South Tahoe - Cairo Moment

One day, I was in a car riding with a few wonderful older women. We were driving from the San Francisco Bay area to South Lake Tahoe. The woman in the middle of the back seat of the little car felt unwell, particularly at somewhat high altitude - were at about 4,000 feet. She tried to rest, get some fresh air, and drink some water, but she still felt unwell. In addition, her back was starting to feel a little bit stiff. I didn't know about the back or her legs but I knew about her feeling unwell. At one point, when we got to a very beautiful vista, God showed me a brief vision of the woman (who was in the back seat in the middle) actually out of the car and walking around at the vista. I didn't say anything, as we kept driving and did not stop. After an opening in the road showed up at the vista, God kept showing me the same vision of the woman getting out of the car and stretching her legs in the opening at the vista. Eventually, I said something. I asked the driver whether we could stop and let the vision happen in reality. Then the woman from the back responded that she would love that, as her back felt uncomfortable, and she had not been able to stretch out her legs in the back seat of the tiny car, and so we stopped and pulled over. I explained to them that God actually had showed that to me when we were at the vista and every time we were at a clearing, I would see that vision of her walking around, and I apologized for not being obedient at that time, because when I did say something, we were already past the vista. I was grateful that we did eventually find a place to stop and pull over, and the lady was able to get out of the car and stretch her legs. I was grateful that eventually I did say something, because in fact she didn't feel that she could have gone another half an hour, which was intended to be the rest of the journey remaining in the car, without having had a chance to do stop and stretch her back and legs. So, everyone was happy that I spoke up about the vision I saw, and that we were able to do that for her.

