Dhaka. Final destination via a scheduled stop in Dubai and a change of planes, but we were treated to an unscheduled stop in Kuwait City and Karachi, Pakistan. Strong headwinds across the northern hemisphere slowed us done considerably, bucked us from left to right and up and down, and ate up our fuel. Kuwait was a refueling stop. An hour and a half out of our way of route, then another hour and a half on the ground, and of course you guessed it...we miss our connecting flight out of Dubai. So on to Karachi, Pakistan, a 6 hour lay over then on to Dhaka. But there is someone in control of all this, isn't there? He intervenes, moves, chooses, and makes it all work because...well, because He can. We have miles behind us and many miles ahead of us, with lots to do, and still a long way to go once we get to Dhaka. Not much to do about it. No choices. We do what we can. And that is pray and have a positive attitude.
(24 hours later):
We are finally in Khulna. I stayed behind to wait for all the boxes of meds that never made it with us last night, the team went on ahead and ran a half day clinic seeing 100 patients and 15 dental. We are all finally together, meeds and equipment in hand, and full days of clinics ahead. The purpose? To ensure that the children we care about have a life they can enjoy and experience.
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.