India clinic day 5 and wrap up

After 5 days of clinic, 2 of which were half days due to travel, we finished serving the 1414 children that came to see us. The team was incredible. They worked tirelessly, without complaints and giving all that they had. There are many stories that they will come home with, some sad and depressing, some joyous, and all will be remembered for a lifetime. The theme for this week was "Who are you trying to please" using Galatians 1:10. I shared with the team that there are times that we are self-pleasing, people-pleasing and God-pleasing not so much. We talked about life not being fair, humility, realistic expectations, sacrifice and looking in the mirror to see who and what we really are. We explored our motivation for being here, our "why". And after all the talk, I asked the team to consider the question: so what? And challenged all of us to answer the question: now what? Are we ready to God-please first and foremost? Always? Can we be intentional about it? We are fallible no doubt. We are self-driven. But this trip did bring with it an opportunity to experience first hand what it feels like to God-please without thought. We did it. The whole team. Kelly, Paige, Lara, Carol-Lee, Julie, Anne, Barbara, Michelle, Deanna, David P. , Dave J., Beth, Allison, Darlene, Louie, Vic, Michael, Kendra and Fitz. 

The children are better off we hope and pray. We put in place first aid at all the projects we went to, taught and left behind a water filtration system, did dental hygiene and examined and treated many. Prayer was abundant, silently and openly. Medical Mercy and OCM serves to be a God-pleaser. This wonderful team were so as well. My prayer for them and me is that we remember what it was like this week, pleasing our God as served, as we had been asked to do, and make it foremost in our hearts and minds as we travel back to the US and back to our crazy lives. If we do so, we validate all that we did here for the children. That we gave and served and showed that it can be done. 

In all things give thanks,

David

India clinic day 4

So let's see. Over 1100 children seen in 4 days, 1 more day to go, wonder what impact we'll have. It's not about the numbers although we all are intrigued by the "number seen", me included. It gives us a sense of accomplishment, a sense of completion. Really? Not so fast. It's really about the reason why and the how we do what we do, and what the children receive. I'll let you decide what all those things are at least from the stories you read here. For me, it is simple. We have a reason "why': to serve; and the "way" is to give of ourselves and do our best to ensure the health of the children. Today is an example.

We are still in a remote area of India, isolated and far from the "big city". We saw about 320 children today, many still presenting with stunting, the product of sever malnutrition before the age of 5 years. One child in particular, the child you see above, is one of those. She is 8 years old and is the size of a 5 year old. She is chronically ill, has a persistent cough, pneumonia, may have TB, no appetite and a lack for life. She had no breakfast this morning. There was no food in the house. The parents have been "quarreling" according to the child, the mother is sick, and the father is rarely home. She is a sponsored child, and because of that she is one of the lucky ones. She gets a noon time meal Monday through Friday because of the association OCM has with a school that she attends and she is cared for by OCM staff. Medical Mercy now gives her a chance for health. I gave her medications, put her in our follow up system, the local OCM staff will follow closely and send me a report in 2 weeks as to how she is doing. We did a full nutritional assessment on her, and She'll be assessed every 6 months so I can see how she is doing. Without the medications, the follow up, the care and the intentional effort to get her better, she would pass away slowly and alone. There in lies the "why" and the "way". She will do well, she will survive, she will grow and she will be able to live her life to her potential. 

We have one more clinic tomorrow. Not a full day due to the fact that we have 5 hours of travel to get back to our base. We'll see a couple of hundred children and finish out the week with a "total number". But more importantly, we will finish out the week having served and leaving behind a chance for the children to see a lifetime of love.

In all things give thanks,

David

India clinic day 3

Almost 5 hours from where we were based, on winding roads, so narrow that only one bus can move in any direction, is where we are now. We'll stay here until we return at the end of the week, seeing children who have little if anything and wanting for not. It always seems that way. They are happy with what they have needing only meals and caring. Where we are is mountainous with rubber trees, monkeys and elephants. Far from the common place of our lives.

So they waited for us. The children all sitting wait to be seen. And we did. Each with their own personality, unique smile and their own story when we took the time to ask. They were happy despite all that they faced and gave us hope that they will be okay. The project teachers, the principal and the pastor were clearly engaged with the children and cared deeply about them. It seems that when we are this far from what we know as comfortable, we are amazed at the resilience of the children who live in an environment that we would have second thoughts about loving there ourselves. But isn't it true that if there are people who care enough to "care" are there for us, we can endure. And that is what I saw today. Teachers, pastors and staff who take care of, care about and care for the children. I can't ask for anything more.

On all things give thanks,

David

India clinic day 3

Almost 5 hours from where we were based, on winding roads, so narrow that only one bus can move in any direction, is where we are now. We'll stay here until we return at the end of the week, seeing children who have little if anything and wanting for not. It always seems that way. They are happy with what they have needing only meals and caring. Where we are is mountainous with rubber trees, monkeys and elephants. Far from the common place of our lives.

So they waited for is. The children all sitting wait to be seen. And we did. Each with their own personality, unique smile and their own story when we took the time to ask. They were happy despite all that they faced and gave us hope that they will be okay. The project teachers, the principal and the pastor were clearly engaged with the children and cared deeply about them. It seems that when we are this far from what we know as comfortable, we are amazed at the resilience of the children who live in an environment that we would have second thoughts about loving there ourselves. But isn't it true that if there are people who care enough to "care" are there for us, we can endure. And that is what I saw today. Teachers, pastors and staff who take care of, care about and care for the children. I can't ask for anything more.

