Reflection

I never want to take for granted the opportunity I have in the United States or the trivial preferences of food. The people in Nicaragua have little or nothing, but yet they are still very happy and accepting of their lot in life. I don't ever want to be in a place where I would become impatient or complaining of others because I have preferences that cannot be met by others or by my lifestyle. I desire for my lifestyle to be minimalist and not complex full of unnecessary excess. To live is for Christ to die is gain. If I'm not living my life with purpose then I'm not living at all. I'm so glad I serve a God who has called me according to his purpose, even though the things that God calls me to may be difficult I know that he will empower me to do his will. To God be the glory for all the great things he has done on this trip, I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to go and serve the people of Nicaragua. I hope that I might have the opportunity to go again to this breathtaking land and serve the beautiful, dearly loved people of Nicaragua.

Day 6: Public Health

Last night before I went to sleep I prayed for a sunny day and that there would be no rain. Praise The Lord! He gave us a final day of sunshine! The past two days of brigade have been slow because of the rain delay, but thankfully we have the sun out and some nice cloud cover. We finished the latrine project today and left early to shop in Jinotega, and it started raining soon after we left. I am very ready to go home. Tomorrow we leave at 1:00 am to the airport back to ATL. 

Day 5: Public Health

Today it rained off and on all day. So construction was slower than normal but regardless we got most of the outer framework done and part of the steps finished. Today working was difficult because there was mud everywhere and the cement was too watery, but alas the coffee was strong and kept me awake despite the frequent breaks. Most of the time I'm the most proficient at Spanish and am the translator. Today everyone got really muddy and dirty and I am ready to get  rid if the pants that I brought for work, everything even my running shoes are covered in a thick dark mud mixed with cement. At this point in the trip we are all ready to go home and not put up with this rain anymore I have really enjoyed the public brigade but I'm ready to go home, I need the motivation and energy from The Lord to finish this project well. This evening I helped Dr. Ubide pack medicine in the pharmacy and label the inventory correctly. It was rewarding to clean the pharmacy and make it look pretty by picking up the trash throughout the room. I know it may seem small but I really enjoy serving in that way. I enjoy serving when I'm doing a task that most people wouldn't prefer or willingly choose to do. I'm not particularly stubborn when it comes to serving, I really enjoy serving we're there's the most need, because its the most help. This trip so far has been really great, I've loved all the conversations I've had with all the Tennessee folks as well as the Cleveland students. I hope that everyone will take away as much away from this trip as I did. Probably one of the biggest things I've learned on this trip so far is that being on the mission field you must be flexible and make do with what you have. Don't complain, when you are focused on the discomfort and personal selfish preferences then you begin to lose focus on the real reason you are in a 3rd world country to begin with. It is important as a believer to be filled afresh every day with the Holy Spirit, because when you're not the whole day is focused on me me me instead of bringing glory to God or serving others. 

Day 4: Public Health

Today we were allowed a bit of time to sleep in because breakfast was at 7 and we left at 8 to go to El Limon which was our job site. when we got to the site we were split up into three groups and began building either latrines, water filtration system, or a concrete floor. My group community leaders name was Ernesto and be was probably in his 60s and was very good at laying concrete and giving us tasks to do. When we first got there we went to Ernesto's house to this 7 foot deep 3 ft hole in the ground. After filling the hole with rocks we shoveled dirt on top and around this black filtration pipe. We then made the framework for laying the cement while some other team members were mixing cement. I layered the wet cement and placed the bricks on it making sure that the foundation was level. After lunch we returned to work only for a little bit of time then it started to rain which is when we packed up on buses and went beck to Estelimar. I thoroughly enjoyed serving by putting my hands to work and physically building a practical structure that will benefit these poor people. I think back to all I have access to on the states and realize how blessed I am to be in the family I am part of and have the freedom and opportunity to study and go further than my parents could ever dream of. Last night right before dinner Chris and I were talking with some girls from Wake-Forrest University and we fed off each other as we defended the wrong perceptions and worldview they had about the church, it was good to explain to them the difference between true religion and nominal Christians. I love all the opportunities I have to talk to people everyday and it never gets old, even if I'm not necessarily always speaking he gospel. I love our group, I feel like we are family, we are so close and everyone seems to like each other, sure there are some that are a bit withdrawn but overall we know how to have a good time interacting with each other. Last night we played charades and had fun time, I like the dynamic of the group.

