I've been here for exactly two weeks, and have been doing some kind of work each day, but still felt dissatisfied. I wasn't working hard and I wasn't sweating nearly enough. At least not for my tastes.
Well that changed today and I am very satisfied with what was accomplished. For the first time since my arrival I feel like I did what I came to do. Serve.
As hoped, I was able to go to the garbage dump and spent about five hours working with an international organization called SCORE. They had brought a team of roughly 40 people from Indiana to provide medical treatment (among other things) to the Dominican people and this morning we had the privilege of serving the Haitians as well.
Before leaving the house, Beth provided me with a quick list of vocabulary words that I was bound to hear throughout the day. They included phrases such as, "I have pain in my ___", "Are you pregnant?", and "what are your complaints?" What a blessing it was to have a quick debriefing before being let loose because I ended up translating!! Me of all people! The girl who has to think twice about everything she says before letting an "hola" escape her lips!
But Jackie said I made her very proud and although I still struggle, I'm learning!!
Besides fighting the heat, the hardest part of the day was witnessing the dental operations. SCORE had three dentists who pulled countless teeth over the course of five hours but one girl imparticular stole me heart. She was only 17 and had to have two teeth extracted. Th
ey were VERY difficult and she had tears in her eyes and was shaking the whole time. I held her hand and tried to calm her in my poorly articulated Spanish, but my heart broke for her. The dentist did the best he could with limited tools and space, but had to literally YANK on her teeth and even then they wouldn't come loose! It was so bad that all we could do was pray for her and finally, by the grace of God, they came free!
Besides teeth pulling, most of the other patients were being treated for skin rashes, parasites, headaches, itchiness, stomach pain, and vision problems. SCORE did a great job at organizing their projects and supplies and we utilized every inch of the small community building where we worked. If I had to guess, I think we saw at least 300 patients today.
Tomorrow, Jackie, Hernando and myself are supposed to go back and hand out clothes. What a feet that's going to be! With only three of us and hundreds of them, things could very easily get out of control. Not in a dangerous way, but I won't be surprised if complete chaos ensues at least half a dozen times. :-)
I'll keep ya posted!
Well that changed today and I am very satisfied with what was accomplished. For the first time since my arrival I feel like I did what I came to do. Serve.
As hoped, I was able to go to the garbage dump and spent about five hours working with an international organization called SCORE. They had brought a team of roughly 40 people from Indiana to provide medical treatment (among other things) to the Dominican people and this morning we had the privilege of serving the Haitians as well.
Before leaving the house, Beth provided me with a quick list of vocabulary words that I was bound to hear throughout the day. They included phrases such as, "I have pain in my ___", "Are you pregnant?", and "what are your complaints?" What a blessing it was to have a quick debriefing before being let loose because I ended up translating!! Me of all people! The girl who has to think twice about everything she says before letting an "hola" escape her lips!
But Jackie said I made her very proud and although I still struggle, I'm learning!!
Besides fighting the heat, the hardest part of the day was witnessing the dental operations. SCORE had three dentists who pulled countless teeth over the course of five hours but one girl imparticular stole me heart. She was only 17 and had to have two teeth extracted. Th
ey were VERY difficult and she had tears in her eyes and was shaking the whole time. I held her hand and tried to calm her in my poorly articulated Spanish, but my heart broke for her. The dentist did the best he could with limited tools and space, but had to literally YANK on her teeth and even then they wouldn't come loose! It was so bad that all we could do was pray for her and finally, by the grace of God, they came free!Besides teeth pulling, most of the other patients were being treated for skin rashes, parasites, headaches, itchiness, stomach pain, and vision problems. SCORE did a great job at organizing their projects and supplies and we utilized every inch of the small community building where we worked. If I had to guess, I think we saw at least 300 patients today.
Tomorrow, Jackie, Hernando and myself are supposed to go back and hand out clothes. What a feet that's going to be! With only three of us and hundreds of them, things could very easily get out of control. Not in a dangerous way, but I won't be surprised if complete chaos ensues at least half a dozen times. :-)
I'll keep ya posted!
1 comment:
You go Girl! I am so proud of you.
I can only imagine your fears and your sorrows. I can bet that young lady will never forget you, and she will probable want you by her side for any doctors chair that she will sit in. Keep up the good work, and just listen to your heart, it will tell you how things work. I love and miss you MOM
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