Why Medical Missions?

The town in which we are staying for the next couple of days is where we ended up doing clinic today. It is a fairly large village with, in some ways, more conveniences then others. Carranza is located on a main road, has several pharmacies, and is dotted with little stories. But even in this place of what is to them prosperity there are still so many needs. Two cases from our clinic stand out in particular.The first was a young man. He came in with what his family called a lump on his back. Not only was this "lump" on his back, it was also coming through in the front! Our doctor said that it is actually a tumor growing all the way through his body. How does a person live like that for so long? He is in need of surgery, and soon.The second case was a little boy. He was born six years ago, a normal healthy baby. By they time that he was about two he started losing his vision. At three, he was totally blind! After going to a larger town to visit a doctor he was given antibiotic eye drops and told to go back home and wait. Our doctor examined him more closely and discovered that what the little boy most likely has is a tumor on his optic nerve. This is operable! In other word, this once hopelessly blind little boy could regain his sight! In fact, Nathan and Dr. Rivas are working with his family to get him to a children's hospital in Villahermosa for an operation.These are just a couple of reasons why we are down here. These people live day in and day out with so many problems. It is just life to them. They desperately need medical attention, and more than that they need spiritual attention. This is why medical missions.Ruth, for the Global Encounters medical team