Hola hola from the medical site in Quinigua!
Over the past two weeks, the Lord has
spoken to our group through Hebrews 12:1‑2, which reads, “Therefore, since we
are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything
that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer
and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” This
passage has been an encouragement starting with the first day of our Students
International morning devotional, reappearing as the focus of our church
service on the first Sunday, and in visible ways at the Quinigua clinic.
Alexa, Samuel, and I have been blessed
to serve at the Centro de Salud Integral in Quinigua, which is less than ten
minutes from the Students International base. The clinic is about three years
old now and serves Haitian and Dominican patients, offering special care for
pregnant women, hypertension patients, and diabetes patients. One of its
current initiatives is the Helping Hearts program, which fundraises to provide
high-cost medications at affordable costs to low-income patients. (Check out the
T-shirts purchased to help fund the program!)
Since we are surrounded by such a
great cloud of witnesses…
Dr. Jhanna, Dr. Merary, Jocabed, Faith,
and Morgan have all been such encouragers for us LIFTers as we hear their
testimonies and join them in offering care and facilitating restoration in the
community. They have taught us to measure blood pressure and blood sugar,
assist with vaccines and injections, assist with wound dressing, and organize
and distribute medications. Plus, our site team has been so encouraging with
pushing us to use whatever Spanish we know to engage with patients and staff. Every
morning, we love to hear Jhanna share her daily devotional in the waiting room,
proclaiming the gospel, unashamed and without fear. After caring for patients at
the clinic in the morning and enjoying lunch as a team, we spend the afternoons
visiting patients’ homes. It is a beautiful example of being Christ’s hands and
feet to join Jhanna and the crew as they live out what it means to care for
people created in the image of God. More often than not, our home visits don’t
even include technical medical care—we’re there instead to pray for and sit
alongside the community members who have become like family. Like Dr. Jhanna often
says, “Medicine is the excuse…” but we’re really there to share Christ.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus…
One unexpected task has been to leave
our fingerprints on the clinic by painting a mural for the waiting room. This
has been a joy for me as I meditate on the passage, paint alongside my new
clinic friends, and pray for those who will see the mural and ponder the verse.
And of course, the Lord led Dr. Jhanna and Dr. Merary to this exact verse—Hebrews
12:2—that has been so impactful to us this week. (The mural mimics an eye exam
chart!)
For the joy set before him…
One of the noticeable gifts to our team is the joy that has marked our two weeks together. From eating mango MESSILY on the first day to chuckling about Samuel’s language mishaps, to visiting our favorite, ever-so-joyful patient, Nidia, it is clear that the Lord has lavished His joy on our team. None of us expected to be laughing so hard it hurts every day, even when there is real brokenness right here in the community. We are grateful that Jesus went to the cross “for the joy set before him,” and that in this hope we can have joy each and every day. That same hope and joy are so real and tangible at the Quinigua clinic, and we will be praying for our Dominican family and the work God is faithfully completing through them.
Dios les bendiga,
Julia McGaugh
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