Reflections

Wow!  What an amazing, abundant week. I'm home now, the washing machine has been hard at work on my suitcase full of dirty clothes, and I've spent this past week in my sanitized, convenient in most every way office setting, treating patients much the same way that I did in Jamaica.

I've been battling a little bacterial infection since I got back last weekend, but I wouldn't trade the experiences I gained there for the world.  What's a little trouble in this life?

It's always so jarring to come back to all of the excess that we have here, and in kind of a negative way.  Walking into Krogers for the first time after a trip is a little overwhelming.  We are so blessed with so many needs right at our fingertips, but we also have so much that we don't need.  And, so much less is necessary to lead a happy life.  That has been one of the most enduring impressions that I've received from my Jamaican friends through my previous trips.  I only hope that I can apply it meaningfully to my everyday life.

 

I went into this trip hoping to gain a better sense of Jamaica by slowing down and breathing in all that my patients had to offer.  I feel like I did learn much more on this trip than on my previous trips.  I gained a better sense of the culture, and a better sense of the physical poverty of the people, and of their lack of spiritual poverty.  What a joy it was to have the opportunity to spend time with them.

Through the 2 weeks that our clinics were operational, over 900 patients were seen.  In the 1 week that chiropractic was offered, about 90 patients were treated.  A theme that we repeat many times as we work is that we only wish to offer a hand up, not a hand out.  It's the whole give a man a fish, or teach a man to fish premise.  I pray that the Jamaicans were helped up, because I know that they  spoke to all of our hearts who were serving them.  The server gains so much by serving, sometimes it seems selfish to me!


God's grace is abundant, so if you have any inkling or nudging curiosity inside you, I would so highly recommend that you check out ACE's mission opportunities or consider a service project located more near to you.  The blessings are great!

Thank you for following along on my little blog.  Hopefully you'll see me back soon, posting about my next mission trip!

We Live Happy

What an awesome off day we had! I'm sorry that I couldn't post last night. The internet went down at the hotel, and so I had to wait until I was back in the US. I am sitting at my gate in Chicago now making good use of my layover time!

Yesterday was a wonderful day off from start to finish. It began with a big thunderstorm. Sounds bad, I know, but it was AWESOME! I and about 6 others had made it up to the separate cafeteria building at the hotel for our morning blue mountain coffee (yum). This is the building set high on the hill with a super view of the ocean. So, we spent our time sipping coffee and watching the storm come in. So much fun, and a nice relaxing start to the day.

Then, we spent the day at Somerset Falls. It was Amazing!!  It was great for many reasons. First, it was a Jamaican playground. Meaning, we played where the Jamaicans play. That meant we were pretty much the only white people there, which is how we spent our entire week, immersed in Real-Jamaica, not Tourist-Jamaica. That was really appreciated. The next reason for its awesomeness was its beauty!!! What a unique experience. You could board a rowboat to travel maybe a 1/8-1/4 of a mile down a stream to the falls, or you could swim/walk it. I and another team member were intimidated by the swim, and by the 32 foot depth at points, so we stayed back with the cameras to take the boat while the rest of the team swam in. So, we road the boat, took our pictures, and then the driver pulled over and reached out his hand for our cameras and said "jump in". Eek! I took him up on it and jumped off the boat. That's all of the jumping that I did, but I watched as most every member of our team scaled the rock walk and jumped from different places around, under, and through the falls into the pool. We also watched as the lifeguards took turns putting on a show by scaling high on the wall and jumping 30+ feet. It was really impressive. Soon, I gathered my wits and swam my way back down the river. What a cool experience! And, no significant injuries from the team...just plenty of scrapes and bruises from the rocks and one sore neck by a cannonball gone bad.

There was also a black sand ocean beach near the falls, and a lovely palm tree covered group of hammocks behind a jerk stand, which was filling the air both with the scent of jerk seasoning and the sounds of old country music ala Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash. A few of us napped on the hammocks. Best. Nap. Ever.

Once back to the hotel, I spent some time treating a few people from our team (yes, a few were our cliff divers!) while everyone else did some organizing/packing up of our clinic supplies for the next group, which is scheduled to return in November.

