Asia Update

Hi everybody! I returned from Asia late last night. Our host in the country requested that no pictures be posted so that their position there would not be compromised. I can mail photos to you, though.

I ate sea urchin (It's like eating rubber bands), pig liver, rice, and dumplings. They don't use toilets so we learned to use squatty potties. 

We did face some challenges. There were used needles all over the floors of the hospital we worked in and people smoking throughout. Translating was challenging because no one knew the words (i.e. bronchitis, infection, hepatitis, etc.) for Western medicine, since it is not practiced there.

There were 4 government officials who walked around, smoking, watching and listening while we conducted clinic. So we were very careful with what we said. We stuck to just discussing physical health. But on the last day of clinic only 2 of the government officials came, which freed us a little to talk more openly with patients about the hope we have in Christ. I was able to share my faith with one of my last patients, who was very happy to hear it and told us she felt her pain leave after I prayed for her.

5 of our team members were students from Evangel University who are majoring in nursing or premed. They worked tirelessly and cheerfully despite many having gastrointestinal illnesses related to our travel, and I was very impressed by them and was honored to serve alongside them! Kathleen