1st Campaign

Woah! What a week! It's been such a crazy long, stressful, tiring week, but wow it's been really great at the same time!! Our first medical/dental campaign started on Sunday morning, around 9am. We left our house about 6:30am and drove to the site, which actually wasn't too far from our house. So we did 5 1/2 days of clinic, from about 8:30 to 5:30 or whenever all the patients were seen for the day.

Learning teeth extractions hands-on style is totally new thing for me! We saw around 50 patients each day. Extracting teeth takes lots of patience and time, though at times it's just easier and less painful to yank the tooth out and get it done and over with. Manuel, a Peruvian who is an expert tooth-yanker, helped out and showed Brent and me some techniques. He's a maniac!! crazy. I definitely wouldn't want to get my tooth pulled by him! :-)

Days were really busy and long. Nights were short and frequently interrupted by roosters crowing, dogs barking, and people talking. We slept in the house we were using as a clinic and so people would start lining up early in the morning (like 1am on Friday morning!!) in order to get a ticket, because only 70 were passed out in the morning and 70 more in the afternoon. Otherwise, we would be treating patients 24/7! By the second day though I was so tired, I pretty much slept though everything, so I got pretty good sleep.

The previous weekend right before the clinic started, some of us had traveled again to Masisea to visit the church members on Sabbath. So I had had no time to catch up on the sleep before leaving for the clinic. It was just one thing after another. But God is awesome and gave us all the strength and patience to deal with each situation and patient in a kind and Christ-like manner, despite the lack of sleep. God really blessed and we were able to help lots of people, though at the same time, there were still so many people that need help. At times, I feel we are only helping the current toothache or health problem, but not teaching a lifestyle change that could help to prevent further problems in the future. That's where Emily and Kristin come in. Starting today, they will be living in the community for about 6 weeks trying to help instruct and educate the locals about how live a healthier lifestyle, which I think is a great idea!! I'm really excited to see how this new concept will work out! Please keep this campaign in your prayers as Satan is really trying to discourage the Bible workers and the campaign!