Finally for our fun day, the beloved MacGyver, who runs the hotel's jerk stand/bar, threw our group, particularly the med students who have kept him busy over the last two-weeks, a party. It was really very generous of him, who lives in poverty himself.  It was a great gift to us. As he put it, 'We Jamaicans may be poor, but we live happy." He made us chicken foot soup, rum cake, and breadfruit. Plus, he brought some of Jamaica's finest rum. We played Jamaican 'three card', dice and listened to Bob Marley until way too late. It was a great time!
 

I should be boarding soon, so I'll have to wrap up. I'm feeling really, overwhelmingly blessed right now. What a gift it has been to have been able to participate in this mission. God is good. I hope to write a post with some reflections tomorrow. Look for me then!

Bonnygate

Today was our last clinic day, and I meet it both with relief and sadness. I'm exhausted, but it feels like the week was so very short. Today we saw near the record number that we saw earlier this week. I would assume that the administration and flow of the clinic has improved over time to allow for more patient visits. I was not as busy today as usual, perhaps due to the large number of children that came in. We were at Bonnygate today, and the weather was wonderful. It was really cool and breezy. What a blessed change. Also, the people made us a lunch of jerk chicken, peas and rice, and vegetables. It was great ... And really good for me because I'm nearly plumb out of food. I forgot to pack my gluten-free bread this week, and our lunch everyday is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So, I've had a few hungry days! Several team members have been giving me food, which has been really sweet of them.

 Since it was our last work day, the group spent some time at the hotel's Jerk Stand / bar. It was good to relax with everyone. They've also got a fire burning down at the ocean, and the view of the stars from there is absolutely awe inspiring. I would like to have spent more time, but my 5:15 wake up to get up with the sun each morning has left me sleepy. Tomorrow is our off-day, which is the day that we get to be tourists. We're headed to Sommerset Falls near Port Antonio. It's slated to be a 2 hour drive east along the coast, which I'm sure will be beautiful. No one in our group has been there, so it will be an experience for us all!

Sweat Equity

Greetings from Jamaica, mon.

Today has gone very well. I took the best cold shower in my life this afternoon, after spending the morning on a construction site. Another team member and I back-filled the foundation of a house, while the rest of the team moved gravel by bucket and wheelbarrow to fill the foundation. We all did a lot of digging and lifting...and sweating! My shirt wasn't quite wringing wet with sweat, but it was close. It may seem odd that the medical team was working on a construction site, but in the grand scheme it makes good sense. A local landowner who believes in the work that ACE is doing is renting them land at a very low price to be used as both a children's village and as a medical clinic. Both are very exciting. The children's village will be a place for fostered children to be raised in a stable home, with foster parents raising then with christian values, education, and a trade. And then there's the clinic. So exciting! The clinic is so very needed. All of the state of the art equipment that the people in this area would have to travel to Montego Bay to have access to, 2 hours away, has been donated and is ready to be placed once construction is completed. In the future, medical teams that visit, like the one that I'm with now, will spend a lot of time in this clinic and will be able to give more consistent care. As Dr. Guy put it today, it's really wonderful to put some sweat equity into a project that will last longer than us and benefit so many.


Needless to say, the chiropractor has been busy treating the team today, and loving it! We held a clinic this afternoon for staff members here at the mission and their families. It was really great, and they were very appreciative of the service. And, the setting wasn't bad! I was on a veranda with a full view of the ocean. In fact, when I asked people to sit up or roll over on the table, I would ask then to 'face the ocean'. Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to do this everyday!

Tomorrow were back to holding a regular clinic day, which will be our last. I think that I have one day of hard work left in this body...but I'm sure that I'll have nice memories of shoveling tomorrow via achy shoulders! All for the Glory of God!

My view as I worked.  Not bad, mon!

Unexpectedly Busy

Short post tonight, because I am toast. Super tired. We had a cool experience today. We drove up to our clinic to find the doors locked and no one there. Typically, there's a crowd waiting for us. So, we got all set up, not knowing if we'd be seeing many people. A few people walked up and down the street telling people that we were there, and it turned into the busiest clinic day that we've ever had. I think more than 160 patients seen. God provides everything we need - even patients. I was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. But, I was overwhelmingly hot. I was outside under a tarp, which at times had a little greenhouse effect going on. All is well, though. I just had a good sweat detox!
 

Tomorrow we're scheduled to work construction in the morning on one of the mission organization's projects, and the hold a short clinic in the afternoon. I'll keep you posted!

