Monday, January 21, 2008
New Years Day 2008 Letter from Trinidad
Hi Everyone,
Steve, Corrie and I (and the rest of the team too) arrived safely in Trinidad on Saturday night. It took us 2 1/2 hrs to get through Customs, but the good news is they did NOT search our bags! (The last trip they seized all of our medications.) Praise God! Thank-you so much for praying.
Saturday night we got to bed around 2 AM (the rooster was crowing!) and we had to be at church the next day at 7:45 AM. Even with very little sleep, we were refreshed. The Lord sustained us throughout the busy day. At Aramalaya Presbyterian Church, Steve preached on "Joy in Serving Others" and Corrie and Andrew led music. It sounded wonderful, especially considering the amount of sleep that they had and they only practiced once before. This team comes together from all over the country so this was the first time we met together.
Later that day we were asked to lead a Sunday School class at Covenant Reformed Evangelical Church. It was led by Ben Prinz, a 16 yr old High School student on our team and Corrie and Andrew again provided music.
This church, led by Pastors Steve McGee and Ricky Goseign, ministers in a very poor area called "Carlsen Field". The children there live in mainly single parent homes and they are left alone most of the time. Most of the homes do not have running water, electricity or flush toilets. This is where we will be holding medical clinics for the week. These children are hungry for love and attention and are just precious! They loved Ben's Sunday School class! He was so animated and interactive with them. He will make a great pastor!
On Monday, we held our first clinic at Zaid and Sheri's home, a Muslim couple who are close friends of the McGees. One of the highlights of the day was watching Ben share the Gospel with a Muslim and a Hindu. Tom and Jess, 4th year medical students and Cindy, a Senior Nurse Practitioner student, saw patients as well as Dr Cal and Dr Karola. Linda, a Psychologist, provided counseling to many families. Aaron, a pre-med student took care of our eyeglass clinic, assisting Betsy in the lab when needed. Andrew, a 4th year Pharmacy student dispensed drugs in the pharmacy to the patients as needed. Corrie and Brenda, both nursing students from Anne Arundel Community College, took care of triage, taking vital signs and assisting in lab and other areas. Erin and Amber, both nurses, took charge of overseeing the students at triage.
All patients who came through our clinic were prayed with, because as you know, only the Lord is the Physician Healer, not us!
Later that evening Steve preached on "Perseverance in the Faith" at Covenant Church. Andrew, Karola, Ben and Cindy and others in the church (including some of the youth!) gave their testimonies. Andrew gave thanks for his grandmother (who died earlier that day ) ,who led his mother to the Lord and his mother led him to the Lord. It was an incredible evening! As we returned to the Morton House, where we are staying, it was close to Midnight and we watched the church Bell ring in the New Year and the fireworks.
Today, I write you from the McGee home where we are spending the first day of 2008. We have enjoyed music with 2 guitars and 2 steel drums and food from the US and Trinidad. The McGee family, our Missionary hosts here truly have a gift of hospitality!
Please continue to pray for our health, safety and busy clinic days.
We Love You and Miss you all!
Steve, Karen and the Trinidad Mission Team
Steve, Corrie and I (and the rest of the team too) arrived safely in Trinidad on Saturday night. It took us 2 1/2 hrs to get through Customs, but the good news is they did NOT search our bags! (The last trip they seized all of our medications.) Praise God! Thank-you so much for praying.
Saturday night we got to bed around 2 AM (the rooster was crowing!) and we had to be at church the next day at 7:45 AM. Even with very little sleep, we were refreshed. The Lord sustained us throughout the busy day. At Aramalaya Presbyterian Church, Steve preached on "Joy in Serving Others" and Corrie and Andrew led music. It sounded wonderful, especially considering the amount of sleep that they had and they only practiced once before. This team comes together from all over the country so this was the first time we met together.
Later that day we were asked to lead a Sunday School class at Covenant Reformed Evangelical Church. It was led by Ben Prinz, a 16 yr old High School student on our team and Corrie and Andrew again provided music.
This church, led by Pastors Steve McGee and Ricky Goseign, ministers in a very poor area called "Carlsen Field". The children there live in mainly single parent homes and they are left alone most of the time. Most of the homes do not have running water, electricity or flush toilets. This is where we will be holding medical clinics for the week. These children are hungry for love and attention and are just precious! They loved Ben's Sunday School class! He was so animated and interactive with them. He will make a great pastor!
On Monday, we held our first clinic at Zaid and Sheri's home, a Muslim couple who are close friends of the McGees. One of the highlights of the day was watching Ben share the Gospel with a Muslim and a Hindu. Tom and Jess, 4th year medical students and Cindy, a Senior Nurse Practitioner student, saw patients as well as Dr Cal and Dr Karola. Linda, a Psychologist, provided counseling to many families. Aaron, a pre-med student took care of our eyeglass clinic, assisting Betsy in the lab when needed. Andrew, a 4th year Pharmacy student dispensed drugs in the pharmacy to the patients as needed. Corrie and Brenda, both nursing students from Anne Arundel Community College, took care of triage, taking vital signs and assisting in lab and other areas. Erin and Amber, both nurses, took charge of overseeing the students at triage.
All patients who came through our clinic were prayed with, because as you know, only the Lord is the Physician Healer, not us!
Later that evening Steve preached on "Perseverance in the Faith" at Covenant Church. Andrew, Karola, Ben and Cindy and others in the church (including some of the youth!) gave their testimonies. Andrew gave thanks for his grandmother (who died earlier that day ) ,who led his mother to the Lord and his mother led him to the Lord. It was an incredible evening! As we returned to the Morton House, where we are staying, it was close to Midnight and we watched the church Bell ring in the New Year and the fireworks.
Today, I write you from the McGee home where we are spending the first day of 2008. We have enjoyed music with 2 guitars and 2 steel drums and food from the US and Trinidad. The McGee family, our Missionary hosts here truly have a gift of hospitality!
Please continue to pray for our health, safety and busy clinic days.
We Love You and Miss you all!
Steve, Karen and the Trinidad Mission Team
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