Monday, July 25, 2005

Most Monday mornings are met with bleary eyes and a groan, but not in Ecuador... well, at least the groan was soft.  But after a breakfast of tasty brown sugar oatmeal we were on the road to another clinic. By the time the bus pulled out we were smiling and ready to meet the day. 

We arrived at our destination in Santa Issabel about 40 minutes later and began the setup.  The broken down building we were in had 2 rooms, broken glass in the windows and a big section of the roof missing adding new meaning to the term skylight. It wasn't pretty, but it was shelter and we would make it work with the Lord's help.  The big room was used for the doctors and the smaller one one for the pharmacy. There was a toilet, but you had to "flush it" by adding water from a big jug... so much for comfort and convenience.

Triage set up under a tarp draped over a basketball goal and the prayer center and the youth team were allocated to two tents in the middle of the field in front of the building.  We used old wood, old benches and a chalkboard to make barriers to route the patients to where they needed to go. Parents and children, young and old began to arrive. A wating area was set up using the bus to provide shade for the patients. It was a makeshift clinic to be sure... but one that God would use this day to touch many lives.

There was something different about the start of todays clinic.  As the team members got off the bus, the prayer team prayed for each one, that God would annoint them for their task this day.  Well as if that wouldn't get us off to a good start, Jonathan called the entire team into a circle in the middle of the field an asked us to all pray for God's annointing.  We prayed and sang and worshiped God out there in that field as if it were the most beautiful cathedral on earth.  I guess in God's eyes that morning, it was.

Shortly after clinic got underway, the youth began their program before the waiting patients. As always before, they did a great job with their interpretive movement and the crowd of children and adults loved them.  Afterward they gathered together and as a group were touched by God in a very powerful way... like I said, this day something was different about the start of this day.

Morning at the clinic was pretty standard stuff, coughs, aches, pains, and your usual bouts of intestinal parasites.

Then, just about lunch time a mother walked across the field to the clinic. She was carrying her young son who was obviously in pain. His left ankle was distorted, swollen, and bruised green. On Friday, he apparently broke his ankle, and now on Monday, the pain is severe.

The doctors set aside their plans for lunch and went into action. They medicated him, set the ankle, and then cast it in plaster. Members of the prayer team sat by the boy's cot and prayed for him, while Gabby, the translator, explained the procedure to the mother.

After the cast had set, members of the mission team signed it with colorful markers.

Team member Margie Phillips expressed it best when she said, “Isn't it something how God will send someone halfway across the world just to fix a broken ankle. Um. Um. Um, um, um.”

One of the great thrills in the mission field is when we have the opportunity to see women seeking assistance or information about their pregnancy. Dr. Stephen Kerley, our resident OBGYN, was blessed today with two patients who needed prenatal check-ups. For the first woman, age 36, this would be her seventh child. She has five boys and one girl and hopes to have a tubal ligation after this pregnancy. She was concerned because she had previously had a breach delivery. Stephen fired up the ultra-sound machine and was able to determine that not only was the baby in a good position, she would probably deliver within the next few days. He was also able to give her the good news that she would probably be adding another doe to the flock.

The second patient was the sister of the first woman, and she wasn't sure if she even was pregnant. Another ultrasound revealed that indeed, she was. This may have been a bit disheartening to the mother in spite of the joy of new life, considering that she walked in carrying her 12-14 week-old child. Please pray for both of these women and their families.

Most people come to the clinic seeking medical attention, so it is understanding that the people in the prayer tent were momentarily confused. Generally, patients pass through triage, go on to see the doctors, and then the prayer center before ending their visit at the pharmacy. Normally, when they come to the prayer tent, they bring a slip of paper indicating their physical concern and the remarks written in the clinic, and a perscription for the pharmacy. Today a group people came to the prayer tent with no slip.

An elderly woman came with her three middle-aged daughters and said that they didn't need a doctor, but that they wanted spiritual help. Members of the prayer team talked with them and prayed with them. The mother and all three daughters indicated their desire to become Christians, so the prayer team led them in a prayer of repentance and acceptance of Christ.

As the women and the members of the prayer team talked further, the mother revealed that she had cancer and would also like prayer for her physical condition. The earlier confusion of the prayer team over the lack of referral slips evaporated in gratefulness for the spiritual hunger they had witnessed. Please hold this mother and her daughters in your prayers.

The people of this region are wonderful   On the outside, they may be covered in dust and dirt, and they my have bad teeth and body oder, but God allowed us to see the people he sees and they are beautiful.

Following the clinic, we had another worship service lead by the Mill's Church.  Our own Michael Schrum was asked to preach and again, many souls were saved and many rededicated their lives. Again, the church took their names and plan to come here and build a church.

Tomorrow another clinic in an area called San Francisco de Quito.  Keep praying for us... God is at work here and in each of our hearts.

	We were blessed to have Kathy Whitson with us this year.  Kathy is a writer, poet, and professor of English at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois.  Click the image to the left to experience a day in the mission field through Kathy's eyes.