Day 3: Medical Brigade

Final day of medical brigade. Today I got to be in the triage station which consists of intake, weight, and blood pressure. The patients would first check in with the I take people who would get the main complaints and concerns of the people. They would then be cycled over to me where I would take their weight and the temperature of the children and adults who had a fever. It was busy and tiring because there was a constant flow of patients. After triage I went to pharmacy and did data entry for the rest of the day. It was good day, long and eventful! 

Day 2: Medical Brigade

Today I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Alfredo Lopez again and see some interesting things. I learned how to take blood pressure the correct way. There was one woman who had really high blood pressure but alarmingly her pulse was really slow so if she didn't die from a heart attack then her heart might just stop completely. The only other interesting thing was one woman who had an irregular heartbeat, Dr. Lopez let me use his stethoscope to hear her beat. It was crazy! After lunch I did children's charla which is basically translated as educational talk or lecture. Most of the time we would sing a song to the kids about brushing their teeth then we would give them all toothbrushes. After doing the educational part we played pato pato gonzo with the kids I taught the kids princess knight rider. I had a lot of fun translating and calling out the actions for the game. After kids charla I went to adult charla and helped out the young lady stationed there give the presentation about diarrhea and cholera. That was an interesting experience we would have about 25 people crammed into a classroom and hey would listen and answer questions about the presentation I was helping with. Because my Spanish is not very good I just held the flip chart with diagrams and helped her hand out toothbrushes. Today was good between busy times for charla I interacted a lot with the kids, one of the boys taught me a special handshake and I showed the girl who led the adult charla pictures of my family back home. Today I feel much more tired than yesterday but at the same time I feel happy that I was able to help so many people by giving them toothbrushes. While I was shadowing Dr. Lopez he would speak only Spanish and I would do my best to understand him and I would hand out pills to the patients who had intestinal worms and bugs. I feel like I am doing good work but because of the language barrier, but I constantly feel frustrated because I'm not fluent, I try my best. Tomorrow we have our last day of medical brigade, I'm kinda looking forward to it because I feel that I'm not really that useful because I'm not communicating directly with the people. I know I'm still being a blessing to the people of Nicaragua despite the language barrier. Later on tonight after debrief and reflection we helped Fragner sort the drugs in the pharmacy and when we were done Dr. Ubeda played his guitar and sang several songs about Nicaragua and love. I got to play a little bit, I played How Great Is Our God and Thunder it is so much fun chilling with the crew from MTSU! Sobe our coordinator was with us and she sang a little bit, it was a fun night. I love evenings because I always have great conversations with my roommates Don, Mohit, and Demitry. I always talk about The Lord and explain to them the differences in religions and clarify what makes me a Christian. I have really been realizing it on this trip that its not so much about what I do that makes me a good person, but rather its the motive of my heart. There are 80 people here in this compound who are here for good reasons, but for many of them they only know that giving their time and energies is helping others. What is lacking is that they (and I) will never ever do enough good, there will always be need in the world and without the grace of God abounding they will burn out. God must be the focus and motivation as an altruistic person, unless I'm pointing others to God or bringing him glory and honor then me trying to do as much good in my own strength is not worth it and a waste of time. Bringing glory to God and directing others to him needs to be my focus, meeting the needs of others and by showing them, and telling them about the love of Christ's death and resurrection. Today we saw about 175 patients and at the end of the day we had to turn some away, even though we are human and have limitations we serve a God who knows all things and has a deep love for all of his children.

Day 1: Medical Brigade

Today our first day of medical brigade I was in the community called Tomatoya and was in pharmacy in the morning. That was really meticulous work, I would help my Korean friend Ochan from Wake-Forrest University do data entry. A lot of he people here in Nicaragua have high blood pressure and allergies so we were recording their information down in an Excel spreadsheet.  After lunch I sat in with one of the doctors in consultation and saw about 75 people (including children). Even though the doctor knew no English I still feel that I learned a lot! Just to give you an idea of what I saw a few of the people had eczema and the doctor would prescribe topical creams. Two of the people I saw had kidney infections and so antibiotics were prescribed, most everybody we saw has symptoms of bad stomach issues like amoebas and worms. We were able to prescribe medicine and vitamins for almost everyone and give them free medication, but for some like those with advanced kidney disease and pancreatic cancer we were unable to fill their prescription. There was one case that really broke my heart, this 19 month old baby couldn't keep any milk or liquid down because of an obstruction in his stomach to his intestines. He kept throwing up everything hat he ate. It was sad because he was crying the whole time and even when his mother would breastfeed him to quiet him down, he would only spit it back up minutes later. In this case the doctor recommended the mother to get a second opinion. It's sad to know that many of these families simply don't have enough money to pay for clean water. In fact coca cola is cheaper than water. Despite the large need today was great, I feel that primary care is something I really want to pursue. I would still like to pursue osteopathy because it includes a hybrid of MD and therapy/chiropractic care. 

