Village Clinics

Mary's little friend;)

group from Northwest University in Seattle on our way to the village clinics

deworming the kiddos

There have been so many emotional moments and discouraging scenes throughout the beginning of this trip; however, the past 2 days have been so uplifting, hopeful, and happy. We have gone out to the outer villages to see patients in the Mercy Clinics. We drove about 2.5 hours to Chadkah yesterday to go to 2 clinics. The first clinic was such an awesome experience. We drove up to see about 60 patients' smiling faces, mostly women and children. It is a small clinic that has 2 rooms and a front desk, where the medications are given out. The nursing team from Northwest University in Seattle, as well as the team from Perth, Australia all divided out the tasks for thie clinic. Some of us registered patients, took vitals, handed out meds, and others just played with the kids while they were waiting and took pictures. Mary and I rotated around and took pictures and handed out stickers. They were a huge hit! Who knew a little sticky piece of paper could make a child so happy:) The kids loved MAry and I and we played along with them for the majority of the clinic. The kids have such a beautiful spirit, you can see the depth of their souls when you look into their eyes. There is such a purity there. It still baffles me that these village kids really have nothing compared to American standards, yet they are so happy with the simple things like their family and playing with sticks and the the rusty swing set in the middle of the town. I thought it was so fun to see them in their element. It reminded me of when I was young and my mom would always make us play outside until it got dark on pretty days so we wouldn't turn into lazy couch potatoes. We would explore the woods and play in the creeks, make mud pies, catch critter, you know...typical kid stuff; however, so many kids don't have that anymore. Its mostly just all electronics or video games. That is so sad that times have definitely changed and kids today have really lost that child like spirit to just explore and really be a kid and be social. Oh well, talking about that makes me feel like an old mom, haha. On to the next subject!

We went to the "Mission of Mercy" School today and it was so fun! I felt right where I was suppised to be. We set up a clinic for the school kids. These kids are mostly all very poor but do have families, some are orphans. Its a nicer school and it ranges from grades pre-K to grade 7. We lined up the kids and started a triage of stations with meds, vitals, and wound clean up. MAry and I dewormed every child. It was so cute because they were all lined up with their huge horse pill and we had to put it down their throats for most of them and then give them a gulp of water. The little kids could barely get it down and they were trying to be so brave but most of them gagged and then just swallowed it down and smiled really big like they had just won first prize in some contest. It sort of became a game for us. To see who could get the most kids to swallow their pill the fastest. We saw a range of things today, mostly aches, stomache, some had skin fungus mostly from parasites, and we also saw a boy with a HUGE absess on his finger from climbing a tree. It was so gross to pop and he just cried:( We tried to cheer him up with stickers :) Mary and I really enjoyed playing with the kids and tring to keep them smiling while they got poked and prodded. There is so much good that you fail to see when you are so wrapped up in the bad. Today I was reminded that somtimes you have to look past the ugliness to see the treasures that lie deep down. We saw those treasures; the children of India. They are the future of India and they are so bright, happy, and loving and you can tell that they really want to learn. I loved to see how they all seem to look out for eachother even if they arent related. Education is something that is taken forgranted in the US. That is your biggest asset here. Over 60% of the Indian population is illiterate and as you all can imagine means you cant really get a job. Its so hard to find a good school with a quality education here, but the schools that do provide that are mostly christian schools. I still feel like this is the most diverse country Ive seen but I do see some promise and alot of hope in these people. Things dont change overnight and I have to remember that change does start small and then can spread, so being here doing small things really can impact on a larger scale with time and even if it doesnt, we do it anyway because it may just plant a seed in someone.

The past day, Ive really started to feel like im getting sick. Just sore throat, congestion, headaches, just flu like symptoms:( The air quality is just so terrible here so my allergies and sinuses are going nuts! Mary and I are finally going to sleep in tomorrow and then go to do a little bit of site seeing and shopping in the markets for our saturday morning. We just want to get well rested for the week ahead. We will be going to the blind school and back to "Prem Dan" next week and then tuesday night, we are taking an overnight train to Puri, Orissa for a few days for our break. We have made some great friends here and are so excited to hopefully get to visit them in their own country someday! More world trips!! :) Thanks again to everyone for your love and support and prayers. Today, Cheryl and EP buried 3 family members, the 2 daughters/sister and husband/father. Dr. Cooper, Catie, and Libby were outgoing, passionate people who loved life and Im so blessed I was apart of those precious lives, though short, they have forever touched my life. I know they are safe in heaven and it brings me comfort knowing that Libby and Catie are with their dad, both dads now:) Please continue to pray for comfort and peace for Cheryl and EP. They will need so much to lift them up for the years to come to deal with those painful voids in their lives. When we love someone, we should never go a day without telling them because life really is so precious. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and im so blessed to have all of you in my life.

To S.O.S: Im so glad you came into my life. Thanks for all silly smiles...I miss you! Remember to "shake out the negative and reach for the positive"...haha:)

We are so happy to be here and even though there are really sad, tough days, we can see the overall purpose and know that God is using Mary and I as silent vessels to touch these people in any way we can. Thanks for reading!! Love you!!

There are TONSS more pictures on facebook if you want to see more:)