..."Teacher," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "He was born blind so the power of God could be
seen in him. John 9:2-3
This week has been amazing to say the least. We packed up early Sunday morning and jumped in a taxi with our pal Morris en route to Bombo! We found ourselves filled with anticipation of what the week's medical mission would hold. We joined a team of doctors and staff sent through Peninsula church to Bombo Pentecostal Church. When we got to the church, things looked like business as usual. The church was still a church and service went on just like the previous times we visited. It wasn't till church ended that we realized what we had gotten into. In just a few hours, BPC was changed from an unassuming Ugandan church, into a full blown medical clinic complimented by it's own full service pharmacy. We arrived Monday at around 6:30 and were shocked to be greeted by about 200 people waiting to receive free medical care.
The mission was off and running and before we knew it we had reached the end of our first day and saw over 500 patients. The week went on in pretty much the same way only differing by the increase in people waiting for us each morning! The turn out was amazing and trumped only by the stories behind each case. The boy in the picture above was one of the most alarming. He had been quietly waiting for his turn to see a doctor all day and was finally told that he'd have to come back early in the morning due to the number of patients in front of him. As he limped away, Coryn was shocked by the look of pain on his face. She asked what was wrong and the little guy just pointed at his hip. Upon further inquisition, we learned that he had undergone a hip surgery a few years back that
had gone horribly wrong! The surgeon had fused the boy's growth plate to his hip eliminating any future growth of his leg. As if that wasn't bad enough, his body had now rejected one of the surgical screws which was now shooting out of his skin about 3 inches . We couldn't believe it! We almost sent the poor guy home and he didn't even try to plead his case to us! The doctors saw him immediately and had the screw out and the wound disinfected in no time. The saddest part of the whole thing was realizing that it was a 10 minute procedure that could have been done 2 years earlier when the problem started but, since access to proper health care is scarce, the family had no other option. I was just told today that the boy is screw, and for the most part, pain, free.
I could go on all day about cases similar to this but I'll save you the time. Besides the general medical problems, the team also performed a number of hernia and cosmetic surgeries. I can honestly say, after spending a day filming in the surgery room, that I've now seen things I'd never seen before. I was amazed, not only by the skills of our own doctors, but also the ingenuity of the local surgeons to do so much with so little. It was also interesting to have the sounds of roosters and goats filling the air during surgery!!!
By the end of the week, we saw over 2000 patients and at least 400 people came to Christ! We really felt God working on the grounds of Bombo and our hearts! Coryn and I really hope to be part of the team next year before we go!
Till next time...
seen in him. John 9:2-3This week has been amazing to say the least. We packed up early Sunday morning and jumped in a taxi with our pal Morris en route to Bombo! We found ourselves filled with anticipation of what the week's medical mission would hold. We joined a team of doctors and staff sent through Peninsula church to Bombo Pentecostal Church. When we got to the church, things looked like business as usual. The church was still a church and service went on just like the previous times we visited. It wasn't till church ended that we realized what we had gotten into. In just a few hours, BPC was changed from an unassuming Ugandan church, into a full blown medical clinic complimented by it's own full service pharmacy. We arrived Monday at around 6:30 and were shocked to be greeted by about 200 people waiting to receive free medical care.
The mission was off and running and before we knew it we had reached the end of our first day and saw over 500 patients. The week went on in pretty much the same way only differing by the increase in people waiting for us each morning! The turn out was amazing and trumped only by the stories behind each case. The boy in the picture above was one of the most alarming. He had been quietly waiting for his turn to see a doctor all day and was finally told that he'd have to come back early in the morning due to the number of patients in front of him. As he limped away, Coryn was shocked by the look of pain on his face. She asked what was wrong and the little guy just pointed at his hip. Upon further inquisition, we learned that he had undergone a hip surgery a few years back that had gone horribly wrong! The surgeon had fused the boy's growth plate to his hip eliminating any future growth of his leg. As if that wasn't bad enough, his body had now rejected one of the surgical screws which was now shooting out of his skin about 3 inches . We couldn't believe it! We almost sent the poor guy home and he didn't even try to plead his case to us! The doctors saw him immediately and had the screw out and the wound disinfected in no time. The saddest part of the whole thing was realizing that it was a 10 minute procedure that could have been done 2 years earlier when the problem started but, since access to proper health care is scarce, the family had no other option. I was just told today that the boy is screw, and for the most part, pain, free.I could go on all day about cases similar to this but I'll save you the time. Besides the general medical problems, the team also performed a number of hernia and cosmetic surgeries. I can honestly say, after spending a day filming in the surgery room, that I've now seen things I'd never seen before. I was amazed, not only by the skills of our own doctors, but also the ingenuity of the local surgeons to do so much with so little. It was also interesting to have the sounds of roosters and goats filling the air during surgery!!!
By the end of the week, we saw over 2000 patients and at least 400 people came to Christ! We really felt God working on the grounds of Bombo and our hearts! Coryn and I really hope to be part of the team next year before we go!
Till next time...
