"May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We are back to work again this week! After a brief retreat this weekend to Culca canyon, we returned to work yesterday (Monday). What an amazing retreat with great friends and breathtaking landscape. Our weekend visit not only gave us some time to relax after a hard week of work but it also gave us time to focus our appreciation on God's beautiful creation in the world.
This week we were missing our normal group but gained some friends in the process. The group that was here working in general medicine finished up Friday and headed off over the weekend to return home to Texas. Through them, we not only gained some friends, but we learned some valuable things on medical care to help us in our clinical experience. We have since been joined by a dentist and his daughter here from Canada to join the team at another building doing dental work for MMI. There is a lack of dental care just as there is all other facets of medical care with Peru's struggling health care system. It amazing how people from so many different background gather to do good for those in need!
The last two days proved to be exhausting for just the start of the week. Monday we extended our hours to accommodate more patients and today we faced some tough cases and had minimal resources to work with. In all of these troubles, Romans 15:5-6 has proved to be a great help. Shawn in our group shared this verse with us in our devotional time this morning and it couldn't have been more timely. How important it is to receive encouragement for God, focusing on glorifying him with together in harmony. It's amazing to see that we can all serve God by harmonizing to make one voice; whether you're a doctor, a physical therapist, a student, a dentist, or someone who just jumped in to help in any way they can. Whether you speak English or Spanish, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're American, Canadian or Peruvian, everyone has something to offer and can work together to glorify God.
In this encouragement, we can more clearly see the blessings we have had. The opportunity to sharpen our skills. The new experiences (like eating alpaca!). The mentorship. The friendships. The opportunity to help others. The opportunity to see God in ways we've never seen before. Such amazing things have shined through in just a little over one short week.
We will be working for the rest of the week out of the hospital to serve those who come far and wide. Much equipment has been given out and many patients have been seen but there is still much more to do.
Here are some pictures of the clinic we have been working out of in Arequipa. Not the best but as much as google plus will let me upload for now!
God bless!
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