Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mathare Valley - Bridge Ministries
Please take a moment to view the two video's of the day in the life of a teacher in the Mathare Valley.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Q&A Part Two
My second questions to Amy was how to deal with the heartache. I know I've mentioned it in prior posts how much I am struggling with knowing the heartache and hurt of others that I'll be exposed to while I am there. I will honestly admit that is my biggest struggle. I can deal with the heat and new foods and stuff like that - I can deal with the dirt and mud and gunk. But how do you cope when you see people in situations like this. Amy sent the following e-mail that I refer to often when I feel like I won't be able to cope:
HEARTACHE:
There is just no way to prepare for the heartache.
I guess the thing to remember is this: You will see living conditions that are beyond comprehension. You will feel so sorry for these people. You’ll feel like crying and will want to shake your head, thinking how unfair this is for these people to have to live this way. AND YOU WILL BE RIGHT IN THINKING ALL OF THAT. However, it is important to remember that this is all these people know and to them, this is “normal”. They want to feel a certain sense of pride when they welcome you into their country and perhaps into their home. In general, they do not want our pity, but they do need us to teach them about Jesus and how Jesus can get them through any circumstance, no matter how ugly/impossible/difficult it may be.
Some people will try to get you to give them money and will play on your sympathy and you just cannot give them ANYTHING personal (including money). If you do, the whole village finds out and you’re instantly bombarded by dozens if not more people all wanting what you gave to the first person.
You will see hungry babies and children, some of whom are sick and very possibly homeless due to their parents dying of AIDS. HIV is rampant in that part of the world due to lack of education regarding prevention (abstinence, monogamous relationships, “safe sex”, not sharing needles, you know the drill). We will see people who are very obviously ill with HIV/AIDS and that will be heartbreaking. Seeing hungry people is also very heartbreaking.
There really aren’t any good answers or ways in which to prepare your heart and mind for what you will see except to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! God will make sure you are in the right places at the right times in the right circumstances to serve in the ways HE has planned. Just keep that in mind. All you have to do is GO. God will be guiding you every single step of the way and it is absolutely AMAZING to FEEL HIS PRESENCE FOR SUCH AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME such as when on a mission trip. I cannot wait for you guys to have this experience.
Wow...what an amazing response. Everytime I read it I can feel God saying "trust me... just trust me" - these children are His as well and he loves them. And who is to say that since we have more stuff that we are any better off than they are. I want to share a picture of that one of the Compassions International bloggers took while in the Mathare Valley:
HEARTACHE:
There is just no way to prepare for the heartache.
I guess the thing to remember is this: You will see living conditions that are beyond comprehension. You will feel so sorry for these people. You’ll feel like crying and will want to shake your head, thinking how unfair this is for these people to have to live this way. AND YOU WILL BE RIGHT IN THINKING ALL OF THAT. However, it is important to remember that this is all these people know and to them, this is “normal”. They want to feel a certain sense of pride when they welcome you into their country and perhaps into their home. In general, they do not want our pity, but they do need us to teach them about Jesus and how Jesus can get them through any circumstance, no matter how ugly/impossible/difficult it may be.
Some people will try to get you to give them money and will play on your sympathy and you just cannot give them ANYTHING personal (including money). If you do, the whole village finds out and you’re instantly bombarded by dozens if not more people all wanting what you gave to the first person.
You will see hungry babies and children, some of whom are sick and very possibly homeless due to their parents dying of AIDS. HIV is rampant in that part of the world due to lack of education regarding prevention (abstinence, monogamous relationships, “safe sex”, not sharing needles, you know the drill). We will see people who are very obviously ill with HIV/AIDS and that will be heartbreaking. Seeing hungry people is also very heartbreaking.
There really aren’t any good answers or ways in which to prepare your heart and mind for what you will see except to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! God will make sure you are in the right places at the right times in the right circumstances to serve in the ways HE has planned. Just keep that in mind. All you have to do is GO. God will be guiding you every single step of the way and it is absolutely AMAZING to FEEL HIS PRESENCE FOR SUCH AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME such as when on a mission trip. I cannot wait for you guys to have this experience.
Wow...what an amazing response. Everytime I read it I can feel God saying "trust me... just trust me" - these children are His as well and he loves them. And who is to say that since we have more stuff that we are any better off than they are. I want to share a picture of that one of the Compassions International bloggers took while in the Mathare Valley:
Do I have that kind of faith? Or do I bellyache over the little things in life? He is with them there...always.
My 10 day trip isn't going to change anything. Sure it'll help in ways that I may never know - my prayer is that maybe God will use me to show His love...to be His hands. But I truly think that God will be showing His love to me through them....and will be using them to be His hands to change me.
