Sorry it’s taken so long to get this final post out - it’s been eating at me since we returned, but I just haven’t been able to get it together in my mind.  Alzhiemers setting in I’m afraid.

First let me again say thank you to all our supporters and prayer partners - God bless all of you.  You will reap a bountiful harvest from all your faithful seeds spread among the lovely Ugandan people.

Here it goes-

The Beatles wrote a song in 1968 entitled “All you need is love”.  It was broadcast simultaneously all around the world, I think that summer, and I also think it was the first time this technological feat had occurred.  It was an effort on their part to promote world peace and understanding.  It amazes me to think how close they actually were to getting it right.  All you need is love - God’s love, and when His love is active in His people amazing things happen.  I think if we are able to see only an inkling of His love in action we have the most tiny glimpse of what heaven is.  Since we will be in God’s presence and since God is love according to the apostle John, perfect love will be the “air” of heaven in my mind.

On this trip to Uganda I felt that I just kept catching little glimmers of that love throughout the entire trip.  I was more physically and mentally “tired” on this trip than any of the previous trips, and when I witnessed or was told of these little glimmers it just lifted me in a way I can’t really discribe.

We had a very diverse team on this trip, physically, spiritually, and thoughtfully speaking; and it was great to see love breaking out of people in so many different ways.  There were manifestations of love that I doubt the givers and recipients even recongnized as such.  I am not going to embarrass anyone with specific examples, but there were many little acts of service, sacrifices made, people touched (physically and spiritually), people moved in their souls.  In fact the whole effort from start to finish was saturated with love.  Oh sure, it wasn’t perfect, but the inklings were there in abundance.  Maybe I just had to be a little tired to “see” it, or maybe that is just what Jesus wanted me to notice Him doing this time, or maybe I’m just getting old and soft hearted.  Whatever the case, I just kept getting hammered with what I was witnessing, indead promulgating in a small way by promoting the giving of service to our brothers and sisters.

When we got back, Bob helped us make a video, and indeed we eventually expanded the pictures to show all 3 “Mercy Trips” sponsored trips as well as a few from some older trips.  Bob wanted to know what music to use and I was having a hard time picking out a song, I went through so many good songs, but nothing was quite right until I found Chris Tomlin’s song entitled simply “Love”, I instantly knew that was it, and when Bob sent back the first edit to me with the pictures set to the song I cried like a baby sitting in my office at the hospital.  I still have to fight back tears to watch it now after seeing it a hundred times.  It certainly captures what we at Mercy Trips want to promote. 

If you have gone on a trip, sponsored someone, donated for medicine or equipment, prayed for us, or given moral support you have been connected to and interwoven within the entire effort and the love that goes out from our Father God through these teams.

If you have not seen the video or if you just want to see it again here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJ776-dP3I

God bless you again for all that you have come to mean to me and to those touched by your love.

Craig

Hello everyone,

The team made it home safely. Their flight was an hour late but that’s okay, they got home safely and that’s all that matters.

Remember to check the blog in a couple of days for Craig’s final update on this trip.

Thanks to all the team members for all the work they put in for this trip. Thanks to all the family and friends for praying for the team while they were gone.

Betsy

Hi everyone,

Amsterdam has the pleasure of having 13 team members from Mercy Trips Healthcare Outreach, they just don’t know it. The next flight is scheduled to leave for the good ole’ USA in about 4 hours. Can you tell I’m excited? Pray the team gets some rest during the flight.

The next update will be tomorrow afternoon when they arrive in Dallas. Until then…….Betsy

Hi,

Just got a call. They are on the plane and getting ready to leave Entebbe. Right now it’s 1:55pm central time. They should be pulling away from the gate within the next 30 minutes.

The flight to Amsterdam is about 8 hours. I’ll keep you up to date on where they are.

Betsy 

Hello Gang,

Our team is at the Entebbe Airport. Yea! They will depart at 10:20pm Uganda time, 2:20pm Central time. I will let you know when they arrive in Amsterdam.

I made the mistake of thinking the team was going to see patients at the IDP camps. They just went over and checked the camps out. I’ll have to let Craig write more about the camp when he gets home. He will post on the blog one final time to wrap up this trip. So after they all get home keep checking for that update.

A few of the team members had comments about their time in Gulu. Here they are.

Neill - The kids he interacted with were 13 to 14 years old. Three wanted to be doctor’s, 1 lawyer, 1 engineer and 2 President. Kids have high hope no matter where they live.

Hope - The kids she was making bracelets with were being a little sneaky. After they finished their bracelet they would get back in line to get more beads. As she went to put the leftover materials away, one little girl came up to her and said she didn’t get to make a bracelet. Hope noticed the girl had a problem with her hand, the other kids stood up for her and were saying the girl hadn’t made a bracelet yet, so Hope let her make one.

Bob - Was amazed that noone got hurt. The kids were playing soccer barefoot. Bob went out to the van to get more pencils. The van is outside the gate of the school/orphanage. When he was going back in the kids outside the gate didn’t want to let him go back in. He thought he was going to get mugged.

Janeth - Was playing soccer with the kids and they wouldn’t pass the ball to her. She got the ball and made a goal, afterwards they treated her differently.

Donovan - Kids were singing songs to him and they danced during one part of the song. Donovan got up and danced with them and the kids laughed.

Beverly - You can do surgery almost anywhere under any condition.

Bonnie - If you introduce discipline and structure into a child’s life they can be well behaved in spite of their status in society.

Beth - Treated a 9 month old baby that was developmently delayed. She showed the mom things to do to help the child that would make a long term difference in the child’s life.

Mattie and Beverly - They enjoyed the trip. It showed them they could stretch their abilities in what they could do. It’s a small team but they bonded.

Craig - There is alot of need in both Gulu and in Mbale at Kanginama Hospital. Pray for wisdom about what to do in the future. Would they be able to give care in both places?

Tom - The ride to Gulu knocked the blog right out of him.

Elisa was gone during the time eveyone was giving comments about the Gulu trip. I think Leslie must be a little shy since we haven’t heard much from her.

I’ve enjoyed bringing you the news of the day. Again, I hope you have felt like you were with the team.

They’ll get into Amsterdam late tonight. I’ll post it as soon as I get a call.

Betsy 

Hello everyone,

Not much to report right now. There are alot of sick, sick patients in Gulu. I don’t have a count as to how many people were seen in clinic. A few surgeries were done. Tomorrow the team will go to some IDP Camps. Afterwards the team will have lunch then go to the airport to fly from Gulu to Entebbe.

I’ll talk to Craig late tonight and will write a post sometime in the morning.

Pray for the team as they finish up their mission and for the flight from Gulu to Entebbe…..Betsy 

Hello everyone,

Traveling to Gulu was not a fun ride. A big portions of the roads were bumpy dirt roads. It was pretty miserable for everyone. Tom especially since he has back problems. Pray he does well.

Pray for good health. A couple ot the team members were not feeling well.

As soon as I get more info I’ll post it. Until then………Betsy

Hi,

The team had a restful day. Church services first then off to Sisyi Falls for a picnic. They climbed up to the top of the Falls and I’m sure took some amazing pictures. Somewhere near the top of the Falls is a brewery and they dump their waste up there. Bob slipped and landed in the waste. I guess he tried to wash it off the best he could at the Falls but it didn’t do much good and everyone in the van was about to get sick with the smell. Poor Bob. 

Tomorrow morning they will travel to Gulu. On Tuesday they will have clinic, maybe do surgery and the ministry team will continue their outreach.

Pray for them as they travel to Gulu, it’s an all day trip. Pray they will accomplish what they set out to do.

Tomorrow’s update may just be to say they are in Gulu. Hopefully the ride up there will be uneventful.

Until then…..Betsy

Hello everyone,

Praises to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praises for all the successful surgeries. Praises for all the patients that were taken care of by the medical team. Praises for all of those touched by the ministry team. Pray for all those that may have made the decision to follow Christ.  

The week has come to and end and everyone is ready for a day of rest. Tomorrow they will attend church services, Pastor Bob will deliver the message, then they will do a little sightseeing later in the day.

I got the story mixed up about the van breaking down while Neill and Tom were on their way back to the hospital. The clinic team and the ministry team were traveling back to the hospital when the van broke down. Donovan got right out and helped with the repairs. While they were working on the van another driver came by and he had a piece of inner tube and they used that to fix the problem. (It’s hard to imagine anyone fixing something with a piece of inner tube.) Donovan was impressed by the drivers inginuity in rigging up something to fix it. Although Donovan couldn’t speak their language they were able to understand what the other was talking about. Donovan said the Lord sent the other driver just at the right time to help fix the van. Perhaps the Lord had placed Donovan there to help also.

The clinic team didn’t see very many patients today. They joined the ministry team and were able to help with all the kids at the church site. Alot of crafts were done, soccer and other games were played and bible stories were done. Bob said the kids like to laugh when the American falls down. I guess Bob has fallen a couple of times while playing soccer and the kids laugh and laugh. But when he made a goal they didn’t get very excited.

