Tuesday, July 26, 2005

We started the day with three empty seats on the bus.  Three of  our young people, Keith, Walker and Julia all were struck with dehydration and heat exhaustion.  The good thing about traveling with a medical team is that you have a crack team of doctors and nurses at your beck and call.  The were given IV fluids and made to stay home today, but don't worry moms and dads, they are OK and back on their feet.

This mission journey would carry us to the community center in an area called San Francisco de Quito, a town on a hill centered amongst five volcanoes.  Ecuador is one of those areas of the world that still has active volcano's and we had a great view of Cotopaxi, the worlds largest active volcano. In fact a local gentleman and his wife invited us to the roof of his home to see it better and take some pictures.

The space for the clinic was the best to date.  One big community center room with a stage and another nice sized room for the pharmacy.  The docs set up their practices on the stage, while triage and the prayer team were in opposite corners. 

The first wave of patients were a whole group of kids from a children's home. Most were in good health.  They all had a bad case of "break your heartitis"... a disease that affected nearly every member of the team.

The community we were in was actually built on a garbage dumb, so rats are a big problem here.  Fortunately, we did not see any of the furry little beast-ees.  The patients who came to the clinic seemed generally clean and pretty healthy.  Interestingly, some of these folks, if they have been diagnosed by a Ecuadorian doctor, they will bring their x-rays or test results to the American doctors for a second opinion.  They don't seem to have a lot of faith in the local docs. But our team, Drs.Stephen, Jonathan and Julia give them a sense of security both because of their skills and their faith..

As we mentioned, we saw a lot of children today.  For the prayer team, that offers an interesting opportunity.  In a village like this with so many children, 20 years from now these will be running the show.  How great would it be if they were believers.  What difference could they make in the town and all the surrounding areas... even the country.  Our prayer team believed in this and would not relent in their efforts... every child on this mission trip has been prayed for and given paper crosses to hang around their neck!  These crosses were hand made and given by their honorary US grandparents ("Abuelos")  at Maple Lawn Homes in Eureka Illinois. We thank them and the children thank them from the bottom of our hearts... Praise God.

Many adults receive prayer.  One young woman accepted Christ as her savior and was so grateful that she went home and made artificial flowers out of a bread dough like substance and brought them back for the prayer team.  They were incredible.  If you have ever had the idea that the people in the third world were not grateful for our presence here... you are so utterly, totally and completely wrong.

One group that we have not talked much about this trip so far are our heroes in the Pharmacy.  After the patients are seen and prayed for they stop to get the medication that the doctors have prescribed.  Kim Kilgore, Ben McGimsey manned the little room by the font door.  These professionals, with the support of others take the little slips of paper from the doctors and hand out the free medication these people need.  Now obviously we cannot stock every medication the the doctors might to like prescribe, but after five years of practicing medicine in the region, we have a pretty good idea of the basics we will need.  But even beyond handing out the drugs, the face of Christ that they share with everyone they meet is well part of the healing we offer.  On this day, Kim took the time to stop and work with a little girl teaching her how to use the inhaler that would literally change her life. God is using them greatly to bless these people.

Following clinic today, another church service was held.  This time, fifteen minutes before it was time, our own Penny Skeen was asked to share her testimony.  Penny has experienced such devastating losses in her life that most of us wonder how we would survive.  She is quick to tell you that had it not been for the love of Jesus Christ she wonders too.  Many people came to the alter as a result, including one young boy who was overwhelmed by taking care of his 3 younger siblings while his parents worked day and night to provide food.  He gave his life to Christ, and is now looking for a miracle to allow one parent to stay home.

What a great day!  We are blessed to be blessings and then we get blessed again... Is God good or what? On the way home we stopped to treat ourselves at the Supermaxi.  Supermaxi is Ecuador's grocery store on steroids... Its no match for a Super Walmart, but it gave us a chance to shop for a few unique items.  No one picked up any of the Ecuadorian delicacy.. Guinea Pig.

Tomorrow, the last clinic of the trip.  It will be held in the Mill's church next to the compound followed by another opportunity to worship.

	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.