07.20 Friday - Unexpected work for the med team

At the beginning of this trip, I was feeling very inadequate, and was asking God to give me some sort of sign that He was going to use me in some ways to minister to the people of Chiapas. As we started the long drive into the jungle villages this morning, we came upon the scene of a car vs. pedestrian hit and run accident. An older lady was lying in the middle of the road, and a small crowd had begun to gather. Tessa, Rose, Steven and I [Allison] went to see if we could help, and found the lady bleeding profusely from a head wound. I had never had a trauma patient before; even during my EMT clinicals, I had never seen an injury like this firsthand, so it was nerve wracking to say the least.We began caring for the victim as best we could, attempting to clear her airway and stop the bleeding. We only had basic first aid supplies, and it was so frustrating to know how to care for the patient, yet not be able to do everything that needed to be done because of our lack of equipment. As the crowd continued to gather, we just kept praying, asking God to spare the victim's life. It seemed like an eternity until the ambulance arrived, but hopefully, even with our limited equipment, we were able to do some good and protect the victim from further harm. The bystanders kept thanking us for our help, and we were able to give God the glory for allowing us to come along at that precise time. It was also amazing to see how He answered my prayer and gave me an opportunity to serve when I least expected it. I know now that if we get "out of the way" and just offer ourselves as willing vessels, He will do the work through us. We don't always  have to be strong or well equipped, for when we are weak, He is strong.-Allison"Ministry usually happens when you're doing something else.  Sometimes as Americans we're so busy we miss the opportunities." -Ron Mouser (local missionary/driver)