While the surgery team finished up their cases Beth, Mattie and Leslie were able to take inventory of all the medical supplies. This is something Craig was hoping to get accomplished so maybe the next team won’t have to take as many supplies. The surgery team worked longer today than they had planned, but they were able to get done with everything they planned to do.

When Hope travels to different places she by chance meets someone interested in being an artist. She likes to leave some paint or paint brushes with this person if she can. The head nurse at the hospital has a son that spent some time with Hope and is interested in painting. She was able to leave some supplies with him. I can just imagine what a thrill that must have been for this young man.

Pray for the team as they prepare to travel to Gulu on Monday. Pray they have a restful day tomorrow.

Until tomorrow……Betsy

Hello,

This past Sunday at church we sang “Here I Am Lord”. I could see all of our team members as I sang the words, especially the words “I will go Lord if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart”. When the team comes home they will always have these people in their heart.  Read the words to this song if you get the chance, pray for the team as they continue to do the Lord’s work. Each one of them has said “Here I am Lord”……

About Donovan’s off the chart day yesterday. At one of the school’s they visited the kids were singing and a keyboard was being played. The kids were attentive while the bible stories were going on. There was alot of enthusiasm from everyone at the school. So put all that together and that makes for and exciting day. Donovan has really enjoyed his time in Uganda.

I wasn’t able to get much information today. Surgery ran long so by time they got back to the hotel almost everyone had gone to bed.

Surgery team had a good day and finished all their cases.

The clinic team also had a good day. The translators were better today so that helped things run smooth. There were 218 patients seen in clinic today. And as the past couple of days along with the patients seen in clinic there were kids that were dewormed, vitamins were given out as well as more glasses.

After clinic, Neill and Tom were on the way to the hospital and their van broke down. While the van was being fixed Neill and Tom got out and played soccer with the kids in the area. It sounded like they had a good time.

Bob was at a Pastors conference today. After the conference Bob was at the hospital taking video. Sorry I don’t have more information for you from the ministry team. Hopefully tomorrow.

One of the delicacy’s in that region are termites. And guess what? Termites were surfacing so the local people were eating termites. Right off the ground. Neill and Tom decided to taste some and said they tasted kinda nutty.

Tomorrow the team will work half a day, then they will do some shopping in the afternoon. On Sunday they will attend church services then do a little sightseeing.

Pray for the team as they finish their day tomorrow. It’s been a busy week but rewarding. On Monday they will travel to Gulu and give medical and spiritual care.

Continue to pray for good rest and good health. Pray they have a restful time on Sunday so they will be energized to get their work done in Gulu.

Until tomorrow……Betsy

Hello everyone,

A good day was had by all. Somethings don’t always go as planned but like I said before everything happens in His time.

With only two surgeons on the team, not as many operations are getting done. One anesthesia machine is not working so one OR has to use general anesthesia and that takes a little longer. The Mbale Hospital has borrowed some of the surgical instruments so that has slowed done the surgery day also. There are some surgeries that aren’t done because the patients wouldn’t be able to go anywhere for follow-up. Elisa thinks if they did the surgery that these patients would find a way to get to town for follow-up visits.

The clinic team saw 412 patients today. As I mentioned yesterday there were kids that got dewormed, vitamins were given out and glasses were also given to those in need. After the clinic team finished today they headed to the hospital and stopped at the fish farm on the way. Neill was impressed at the ambition of the workers to expand their business. When they arrived at the hospital there was a little girl, 7 or 8 years old, that took a liking to Neill and held onto his leg the whole time they were there.

The ministry team was at the clinic site and at schools again today. They are finding it is simple to connect with the children even though they have a very different culture. Bonnie was playing duck, duck, goose with the kids today. They were bigger kids, and they were having a great time, laughing and chasing each other. The families were standing by watching them and they were laughing just as much as the kids. Donovan had an off the charts day. When I talk to Craig I write so fast that sometimes I can’t read what I write so I’ll have to get the rest of Donovan’s wonderful day again. I didn’t get much else from the ministry team today so maybe tomorrow I’ll have more to share with everyone.

 Hope misplaced her folder that held the drawings for her murals. She did find it and was able to get some animals drawn today. When the kids saw the animals they were able to put together just what she had been working on. They kept coming up and loving on her. She found out her name in Lugandan is Amina.

Beth was a little discouraged when she found out the kids she wanted to help today were beyond what she could do. The kids had previous injuries and didn’t have anyone to show them what to do for rehabilitation after their injuries had occured. But there were a couple of kids in wheel chairs and she was able to show the parents some things to help the kids so they didn’t get sores from sitting in the chairs.

Speaking of the wheel chairs, a team member from the January trip, Lynne Dobson, has been purchasing some wheel chairs for the people in this area. Lynne said this has been one of the most rewarding things God has led her to do.

Janeth had some kids sing her some songs today during lunch. She was teaching them, head, shoulders, knees and toes and they were trying to teach her to sing it in Lugandan.

Tom mentioned the translators were having some difficulties today. That slowed them down just a bit. I’ve heard tell there has to be a translator to understand our West Texas accent so he can translate to the translator then he can translate to the patients. This may just be a story but I think it’s funny. 

Mattie said it is wonderful to give back after all the Lord has given to her.

Leslie is feeling better and has been working with the surgery team.

I guess that’s all for today. Pray for continued good health, good rest and lots of energy. Thanks for the comments that a few of you have left. I give them to Craig to pass on each time I talk to him.

Until tomorrow……..Betsy

Hi everyone,

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

A medical student, named Charles, asked Beverly “Why do you spend the money to come across the world and work hard and are dedicated to what you do?” Her reply “The love of Christ compels her and it is an honor and a privilege to come and help them.” I don’t know what his response was but if he’s not a christian maybe this will help him to make a profession of faith.

It was a busy day for everyone. The surgery team had some cases that lasted a little longer than they expected but everything went well. They had to stay later than the rest of the team but made it back to the hotel before dinner was over, so they were able to share the evening meal with everyone.

The clinic team saw 382 patients.  Added on to that number were kids that got dewormed, some people were given vitamins and 67 pairs of glasses were given out. They said they felt like they were making a difference. The clinic site was organized so things went smoothly. The people were receptive and gracious.

The ministry team had a busy day as well. They were able to minister to some of the people at the clinic site. They made bracelets, colored and had bible stories. They went to 3 schools but one school told them they hadn’t given enough notice so they couldn’t stay. Donovan said it was overwhelming to see all the kids. They all had smiles and were enthusiastic. He said he felt like a rock star because all the kids were crowding around and wanting to shake his hand.

There was a boy age 17 with cerebral palsy. He was about the size of a 7 year old. He listened to the stories and seemed to understand pretty well. His younger brother, who is bigger in size, sat and held him in his arms the whole time. Even while the other kids played soccer he sat and took care of his brother. We don’t get to see this outpouring of love between siblings very often.

Beth was able to help some people through physical therapy today. She was glad to get to use her specialty. One young man was not able to walk very well due to a injured hip. After some physical therapy he was able to walk better. Hopefully he’ll be able to continue with the things Beth showed him and his walking will continue to improve.

Hope had a good day painting the mural. Dr. Patrick’s kids came and helped out today. They laughed alot and had a good time together. Hope didn’t want to stay at the hospital and wait for the medical team so she left with Helen. On the way back to the hotel the van had a flat.

Janeth said she learned a bad word today…”tired” She was trying to get someone to teach her how to say it in Lugandan. After dinner she was her usual bubbly self. Several of the team members are going to bed early each night. Pray for everyone to get good rest and for them to have energy to get them through the day.

Elisa said she is impressed by all the different kinds of medical problems. They need alot of specialist to come on one of these trips. 

Continue to pray for our team as they share the love of Christ with those in need.

As I write these post everyday I feel like I’m talking to all the family and friends, so I always want to end with “talk to you tomorrow”. So……..

Talk to you tomorrow…..Betsy

Hi everybody,

It was a busy day but a good day for the team. It started out with some rain. When they drove to the hospital the roads were a little muddy so that slowed them down. When they had lunch it rained some more and when they had dinner it rained some more.

The medical team had a meeting with Dr. Patrick to go over the things that need to be done this week. He took some of them on a tour of the facilities. A new wing is being added on to the hospital. Dr. Gary Newsom started a non-profit organization, the name escapes me at the moment but I will find out what it is. Donations made through his organization is making it possible to have this wing added.

Putting the medical supplies away gets easier every time. I won’t say they have it down to an art yet but it’s coming along.