Orientation

Today I had an amazing conversation with one of my roommates and shared the gospel with him! I'm telling you SALT has never been so simple! It's when distractions are stripped away and obedience is in the forefront of my mind that God speaks and moves in miraculous ways! Thanks for your prayers God is going to continue ministering to me and through me! Nicaragua is beautiful and the weather is wonderful. Today we had orientation and got to see a bit of the city of Esteli where we are staying. Tomorrow we start the 3 day medical clinic. Blessings! 

Travel Day

God is faithful! Just in my first two days of travel a man sitting next to me on be airplane had a word of knowledge and prophesied over me. The man was from Nicaragua but was traveling from Kentucky. He was a believer and after me sharing why I was on this trip to Nicaragua I asked him to share with me his testimony. He then began ministering to me and encouraging me in my faith and challenging me. The biggest thing I learned from him was worthiness, don't pursue worthless things God must be glorified and honored and if there is anything that is stealing my undivided attention from God it's not worth it. At one point when he was praying fro me he spoke a work of knowledge over me saying that god wants to speak to me but the problem is me, not God. He began to weep and in that moment I truly felt the tangible love of God through the tears of this man. He spoke a prophecy over me saying that God will use my hands. Everything happens for a reason whether we understand it or not but the Lord has made a large deposit in my heart already on the first day of this trip.

One of the first conversations I had with this man was about fasting. He said that when he fasts that God always speaks to him, and in his prayers he praises God but doesn't come before Him to ask for anything. Another thing I took away from this conversation is to draw near to God and his prescence is the sweetest most satisfying thing I can ever experience. Nothing else in this world other than relationships is worth it.

Brief History of the Nicaraguan Flag

Hey guys, I recently saw this and found it interesting and relevant to my upcoming trip. 4 Days til' take-off!

The colors of the Nicaraguan flag originate from the flag of the former federation of the United Provinces of Central America. The two blue stripes represented the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea; while white symbolizes peace. A modern interpretation indicates that the color blue symbolizes justice and loyalty; while the color white represents virtue and purity. The coat of arms features an equilateral triangle which represents equality. Inside the triangle are five volcanoes, which represent the five members of the federation. The triangle also contains symbols of liberty and peace - represented by a red Phrygian cap, white rays and rainbow.

Summer Brings Change

Hello all, many of you may be confused as to why I'm going to Nicaragua instead of Ghana. Our team leader had to change our initial plans because of the financial shortcomings of our team as a whole, regardless of our lack we are still able to go on a brigade this summer. Even though many of us are disappointed in not being able to go to Africa we are thankful that we still have the opportunity to leave the country and make an impact in the lives of people who desperately need medical care. Thank you all again for your financial donations to my trip, I have been paid in full for about 1 month now and in 7 days I will be boarding a plane headed straight for Managua, Nicaragua! If it wasn't for your faithful support this trip would not be possible.

Here is the information about the community we will be serving in Nicaragua!

We will be in the city of Jinotega serving the Tomatoya community. This community is particularly needy because there is no Health Center in this town of 3,000 people. In addition to their need for healthcare their community has a water system that is not sufficient for the size of the community, we will be helping in the construction of a portable water system with piping that has a capacity to reach all of the homes and inhabitants. The community has always had a very productive cultivation of produce and is considered an agricultural community. The main health concerns during this trip.

One reason I was attracted to Global Medical Brigades was that despite my lack of experience in the medical field there will be practical training before we begin the clinic. I am very excited about this opportunity not only to gain practical hands-on experience but to get a feel for medical work outside the United States. I know that this opportunity will be amazing and life changing! 


If you want to read more about the trip check out my Global Medical Brigades profile page! Thanks again for all of you who covered (and are covering me) in prayer and for your financial donations.