October Update

This update might be long overdue, but we’ve had a busy month here at the mission.

In the beginning of October, the eye team came and served here for a week. It’s incredible to watch the ministry they do. They see hundreds of patients, who would not otherwise have access to eye care. Not only do they care for the patients physically, but they pour into them spiritually. I love watching as doctors, nurses, vision screeners, and everyone in between stopping to pray with the patients. Reaching people for Christ is just as important as providing them with eye care. They restore sight to people who haven’t seen in years. They create prosthetic eyes so that people are not outcast in their community or looked down upon. It’s always such a blessing to serve alongside them and see how God uses them to impact this community.

Right after the eye team left, we welcomed the fall surgery team. This surgery team focuses on orthopedic cases. Children who couldn’t walk are given the opportunity to walk. Elderly women who lived in pain due to a broken hip are given relieve and a pretty quality of life. They worked tirelessly and stepped in for emergencies without complaining. People from the community and this zone were provided with lifesaving or life changing surgeries.

In particular, one patient sticks out to me. On the first day of the eye clinic, a woman patiently waited to be seen. As each person walked by, it became very clear that she needed additional medical care besides her eye problem. The woman had already lost one of her legs at the knee and her left foot was severely infected. But she had such a joy about her. As she saw the doctors and then waited for her initial eye surgery, it was decided that she needed to stay an extra week and receive care from the orthopedic team. Being from far away, this would be incredibly inconvenient for her. But you would have never known it. That next week, she stayed in our pathology room of the birthing center. Each day, she would sit on the front steps and greet everyone who walked in. She became our unofficial greeter for our prenatal program and women coming in in labor.  Her joy was unshakeable despite each new set back she faced. After her foot surgery, she was supposed to receive a prosthetic leg.  Unfortunately, she didn’t receive her prosthetic leg yet; but, she is scheduled to receive it in the next few months. When she returned for her check up appointment, she was so happy and everyone remembered that was the woman who faced many obstacles, but never lost her joy or her faith.

Serving alongside both teams was a blessing. They incorporated our Haitian church leadership so that the patients they saw had a direct connection to the church here. Every patient was prayed over by our pastor before they entered surgeries. Families were prayed with and comforted during those nervous moments while their loved one was being operated on. In all things, the teams pointed back to Christ, which is the ultimate goal. 

There were definitely moments of exhaustion and frustration but God reminded us all that he was sovereign through each and every moment of those trips. Throughout the past month, God’s been placing situations before me to remind me that it’s not on my own strength. It’s easy to think we can handle it all or that we are strong enough. However, God definitely taught me that my strength will fail me and I can’t depend on my own abilities.