There were so many people at the hospital today waiting to see the doctors. Dr. Patrick said the local people start asking when the doctors are coming back because they want to have surgery. Of course surgery can’t be done on all of them so the doctors have to find out which cases are more important and do those first. When some of the patients are told they can’t have surgery they get mad. Craig and Elisa started seeing surgery patients and Tom and Neill began seeing patients in clinic. Usually the first day very few patients are seen but there were so many the doctors had to start today. Elisa said she is amazed at all the work Dr. Patrick has done and wished she and the rest of the medical team could do more.

Dr. Patrick’s medical team helped package the medicines that will be used in the clinics. This freed up the doctors to take care of the patients today. I know the medical team was thankful to have the help.

Some of the things Craig and Dr. Patrick are hoping to accomplish are working on patients charts and inventory. Depending on what types of surgery are going to be done for each trip they may need to bring extra items. So an inventory will be very helpful.

All that said, surgery will begin tomorrow. The clinic team will travel out to church sites. The churches set up dividers of sorts and the patients line up and wait to be seen. Last year they saw 400 to 500 patients a day. This year there are not as many doctors on the clinic team so the numbers may not be as high.

Now on to the evangelism team. The kids are in school right now so Bob and his team are having to change their strategy a little. Dr. Patrick’s wife, Helen, called some of the schools and got permission for the team to come and talk to the students. Bob went to one of the schools alone and presented the gospel to 700 students. I think most of it is done through translators. The second school they went to they were able to meet Dr. Patrick’s mom.

Bob is hoping they can arrange to visit schools that are close to the clinic sites. He said the kids are a bit reserved at first but they warm up to you quickly. Donovan said after the gospel was given to the kids, the kids honored the team with a song. He was touched by the show of appreciation.

As soon as Beth started taking pictures of the kids they started clowning around. Bonnie took a picture of an elderly man and when she showed him the picture he asked his wife if he really looked like that. I never thought being able to look in a mirror was something I took for granted.

You may not know that team member, Hope, is muralist. She began painting a mural today at the hospital. She said it amazed her how thankful people were for the mural. She’s not even finished with it so she can’t wait for them to see the whole thing.

A few prayer items….Leslie is having some nausea after taking the malarone. That’s what they take to prevent them from getting malaria. Craig will put her on another medication tomorrow if the nausea continues……Tom didn’t mention to Craig if he back was better or not so continue to pray for him……Pray the clinic team won’t be overwhelmed tomorrow, and that it goes smoothly….Pray for the surgery team as they begin operating….Pray for the evangelism team as they present the gospel at the schools….Continue to pray for good rest and good health for all.

Until tomorrow……Betsy

Good afternoon everyone,

After a good nights rest, the team did a little souvenir shopping then some  grocery shopping for Dr. Patrick’s wife Helen.  They made a stop at the Bahai Temple, for team member Elisa. You can find out more about the Bahai Temple on the internet.

The next stop was a  Chinese Restaurant called Ling Ling’s. Apparently this restaurant has really good food because every team that goes over stops there. They had a good lunch then drove to the source of the Nile. There are some small boats the team squeezes into and they go over to a small island to see where the water flows out of Lake Victoria. Before they got on the boats a head count was not done. Beth and Bonnie and gone to the restroom and nobody knew it so the boats left without them. When the team came back to shore there stood Beth and Bonnie. A big lesson was learned about head counting and telling someone before you go anywhere. Thankfully everything turned out ok.  

Then on to Mbale to the hotel where they will be staying. On the way one of the vans engine kept over heating so they stopped and put water on the engine and then went on until it over heated again.

While the team was shopping today, Bob was able to find some soccer balls. (If you remember I mentioned Bob’s team will be working on spiritual needs for those that are at each clinic site.) Things like playing soccer and making crafts will be an intro to presenting the gospel. He wants the kids and adults to enjoy some fun then he and his team will deliver the message. This may be the first time for some of the people in the area to hear the message, so let our prayers be they will come to know Christ.

The team members are able to purchase cell phones to use while they are in Uganda. I’m sure this will be a great comfort to family members so they can hear from their loved one. The cell phones are the ones you purchase the minutes as you use them.

Tomorrow the medical team will go out to the hospital and arrange all the medical supplies and medicine they brought with them. They will package medicine that is needed for the clinic team. The evangelism team will prepare all the equipment they brought in preperation for the many, many people who will come to the clinic sites.

Prayer request for team member Tom. He is having a little trouble with his back after the long plane rides.

Pray for good rest. The hotel rooms have no air conditioning. The weather is cool this time of year but is a little humid.

Uganda is 8 hours ahead of us. So when we are going to bed they are getting up or about ready to get up depending on what time you go to bed. While we are sleeping they are hard at work taking care of medical and spiritual needs.

Continue to pray for good health. Give prayers of thanks to our Lord and Savior as he watches over the team and protects them during their journey.

Betsy

Good Afternoon,

The team arrived in Uganda (about 1:00 pm central time). Praise God. The flight was good. Praise God. Everyone is doing well. Praise God. All the luggage arrived. Praise God.

As we continue to cover our team with prayer, remember they are in the hands of the Almighty who has already gone before them and prepared the way.

I got to talk to Craig just long enough for him to say they got there. They were loading their bags on the van and getting ready to go to the hotel where they will stay the night then head out to Mbale tomorrow.

Pray for a good nights rest for the team.

The next update will be tomorrow……..Betsy

Hello everyone,

The team arrived in Amsterdam about 1:00 am, central time. They had a 3 hour layover so they were going to do a little bit of shopping at the airport, and I imagine they would do some walking just to stretch their legs, then head out to Entebbe.

Thank you Lord for a smooth flight and for continued watch care over our team.

Next update will be this afternoon…….Betsy

Hi,

Thirteen people. Twenty-six suitcases each weighing 50lbs. Ten hours to Amsterdam. Our team has set out on the first leg of their journey. Again, everything went smoothly as they checked in at DFW. This is the first time the entire team has been together. A few of the team members are from out of town so this is the first time for everyone to meet. Pray for a time of bonding.

They should arrive in Amsterdam around 1:00 am Texas time. Pray for a smooth flight and good rest, and a prayer of thanks to our Lord for watching over our team.

Until tomorrow’s update……Betsy

Hello,

After rearranging some items in the suitcases, they can’t be over 50lbs, the team had time to spare before boarding the plane. They made it to Dallas, got on the shuttle and are headed to DFW International. Praise God for a smooth check-in and smooth transition in Dallas.

Pray for the team to get some rest on the flights to Amsterdam and to Entebbe. They have some busy days ahead. Pray for those that will receive medical and spiritual care as this may be the time they will come to know Christ.

The team members for this trip are: Craig, Bob, Tom, Neill, Donavon, Janeth, Beverly, Elisa, Beth, Mattie, Bonnie, Leslie, and Hope.

If at any time you would like for me to pass on a message to a team member, leave a reply to the post. As soon as I login to write another post I can see there is a message and I will pass it on to Craig.

The next post will be this afternoon sometime before the team boards the plane headed to Amsterdam.

Praying for you, Betsy

Hello everyone,

Do you ever have the feeling things just aren’t going to come together or they don’t come together as fast as you would like? Even though I like things to hurry along the Lord does everything in His time.

On May 5, 2008 we received our first donation for this trip. After that, the donations were coming in very slowly. A month later donations were still coming in but we were far away from the amount needed to purchase medicine. (The word “medicine” covers alot more than just pills. Anesthesia for example, no surgeries could be done without anesthesia.) Praying for enough funds to cover the cost of medicine was on the top of the list.  And as always the Lord showed us if we wait upon Him our needs will be fulfilled. By the middle of July not only was the trip completely funded, but we had received way over the amount we had prayed for. Praise God as He is the only one that makes this mission possible. With the extra funds more medicine can be purchased.

We are blessed to have a ministry team join the medical team this trip. The ministry team is headed up by our pastor, Bob. He and his team of 4 will work on the spiritual needs of those that come for medical care.  Pray for their team as they reach out in many different ways to help fulfill God’s plan.

The team leaves this Saturday, July 26th. I will post on the blog daily to keep you up to date on how things are going.

As you read the blog I hope you will feel like you are with the team. I pray for all the family and friends, that you will be comforted as you read the updates knowing your loved ones are being watched over by a mighty and powerul God.

Next post will be Saturday after the team departs…..Until then, Betsy

Praise be to God our Father, and to our Lord Jesus Christ who strengthened us in our mission, and brought us safely home!

I also want to thank all of you who kept us in your prayers, we felt your love and your presence with us throughout our stay, during both stressful and relaxing times.

I would like to also thank all the team members from the Jan 08 mercy trip.  You all were such a blessing to me and to the people that we touched.  I will forever remember the warmth of your smiles, your dedication to bringing help to the helpless, and the laughter we all shared while serving others.  You truly made this trip special to all.

As a wrap up to this portion of the blog, I would like to discuss three very strong impressons of spiritual truth laid on my heart during this trip. 

