Congratulations to this dear friend on her senior year! It was so good to get together and catch up :) I am excited for all that the Lord has in store for you! Here are a few of my favorites...
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Thank you so much for your prayers while I was in Guyana! The Lord taught me so much, as well as kept the team safe and healthy. The team was led by Bradley Edmonson and his wife Kelleigh; it included a couple nurse practitioners, physician’s assistant, many nurses, an army soldier, teacher, counselor, detective, and several of us students. We stayed in Grove and worked alongside the Yankana family. They were such a blessing, and their love for the people and ministry was contagious. Over 470 patients came through the clinic in addition to over 700 children we visited at a primary school, and each one was able to hear the gospel. While the majority of people are of Indian or African backgrounds, Guyana is English-speaking eliminating any language barrier. The main religions are Hindu and Islam as evident by the many Mandirs and Mosque in the villages. The people, however, were very friendly, grateful for the clinic, and open to talk with us. Here is a somewhat of a photographic journal of the trip... Day 1 - Travel The team met up in NYC to fly together to Trinidad and then Guyana. I was amazed how the Lord orchestrates every situation. Nothing happens on accident! On the first plane ride, I was able to talk with a man from Trinidad who goes by “Shammie”. After talking about school, work, family, travels, etc… the Lord really convicted me about sitting next to him for 5 hours and not sharing my faith especially since he was so open to conversation. As soon as I looked for an opportunity, God placed it right in front of me as he began to talk about trying to do “good works”. I was then able to share the gospel with him! While he did not accept the simplicity of salvation, he was definitely listening and amazed at my confidence in Christ's payment for my sins. What a way to start out the trip! Even when I did not know exactly how to connect with this man, the Lord showed Himself strong and gave me words to say. It is truly best to trust and obey; let God do the rest. Day 2 - Visiting & Preparing Medications Saturday, we went to Georgetown to visit and picked up a few souvenirs. We visited the Cathedral, shops, and grocery store while walking around. The Yankana hosted us all for every lunch and dinner. Bless Mrs. Yankana for the wonderful meals; she was a gracious cook! In the evening we packaged up thousands of vitamins, medications, and pills to be prescribed during the week. I have never seen so many Tylenol on one table before! Day 3 - Church Sunday, we went to Bible Baptist Church were Pastor Yankana and his family have been for the past 9 years. My favorite part was singing. The church members there were so welcoming and joyful. It was a blessing fellowshipping with them and hearing their testimonies. Day 4 - First day of Clinic Monday was our first day of clinic at Bible Baptist Church. I was assigned to work in Triage for the week doing blood pressure, pulses, oxygen saturation, and weight. I really enjoyed getting to meet and talk with each patient. No matter how young or old or how much pain they were in, everyone responds to a smile. From triage, the patients went to see the providers, then lab and wound care as needed, and on to the pharmacy. While they waited on their vitamins and medications we had a captive audience to share the gospel with. Many kids stayed all day and played with us when we were not busy. Above: Registration, Below: Triage These two little boys, Omari and Nani, live across the street from the church and were our constant companions for the day :) Below: patients waiting to see the providers Above: the pharmacy, Below: the evangelism Day 5 - Clinic On Tuesday, we were at the same location. In addition to the normal clinic excitement, I was also able to tag along in a visit to the local public hospital in search of a medication. As a result of our adventure, we met three families from the hospital who then came to the clinic. Your heart would break for the people for whom we could not do anything to help physically, but we rejoice in the fact that we can share good news to them about their spiritual problem, sin. You can pray for the many people who came through the clinic that Pastor Yankana now has the opportunity to follow up with, including one mom whose son died the morning before she came to the clinic. There were many hurting people, but more importantly, so many are in sin and spiritual darkness. Above: some of the school children who received puppets, toothbrushes, and vitamins. Day 6 - Santa Mission Wednesday, we went to the Santa Mission Amerindian Reservation down the river. It was over an hour away by boat. This was the first time Medical Missions had visited the village, but the Yankana’s and their church have been reaching out to the people there on a monthly basis. There was a huge pavilion for us to set up clinic with a clear view of the river. The chief was very open and friendly toward us all, and about 80 villagers joined him in getting check-ups with the providers. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and fresh coconuts. Please pray for people to continue to be open to the gospel and respond to the truth! Above: the chief was kind enough to give us a tour of the village. We enjoyed visiting the craft shop :) Day 7 - The West Bank Thursday, we went across the river from the East to West Bank. We drove over the longest floating bridge in the world! Pastor Yankana’s brother is the pastor of Bible Fellowship Church on the West Bank in Bellwest. Here we set up the last day for clinic. It rained buckets all day. Since the clinic was slower, I had the opportunity to watch a few assessments and share the gospel with several groups of ladies. This was something that, I admit, was new for me, but I was excited to do. I was praying for the Lord to calm my nerves, and He did. The Lord again showed me that He is faithful to be with you and just wants me to step out, obey, and trust Him. I was thankful for the challenge to step out of my comfort zone, and the more I shared my faith with the people the easier it became. While we don’t know exactly how many people accepted Christ throughout the week, each time several voices could he heard praying. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 1 Cor. 3:7 Day 8 - The Lake Friday, we enjoyed going to a park on a lake where we played volleyball, got wet, and learned cricket! Again, thank you all for your prayers and support. Thank you to those who donated so many toothbrushes for me to take! If you missed the opportunity to get involved in this trip and would like to, you still can. I will be going with Medical Missions Outreach to do the same clinic in the Dominican Republic this summer from August 9th-16th. It is $1650 and tax-deductible donations can be made at medical-outreach.com.
Many blessings to you all for a wonderful new year. May it be a time of renewal and spiritual growth! In Christ, Marie |
AuthorI will be the first to admit that I am not a writer, but have a sincere aspiration to articulate Truth with grace, in love, seasoned with salt. Here is a journal of sorts, or photo documentations of a journey - one currently around the world in Papua New Guinea working at the Kunai Health Center. Thanks for visiting and your support! Archives
May 2019
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