March 2002 Newsletter!

What’s Next

Over the past few years I have traveled to Mexico (1996, 2001), Nicaragua (1999), Romania (2000) and El Salvador (2001) serving the Lord through mission work. Many of you have been involved in supporting and praying for those trips and I am so thankful for your participation in those trips. They would not have been possible without your support! Beginning this June, I will be traveling to both the Dominican Republic and Peru for six months. I will be in each country for three months doing two medical mission internships with Youth for Christ to learn third world medicine. I had the opportunity to visit each of these countries in January and met many of the people that I will be working with.

Medical Missions

Through God, medical missions have the ability to break down walls that have been built up over the years. Those coming to seek medical care find much more when Jesus is the center of the ministry. The New Testament is filled with people touched by Jesus’ healing hand and He sends us out to do the same. “And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:8-9) As a medical missionary, I know that only God can heal completely. His healing is from inside out. We come as a tangible way of seeing God. We hope and pray that all those helped will see that the reason we come to them is because of our desire to share God’s love with them.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has received much aid from the United States government, but most of this has gone to those who live in the larger cities. Most of these people have access to healthcare, but those living in the mountains have a much different story. I will be traveling from the capital city of Santo Domingo to the mountains where medical care is not available to treat those in desperate need of it. I will be doing three of these trips for two weeks at a time with a group of 30-60 medical professionals doing primary health care, preventative health care, surgery and any other specialties that are available on the team. Each team will be going to a different village area in the mountains, setting up clinics in churches or schools and using hospital facilities that are nearby, but too expensive for those we will be serving. In between trips, I will be working at the elementary school that Youth For Christ operates next to the hospital teaching handwashing, the importance of drinking clean water and other basic hygiene topics to the students at this school and the vocational school that is also on the campus.

Lima, Peru

In Peru, many of those living in the mountains have moved into the capital city of Lima in search of a better life, but finding poverty instead. The hillsides surrounding the city are filled with makeshift homes of those trying to survive day by day. They are desperate for the water and food that they need for their families. They have no source of medical care and to take off work to get to a clinic means that they don’t have money for food. It is a desperate plight for these people. I will be working with a medical clinic in the city that offers services to these people for only $0.50. This clinic also takes trips out to the hillsides to bring the services directly to the people that most need it. They work alongside the church to bring God’s love to them in a practical way. I will also be working with Youth For Christ programs teaching sexual purity and the dangers of AIDS. They work with schools in Lima bringing the “Sex, Lies and the Truth” videos to those at risk.

The Body of Christ

Missionaries have often been considered the “feet” of the Body of Christ. But what would the feet be if there was no body to make them move? Each part of the Body is vital to each other. “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?” (1 Cor 12:18-19) YOU are a vital part to God’s ministry in missions. Please join me in bringing God’s love and truth to these people in a practical way. I believe that God will provide the funds and prayer support needed for this ministry. I need to raise $6500 before I leave at the end of May and have $1600 a month pledged to come in. Please pray and ask the Lord how He would like you to be involved.