     The Brokeness of the World

As Betsy mentioned, I traveled up to Gulu to scout out a potential site for an additional outreach during the summer trip.  Gulu has been in the middle of a 20 year civil war in northern Uganda, and even though there is now hopefullness for peace with the rebel group, the effects of the prolonged struggle were much in evidence.  Driving in I could feel a heaviness descending on me, and a great sadness seemed to hang like a fragrance in the air.  As I visited the school for orphans that we may work with this summer, and talked with the administrator Christine (Helen Mutono’s sister), I learned many details of some of the terrible things that have been going on in the area during these years.  War atrocities of the LRA, propagation of hostilies by the government for their own purposes, gradual loss of infrastructure, people crowded into IDP camps (internally displaced persons, eg refugees in their own country), and the usual hunger, pestilence and disease that accompany war.  All of these things I had read about, but somehow seeing and hearing it in the first person makes it a living reality.  As if that wasn’t enough, Christine went on to explain that Gulu had the highest number of NGO’s per capita in the world right now, but yet it seemed that so little was being done.  One reason is because less than 10 cents on the dollar of donated funds makes it to the ground to provide relief in Gulu, there is apparently a great deal of corruption, fraud, missuse and profiteering taking place.  Somehow the thought of anyone profitting on this misery was too much for me to envision.  I have never witnessed firsthand such a concentration of the falleness, and brokeness of the world.  Yet here in the midst of darkness a small light was shining.  Christine described the programs being enacted at the school, not only for the orphans who attend, but for their guardians, and for mothers with HIV from the surrounding slums and for young women returning from captivity after being abducted and forced to bear children for their abductors.  Released after their usefulness had ended bringing with them children whose very faces remind them daily of their ordeal.  The school is making a difference for 1400 orphans daily along with their guardians and the surrounding slum area.  She described the struggle in very eloquent terms of a spiritual battle, and our time together has continued to inspire me.  I hope we will be able to give them a little medical support this summer.   I also paused that night to reflect on this scene in terms of our daily lives.  Even though we don’t live in Gulu, each of us is surrounded by some of the brokeness of this world on a daily basis.  We can ignore it, be overcome by it, or even join it, but what will make a difference for those we touch will be engaging it with the light of Christ’s love and seeking ways to let Him use us to help mend the broken people he sends by us each day.

     The service we give is not always the service we had in mind.

The medical clinic team seemed to have a little more frustration this year due to increased numbers of patients presenting with vague and/or longstanding problems such as back pain, chest pain, headache, and “tube pain” of chronic and/or intermittent duration.  These folks seemed to dilute the truly sick and “interesting” cases to the point of causing a sense of ambiguity and even irritation among the team.  Similarly the surgical team was frustrated by a lack of equipement and time to do some of the things they would have liked.  As I was thinking and praying about this on the plane ride home, one picture kept popping up in my mind; Jesus washing feet.  I’m sure cleaning off some stinky dirty feet was the last thing the disciples had in mind when it came to service, but it was the picture of service Jesus chose to leave us with on His last night before calvary.  We came armed to conquer illness and treat disease, which we did, but in the midst we also passed out a lot of tylenol.  To the people coming to see us, imagine the difference it might make having someone from far away, who you respect a great deal, actually listen to your problems, even if they could only offer you a smile, a friendly word of comfort and a few aspirin.  Imagine how that might lift your spirits and impact your self worth.  Kind of like having someone you thought of as the coming king wash your dirty stinky feet.  We were able to help many, and praise God we were able to wash a lot of feet as well.  The service we give is not always what we had in mind.

     God is in control, and He won’t let us forget it.

There we were … surrounded by tetse flys … on a muddy slippery road with Land Rovers in the ditches on each side … driving our little vans by huge trucks stuck in the mud … with a tight schedule to get to the airport through Friday night Kampala traffic …

Having now been a veteran of six trips to Uganda, and having seen on each trip at least one clear demonstration of how God is in control of all situations, I was finally able to rest in Him completely during one such situation.  On the day we were to leave Uganda this year, a prolonged rain came during the night, and muddied the roads leading out of the game park.  After consulting with Helen regarding possibly changing our route, and having sent word to Betsy to have all the blog readers pray for our travel, we crossed the nile in the ferry to begin the trip out of the park.  After praying for the vans and their occupants for the trip ahead; I, having been previously on the road we were about to travel, said a silent prayer for myself.  I asked Jesus to give me the same confidence and comfort he felt while sleeping in the boat during a storm.  I had led the team into this point and could now only trust in God to deliver us.  I put on my headphones, listened to praise music, and actually drifted in and out of sleep several times.  When worries flared, even in Helen, I felt a calm assurance and was able to pass it on.  Watching our little vans pass by Land Rovers stuck in the side ditches became fun, killing tetse flys became a game, and watching the Lord deliver gave me goose bumps.  A year or two ago I would have been tense, irritable, and extremely worried, but I actually had fun and laughed with the Lord at the enemy’s pittiful attempts to harrass us.  Sure we had some inconvenience, but not even the most skeptical among us can deny that we had divine help on the road that day.  Never forget Who you belong to, and Who fights on your side.  Never forget who is in control … He won’t let you anyway.

May our God and Father grant you wisdom, compassion and vision as you seek to serve Him by serving others.

Craig  

9:25pm

The Midland team arrived just after 8:00pm. All smiles, even though they were tired.

It’s been my pleasure to bring you all the news each day. I hope the blog helped everyone feel like they were with the team during their journey.

Thank you to all the team members for being part of the 2008 winter team. Craig will write post on the blog in a couple of days to give you a wrap up of the trip………Betsy

2:20pm

The Midland/Odessa team arrived in Houston. After immigration and customs they’ll go to Houston Hobby. They fly through Dallas then arrive in Midland at 8:15pm. Haven’t heard anything from the other team members yet. See some of you at the airport…..Betsy

8:30am

Before the team left the lodge yesterday morning Craig asked Helen if they should go a different way to Kampala and leave earlier since the weather was bad and the roads would be muddy after all the rain. Helen assured Craig the drivers are use to driving on the muddy roads and they should keep to their schedule.

It was meant to be for them to travel down the road they were on. One of the jeeps that had gotten stuck in the mud had a couple of passengers that needed to get to Kampala. This couple was able to get in the van with the team members and ride into Kampala. It was a slow ride 3-4 hours for what should have maybe been 2 hours, that’s just to get out of the park, then the ride to Kampala was still another 6 I think.

Not only was the van ride slow, add in some teste flies. The windows had to be rolled up and they had to start killing flies. Apparently these flies sting or bite really hard. A few people did gets some bites. 

When they got to Kampala they were going to go to Dr. Patrick’s apartment and pick up their luggage. Gary and Dr. Patrick were there waiting on them. The traffic was so bad they weren’t able to get to the apartment. Dr. Patrick, Gary and the driver had already unloaded all the luggage at the apartment and they had to load it up again and meet the team at the airport.  So there they were in the airport parking lot sorting through all the luggage. I’m sure they were all thankful to get on the plane to come home.  

God was with them. Those are the words Craig said first when he called me last night. It must have felt like everything was working against them all day. As we have seen throughout this trip God has watched over them continually. How else would they have been able to accomplish what they did.

I’ll update again when the team gets to Houston. I don’t know if the rest of the team members(the ones going to other places besides Midland) were going to check in with Craig or not so if he hears from them I’ll let everyone know.

11:30pm

The team arrived in Amsterdam about an hour ago. Team members are going to different parts of the United Sates so it was time to say goodbye to one another. Pray for them as they go on the last leg of their journey. Pray they get some rest on the flight and pray everything goes smoothly as they go through customs when they arrive in the States….Until tomorrow……Betsy

1:50pm

Just after 1:00pm the team was boarding the plane in Entebbe. If they take off on time they should be taking off right about now.

Pray for the team to get some rest. I know it’s been a long day for them. As soon as they arrive in Amsterdam Craig will call and let me know. I think it will be around 11:00pm (our time).  Until than…………..Betsy

9:00am

The team is in Kampala, thank you Lord. They are going to pick up their bags from Dr. Patrick’s apartment then head to the airport. I’ll let you know when their flight is getting ready to leave.

8:30am

I got a call about 3:30am and the team had made it through the dirt roads. They passed a truck and a jeep that were stuck in the mud. Thank you Lord for answering our prayers. They needed fuel and the first station they pulled into had no fuel. Hopefully they didn’t run out of gas. They still had about 6 hours to go before reaching Kampala. They should almost be there by now.

Continue to pray they make it in time for their flight. I know this has to be frustrating for everyone so pray also for patience. As I said in an earlier post, our prayers continue to be answered daily. Our God is good.

I’ll update as soon as I hear from Craig………..Betsy   

9:00pm

It’s been raining all night where the team is staying. The roads leading out of the park are dirt roads and there are hills. Pray for the rain to stop and for the roads to be passable. Pray they make it to Kampala, and have time to spare, before the flight leaves.

