Whoohoo! We got our medicine! We got it around noon from Nicaraguan customs. It was a huge blessing. There were no fees (or bribes). Each piece of luggage of almost 50 lbs of medicine was insepcted, each baggy opened, and each bottle inspected. I learned that we could of had it last night, but 20 minutes before closing the customs people said it'd be too much work and they were going to home. Fortunately, the only medicine we didn't get back were a few tubes of sun screen somebody "confiscated" for pesonal use.
The new medicine made an immediate impact. One of the members of the church at the clinic yesterday even showed up to claim some of the prescriptions we wrote yesterday.
Overall, today was shorter but more intense. The clinic today was at Rene Polanco (the church Waterview supports). I translated for the dermatologist all day today. We saw around 40-50 patients and overall the clinic had around 300 patients. The patients we saw were less dire than yesterday. Virtually every case involved soap, cream, shampoo, and - about half the time - a shot. Yes, I saw around 20 shots today.
A couple of patients stick out:
There was a women today that had a few small "skin tags" - little places that stick out that you can barely grab hold of. She also had a large one on her groin about the size of a thumb. Since she was our last patient, the dermatolist performed a little minor surgery by cutting it off. Thankfully, he said he didn't need me for that part.
There was also a 3 year old boy. He had extreme rashes all over his body for 2 years. His ear was almost scabbed over inside it was so dry. Worse, he had an open oozing scab the size of a grapefruit in his arm pit. It radiated out and dissapated about 6 inches up his arm and 6 inches down is chest. The dermatologist thought it was special because he wanted to take a picture of it. I´ll have to ask him why tomorrow.
I found it interesting that 2 different people on separate occasions told me the same thing: some people see the doctor just to have someone to talk to that will listen to them. They come in to complain about phantom problems, but after being prescribed with a few vitamins, they walk away content. It pangs me to know that some are so starved for attention that they'll go to such extremes. Why do they choose a doctor and not the church?
Our day started with another excellent devotional. What should we pray for? James says wisdom, but that's not what you want when your short on rent, have a child in the hospital, etc. What does James have to say about the link between your prayer life and your physical & mental health?
A couple of notable conversations:
One was with a couple of the local ministers. Juan (Jose's brother), said that the goal of Rene Polanco this was was to have a church that is organized Biblically, i.e., one that has deacons and elders. He said that they have several prospects for deacons, but have realized that they actually have to find 2 elders instead of 1. That has been very difficult for them.
It made me think: a few years ago, Waterview had a "town hall" meeting on why a church of over 1,000 people couldn't find one more elder. This has some interesting implications on both churches. Small churches makeup the majority of the churches in the 'hood (brotherhood). How are they expected to follow plan laid out in 1 & 2 Timothy with such a small census? For that matter, how did the congratations Paul wrote to do it? On the other hand, why did a spiritually and resource (people and money) congregation like Waterview have so difficult a time growing new elders?
Christians all over the world struggle with the same things. We have more in common than we are unalike.
Another conversation was with one of the regulars here on the dangers of the American style of benevolence. HTI simply forbids anything that resembles give-aways, e.g., building houses, giving away stuff, money, etc. They feel it creates a culture of dependency, reinforces perceptions of Americans, creates jelousy and strife in the 'hood, and ultimately does more harm than good.
Benevolence everywhere - inside and outside the church - suffers from the same thing: well meaning people who end up being part of the problem and don't care enough to seek a solution. One interesting view I heard was that benevolence should not be seen as a outreach ministry. Instead, benevolence and evangalism should be separate. Benevolence demoralizes people and cultivates poverty instead of ending it. Perhaps the question is this: does benevolence keep more souls out of the church than it does to bring it in?
BTW - I don't have any anwers. Just questions.
HTI splurged on an extravegant meal tonight. We ate at a stakehouse. The food was excellent. I had a tenerloin topped with a chimichuri sauce (an Argentinan pesto made from parsely, olive oil, capers, garlic, lemon, etc.). For desert, I had the tres leches. Everyone ate well.
Well, its almost 11 now. I'm going to sign off. There will be little to write about tomorrow. We're going to church, go do something touristy like go to the local market, and watch the Super Bowl (in Spanish). I'll probably write more tomorrow about today.
Until then ...
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