Clinics in the Hills

Today was our first clinic day, and it went very well. I saw about 30 patients, and I think that we saw about 90 total through the clinic today. We were set up in a schoolhouse,and it really was wonderful accommodations. I was outside, under an awning, out of the sun and enjoying the mountain breeze.

The schoolhouse turned clinic.

The people today were more polite and gracious than most, which made the day very enjoyable. I saw a few cases of generic low back pain, which are always fun because people usually respond really well to treatment, even the one-shot sort that we're offering here. One of the most interesting patients of the day was my rasta man. Rasta is a religion. Think Bob Marley, reggae music, and truly impressive dreadlocks. In my experience, they're a really loving, kind sort. He had some really awful, unusual low back pain in his flank. Kidney issues were ruled out, so he was sent to me. Listening to his history, I was stumped. Then, feeling the muscles in his back I was still a little stumped. But, we treated him, and he felt a lot better. Reinforcement of the fact that it's not me doing the healing here, but God alone. Sometimes, I don't have to know exactly what I'm fixing! Just show up, and God will use those hands and feet of yours. It's neat to see that happen.

Tomorrow, we have another early morning, and long ride scheduled. We met at 6:45 this morning, and drove more than an hour into the hills. I've not often been one to be bothered by motion sickness, but the twisty, bumpy road got to me today. We even walked the last bit of it, because the narrow road was too steep for the bus when weighed down by a full load of people. But, the trip was worth it, because the view was amazing. 

God willing, I'll be back to post tomorrow!

Day One: Travel Day

Day 1 post 7/14/12 We made it safely! Travel was very easy, and passing through immigration and customs was super speedy. This is always a concern when we're carrying medical supplies with us, as they're often a target of further inquiry by customs.  On my last trip, I was pulled aside, searched, and questioned. I was allowed to leave without paying any taxes/fines on my materials only after I gave a bottle of daily vitamins to my customs officer. I hope that they were put to good use! I'm sorry that I'm not posting this in real time, but I promise it's written in real time. From my bed. At 9:15 at night. That's right, I'm exhausted! We haven't yet gotten fully settled in, and, I don't yet have Internet access  Here's hoping that I can work that out tomorrow.  We were able to stop at Scotchies on our way to the hotel, and that was the icing on the cake of a good travel day. Scotchies is a real, and a delicious, Jerk stand. We shared a whole chicken between our group of 5 that traveled in today, and I had my long-awaited pumpkin soup. I had a cup there last year, and have been looking forward to it since!  In the picture, you can see their method of slow-cooking their meat, they rub the meat, chicken, pork, or fish, with a mix of spices (which is called jerk seasoning) and then lay it on softwood slabs (cottonwood or pimento) and smoke it for hours. Here it's covered with what looks to be someone's roof. Perhaps that's not the healthiest part of the experience? Talk to you soon!

Tomorrow It Begins

Welcome! 

Tomorrow I am leaving for my third Medical Mission Trip to Jamaica, and I couldn't be more excited.   On this blog, I'm going to do my very best to regularly post through the week about what we find ourselves up to.  I'll be doing this through just my iPhone, so forgive me my grammar and formatting errors!

I am traveling again with a group from Ginghamsburg Church, led by Dr. Steve Guy. We will be working with the the mission organization American-Caribbean Experience (ACE), which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, stateside, and in Galina, St. Mary Parish, Jamaica, abroad. ACE owns and operates a hotel, Galina Breeze, through which they feed and house volunteering missionaries, and offer typical hotel services to the people of St. Mary.  Our group will be made up of Medical Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, Medical Students, and other health professionals. We will be working this week in several clinics throughout St. Mary Parrish to staff clinics that the government otherwise doesn't have the resources to keep operational.  These tend to be in the smaller, more remote towns of the countryside, and the people that we see many times don't have the ability to hire a taxi to drive them to a larger town where they could receive free or reduced price medical care.

My goal this week is to be more present to the people that I'm serving.  To talk to them more.  To learn from them more.  My favorite experiences over my previous trips have been when I had the opportunity to talk with my patients.  But, I feel I did that very little because I kept myself quickly working to treat them.  I'd like to slow down ever so slightly to allow that time to connect a little bit more with my Jamaican brothers and sisters.  I'd love to be able to extend that communication to you here, too. 

Wish us luck this week and keep us, ACE, the Ginghamsburg group, and the Jamaicans, covered in prayer this week.  Thank you!