On all things give thanks,
David

India Clinic Day 2

Whatever the reason, life comes at us from directions unexpected. That is not to say that all is bad, but simply to suggest that there are times when we expect certain things to go one way and they decide to go their own way, far from the path we expect them to travel on. I expected to travel on a bumpy road, to a project with significantly impoverished children who longed for a decent life. That is not what happened today. With all good intentions, we travelled to our site, saw about 185 children, identified a number of children in need of advanced care, and participated in the feeding program watching the children eat their meal that is given to them by OCM daily. We noticed that because of this program, the children were much more nutritionally on target for their age as compared to the children yesterday who did not have access to daily meals. And here is where the expectations turned a little to the north, to the positive side. I expected to see children who were sicker, more malnourished, more impoverished since we were in a locale much poorer than where we were yesterday. The children were in fact a little sicker, more impoverished but relatively well nourished and well adjusted despite the conditions that they lived in. They were happy, content and interactive. The 2 projects that the children came from today, embraced a holistic approach in giving the children what they needed and deserved in order for them to experience life to their fullest potential. It is because of the dedication of the teachers, the project leaders, the pastors and the local OCM leadership, that the children were moving in the direction of personhood and worth. 

One child who was born with a significant discrepancy in leg length, had surgery a few months ago to correct his gait that OCM financially supported through our Children's Crisis Fund. He walks without a limp now, is self confident and plays with the other children. It is things like this that make what we do worthwhile. Giving a child  a chance to be a child.

The team worked flawlessly. After yesterday nothing could slow us down. Everyone made the most of their individual talents and served the children. We leave tomorrow for another remote area and will be there for a few days. I'll wait to see where the road takes us. No expectations this time. I'll go where the road leads us and trust that it will end in a safe haven for children who have had little and now have something. Love and caring.

In all things give thanks,

David

India Clinic day 1

Every now and then we have a day that we want to forget. Or remember. A day that is so out of the ordinary, so different, that it strikes a cord in our hearts and minds and plays a tune that makes us smile or gives us pause. Today was one of those days. 

Not knowing what to expect, we drove almost 2 hours to a remote province where we walked down a dirt road to a hidden school haven with children waiting. All were in uniform, white shirts, pants, skirts ad blue ties for both boys and girls. Somewhat unexpected. Where were the poor and the isolated? Where were the malnourished and the weak? Where were the sick? Wait for it. They were there, but hidden behind smiles and a sense of community in a school that offered an education and an opportunity to pursue a better life than the one the children were born Into. And now here is the picture seen behind the uniforms and the smiles. Severe effects of malnutrition resulting in stunting. Children who looked like they were 5 years younger than what they really were. A 9 year old who was the size of a 6 year old. A 12 year old who looked like a 7 year old. Short stature with long term effects. Girls who will deliver prematurely once they become women and get pregnant. Boys who will grow up with weakened physiques  limiting them to vocations that they may not be given an opportunity to succeed on. The pictures here are of how children are affected. Healthy looking on the outside but compromised for life due to malnutrition before the age of 5 years. The tragedy behind the veil of presumed  health. 

We left feeling like we impacted lives. First aid training  given and first aid kits left behind. A water filtration system left behind. Dental hygiene taught and toothbrushes left behind. Medications given and left behind. Children with illnesses identified who needed advance care sent to facilities who could help. Love and validation that they were children who deserved nothing less than that they were children who were treasured and cared for and cared about. All 462 of them. Yes, we saw, played with, treated, cared about and loved on 462 children. Today. What a day. A day of sadness behind our smiles knowing that the children were going to be what they were, stunted, for the rest of their loves. A day of happiness for leaving something good behind. A day so out of the ordinary that it made us both smile and give pause. Bittersweet, but what a wonderful day all the same. 

In all things give thanks,

David

India October 2013

Question. Answers. More questions than answers. I am often asked how and why we choose the countries we go to. It is not that complex. We go where we think the greatest need is for the children at that point in time. So off we go to India, our 3^rd trip there, but to a different location. South, on the very tip of India to an area called “Kerla”. We have several projects there with many children who are in need of medical care and nutritional assessments. A team of 20 will be leaving, 4 doctors, 7 nurses and 9 lay members.

 

I remember India well. The children have an aura of the unkempt, many with bags under their eyes, a pouchy face, or more often than not, sunken and void of emotion, and hair that is coated with dirt. I remember the times that we were faced with making critical decisions as to whether we could help a child or not. We did most of the time. And that “most of the time” is what still stays with me. Sometimes we can’t for reasons that may surprise you. No medical facility to send the child to that can offer the medical interventions that are needed and sometimes, yes hard to believe, parents who don’t see the need to pursue medical treatment, believing in an obscure spiritual healing that is contrary to the evidence that there needs to be a partnership between medicine and religion. It is then that I realize that the critical moments in life always arrive with astonishing suddenness and then they are gone without us being able to do anything about them.

 

I have come to realize that the decisions of our past are the architects of our present. I try to make the right decisions for my patients but there are times when I am in a moral gray area. How far to go with limited resources and realistic outcomes. It’s the age-old battle between mind and heart, which seldom want the same thing.

 

We leave in a few days. We will see over 1500 patients in five days if all works out as planned. I pray that as we serve those who come to us for help, they will be comforted by the fact that whatever we do, it will be a validation of who they are: persons. No judgment, no pity, simply caring and love. For me, each day that I am with them, will be the beginning of forever. I want them to remember even though we are there for just a short time, we validate that the power of the human spirit and faith can endure any challenge, no matter how daunting.

 

In all things give thanks,

 

David