May I never be the same again.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Q&A Part One...
A few weeks ago I mentioned that a few of the ladies on the team got together for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner getting to meet my fellow travelers. Prior to our dinner, we had been communicating via E-mail for a bit.
Amy, who is the mission trip expert of our threesome, had asked us to share questions and she'd try to help all she could. I asked how useful I would be on a trip such as this with no medical background. Here is her response:
NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND – NO BIG DEAL!
There are TONS OF THINGS to do regardless of whether you have any medical background or not. In fact, from the email Ellen sent yesterday, it sounds as if this will be LESS MEDICAL than the other FAME trips I’ve been on, so do NOT fret the medical thing. I’ll write more later on how the medical clinics worked on my other FAME trips, although it sounds from Ellen’s email that this will not be exactly like the typical “medical” trip. Here are some common “jobs” of folks with no medical background on prior trips I have been on:
Crowd Control – When clinics are held, there are hundreds of people from the village and surrounding villages who come. For many, it is the only time they will ever see a medical professional in their lifetime. Crowd control consists of checking people in … giving them a number so that they and we will know when it is their turn (people often try to cut in line and push their way in …). So there are always some people who supervise and control the crowd as they come in to the clinic.
Check-In – Once a patient’s number is called, he/she goes to a Registration Desk where you and a translator fill out the Patient History Form. These forms include the patient’s name, age, any medical complaints, any medical history, etc. You tell the translator what information you need and the translator asks the patient and then tells you the answers. Once that is complete, the patient moves to the next station and you see the next patient in line.
Vital Signs -- The next station is what I would call “Vital Signs”. The patient’s blood pressure, pulse and temperature are checked and recorded. If scales are available, the patient is weighed and this is recorded. MANY people with no medical experience have been taught to take blood pressures and perform very well at this station. The worker (with the assistance of a translator) looks at the Patient History Form and at the medical complaints and goes into a little more detail on why the patient has come to be seen. Sometimes they come just to come … nothing is really wrong. Sometimes, they have every complaint in the book and you just focus on the top one or two that you can treat and move on. The goal here is to let the nurse or doctor know in general the reason for the patient’s visit.
Physical Examination – The patient is then seen by the nurse or doctor who is running the clinic.
Pharmacy – After the patient is finished with the nurse or doctor, he/she is given a prescription. Vitamins are dispensed to virtually everyone, usually a 30-day supply. De-worming medicine is given when the nurse or doctor suspects the person has intestinal worms (very, very common in third world countries, especially Haiti and very likely the area we will be in Nairobi ). This is merely a chewable tablet, similar to what a Pepto-Bismol chewable tablet looks like. Kind of chalky … The prescription usually includes acetaminophen or ibuprofen and sometimes an antibiotic if there is an infection. There may be “Tums” prescribed or other relatively safe medications. Occasionally, a blood pressure medicine is prescribed or topical ointments for scabies or other skin conditions. The person/people working the pharmacy station must accurately and quickly fill each prescription and then tell the patient how to take the medicine, how often, etc. A translator is obviously used here as well. I have always worked the pharmacy station because of my knowledge of medications and the strengths they come in, how they are given, the indications and contraindications, etc. I am especially gifted in this area for some unknown reason. From the email Ellen sent out, however, it does not sound as if we will be having the type of clinic(s) that will have a pharmacy station.
On prior 8-day trips, we would hold clinics on 5 days – no clinic on the day we arrive or the day we leave and no clinic on Sunday. We would travel to different places each day and set up makeshift clinics in schools (concrete block building maybe with one or two rooms and VERY LITTLE ventilation … a little smelly when you consider that temps in Haiti hovered in the low 100s and practically no one there uses deodorant and most people don’t bathe regularly). Sometimes we would hold the clinic in a church building … really anywhere we could set up and have a perimeter of some sort in order to control the flow of people.
OKAY, so with all that said, our experience will probably be totally different! But, this should give you an idea of the types of things we would do in a clinic situation and how non-medical people are utilized.
So it sounds like since the group going this time is smaller - things will be a little different. How different, I'm not sure. It's a bit unsettling to not know the details, but I've learned over the years that God is even in the details. His has has been all over this trip and I have no reason to think otherwise. Please continue to pray for the trip, for travels and the team. Pray that God leads us to where He wants us to be and to show Him in all things.
Amy, who is the mission trip expert of our threesome, had asked us to share questions and she'd try to help all she could. I asked how useful I would be on a trip such as this with no medical background. Here is her response:
NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND – NO BIG DEAL!