As soon as I receive anymore info I’ll post it….Betsy

2:30pm

Pray for Deborah as she wasn’t feeling well due to low blood sugar. She didn’t go on the afternoon safari so she could rest and take care of herself. She was better by time the team got back to the lodge.  

A herd of elephants up close, more giraffes, lions and lioness are some of the animals seen on the safari today. It sounded like everyone had a good day.

I didn’t know hippos would get very far away from the water but one was grazing up by the lodge today. (The lodge is not close to the water) Roy wanted to get close to the hippo and take a picture but, turns out, hippos are camera shy and it started making his way toward Roy. Roy high-tailed it out of there. Kyron said he got it on camera.

Gary made it down off Mt. Elgon and will meet the group in Kampala tomorrow.

The team will leave the lodge around 7:30am and travel to Kampala. It’s about a 6 hour drive. They’ll shop a little, have dinner then head to the airport. The flight is scheduled to leave Entebbe at 10:55pm Uganda time, which is 1:55pm central (Texas) time. I’ll post it when I find out they are getting ready to leave. 

Pray for the team to get a good a nights sleep, they have two long plane rides ahead of them.  Pray for travel safety from the lodge to Kampala…….Betsy

10:30pm

Team member, Greg Shipkey, returned home tonight. Greg arrived about 6:00pm to big hugs from his lovely wife and two handsome young sons. Thank you for your prayers for travel safety for Greg.

2:30p

The team is ready for a little rest before they start the long journey home. Tonight they will stay at a lodge overlooking Lake Victoria. In the morning they will go on a boat safari ride. In the afternoon they will go on a photo safari.

On the way to the lodge today they saw some giraffes and other animals. A couple of the team members were on top of the vans taking pictures. (I think the vans were stopped) From the lodge they could see the shore of Lake Victoria and there were some elephants nearby. The team was excited to see the animals before they even start the safari tomorrow.

It took the team 10 hours to get to the lodge from Mbale. The roads were bad. They did stop some on the way and when they got to the entrance of the park the van got a flat tire. They got it changed quickly and drove on to the lodge, which is about 40 miles from the entrance of the park. The lodge is a very nice place and has a pool. Some of the team had their pant legs rolled up and were setting by the pool with their legs in the water.

Just so everyone knows, the safari was paid for by each person, the money did not come out of the Mercy Trips account.

Did you ever watch the show Wild Kingdom? I think the host was Marlin Perkins. They would go out into the wild and film different animals in their environment. It was probably where someone got the idea to create the Discovery Channel. I think of that show when I think of the team going on the safari.

Craig was in Gulu today. The road to Gulu was bad also. A lot of road construction. There are no doctors in Gulu only clinic officers that run the health center, which treats orphans and their guardians. There’s a lot of Aids in that area.  The orphans attend school in Gulu. The school was started by Helen (Dr. Patrick’s wife) in 1985 and is now run by Helen’s sister, Christine. It has 10 grades, preshcool - kindergarten then 1st thru 7th and has 1400 kids. Yikes!

The purpose of the visit to Gulu is to scope out the area so the summer medical team can spend a couple days there. If they are able to do any surgeries it would only be minor cases which could be done under local anesthesia.

On another note…I forgot to tell you that Michael’s dad was scheduled to be released from the hospital and he is doing fine after having bypass surgery. Thank you for your prays.

Also, for Krisitn’s friends…..when the surgery team operated on the women they thought had a goiter and ended up being pus, Kristin was working with the clinic team so she wasn’t at the hospital that day. When they told her about the patient she said she was sorry she missed it because she likes pus. Just thought I’d let you know that so you can tease her about it later.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers for the team these past two weeks. Please continue to pray for them as they get ready to come home. Doesn’t that sound nice “come home”? Pray for good rest, last night they only got a few hours sleep. Pray for travel safety. Pray the vans don’t break down or have flat tires.  Until tomorrow………….Betsy

3:00pm

The team set out to do a mission and it has been accomplished. Of course there have been some bumps along the way but by God’s grace their task has been completed.

Today was a little bit of a bummer for the surgery team. The power at the hospital had been out for three days. Dr. Patrick was not informed the hospital was running on batteries until the batteries ran out. The power was going on and off so surgeries had to be canceled. Since they had to stop early they visited the fish farm and then went shopping in Mbale.

The clinic team saw 366 patients. This brings the total number of patients to at least 3200. The team traveled far to reach the village today. Everything went fine. This village had lots of sick people.

Update on the little baby that had so much trouble on the first day. He came back in and was doing great. Praise God.

The consensus for the team…rewarding, life changing, amazing, tiring.

The team had to say goodbye to so many people that had become friends.

Renee said it was hard to say goodbye.

Judi complemented Dr. Patrick and Helen for being such good host. She also said she wasn’t ready to go home.

Janice said she would like to return on a future trip.

Mike and Bev thanked everyone for welcoming them. Mike said he’d seen enough malaria, dysentery, and parasites to last him for several months.

Bev said it’s the kinda place you want to come back to. It takes a piece of your heart when you see the kids. They smile alot when they see you.

Morganna shared the last day went smoothly even though two of the doctors had already left. When thinking of the number of patients they have seen this past week she never would have thought they could complete the task but they did.

Roy has enjoyed working with everyone and getting to know them on a personal level. Seeing these people with so little has inspired him.

Deborah is emotionally, physically and spiritually drained but exhilarated.

This is Sharon’s first time to do anything of this kinda. It’s been a good experience and she would like to come on another trip.

Kristin thanked everyone and was impressed with the surgery team and how they shared the work and served the patients. She said after doing this you can’t not want to come again. Craig told her that was a double negative but ok.

Kyron is proud of the team. The number of surgeries done (29) pales in comparison to the total number of patients seen by the clinic team. He’s proud of the team. The degree of poverty is overwhelming and after seeing this, how could anyone not be thankful for what they have.

Dr. Patrick shared that he has laughed more with this team. There was much accomplished. The uncertainty of things (like the vans breaking down) is frustrating for Westerners but that’s the way of life in Uganda. He thanked everyone for all they had done.

Here are a few things the team members missed most while they have been gone.

Roy-comfortable bed, Mike-ice cubes, Bev-her children and cool nights, Janice-her kids and text messaging, Rebecca-comfortable bed, Morganna-bathtubs, Craig-air conditioner that works, Deborah-paved roads, Sharon - family, Victoria-her baby, Renee-family, Kyron-girl friend and his sports car, Judi-talking on the phone with her grandchildren, Krisitn-boyfriend.

Continue to pray for the team. Praise God for all that has been accomplished.

I will check in with Kyron tomorrow since Craig will be gone to Gulu…Betsy

10:00am

I wanted to let everyone know what time the team members will be home, not only to remind you of the time they get in but also hoping you can get a group together to greet the team member(s) as they arrive at the airport. I’m not sure where they will go through customs. I think whichever city in the US they arrive in first, and I don’t know how long it will take to go through customs. So if you have to wait a little while before you see them then that’s why.

Before I begin with the intineraries let me please apologize to everyone that feels they have not read enough about their family member. I wrote a couple of days ago that not all team members share what they have done during the day. If they don’t let Craig or someone else know what they’ve done during the day I can’t write about it. 

Some team members share what they do (Craig takes notes then calls me) and I write it so it can be understood by the readers (like maybe in third person). The clinic team members travel to the villages and the surgery team of course is at the hospital. Neither team knows what the other team has done until they meet at the ended of the working day. Some of the team members go to their room before dinner and some go to their room right after dinner and don’t share what the day has been like for them.

I do hope that makes sense to everyone. Sometimes I ramble. (My mom worked for a newspaper and her column was called “Rambling with Rose”)

Here are the itineraries;

Greg arrives Midland - Feb 6th at 5:47pm

The rest of the team arrives at their final destination on Feb 9th.

Kristin - Dallas - 4:46pm. Mike and Beverly - Denver - 3:29pm.

Judi - Atlanta - 1:55pm. Morganna - Philadelphia - 3:27pm.

Gary and Lynne - Austin - 4:52pm. Roy - Los Angeles - 3:20pm.

Sharon, Victoria, Janice, Becca, Renee, Deborah, Craig, Kyron - Midland - 8:15pm 

Hope you all have a great day and I’ll post another update this afternoon…….Betsy

6:30pm

The team will have one more day of clinic and one more day of surgery. It sounds like it’s been a very rewarding trip for all. They are ready for it to be done and be on their way home.

It was a hot day. There was no cloud cover at all. There are no air conditioners except at the hotel. The taxi’s have air conditioners and today some of the team got to ride in the taxi. One of the vans, that was supposed to come pick up the team, broke down so taxi’s were sent to take the clinic team to the church site. I know that was a nice surprise for them.

The clinic team saw 456 patients today. Emotions were up and down today. They’re all tired. Janice and Rebecca were sending notes to the doctors to help lighten up the day. The notes had only one word on them like “seriously”, just something to give them a little laugh.