Mission in Philly 2019

After we left Cuba, we went through Miami to get to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, it was an incredible mission. As usual, the students really enjoyed our time together, and especially their time with my mission sister. She stayed for a few days, and I was able to stay for a week. Throughout the week, we had gone into people's homes going door to door, providing blood pressure and blood sugar screenings as well as asthma screens, and offering to check for HIV or AIDS. We would in fact care for the ‘whole person’. We would care for the physical person and the spiritual person - you will see what I mean. I will share with you some of the stories. On the first day when we went out with the team going door-to-door in the community offering whole person (physical and spiritual) care, I remember praying with a woman who mentioned that she didn't continuously communicate with the Lord, but she thought about Him sometimes. A member of our team shared with her about how his experience with the Lord has morphed over time and how much closer he is to the Lord now, having a personal relationship with Him that he had not had in prior years. As we talked with the woman, God showed me a drawing of the chasm between God and man, as two mountains with a space between them. Then the cross formed a bridge between the two mountains, resolving the chasm, so that there was now a bridge between God and man. The woman herself said that the cross provides a ‘crossing’. I realized that what she was saying was that the bridge allowed people to walk across the bridge to the Lord, and so I encouraged her to take steps along that path on the bridge as she ‘crossed’ to the Lord. She was moved by her time with us and I prayed for her what God pointed out to me for her, including the following. God pointed out to me that moment when Paul and Silas met the jailer who wanted to kill himself - because he thought that all the prisoners had escaped after Paul and Silas sang and there was an earthquake and all the prison doors had opened up. However, when Paul and Silas showed the jailer that the prisonerswere all still there, the jailer came to the Lord and took them to visit with his family in his home, and the jailer’s whole household became saved in the Lord. So, for that lady, I prayed that her whole household would be saved. At her house that day were her husband and grandchildren - her family in her home. On the very last day of the mission, we were stationed in a church’s parking lot and external recreational area. That day was in the form of a health fair, where we sat in one location. A man came in to see us. After he had completed various health fair activities, I heard him have a spiritual conversation with the students. I heard him answer their question about whether he prays a lot. He mentioned something about how it's hard to pray on the streets. I did not hear, much more. I saw the students pray with him as everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Then he got up to leave. I felt God wanted me to share something with him, but I didn’t want to bother or delay him as he intended to leave. Nevertheless, I chose to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. I am so glad I did. Here's why. I stopped the man and asked if I could tell him a story, and he sat next to me. I told him that from the moment he had said it was hard for him to pray on the streets, God had immediately showed me something for him and I knew that I was supposed to share it with him. The vision that God showed me for the man was of David in the caves when he was running and hiding from Saul. I explained to the guy that there was this person in the Bible named David and he was anointed to be king, and that the current king was jealous and was trying to kill him. The man seemed to be unaware of the story and unaware of any of the following Bible stories that God laid on my heart to share with him. I explained that David was on the run and yet while in the cave, he was praising Jesus. No matter where we was, he was able to pray and serve the Lord. The man pointed out to me that he was also on the run, which I didn't know. And he was so moved that I would explain to him that God had chosen that particular story just for him. He was so moved that God would love him enough to do that just for him, to show him a story from the Bible that related to his situation. He mentioned that he too was on the run. Apparently, the day before he had been stopped by the police and he was somehow able to evade them, and that since then he was thinking of turning himself in. He mentioned that a lady had gotten him into trouble. Now, this next thing that I said to him, I have never really thought of it this way before, but this is what God laid on my heart to relate to him next - this version of a story from the Bible. I told him, "You know, there is a guy in the Bible that could say that too. Do you know the story of Adam and Eve?" To my surprise, he did not. So I told him about Adam and Eve, and how Eve ate the fruit and then Adam ate the fruit. Although they had both gotten instructions not to eat of the tree, Adam followed Eve and ate the tree's fruit as well. And so, Adam could potentially say the same thing, that a woman got him into trouble...Although he had made the poor decision himself. So he's therefore responsible for it. And then God had me point out to him that although Adam did that, God never left him nor forsook him, God never stopped loving him and wanting to be with him. In fact, God went looking for him, even knowing what he had done. “Adam, where are you? Adam, where are you?” God kept looking for Adam to keep loving him and spending time with him. And so God had me explain to the man that no matter what he had done and in what circumstance he found himself, God had never stopped loving him and He never would, and that God was still reaching out to him and wanted to be with him. The man was so moved by all of this that it was incredible for me to experience his joy. Eventually, I wanted to give him a Bible to show him and explain to him some more some of the Bible stories that God was showing me for him, such as Jeremiah 29:11 and Jeremiah 1:4,5 and Psalm 139:1-18, where God knew him before he was formed in his mother's womb and gave him a personality and breathed life into him. And he thought it was so amazing that God would have known him. The other doctor I was with, Dr. John, asked me if maybe I thought the guy would want to give his heart to the Lord, and so God gave me specific words to say to him to help him see and determine whether he wanted to come to know the Lord as his personal Savior, but not in the typical way that one might ask. It was more along the lines of: “Would you want to respond to that God that loves you so much and gave me these things to show you and brought you here today when you were saying that you were planning to be elsewhere and something led you here? I want you to know that that's the Holy Spirit. Would you want to respond and reach out and know that God personally who's doing all of this for you today?” He thought about it for 10 seconds and then he said, emphatically, “Yes!” And so what God had me do with him was something that I've never done before and I wouldn't usually do this way, but was perfect for him based on what God was doing in his heart. God had me pray Psalm 139:1-18 on his behalf. I told him that if he felt that way as in the Scripture, and that if he wanted to say those things to God, that he should repeat them after me. And so as I read each verse and each line, he would repeat each verse and each line, and it seemed to be heartfelt. Afterwards, God had me pray further on his behalf. I forgot to mention that he told me he couldn't read and so we figured out that his sister perhaps could read the Bible with him if we gave him the Bible. So I prayed on his behalf, I prayed to the Lord out loud in first person, “God, please help me to get opportunities to visit with my sister, and have us grow even closer, as she reads Your Word for both of us. May I grow in You and Your wisdom, and may she also grow in You...” I prayed and prayed and prayed and thanked God for everything he had done that day in first person, on behalf of the man. When I was done, I asked him if he wanted to pray some additional things to the Lord. He said no. I asked him if I had already said on his behalf everything he would've wanted to say to the Lord in that moment, and he smiled and said yes. He already was familiar with the community liaison at the church where the health fair was held that day. I'd called over the community liaison and he recognized the man as well. I asked the community liaison to look out for the man and make sure he gets what he needs to grow in the Lord, and the man agreed to come back as well. We told him that if he turned himself in, he should let the police know that he had been with us that day. The other doctor and I wrote and signed our names in the front of his Bible so that he could show it to the police. He allowed us to take a picture with him, and I continued to pray for him the rest of day. May this story bless you too, as you respond to the nudges of the Holy Spirit. Had I not stopped the man and told him the story of David in the caves and how God had showed that to me for him, he may not have had the opportunity to give his heart to the Lord that day.

Passion To Change The World

Something happened today that upset me. I tried to let it go while I studied (for the boards), but I remained upset. Eventually, I thought about why I get so passionate about things and react so strongly in general.. I often wish I didn’t. Then I was reminded, as I prayed about it, that it’s the same passion that leads me to the endeavors that I undertake in my life, to the poetry that I write which reaches people’s hearts, to looking towards the future, and innovating for a better tomorrow for everyone. If I took any of that passion away, I would lose all of that passion. So, again I concede to reacting strongly on the inside to things and being passionate about them even in ways that I would prefer to quell, because in the end, if I quell these reactions, then I would also inadvertently be quelling reactions that will help change the world. #BeTheChange

Cuba Mission Report 2019 Excerpt from Dr. Brown Cares - For The Soul: Stories From The Mission Field (2019)

It is an honor to have been invited to join the mission to Cuba and to be supported in the process of going. In Cuba, incredible things happened. I will try to describe a few for you. First, let me tell you how I felt called to go. 

