In 2008, during the Spring Break of my first year in medical school, I went on a week-long medical mission trip to Puebla, Mexico with my school's chapter of the Christian Medical Association. We set up temporary clinics in churches throughout the city, saw patients for free and dispensed free medications that we had brought with us. It was a very formative experience, as this was my first real encounter with patients. This is a picture of me with my very first patient of my career, as a 1st year medical student...
At the end of the trip I was already thinking about maybe attending the next year, too. What I wasn't considering was being the coordinator for the entire trip. As it turned out, no one else was considering that role either, and the Christian Medical Associate was scrambling to find someone to lead the trip the following year. Somewhat reluctantly, I stepped up to volunteer.
Coordinating an international medical mission trip for 40 people was very stressful at times, but also very rewarding. I learned a lot about leading through serving, and about trusting in God to provide. The trip was a success, if I do say so myself, and I even convinced Ryan to come along and man our makeshift pharmacies at each clinic site (he knew that Eckerd's experience would come in handy someday).
When I got back from this second mission trip, I began to really feel a pull towards medical missions. I was reluctant to recognize it at first, but it seemed God knew He shouldn't be subtle in His nudgings. The week after we returned from Mexico, my school had a guest lecturer that spoke about his experiences in medical missions in Africa. Even more convincing: I was eligible to sign up for an honors elective course at school, so I selected one that was along the lines of psychiatry. However, too few people signed up for that course and it didn't make. By this time, the only course left to enroll in was "International Medicine."
As I searched for a place to spend my elective month abroad, something about India called me. I can't explain it even now. I can't really identify a specific reason why India stood out in my mind as the place I need to be, but by now, I've learned not to question why, because I know the answer is: that's where God wants me. Of course, once I decided on India, everything just seemed to fall into place. I stumbled across the EHA and the Herbertpur Christian Hospital, very established organizations that are perfect for my situation. I was even able to get scholarships through the Baptist Medical and Dental Fellowship and the Southwestern Medical Clinic Foundation, so that the entire cost of my trip is covered.
So that's what brought me to rural India. I can't wait to see what God does next.
0 comments:
Post a Comment