Dr. Patrick’s medical team continues to deworm kids, give vaccinations and vitamins.

Roy continues to deal with frustraion as to whether or not he’s diagnosing the patient correctly. (I wrote about this a couple of days ago) So Dr. Patrick was able to say some things that might have helped Roy. He said he’s been doing this for 8 years and added there is another force at work there. He sees the patients and diagnoses what he thinks the problem is. He gives them some medicine and they come back to see him and they are doing better. Sometimes he doesn’t know what’s wrong with them so he’ll do the same with them, give out medicine and when they come back he’ll see if they are doing better.

Things went well with the surgery team today. It was hot in the OR and Kristin said she was thankful it was a short day. Craig worked with Kristin today on hernia surgery. Craig said she did her first skin to skin surgery. Of course me not being a doctor I had to ask what that meant. It means you open and close the patient.

Sharon said things were busy in the OR with 7 cases but efficeint.

Since the surgery team finished early today, Craig and Kyron were able to see some patients there at the hospital. Greg, (an emergency room physician) said when they get back here to Medical Center and Craig and Kyron get done early with surgery they can come help him see patients in the ER.

Renee has been taking care of patients on the ward. One patient, a little girl, had gotten burned with candle wax. Renee has been taking care of her and changing her bandages, she is doing good and has not had any infection.

Morganna shared when she sees patients with real problems it reminds her of why she is really there. Some patients just come to see the doctor and only need tylenol or ibuporfen.

Deborah wants to have perseverance for the last day of clinic. She wants to look back with fondness at pictures and have good memories.

Judi has been working with an anesthesis that talks on a cell phone alot. Dr. Patrick told Judi to take the phone away from that person. So she made him turn it off but he didn’t give her the phone. Then he was going to walk out of the room and she snapped at him to get back in there. He said he was only going to be gone a minute. She told him it only takes a minute for a patient to start having problems, so he stayed. Way to Judi.

Gary left today to go climbing. He will drive to Kampala with Dr. Patrick and all the luggage and meet up with the team. Continue to pray for his arm and wrist to heal quickly.

Lynne left this morning to meet with the girl she sponsors. She left a note to share with everyone. 2 Peter 1:5-8. “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if  these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (From the Holman Christian Standard Bible) She said the whole trip they have been living these verses, they had become a team.

Craig shared what a blessing the team had been to him and how much he appreciated them working so hard.

A weird thing happened while Roy and Greg were out running today. A bicycle taxi rode past them an bumped Roy’s elbow. The bike wrecked and the woman and baby riding in the back fell out and almost got run over by a van. Thank you Lord for watching over them.

God is good and has watched over the team at all times. Our prayers continue to be answered daily. Pray the team will have a good day tomorrow. They plan to work through lunch so they can get back to the hotel early. They will go into Mbale and do a little shopping. Pray for cooler weather.

One last thing. A message form Roy to Rebecca….”I love you very much. I miss you and can’t wait to see you.”

I think we all have that same feeling for our loved ones. Until tomorrow….Betsy

3:20pm

Read the one before this first. 

This is a great song (written by Ray Boltz) and I think it fits well with the mission trip. On the internet you can look up Thank you for giving to the Lord then scroll down and there is a YouTube you can click on and you can watch a video of Ray Boltz singing, there are also several other YouTube’s of the song with a slide show. Look it up if you get the chance and have a kleenex handy. You can probably just type in YouTube but I don’t know how it works.

Thanks to all of you for giving to the Lord. You have given Judi, Morganna, Roy, Craig, Lynne, Greg, Kyron, Kristin, Janice, Rebecca, Gary, Sharon, Victoria, Renee, Beverly, Michael, and Deborah the support needed for them to be a blessing to so many people. All the lives they have touched in just a short amount of time.

When I first looked up this song I clicked on the title of the song and the words were there and at the bottom it said this:

I am not sure that I could make a list of people that I expect to greet me like this when I get to heaven. I think it would be more important, for you and me while here on earth, to take time to make a list of the people we would sing the chorus to when they join us there. In other words, who do you know that gave to the Lord and changed your life?

I’m assuming these words were also written by Ray Boltz.

So remember, you threw that one starfish back in the water and you made a difference.

Betsy

3:00

I just got off the phone with the team. I was able to talk to 8 of the team members and incredible, cool and amazing were the words I got from all of them.

The team had church service then went to Sisiyi Falls. The falls weren’t flowing as much as usual because Uganda is at the end of the dry season. Craig, Roy, Rebecca and Renee got in the water at the bottom of the falls. It was very cold, then they climbed to the top of the falls and there was a lady doing her laundry. I think they were probably out of the water by time she started doing her laundry.

Rebecca had a little “fall” and hurt her wrist. But is doing fine. No splint is needed.

Kyron is better but not 100%. He’s had a good trip just not felt great the whole time.

Morganna said her day was very energetic. It sounds like she’s had a wonderful trip.

Lynne will go to Kampala tomorrow and meet the girl she has sponsored for the past five years. She’ very excited and will also get to meet the girl’s family. She said taking pictures while the doctor’s were doing surgery was incredible.

Janice was feeling better. Before Janice left for the trip she was sick and had high fever for a couple of days. She developed a blister right above her lip. She said it’s getting better but the team has been calling her “lesion”, she laughed about it though.

The team members I talked to called themselves the “night crew”. I guess the rest of them had gone to bed. Craig said some of the team members are kinda quiet during the time they share so if you haven’t read much about some of the team members that’s why.

There’s one more day of clinic and not enough medicine. I’ll be wiring money to pay for the medicine purchased by the hospital.

Pray for Renee as she is having a sore neck. She’s had problems in the past with her neck and it seems to have flared up.

Gary will leave tomorrow to go climb Mt. Elgon. Pray for him as he’s still nursing a sore arm/wrist.

Greg leaves Tuesday to start the journey home. Pray for travel safety.

Wednesday Craig will go to Gulu with Dr. Patrick. There is school that was started by Helen and has also turned into an orphanage. They will be checking the place out to see about doing clinic and maybe some surgeries on a future trip.

The rest of the team will travel to Murchison Falls on Wednesday. On Thursday they will go on a photo safari. Craig will meet up with them and  they will go on a boat ride/safari. The trip to Murchison Falls is about 6 hours so pray for travel safety and pray the van doesn’t break down.

Thank you for all the prayers for the team members. I know it has been a huge comfort for them. The are getting a little homesick but it sounds like they are all glad to have been part of this mission.

Betsy

8:30pm

Kyron and Janice were sick today. They gave Janice some medicine and she went to bed. I don’t know if Kyron took medicine, I’m thinking he probably did. He went to bed early also.  Pray for the sickness to be gone by time they wake up and for the rest of the team to stay well. Craig and Greg are better today.

There were 742 patients seen in clinic today. By time the team leaves Uganda I think they will have seen over 3,000 patients. Today they had patients with more serious problems. Greg had a patient that was crippled by Parkinson’s disease. The man’s son had to carry him in to see the doctor then carried him home.

There were some children with goiters, which is very unusual and one person had cancer of the larynx. Those are just a few of the things they saw.

It was hot in the OR today. They were all sweating really bad. Sharon said it’s all worth it when you get done and the patients are taken care.

Morganna got to work in the OR today. She said she has gained a new appreciation for how hard the doctors and nurses work.

Deborah said it’s amazing how much they (surgery team) can do with such a small amount of supplies for each case. In the hospital here (in the US) they waste alot. 

Victoria was waiting for a good thing to happen today. They thought they were in for a long surgery and her feet were hurting. They were going to remove a goiter and when they opened it up it turned out to be pus so they didn’t have to stand to long. She was glad of that.

Judi scrubbed in and helped in the OR today. She helped with the removal of a goiter. She enjoyed working in the OR. Renee worked in the OR also. She worked as a circulator, which is a person that helps set things up, opens up sterile packs, helps the scrub techs.

Kristin worked with the clinic team today. She has a new respect for the doctors and nurses that work in the clinic. Things were going pretty good then some patients started pushing their way to the front of the line. Kristin was trying to get the translators to help and finally had to get Dr. Patrick. Dr. Patrick got it taken care.

A friend of Lynne’s had given some money to Lynne before she left on her trip. She wanted Lynne to buy something that would be useful. Lynne and Dr. Patrick’s wife, Helen, went into town and bought a water cooler. It can dispense hot and cold water. I know this will be something that’s appreciated for a long time to come.

Tomorrow is a day of rest. Craig will give a sermon at church then they will go to the Sisi Falls. I know they must be tired and will enjoy their day.

Pray the team has a good day of rest. Pray the remainder of there trip continues to be rewarding……………….Betsy

3:45pm

The day started out with a devotional during the ride to the hospital. Some of the team members were able to share a few things. This is especially important to Craig. He wants this to be more than just a medical mission. On the July trip, Pastor Bob, from our church, is taking a mission team to Uganda to minister to the people in the villages and at the hospital where the medical team will be.  

