Anyone who participates in a FPC-sponsored mission trip always sees this item listed first and last on all packing lists. Maybe it’s not so much about being flexible, but recognizing that you’ve just put into the game by the most amazing coach ever and that this coach has the most incredible winning streak of all. His play calling is so far superior to anything we could muster that we can’t help but be thrilled by chance to be on the team even if it’s just as the team’s water boy.

And so it was for the 2011 medical mission team that travelled to the western edge of the Dominican Republic this past November. The team included folks from FPC and other churches in three states, first-timers and returning participants, and even one non-medical member proving that God can do anything with and through us!

Our scripture passages for this trip came from Colossians 3: 1 - 17 and focused on living as those made alive in Christ. Clearly a medical team focuses on improving the physical health of those for whom they care, but in the context of scripture the team was challenged to move beyond their everyday routines while they served the Dominicans. Certainly performing surgeries in OR suites lacking all the specialized personnel and supplies found in US healthcare facilities generated its own unique set of challenges. Likewise, seeing patients in need of primary and dental care under a shade tree in a remote village created a very lively healthcare delivery environment indeed.

Learning to do things differently is not a reason to send mission teams. Like our Dominican host organization, Solid Rock Missions, we seek to glorify God in partnership with others by ministering spiritually, physically, and socially to those in need, in the name of Jesus. It is not easy when a 30-day supply of ibuprofen may be all that can be offered in the case of chronic pain that becomes routine with a long life of farming, or knowing that all the patients who wanted care on a given day could not be seen, or that the lack of working X-ray equipment meant no treatment for a patient.

But God’s blessings don’t necessarily appear in pretty gift-wrapped boxes. They come in the form of the relief in a mother’s eyes as she holds a feverish child knowing that someone cares as much as she about her baby’s health and future, or the excitement of someone getting reading glasses so they can clearly see the instructions for the medicine just prescribed for their high blood pressure or a lingering infection. Indeed the greatest blessing is when we see our brothers and sisters as God’s creation who share the same hopes and dreams as ourselves and our families. When we clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and love, we begun to understand better the perfect harmony that is possible when we adopt God’s will for our lives.

This year’s team included two surgeons, two dentists, a primary care physician and the ever vital team of anesthesiologists and nurses. Nearly 500 patients were seen in the barrio clinics held in areas surrounding San Juan de la Maguana. Our dentists extracted upwards of 25 – 30 teeth each day and our surgeons performed close to 30 procedures and provided consults for an equal or greater number of patients at the clinic. Perhaps the most flexible of all things done on the mission trip involved the sterilization of a Dewalt cordless drill from the guesthouse that was needed for an ortho surgery to implant a plate and screws. It largely survived the flash sterilization reaching temps of 270 degrees with minimal damage – wonder if the bent handle will be covered under warranty?

Other highlights of the trip included Sunday worship under the same tree that provided shade to the barrio team the following day; a baseball game with locals in the community; pulling bananas right off the vine to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner; seeing the wide eyes of a Dominican teen as we showed him Google earth and map images enabling him to find his school and home as well as see our church and homes here in Nashville; visiting the border shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and climbing to the top of the cathedral in the town square for a 360 degree view of the area. Oh, and did we mention the tarantula that came to say good-bye on our last morning at the guesthouse?!?!

Through the generosity of this congregation and friends, we will send other teams to San Juan de la Maguana in the years ahead. A near-term goal is the installation of a water filtration system at a school formed by Solid Rock Missions to ensure access to clean water for the children and staff. Members of FPC have already been trained to install the system developed by Living Waters for the World and hope to finalize the project in 2012. Installing the system at the school presents an opportunity to better educate the children and their families about the need for clean water as well as create a micro-enterprise there to generate funds through the sale of purified water to nearby residents for maintenance of the system as well as scholarship funds for students. If you are interested in serving on any of these future teams (medical, construction, or clean water), please contact the Missions Office of the church.
 

2011 Dominican Republic Medical Mission Team: Jon Alderman, Carey Black, Jim Cato, Alison Davis, Patricia Heim, Doug Holliday, Angela Jones, Jeff King, Jill Parker, Holly Pegram, Crea Sielbeck, Stuart Smith, Matt Speyer, and Stacy Walton.