 

Transition to MEI & Cuba

 

Several years ago, I realized that at some point I would be doing more medical education international mission trips with the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA). However, I did not yet know when that would be. In the past year or two, the medical service trip to Nicaragua was canceled because of the civil unrest there. That was the medical service mission serving women (and their children and other family members) who had been involved in sex trafficking. When that door closed, through conversations with two particular amazing women, it became clear that God wanted me to then transition at that point to Medical Education International (MEI), the medical education mission section of CMDA. The two women (my long-time mentor in CMDA and my long-time missions trip team member sister) realized that before I did. In fact, I had been talking with my mentor, and she suggested that perhaps it was time. I had explained that I felt deep within me that God was transitioning me from my role of being a primary care provider on missions teams (with a little bit of cardiology) to something else. I did not at that time, however, realize that that something else was to transition from medical service missions with the Global Health Outreach (GHO) to the MEI section of CMDA. 

 

When my mentor mentioned it, I then called my long-time mission team member sister to gauge her thoughts about it. My mission team member sister was wholeheartedly affirmative and mentioned that she already knew. She said that during the most recent mission to Nicaragua, while I was teaching a continuing medical education (CME) session on human trafficking, she saw how engaged the physicians and other team members were in the presentation. It occurred to her that that was my true calling at this point going forward in the future on mission trips, teaching team members and other doctors and healthcare professionals; that I would no longer primarily see patients as a primary care provider (with some cardiology). I was very surprised that my mission sister already had seen that in the spirit and that my mentor in CMDA had suggested it was time. 

 

It was not what I had expected at the time. However, when they both said it, it made perfect sense to me and resonated with what God was doing in my heart and my spirit. And so, then I contacted MEI to determine which of their trips would benefit from a logistics person and/or evangelist and/or Spanish interpreter like my mission sister, in any year at all. It turned out that there was only one option - the trip to Cuba. 

 

Then, several months later, I saw an email from CMDA inviting participation in the MEI trip to Cuba trip. I responded to the email with interest, stating that I knew that at some point over the next year I would probably join them. I was invited to join the trip immediately and to be on the next trip, which would be in May. This was probably in February. I talked about it with my mission sister, and she decided that we were going on the trip in 2019, and most definitely in May. However, I kept reminding her and MEI folks that I was completing fellowship at the end of June and didn’t think it would be a good time to leave for the mission in May 2019. I also reminded them that upon completion of fellowship, I was going to be starting a new job later in 2019. I didn't know that I'd be able to take the time away from fellowship before then, and I didn't know whether the job would give me time away to go on the later Cuba trip instead in November 2019.

 

So, I felt that realistically we should plan for me going to Cuba in 2020. However, my mission sister and the MEI Cuba mission team leader were immensely hopeful that I would go to Cuba in 2019 and particularly in May. Or at least the trip that would usually be at that time.

One Saturday evening a couple of months later, I saw an email from the MEI Cuba mission team leader. In his email, he was seeking permission from MEI leaders to move the May trip to the end of June: June 20th to 30th 2019. He gave six different reasons for why the trip would work out better that way. Reason number six was so that I could come, because he really felt that perhaps the Lord had intended for me to be on that trip. Somehow, something stirred deep within me as I saw the dates. Quite often fellows or residents upon completion of training take off the last week as "terminal vacation”. However, I did not have a week of vacation left. I would need to use two days of vacation plus five days of leave-of-absence in order to go on the 10-day trip to Cuba. I already was putting in special efforts to sort out finances going into the summer until I started my next job. So, I was hesitant to consider a week of unpaid leave of absence at that point. Nevertheless, I continued to pray about it.

The next morning, I listened to a sermon by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in North Carolina. About three quarters of the way through Steven Furtick's message, God made it clear to me in an instant in my spirit that He wanted me to go on the mission in June. I stopped the sermon immediately, and I still haven't finished it to this day. I quickly opened my email and sent a message to everyone who had been on the email the night before from the team leader seeking permission from CMDA to change the dates. I wrote to them saying that I would try to join them for the mission to Cuba, and that I thought those days should work really well for my program to let me go. The email was sent, and at the same instant an email was received with the exact same time-stamp as the email I had just sent. The email that came in said that CMDA had approved and given permission to change the dates of the mission. Immediately, God made it even more clear to me that that was the work of the Holy Spirit, and that it wasn't an accident or coincidence that that happened at the very same time; it was His confirmation. So then I called my mission sister and I explained to her how God had made it super clear to me that we were meant to go on the mission. My mission sister, however, was as skeptical as I had been earlier on when she had been the confident one about going on the mission. She pointed out my concerns about raising funds, especially since it was so close and we had never, ever cut it so close before. She also raised other concerns about the timing and so on for her.

