Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

I didn't even know I had this much to say about the trip. But apparently I do. As far as medicine goes, one thing I do that I feel is probably the most beneficial is to do joint injections for those with arthritis. The great thing about joint injections is that they can benefit someone sometimes as long as 6 months. So someone who could barely walk or work because they were in such pain can suddenly move nearly pain free. I was able to do probably at least 100 injections, mostly shoulders and knees, but also in fingers, wrists, elbows, ankles, thumbs and just about anywhere two joints come together. I was also able to inject a few carpal tunnels. It was great practice for me, since I don't get to do nearly this many in my own clinic. But now I feel much more practiced with some of the joints I don't do as often. To round up the photos, here are some other photos of the people - who are just beautiful. We saw lots of horses. And kids riding horses. He might have been the cu...

If I had to pick a single favorite part about the trip, it would be getting to meet and spend time with a wonderful Honduran doctor named Janela. She and I both graduated about the same time from medical school, and she is a believer who has been working in a small clinic since she finished. We had some good discussions about how we do things in the US, local patterns of antibiotic resistance, cultural beliefs about medicine, and lots of other things. My academic medicine spanish vocab is a little limited, so I had to work harder to understand, but I was very impressed by her knowledge. She was even reading Nelson's pediatrics . But I was able to teach her how to do joint injections, and she taught me how to fix someone's ingrown toenail by removing part of the toenail. (Sounds fun, right?) My other favorite thing? As always, the kids! Some were serious. I made some cry. (Nothing new there, unfortunately.) Some were even red-headed. And some were just cute.

As I've said, each day we drove out from the village we stayed in to different smaller villages to set up clinic. The first 4 days we set up clinics in churches, and the last day we used a school. Here is what the outside of a typical clinic looked like for us. And here is the inside of a different building, but fairly typical of the churches we saw. (Although this one was one of the larger churches we used.) And from my seat inside, here is what I could see out the window, very different from my usual view in clinic. If you couldn't already tell from seeing these buildings, the poverty was often almost overwhelming. This is what two different "towns" looked liked where we worked. They waited very patiently in long lines, often in the rain, to see us. I certainly wish we could have done more for these people. The small amount of vitamins and medicines we gave will probably not make a lasting change. But every person who came through heard the gospel, and hopefully by ...

What will most likely stick out to me most about this trip were the roads. I do not think I've ever been anywhere with roads quite like these. But I guess I've also never been to central America during rainy season. It did rain on us every day, and so basically every place we traveled required the use of 4X4 trucks. But because we were able to get to these remote places, lots of people were seen who rarely, if ever, make it to a doctor. Mud was also a recurring theme this past week. Thank goodness for my marmot precip jacket and my sierra designs pants that kept me clean and dry. And I'm also thankful to God, to whom I prayed more than I ever have while driving. Fishtailing on narrow, mountain roads is really not the best sensation. But he (with the help of our drivers) brought us safely to and from our destinations each day. We forded several small rivers over the course of the week. This was the largest. And occasionally we came across cows in the way. Like this one. But...

There is so much I'm still processing about my trip.... But here are a few thoughts that I've had since coming back. Each night, as part of our evening devotions, team members would share their testimony. I loved listening to all the stories about God's grace, and amazed at all the very difficult trials these dear people had been through. I was overwhelmed with a sense of blessing and thankfulness for the wonderful family God has given me, the Godly husband he blessed me with, and struck by how he's protected me from so many of the temptations and sorrows of this world. I was newly humbled by God's redemption of ME, saving me from even my own stubborn, prideful heart. Each day there were numerous Peruvian church members who came to our clinic to counsel those who visited this clinic and pray with them. It was so wonderful to have this involvement from the locals, so that this church made numerous contacts, and many prayed to accept Christ. My best patient encounter...

This is unlike any other missions trip I´ve been on: 1. None of the bathrooms I´ve used so far have had any other creatures (bats, frogs, snakes, etc) living in them. I´ve discovered I thoroughly enjoy the clean white porcelain in a well lit bathroom. 2. Yesterday and today when I got back from clinic, someone had MADE MY BED. 3. In addition to the bed-making fairy, there is another one who brings clean towels around and takes away the dirty ones. 4. I have been able to talk to Jeff on the phone twice a day on this very nifty internet phone. A few highlights: 1. I got to do several joint injections. Anyone who complained about arthritis in a joint, I asked them if they wanted me to inject it. In one lady, I injected both knees and a wrist. 2. I got to do 2 prenatal ultrasounds. It was wonderful. One lady was having a boy, and the other was going to have a girl. They both got to see their unborn children moving and kicking. 3. Treating several older ladies. They were so grateful and ve...

So I´m sitting in the home of the missionaries who are hosting for this visit, using their computer. Outside, I´m surrounded by the large, rocky foothills of the Andes. We arrived late last night, after an uneventful flight. Since I´ve been to Peru several times, it was kind of fun to see how the airport has changed. This year, though, I came down with a different group than I´ve been with in the past. I didn´t realize how hard it was going to be to go through customs, and not be greeted by the smiling and familiar face of one of my many friends whom I´ve gotten to work with here, picking me up at the airport. The Peruvians we are working with seem great, though, and church this morning was fun and a good way to get my Spanish brain in gear. For lunch we had Pollo a la brasa, my favorite Peruvian dish. I was then told by another American missionary here that I have a "missionary face." I´m not really sure what that means, (and I wasn´t wearing make up at the time) but I guess...