VBS and Day 1 of the Public Clinic

Hello again. Here's what I saw and have been thinking about:

God is Good ... All the Time

One thing I forgot to mention about yesterday's service was Noyle's contribution. Twice he led the closing prayer. Each time he engaged the congregation in a reader-response that went like this:

• Noyle - God is good
• Congregation - All the Time
• Noyle - and All the Time
• Congregation - God is good.

Each time, he read a passage, read his student Bible's interpretation of it, and concluded with his own thoughts.

Speaking of Noyle, he dropped by today. I gave him my copy of "Reading the Bible for All its Worth". Hopefully we'll get a chance to share some more on the topic.

Day 2

Our second day has been exhausting. The clinic was from 2 till 8. The sandwiches arrived at 6, we stopped accepting new patients at 7, closed shop at 8, and had a devo at 9.

The church has been advertising on the radio since early July. The 90+ people we saw today proves it was effective. In order to handle the additional load, we called an "all hands on deck" where everyone worked in the clinic. The additional people helped with the meeting & greet and giving relief to miscellaneous workers as needed. We anticipate even more tomorrow.

No Water

Unfortunately, at 4:30, the water shut off. Before panic set in, we recommissioned a water cooler for cleaning dental instruments and such. The same thing happened late yesterday, but few noticed because it was near the end of our shift. Apparently, the water authority periodically shuts off water in areas where it detects spikes usage. I'm guessing we should anticipate it again tomorrow. We'll just bring big coolers of water and force shuttled bathroom breaks en masse.

Prayer List

We are interested in the physical and spiritual health of our patients. Everyone filled out a short form with their contact information. Included at the end of the questionnaire was the ability to ask for prayers. Here's a couple of snapshots of the people I met:

• Angela is the 5th of 17 children. Her father left her mother to raise 11 by herself as a single mom. Angela has 3 daughters a husband that is emotionally and spiritually distant.
• Desmond & Esther are boyfriend/girlfriend with 2 children together and 10 overall. They asked for prayers in their relationship.

Grenadians on Grenada

Here are a few comments about Grenada from Grenadians:

• It is safe.
• The pace is slow.
• There's not much crime.
• There is a drug problem.
• Garbage collection happens twice a week.
• If you are willing to do anything, you can find a job.
• White collar jobs are extremely difficult to obtain and are typically granted based on relationships rather than merit.

VBS

Our first day at VBS had 30-40 kids ranging from 4 to 15. Randy brought his "A" game as a coach by tricking even the oldest kids into a coloring contest. The winners were the team captains for the futbol (soccer) game.

With the arrival of our supplies last night, Gaynell did an excellent job teaching lessons about keeping the body pure via Romans 12. Allison used what I would call a Chinese box to show how what you put in affects the box itself. Gaynell and Bonnie even put on a puppet show that was well received.

The kids ate PBJs, had arts and crafts, and left the 2.5 hour experience happy and content.

Kingdom Triad

No, this isn't a new type of Chinese mafia. Galon met with Paron and Peter this afternoon. They discussed the differences between the physical manifestation of the church versus God's Kingdom. How do the two differ? Can you have one without the other? How does have small groups (triads) of believers sharing "God stories" relate to these concepts.

This is food for fodder over the coming weeks, months, and years.

Electrical Outages

Did I mention we have blocks of rooms without electricity? Sometimes we overload the system and have to live without air conditioning, lights, etc.

Patient Outtakes

Here's a notable patients from today:

• One man in his early 20s came in and announced (loudly) that he was a drug addict. The drugs had obviously caused some mental health issues and led to criminal activity.
• One poor girl just flat refused to be poked for a glucose test. Kathy Mixon tried every trick, but ultimately lost the battle.
• A young local member came in yesterday with hearing problems. Dr. Kellum put drops in his ears along with cotton to hold them in. Upon his return today, Dr. Kellum removed the ear wax and now the boy can hear again.

God Lessons

Here's some "God lessons" various peopled shared during tonight's devotional:

• 30+ people can accomplish a lot when we work as a team.
• We have nothing to complain about and should reject the negativity of complainers.
• Using my talents here makes me realize that this is where I belong.
• Talking with someone isn't about going from a -10 to a 10. Sometimes it is just about going from -9 to -8.
• It is wonderful when the church, the Kingdom, and the community are all one in the same.

Until tomorrow ...

Mark