A pretty good day was had by all. While Craig was doing a hysterectomy, Kristin did an appendectomy on the same patient. Craig was telling Kristin the very first appendix he took out was on a patient the other doctor was doing a hysterectomy on. I think that was kinda neat for Craig. The surgery team finished up with all their cases and was able to get back to the hotel before sunset.

The clinic team saw almost 500 patients today. When the patients come to see the doctor the person or people working in triage take vital signs, find out problems and it’s written down on a piece of paper and the patient takes that to the doctor. When they thought they were about done for the day patients showed up and they had a piece of paper but there wasn’t anything on it. The patients had just gone and found a piece of paper and got in line because they wanted to see the doctor.

There were a lot of minor aliments today. They gave out a lot of tylenol and ibuprofen. Dr. Patricks team dewormed and vaccinated about 300 kids today.

Both Craig and Greg had to start taking Cipro. Greg works at the clinics and said he spent alot of time wondering about the marvels of indoor plumbing, because the clinics are held at churches and there is not indoor plumbing. Matter of fact there isn’t any plumbing at the church sites. Thankfully the medicine is working quickly and they won’t have to worry about it.

Gary finally got a splint. He said his arms feels better now with the splint. Today Gary diagnosed a patient with seziures and was able to teach a patient how to use an asthma inhaler. He also had a patient today that had congenital club feet. The patient crawled into the see the doctor then crawled home. Gary said staying focused is sometimes a little difficult when there are so many patients .

Today is Morganna’s birthday. She had a good day seeing patients. She diagnosed a 19 year old girl with epilepsy and was able to give her three months worth of medicine. The girl started clapping and hugging Morganna. There was another patient that was 11 or 12 but looked about 5. The child had cerebal palsy. The mom wanted medicine to make the child better. Morganna had to tell the mom there was no medicine for cp and the child would be always paralyzed. Morganna was able to show the mom how to feed the child with a syringe.

Janice was asked to be in a local band. I guess they were walking in town and someone approached her. She said she doesn’t have any musical abilities anyway.

Of course these are just a few of the things that happen throughout the day. It would be impossible to write it all.

Sounds like Lynne is getting some relly good pictures. I can’t wait to see them.

Continue to pray for the team each day. Pray for continued good health and good rest.

3:30pm

If I would have been with the group during their time of sharing I’m sure I would have cried when Dr. Patrick thanked everyone for all the work they have been doing. He said for many of the people in the villages the healthcare they are receiving is the last resort for their medical problems. It will make a big change in their family. He said he is just speechless about all the things that are happening in the hospital and the outreach clinics.

Most or all of the team members continue to comment on how well everyone works together.

Along with the 572 patients seen at the clinic by the team doctors today, Dr. Patrick and his medical team treated 528 with vaccinations and dewormed some or all I’m not sure. I didn’t really know what deworming or wormed meant. So when he told me Lynne was going to help with deworming tomorrow I was saying gross. Craig laughed and said the kids get a pill and then have to drink water there is not a procedure of any kind. I knew the other day Lynne was giving out pills and water but that’s all I knew. I tell people I’m married to a doctor, I’m not a doctor.

Roy continues to be amazed by the amount of disease and illness.

Greg was happy to be at a rural area today with a family setting and to see the parents taking care of their children. He has a hard time accepting that he can’t fix everything but he’s getting better at realizing it. He takes pictures of the kids and it make the kids happy so in turn it makes him happy.

Incase you didn’t know, interperters are needed for the team to communicate with the patients. Greg said the interperters are awesome.

I forgot to ask if Gary got a splint. Gary is helping Dr. Patick’s uncle get on a list for a transplant to be done in Lubbock. Gary is an amazing guy. 

Kyron thanked God no one had serious injuries when their van was rear-ended. He complemented Kristin on her work in the OR and was priviledged to be able to operate on Dr. Patrick’s sister. She had an ovarian cyst.

Lynne took pictures in the operating room today. She was in awe and has a greater respect for medical professionals. She said it was amazing to see what they do.

Renee helped a lady today that had surgery to remove a large goiter. The woman was grateful and said now her husband won’t reject her. The husband was there with her and doting on her.

Udate on Michael’s dad. If you remember his dad just had carotid artery surgery before Michael left on the trip and then was going in for a angiogram. The doctor’s found the dad had heart disease. They did 4 bypasses. He is doing well and Michael thanks everyone for their prayers.

It sounds like Janice might have made friends with a goat. She was working on the bus today where they dispense medicine. Someone had brought a goat on the bus and tied it to one of the poles in the middle of the bus and Janice didn’t know it. She bent down to get something an all the sudden felt something cold on her leg. She turned around and there was the goat. She started to freakout a little and everyone started laughing. Janice was teaching everyone she was working with some handshakes and slang words.

Victoria worked hard in the operating room today. She worked with all the hard cases. She said it was a long day but a good one.

Continue to pray for good health. Craig had a little bit of an upset stomach on the way back to the hotel but was feeling better by time he called me. So far no one has gotten the dysentery.

I hope you all are doing well. I have been getting the comments from everyone. Thanks. Until tomorrow…………Betsy

10:26am

Before you read this, everything is fine. One van, carrying part of the surgery team, was rear-ended today. Deborah, Victoria, Judi, and Kyron were in the van and they are a little sore. This is the second incident this trip. They’ve never had any problems on previous trips.

Satan will try to take advantage of these incidents and put a damper on everyone’s spirit. We all know that will not happen. God is in control and He’s taking care of each team member. He’s taking care all the patients. He’s taking care of all of us. (I could hear everyone in the background and they were laughing and sounded like they were having a good time.)

On another note….Surgery went well today. They had 5 big cases. The clinic team saw 572 patients. The team is on their way back to the hotel. They will have dinner and a time to relax and talk about the day. Craig will call me later to give me more updates….Betsy

10:50pm

I just got a call from Craig and he said the little boy is doing fine. Praise God! Dr. Patrick called the hospital and they told him the baby was up playing around with his mom. Thank you for all the prayers that went up for this little guy. Please continue praying for the team as they have many surgeries ahead.  More tomorrow………………..Betsy

3:30pm

The clinic team saw 553 patients today. They were at the Nauyo village and there were alot of children. All the pediatric medicine, that was to be used for this clinic only, was used up and they had to take some from the supply for another of the clinics. Pray they have enough to go around. More can be purchased if need be.

Greg was impressed with the number of children and no adult supervision. He thinks alot of them were orphans. He’s happy with the efficiency of the team.

Janice had to go take a phone call before she was able to share so Rebecca shared a story of Janice helping one of these children. One little girl was dressed in rags. Janice worked with the little girl to fix her clothing so it looked like she was really wearing clothes. Other patients were trying to give this little girl their vitamins. Becca also shared how well the team worked together. The pre-packing of the medicines was well worth the time spent working on this the first day.

Lynne said she loved handing out worm pills and water. Since she doesn’t have medical training she felt important helping with this task. (Dr. Patrick wormed alot of kids today) While Lynne was taking pictures she was able to witness the amazing, touching care the doctors gave to the patients.

Morganna was impressed by the organization of the clinic team. She worked in triage today-taking vital signs and finding out what the problems were so she could direct the patients to the doctor they needed to see. Tomorrow she’ll start seeing patients.

Roy wanted to send one of his patients (1 year old girl) to an intensive care unit today because she was so sick. That was impossible to do. There is no ICU nearby and there’s no way the parents could get her to one. He was able to give her a shot and some medication. Dr. Patrick told him if the team hadn’t been at the village today she wouldn’t have gotten the medicine she needed.

Gary still doesn’t have a splint. Hopefully tomorrow. He said all those he got to touch today will be the thing he takes home from this trip. Gary was able to present a check to Dr. Patrick and Helen for $20,000. This donation comes from the Lux Luceat Foundation, which Gary and his wife started. The money will go toward building a new ward for Kanginima Hospital, the hospital Dr. Patrick had built.

Judi and Kyron both shared about a 31 year old man that had hernia surgery today. The patient wasn’t able to walk much due to the size of the hernia. After surgery the patient kept saying thank you. When Judi helped this man after surgery he  reached up and touched her face. (she cried when she shared this)

Kyron has a cold and kept sniffling. Judi made him turn around and she held the kleenex up to his nose and said blow. Kyron said no one has helped him blow his nose since he was four.

Sharon had a good day and is glad to be there helping people. She knows they will have a good day tomorrow.

Kristin says at this stage of her career there is no place she’d rather be. Adding, here she is learning how to do surgery “in Africa”, we think we are in control but we’re not.

Mike and Bev sponsor some children there in Uganda and they were able to spend time with them so they were not at dinner tonight.

Victoria is tired so pray for good rest.

