubled our estimate of how many patients we were able to see before lunch! The sense of community in El Peñon was referenced in the prior post, and it sure was evident today at clinic. We had patients assisting our translators when other patients arrived who spoke Creole – One of the countless examples of how this community puts the needs of the entire group far above their own needs. We continued clinic until roughly 4pm then began packing things to head back to SCORE for dinner and an evening debrief. Endless stories and testaments to God’s faithfulness were shared by various members of the team. To list a few, one member of the children’s ministry emphasized the sheer magnitude of a sincere hug. He went on to explain how it was eye-opening for him to experience how gestures like a hug or smile were able to overcome the language barrier. On another note, the medical students and doctors in clinic were carrying on about how amazing it was to see each patient picking up and loving on children who in many cases weren’t even their own – another testament to the strong community God has built in El Peñon. At the end of our evening meeting, Dr. Chris Duggar shared a message on the Prodigal Son, a story many of us are so familiar with. I believe I’m speaking for many more individuals than myself when I say that I’ve never heard such a familiar sermon preached with such passion, wisdom, and thorough insight. His emphasis on the older brother’s response to His father’s compassion for the younger son drew the parallel to our call as Christians for the fulfill Great Commission. It was quite inspiring to hear a message like this that provided an excellent reminder of our purpose of the trip. We certainly are tired, but inspired and excited to have a good night’s sleep and see what God has in store for us tomorrow! Greetings from Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic!
We made it to the DR yesterday afternoon. We spent some time getting settled in at the SCORE International complex for the week, and got to visit the beach for a little bit. The beaches are beautiful here! We ate a yummy dinner and then headed to the Lilly House for a sweet treat. Most of us went to bed early last night because of the long travel day we had. Today, we had the opportunity to visit a church service at one of the churches we will be setting up clinic at this week. Its name is El Peñon. It was a beautiful service. It was spoken in Spanish, but we had a translator translate the message for us. The pastor, Maximo, taught about how the joy of the Lord is our strength. We got to worship with the congregation; we sang a song in English for them, and they sang multiple songs for us in Spanish. They even sang a popular American worship song for us, “What a Beautiful Name it Is”. It was such a neat opportunity to be worshiping together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The worship was a beautiful picture of what it will be like in Heaven one day when we are all worshiping God together. After the service was over, we shook hands with the people at the church and got to meet them. I am excited to be heading back to the church tomorrow to start our ministry. We headed back to SCORE for lunch, and then we got ourselves organized for our week in ministry. We sorted medicines and other healthcare supplies so that we will be ready to serve the people of the DR. It was then dinner time. After dinner, we had a large group meeting filled with a time of worship and reflecting on our first day. Then, we broke up into our small groups and had discussions about our devotional for the day (1 Timothy 6:6-10). It was a great first day of our trip. God is good! Please be praying for us as we start our ministry tomorrow and serve the church of El Peñon. |
Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|