There are TONS OF THINGS to do regardless of whether you have any medical background or not. In fact, from the email Ellen sent yesterday, it sounds as if this will be LESS MEDICAL than the other FAME trips I’ve been on, so do NOT fret the medical thing. I’ll write more later on how the medical clinics worked on my other FAME trips, although it sounds from Ellen’s email that this will not be exactly like the typical “medical” trip. Here are some common “jobs” of folks with no medical background on prior trips I have been on:
Crowd Control – When clinics are held, there are hundreds of people from the village and surrounding villages who come. For many, it is the only time they will ever see a medical professional in their lifetime. Crowd control consists of checking people in … giving them a number so that they and we will know when it is their turn (people often try to cut in line and push their way in …). So there are always some people who supervise and control the crowd as they come in to the clinic.
Check-In – Once a patient’s number is called, he/she goes to a Registration Desk where you and a translator fill out the Patient History Form. These forms include the patient’s name, age, any medical complaints, any medical history, etc. You tell the translator what information you need and the translator asks the patient and then tells you the answers. Once that is complete, the patient moves to the next station and you see the next patient in line.
Vital Signs -- The next station is what I would call “Vital Signs”. The patient’s blood pressure, pulse and temperature are checked and recorded. If scales are available, the patient is weighed and this is recorded. MANY people with no medical experience have been taught to take blood pressures and perform very well at this station. The worker (with the assistance of a translator) looks at the Patient History Form and at the medical complaints and goes into a little more detail on why the patient has come to be seen. Sometimes they come just to come … nothing is really wrong. Sometimes, they have every complaint in the book and you just focus on the top one or two that you can treat and move on. The goal here is to let the nurse or doctor know in general the reason for the patient’s visit.
Physical Examination – The patient is then seen by the nurse or doctor who is running the clinic.
Pharmacy – After the patient is finished with the nurse or doctor, he/she is given a prescription. Vitamins are dispensed to virtually everyone, usually a 30-day supply. De-worming medicine is given when the nurse or doctor suspects the person has intestinal worms (very, very common in third world countries, especially Haiti and very likely the area we will be in Nairobi ). This is merely a chewable tablet, similar to what a Pepto-Bismol chewable tablet looks like. Kind of chalky … The prescription usually includes acetaminophen or ibuprofen and sometimes an antibiotic if there is an infection. There may be “Tums” prescribed or other relatively safe medications. Occasionally, a blood pressure medicine is prescribed or topical ointments for scabies or other skin conditions. The person/people working the pharmacy station must accurately and quickly fill each prescription and then tell the patient how to take the medicine, how often, etc. A translator is obviously used here as well. I have always worked the pharmacy station because of my knowledge of medications and the strengths they come in, how they are given, the indications and contraindications, etc. I am especially gifted in this area for some unknown reason. From the email Ellen sent out, however, it does not sound as if we will be having the type of clinic(s) that will have a pharmacy station.
On prior 8-day trips, we would hold clinics on 5 days – no clinic on the day we arrive or the day we leave and no clinic on Sunday. We would travel to different places each day and set up makeshift clinics in schools (concrete block building maybe with one or two rooms and VERY LITTLE ventilation … a little smelly when you consider that temps in Haiti hovered in the low 100s and practically no one there uses deodorant and most people don’t bathe regularly). Sometimes we would hold the clinic in a church building … really anywhere we could set up and have a perimeter of some sort in order to control the flow of people.
OKAY, so with all that said, our experience will probably be totally different! But, this should give you an idea of the types of things we would do in a clinic situation and how non-medical people are utilized.
So it sounds like since the group going this time is smaller - things will be a little different. How different, I'm not sure. It's a bit unsettling to not know the details, but I've learned over the years that God is even in the details. His has has been all over this trip and I have no reason to think otherwise. Please continue to pray for the trip, for travels and the team. Pray that God leads us to where He wants us to be and to show Him in all things.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Mathare Valley - as viewed by a Compassion International Blogger - Keely Marie Scott
A wonderful video of pictures from the official photographer with the Compassion International Group - Keely Marie Scott.
Enjoy the video - turn you sound up - she has included a song from the kids in one of the centers.
This World is Not Our Home
Enjoy the video - turn you sound up - she has included a song from the kids in one of the centers.
This World is Not Our Home
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Mathare Valley - as viewed by a Compassion International Blogger - Kristen
Blog from Compassion International Blogger Kristen from "We Are THAT Family" - and her day in the Mathare Valley.
Today I Went to Hell
Today I Went to Hell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)