Mt. Elgon has a new number 1-011-256-454433612. They gave Craig the number to give out to everyone. There is only one phone in the hotel so if you call they have to go find the person you are calling for. Be patient.

The team has this time of sharing after dinner. Craig takes notes then calls me. I write down as fast as I can (don’t want to run up the phone bill to much) then I type it in. Hopefully I’m getting it all……….Betsy

2:20pm

It was a hard day for some. Hernia surgery on the little boy went well. After the surgery was over though, he had a difficult time recovering from the anesthestia. He was going down hill fast and by the grace of God he has pulled through. They are keeping him in the hospital for the night.

Deborah has pediatric experience and was thankful she was there to help take care of him.

The rest of the surgeries went well. A few surgeries had to be cancelled due to the time spent with the little boy. 

Pray for good rest for the team. Greg is giving out some meds to help prevent nightmares.

2:00pm

Kristin is there and met up with the team about noon. She thanked everyone for their prayers and for arranging for her to be taken care when she arrived.

It was a busy & hot day. The team gathered for a meeting with Dr. Patrick and his medical personnel. When that was over the clinic team started pre-packing medicine for the six clinics that will be held. There was alot of medicine and they worked hard. The surgery team got things in order for their day to begin (the shelves are stuffed to the gills) and then went and helped the clinic team. There will be bigger surgery cases this trip. Goiters have been something that’s been operated on but only a couple each trip. This trip there are 6. Craig said that’s enough for now. Other cases will be hysterectomies, ovarian masses, hernias, spleenectomy, and a 2 1/2 year old will have hernia surgery. Pray for all these to go well and the patients will recover quickly. 

Speical memories and moments………(so far)

Sharon-how everyone pulled together to get everything done.

Judi-amazed by what the anesthesia have to work with.

Michael-shared his special memory at this time had nothing to do with medicine. He was watching some kids kicking around a ball that was nothing more than a balloon with tape and string around it. Michael had brought some socceer balls with him and was able to get those out and let the kids play with them. It gave him joy to see the kids play with the new ball.

Janice-was a little emotional when she saw how little these people have and how they are laughing and smiling all the time.

Rebecca-her thing is to hold babies and take care of them. When she heard a baby cry she went and picked up the baby and held it until the crying stopped. She handed the baby back to the mom and looked down and saw the baby had dirtied on her shirt. It was no big deal. She cleaned it off and went on.

Renee-enjoyed meeting the people they will be working with and feeling their excitement.

Morganna-had a profound feeling about modern medicine and how people get disconnected/distracted from why they are in medicine. Something inside her was showing her the need for help, why she was in medical school and the sacrifice needed to tend to the needy and sick.

Lynne-photo journalist-doesn’t do medicine but it’s rewarding to see the smiles and she could feel their sense of hope now that the medical team is there. She was taking pictures of the kids and letting them look at the pictures and they would laugh and giggle.

Kyron-God’s timing. Them being in the right place at the right time. A patient that recently had prostate surgery was in pain. Kyron was able to examine the patient. The patient had a distended bladder. The medical supplies were already organized so Kyron was able to go get a folie bag, put it in and instantly the patient had relief. The patient kept asking Kyron if he wanted a soda. Kyron said no thank you. The patient said he thanked Christ Kyron was there.

Greg-Sometimes you don’t feel like you’re doing much. It’s hard to see if you’re making a diffence in their lives. But knows the team is here for a reason. One of the kids you treat in the clinic for malaria may one day be the next Dr. Patrick.

Craig added the star fish story….There were star fish on the beach and a man walking down the beach was picking them up as he walked by tossing them back into the water. Another man walked up and said ” there are thousand of star fish on the beach, are you crazy? You’re wasting your time, it’s not going to make a difference if you throw in a few.” The first man picked up a star fish and tossed it into the water and said “I made a difference for that one.” (This is a loose translation)

Roy-getting to know his colleagues. The lack of technology is frustrating. You see patients (in America) and you can diagnose what you think it is then send them for a test.  He is looking forward to working in the clinics and using his skills to to diagnose the problems.

Gary-his arm is doing good, splint will probably be put on tomorrow. Has a feeling of ambiguity. The intent to help in a short time makes a difference. Gary talked about some of the dreams/visions Dr. Patrick has (building the hospital, wants to see paved roads, buildings.) Gary said it is a privilege to be part of Patrick’s dreams and to realize someone elses dreams is amazing.

Deborah-a common thread. Using your senses and giftedness to diagnose the patient, to be able to touch them, to do what we are doing.

Beverly went to bed without coming to dinner. A little heat exhaustion. Victoria was also tired. Pray for strength for them. Pray for strength for the whole team. Keep praying for mild weather.

Craig wrapped up the day by sharing with the team they may feel like they need to be doing something all the time. If something comes up and they have to stop they need to use this time to get to know each other, to laugh at things like luggage falling off the van and having to stop and tie the luggage back on. This will help prevent stress. They can’t go at break neck speed and expect to get it all done. Pray for endurance for the team…..Betsy

10:15pm

Prayer request from team member Michael. Before Michael and Beverly left to go on the mission trip Michael’s dad had a small stroke. He had corotid surgery on Friday and will have a angiogram tomorrow. His name is Ken Ladwig. Please pray for Ken as he goes through these test. Pray also for Michael and Beverly as they wait to hear the results of the test.

The power was out in Mbale yesterday and last night. The generator was on at the hotel so the air conditioners worked all night. Thank goodness as it was about 90 degress during the day. Since they had no power there is no hot water. Cold showers are on the intinerary for today. Brrrrr.

Some of the team members went on a morning walk. They had a good nights sleep.

Gary got a nickname. Rambo. His arm didn’t get any worse, so I guess that means it’s about the same. Continue to pray his arm and wrist heal quickly.

I think I mentioned already the team will be putting away medical supplies today and will see a few pre-op patients. The team will have a meeting to discuss their schedule. They are probably anxious to get started. The days will be long and sounds like they will be hot. Pray for mild weather.

Talking about medical supplies…..if you can imagine packing 50 pounds of supplies in each bag (17 bags all together, as soon as Kristin gets there) then unpacking and organizing everything. It was incredible to see the team members stuff those bags full. Pray the organization goes well.

I’ve passed on the messages to Craig and he will give them to the team members. Thanks for your comments……….

1:00pm

On the way to Mbale the team stopped at the Bjagali Falls, ate at Ling Ling restaurant (Chinese food believe it or not) did a little shopping then went to the hotel.

Gary was out on the street talking with Helen (Dr. Patrick’s wife) and a guy came up and tried to get into Gary’s fanny pack then he stole Gary’s camera. Gary ran after the guy and tackled him. He said his Army Ranger training just took over. He got his camera back but in the process hurt his arm and wrist. They’re going to put him in a splint tomorrow. To top it off the camera got broke. Pray for a speedy recovery. (For Gary not the camera)

Kristin will be get to Entebbe in about 2 hours (3:00pm Texas time - 11:00pm Ugnada time). Helen will be there to pick her up and they will stay the night then drive to Mbale. Kristin should meet up with the rest of the team by lunch.

The team is a little tired after all the traveling. Pray for good rest for them tonight. They have a busy busy week ahead.

I thought I would give you the names of all the team members……Judi, Sharon, Craig, Roy, Lynne, Morganna, Beverly, Michael, Janice, Renee, Deborah, Rebecca, Gary, Victoria, Kristin, Greg, Kyron.

Hope you all are doing well. Until the next update………………Betsy

11:00pm

Bedtime for us, moring time for them. The team is getting ready to have breakfast and then climb into a van and head to Mbale. All the medical supplies (16 suitcases worth) will have to be organized before anything else is done. More about that tomorrow. I talked with Kristin today. She said it looked like her flights were running on time, no more delays. I know she’ll be glad to get there. Kristin is a 4th year medical student and surgery will be her specialty. Morganna is also studying to become a doctor. I don’t know what her specialty will be.

Something from Saturday……………When the team was in the Houston airport they were getting ready to check in, Craig asked the airline representive if she would check them all in together. He told her they were going on a medical mission trip and the suitcases were full of medical supplies and were heavy. (If a suitcase weighs over 50 pounds they have to pay $25) She made a comment that the bags were heavy and told him she wouldn’t charge for overweight bags. She said she just couldn’t do that. Praise the Lord, because there were several bags over 50 lbs…………..Your comments are coming through. Thanks. More tomorrow……………………….

You should be able to leave comments on the blog now. Could someone please try to leave a comment so I can see if it works. Thanks.

1:30

All but one team member has arrived in Uganda, thank you Lord for a safe trip. Kristin will be there tomorrow continue to pray for her. All luggage arrived, thank you again Lord. 

Having team members that live out of town has brought up some things we’ve never encountered before. The biggest thing is not knowing what they look like. Case in point….Craig couldn’t find Morganna. He knew she was in