Great day for all!
Every time I am on the mission field I am refreshed. It doesn’t matter how exhausted you are, because at the very same moment you are extremely exhilarated. Do you know that feeling? I guess it’s kind of like climbing and reaching a summit. Some of you athletes can empathize with me. It’s exhilarating to reach the goal, but working the trek is neither easy nor always fun.
While on these mission trips, I try to maintain a semblance of normalcy in my routine activities of eating, sleeping and exercising. But of course who eats beans and rice every day? As for exercise, well, let me just tell you. If perspiring like a lobster in steam and standing on your feet, giving out prescriptions and triaging emergencies all day — and, of course, don’t forget the 30-minute walk to the border and back — isn’t considered exercise, then forget it, because you won’t see me try it.
By the way, as far as sleep, I am so blessed that our air conditioner was fixed, so tonight I will sleep like a baby. We are thankful for all of God’s grace that provides even the AC. Today it hit 107 degrees. Ken Cetin, our fearless medical leader, had to change his shirt three times today before 3 p.m. Some people push drugs. Well, we are water pushers. If you run into us you will be met with a smile and a water bottle and you need to drink it now, lest the medical team end up with more patients than they need.
Today we started off with incredible praise and worship. Some new songs for me, but WOW the presence of God was palpable. Praise and worship on the mission field is like the locker room meeting before the Super Bowl. It’s the biggest prep meeting before our opponents for the day. Hoorah, hoorah!
After that, an awesome deeeliciousss breakfast of pancakes and toast and eggs for some, but for me Special K and carton milk. I wonder if my personal trainer is pleased? After all, it isn’t wise to gain weight on the mission field when the people you serve are lucky to receive one meal a day. It doesn’t mean we should starve, but at least we should be judicious.
After entering across the border, we headed for Danita’s and set up our stations. Hearts Afire was so blessed to have found pre-med students, army nurses and even office workers to do triage. Stethoscopes and meds were flying everywhere, but … sorry to tell you that today the AC did not work in the clinic and when electricity came on and off, it left little to say.
Everything worked out, however. Now the pharmacy is another thing. Michelle Demus, Lynette Vastag, Angela, Linh and so many other pharmacists who have traveled with us, where were you? Well for the first time in my missionary career, I was the pharmacist and, as Ken told me, I was more like the Nazi pharmacist questioning and changing prescriptions to make sure we have enough of everything for the full week.
However, I suspect we will need to lay hands on our meds by the end of the week. If Christ multiplied loaves of bread and fish, then I’m sure He can do the same for our medications.
Hearts Afire donors please remember to DONATE to our medication fund! We need it. For those of you who want to know, it takes about $4,000 of meds alone to cover one mission.
Thank you donors for always helping. I don’t think you will ever know how many lives you have changed. But in Heaven I believe you will see the field of grace you have planted and sown.
Today we evaluated 87 patients and praise God we had nine salvations and 10 miraculous healings. Pains disappeared with prayer. The most incredible stories were seen.
We were met with a patient who was brought in on the back of a motorcycle in a wooden cart, or shall we say a makeshift ambulance; and he was comatose, severely dehydrated, and had a depressed skull fracture. It took three men to get him into the church, and on the mattress.
Finding an IV site in a dehydrated patient, for fluids, is like finding a needle in a haystack. Thank God that He brought along Jillian, who is a Desoto County physician’s assistant. Boy, does this girl rock. She found a site and we immediately began to infuse life-sustaining fluids into him. It took more than an hour, but his blood pressure improved and we gave him antibiotics and she reset his fractured arm and recast him.
We believe this situation will turn around and God will be glorified! So Hearts Afire groupies, please stand in agreement with us to see this healing.
Another case that showed God’s grace was that of Emil, who had had a terrible accident. Due to this he had developed lymphedema, which basically means his leg was three times its normal size.
Right before I left Sarasota, my nurse ran up to me with two Jobst and Sigvaris stockings for cases such as this and she asked whether we really needed this. I said absolutely. If she had remembered this stocking, then I would need it. Sure enough it allowed me to witness to this patient about God’s grace.
This stocking costs more than $120 in the U.S. But he got it for free. We had so many people divinely healed both inside and out. Our prayer team saw 99 percent of the people they prayed for have their pains disappear. God is great!
Well, I will tell you that tonight I am the most exhausted I have been in all my mission experience and therefore I will retire early. I need to be at my best for tomorrow since I heard that the pastors got radio and van megaphone coverage for our clinic tomorrow throughout the city. Guess what that means? Some would say MORE WORK, but I say more chances to see God glorified! Therefore stay tuned and goodnight. For now, snooze, snooze, snooze.
Vilma Vega
Hearts Afire co-founder
