After 36+ hours we've arrived. Flying you would think is tedious, but while flying we are detached and remotely singular for hours and for many miles, over 11,000 miles in fact. This solitude comes rarely these days in our busy world. We have time to reflect, ponder, dream and drift off without having to worry about the inevitable interruptions, requests, emails, texts or banter that our lives are so often burdened with. So reflect I did and prepared my heart and mind for the five days of clinics that we will be holding in remote projects and villages. There is no story here other than to say that sometimes we need to get to 38,000 feet, find some quiet time, and reminder selves that there is someone greater than ourselves who puts us in places where we may not think we belong but are needed all the same. And yes, this time it's India.
We have a free day tomorrow which is unusual in order to get us well rested for the marathon that will begin on Monday. I'll be back then with stories to tell and a look see at a part of the world where children struggle and are sometimes forgotten.
In all things give thanks,
David
Our mission is to help The Forgotten Children reach their God-given potential by creating opportunities for spiritual, social, mental and emotional development, by ensuring that their physical well being is optimized. David H. Beyda, MD Medical Director, Medical Mercy
- David H. Beyda, M.D.
- Phoenix, Arizona
- I am a pediatric critical care specialist working at Phoenix Children's Hospital. I was the Medical Director and Division Chief of Pediatric Critical Care for 23 years, and stepped down to become Medical Director for Misson of Mercy.I am responsible for the medical care of 40,000 children that Misson of Mercy cares for in 22 countries. I grew up overseas (Africa, Southeast Asia) from the time I was 7 years old until I went to college. My father was a career US diplomat. I started my third world medical involvement when I was 15 years old working with medical groups in Laos, and learned to fly riding with Air America pilots in Laos and have been a pilot for over 30 years. My first formal medical mission as a doctor was in 1979 when I served as director of pediatrics in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Cambodia boarder (Khao I Dang) at the age of 27 years old, still in my pedicatric residency. My heart is in third world countries caring for the Forgotten Children.