Health Care and Fish Painting

Today started out quiet. We had to get up early and the whole team was a little tired, so our first bus ride of the day was spent in absoluto silencio.

The reason for getting up so early was on my account (thank you team for being so understanding). My motive for coming down here was a little different then my fellow team mates. I came down to look at Ecuador through the eyes of someone who wants to live in a South American country on a permanent basis. I feel like God has called me to be a medical missionary, though I’m not sure to which country He is summoning me. On this trip I wanted to observe some medical clinics to see what the health care side of missions looks like. Before coming down here Elizabeth set up a time for me to meet with an American doctor and spend a morning with him out at his clinic.

Ruth and Molly with Dr. Quist.

While the rest of the team finished painting the nursery at the church, Molly (who came along to keep me company) and I met with the doctor and drove with him and another Ecuadorian doctor out to the clinic. On the way there I was able to get many of my questions answered, but I also found out that I was going to be assisting the two doctors in their procedures. This was incredibly intimidating, but also very exciting. When we arrived at the clinic Dr. Quist (the American) gave me a basic run down of what we would be doing and then we jumped right into working on patients.

The team getting a tour of the clinic.

It was fascinating to be right in the middle of the medical work. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want anybody to feel sick after reading a Global Encounters blog. It was good for me because I didn’t become ill. This is something that is definitely going to play into whether or not I can be a nurse. It went super well, and I came away with an increased confidence that God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me my calling.

Touring Hospital Vozandes - one of the foremost missionary medical facilities in the world.

The rest of the team eventually met Molly and me out at the clinic and we all got a tour. We then went back to the main hospital and got a tour of that as well. Following lunch, we finished painting the nursery, which turned out to be a beautiful seascape (well, we hope the Ecuadorians think it’s beautiful) and then we ate dinner at an Italian Ecuadorian place.

We finished the day on a quiet note again. We all gathered in the living room at La Casa del Padre and had a time of prayer. It was a nice way to end the day, and nobody wanted to go to bed. Our days have been full and I am so grateful for all that the Lord has allowed us to experience. I know I’ll leave this trip having more confidence to move forward in His plans for my life.

Ruth, for the team

One little fish...

Two little fish...

Three little fish...

Four little fish...

Five little fish... (Elizabeth and Molly drew seaweed and ocean creatures on the wall while the rest of us filled them in with paint.)

Lots of fish!! Here we are sitting in the middle of the completed project. In the words of Pastor Benjamin when he came to inspect our work, "Que chebere!" (How cool!).

Photos courtesy of Loriann Hodgdon and Jacob Matchak.