Amazon Mission Experience

Ever since coming to Southern Adventist University, I've been impressed with the school's strong emphasis on mission work.  I'm currently studying to become a nurse and work as a medical missionary overseas somewhere, and consequently am interested in exploring all aspects of my future career.  This past Spring Break, I joined a group of nursing students headed for the jungles of the Amazon.  It was a huge blessing as I experienced first hand what doing real mission service is all about.  I've been on several preaching tours overseas, but there's something totally different about actually meeting one-on-one with the people and relieving their physical suffering.  It was such a blessing!

I created a documentary which followed our travels while in Brazil.  During the film premiere here at SAU, over one hundred students were able to attend and watch the video.  The next Sabbath I showed it at a local church where even more people were able to experience medical ministry in action.  I've heard several stories of people who were inspired to do mission service after watching the video, and I pray as you watch this documentary, you too will be inspired to serve the Lord wherever you are!

The mission team.

Playing with the kids!

Amazon sunset - behind a bubble.

The river launch we used while on the Amazon.

The children in the villages were so precious.

The kids were so much fun!

Sunsets over the Amazon were so beautiful.

Heading into the sunset with the river launch.

A park in downtown Manaus.

One of the missions river launches with a double rainbow arching overhead.

New Year's Eve 2012

The extreme paradox found in the feeling of utter exhaustion and yet overwhelming energy has always been a mystery.  But it happens.  I would know, because I experienced it this weekend!

I was privileged to attend the Generation of Youth for Christ conference held in Seattle, Washington, with about 4,000 other young (and young at heart) people.  I had a wonderful time catching up with friends I hadn't seen in several years, online friends I hadn't met in person, and friends I didn't even know until meeting them at the convention.  The sermons were a huge blessing as well.  Listening to several speakers elaborate on how to live Godly lives in a godless society and hearing them advocate the need for a revolution in our lives, made me want to do remain dedicated and faithful to the Commission.  Outreach time was a blessing as usual.  The meals were good of course and the hotel was superb.  But my favorite part of the entire convention was New Year's Eve.

As most people prepared for a long night of partying and some people prepared to spend the night praying, a few of us decided to do something totally different.  If everyone was going to be downtown partying, why not meet them there and pass out literature?  Deciding to do just that, seven of us began passing out GLOW and Signs of the Times tracts and ended up distributing 2,200 tracts to the masses of people gathered beneath Seattle's Space Needle!  We scattered the tracts like the leaves of autumn, very likely making a record for having the highest amount of Signs tracts distributed in the same place.

We were able to see whole lines of people, thoroughly bored while waiting for the firework show to start, sitting along the sidewalks reading the tracts we had just given them.  We got to cheer when another pack of tracts was opened and delivered.  We were able to share our unique SDA beliefs with other interested Christians.  We placed tracts in every place imaginable where people would find them, including newspaper stands and ATM machines.

Inside the Seattle Center the crowds were thick, so we split up into pairs of two and engaged the horde.  As we waded through the masses of people, we handed out tracts to everyone we bumped into.  While my partner and I walked through a group of people jumping up and down while dancing to the live band, I got a tap on my shoulder.  Turning around I saw a teenage girl who I had handed a tract to earlier; she had followed me through the crowd.  "What religion is this tract from?" she asked with true interest in her eyes.  "We're Seventh-Day Adventist Christians."  Confused and puzzled, she asked the question we all love to hear, "What do you believe?"  While the wild merry-makers continued their careless capers all around us, I was able to share the gospel with this earnest, seeking soul.

GYC challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and do more for God, enabling me to have the best New Year's Eve I've enjoyed yet.  When working for God, it doesn't have to be huge, it just has to be something.  In case you didn't get that, read it again and let it sink in.

When working for God, it doesn't have to be huge, it just has to be something.

Share your faith where ever you are.  Live the Gospel in your own life so others will see its power.  Let's be Revolutionaries and not conform to the lackadaisical attitude of those around us, but continue to press forward so we can all go Home.  Soon!

The GYC meetings were such a blessing!

Sunset in Seattle.

Passing out GLOW tracts in the market.

We passed out 2,200 tracts beneath the Space Needle!

The Space Needle

Listening!

Sometimes nursing can get obnoxious.  Having to know whether Lasix can cause renal failure, or in which position to have a patient while inserting an NG tube, or how to chart a patient's abdominal wound, can get mentally exhausting.  Sometimes I just wish I could automatically inject myself with all the medical knowledge I need and then get on with helping people.  Because that's what nursing's about, and that's what I like.‬

‪One day, I was performing my weekly clinical rotation at the hospital which I am assigned to.  My patient for that day had been diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy - basically, the liver had totally failed to the point of near death.  The reason?  Drinking.‬

‪As I finished the physical assessment, my patient turned to me and with sad eyes warned, "Never, ever start drinking."  We then began a long discussion regarding the history leading up to the hospital stay.  While the nurse came and went, I stayed on, listening to every word spoken.  My patient hadn't always been in this condition.  Once, they were part of a wonderful family and had a good life ahead of them.  But alcohol changed it all.  As my patient told me more, my heart wept.  But there was really nothing I could do, besides pass the warning on to others.‬

‪My patient then brightened as we talked about the potential discharge later that day.  Excited at the prospect of seeing the grandkids again, my patient eagerly watched as I took out the IV and prepared everything for their discharge.  My patient smiled and thanked me for all my help and for listening.‬

‪Simply for listening!‬

‪Because that's what people need sometimes.  They don't need people to give them medications.  They don't need people to tell them what's wrong with them.  They don't need people to tell them how they should live their lives.  They just need someone to listen.  And don't we all?‬

Exelectric Week

Exelectric Week has come to a close.  "What's that?" you ask.  It was my own little experiment, in a way.  I wanted to see what would happen if I took a week off from using Facebook and my cell phone, my two biggest means of communicating with people.

If only I had known what I was getting myself into...

I started the technology fast on Sunday and everything was going well until Wednesday.  I needed to use my phone to call a friend, and when I did, I saw some important phone calls I had missed in the process.  So, I decided to keep my phone active from then on to monitor for necessary incoming calls - three and a half days had been plenty of time to go without my iPhone.

It was also about Wednesday that I began to have serious Facebook withdrawals.  And I mean serious withdrawals.  I wanted to check up on my friends in cyber space, to see how my FB peeps were doing.  For some reason I felt like I was missing out on everything that they were doing because I couldn't see it happening on Facebook.

But I survived the entire week, and I'm thankful for the experience.  The biggest plus was the time it gave me.  Instead of chatting on Facebook, I was able to hang out in the Student Center an extra minute or two and chat with friends in person.  Instead of posting funny quips on Twitter, I expressed them to the nearest people I could find, often leading to instant friendships as we laughed about the ironies of life.  Instead of just wishing my friends a quick "happy birthday" on Facebook, I was actually able to attend a friend's birthday party.  Instead of always thinking about what my friends were doing on Facebook, I was able to think about what I was doing off Facebook.

Technology is not a bad thing.  Facebook is a great way to connect with people.  Cell phones are the backbone of modern communication.  But taking a short break can really enable you to reevaluate your life and your priorities.

If there's anything in your life that's taking up a large portion of your time and attention, distracting you from the more important things in life, try taking a break for a bit.  It's well worth it!