 

And at that moment, the Holy Spirit took control. For about 20 minutes, I gently preached to her, repeatedly using the phrase, "the God you serve...." With each repetition, I would list a way in which I knew that God had shown Himself faithful, a way in which God had showed Himself miraculous, a way in which God had shown Himself as the author of the impossible and making such things possible. As this continued for 20 minutes, her heart was beating so fast and she was almost shaking. I also felt my heart beating fast as the Holy Spirit had taken over our conversation. By the end of the conversation, we were both sure that we were both going to Cuba together. 

God had me tell my mission sister that she had two pieces of homework to do. The first was to call the MEI team leader for the Cuba mission to let him know that she was going on the mission too. The second was to tell everyone at her church that day. Even if she wasn't able to go up in front of everyone at the church, she would need to talk to everybody one-on-one after the service to explain to them that she was going to Cuba and to have them keep her and the trip in their prayers. She then told me that similarly I should tell the people that I was going to be with, the people who were my potential future bosses at a place I was considering taking a job, who were taking me to brunch that Sunday morning. I had also told her that my other homework was that I would immediately request the week off from work using the online system that morning. Then when I was walking with one of my potential future bosses towards brunch, I indeed told her. I knew that she was a woman who would often go to church, and so I knew that perhaps it wouldn't be out of left field. So I explained to her what God had done and how He made it clear that He wanted my mission sister and me to go to Cuba. I then also told her that God has a vision for the program she wanted to see built and that He would make it come to pass in His timing.

Introducing Cuba Mission

 

I should mention that the medical education mission to Cuba has been going on for at least 23 years annually with two trips, with special permission from the US Treasury and Cuban government. This was my first time on the trip, and it was quite interesting. In addition to teaching in the medical schools and hospitals, the trip supports individual Cuban citizens by staying in their homes that they fashioned into Airbnb locales and similarly purchasing meals and so on, to support them.

 

 

Cuba Mission – Devotionals

At the beginning of the mission, after the team leader had shared a devotional the first morning, God had laid on my heart that I should do the devotional the next day, and that my mission sister should do one the following day. However, I didn't say anything to anyone. Later that day, the team leader invited me to lead the devotional the next morning. I did. Then later, the second day, the team asked my mission sister to lead the devotional the following morning; she did. I helped her to prepare and think through her very powerful devotional. Then after her devotional, I mentioned to the team leader that God had shown me that mission sister and I were to speak in that order after his devotional, yet I had not said anything to him. He pointed out too that he had not planned it, that he had followed the Lord. He was tearful and held our hands briefly as he recognized his response to the Lord's leading.

Cuba Mission - Silver And Gold

One day during the medical education mission to Cuba, as we were getting on the team bus, there was a man standing just outside the door of the bus, holding a cane and begging, with his attention directed towards us. As I was getting on the bus myself, it occurred to me that I should say to the man what Peter had said to a beggar in the Bible. 

Acts 3:6 ESV

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

It was something I felt in my spirit that I was to do, although I had never said those exact words before. By the time I completed that thought, I was inside the bus. So, I turned around to try to go back out, but the team was piling into the bus behind me. So, I tried to lean over from the top of the steps to “pass the baton” to my mission sister, as I often do. However, I was unsuccessful, as I was in someone’s way as they were trying to get into the water cooler at the front of the bus to get a tall bottle of water. I tried calling out to her to say to the man what I wasn’t able to. I didn’t yell loudly, and it was clear that she didn’t hear me. Yet, it became clear that she heard the Holy Spirit. I knew that because within seconds I heard her greet the begging man, “Bendiciones.” So, I knew that no matter what she said, the same essence of what God laid in my heart would be shared. Then I heard her say, “Money I don’t have, but what I have I give you; you are healed, get up and walk!” and the guy responded, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Cuba Mission - AirBnB And Coughing

In Cuba, we stayed at various AirBnB locations hosted by the local people, to invest in them and in their personal economy. In one home in particular, through our bedroom walls frequently in the evenings we could hear incessant coughing. We had no idea where the coughing came from, but we began to suspect that it perhaps was from the woman who owned the home and lived on the other side of the lovely house in which we stayed. On our last morning, before we left, in my spirit I knew that we were to minister to the woman, if it was her, although I didn’t know where or how to find her. Neither did my mission sister. She therefore left a note for the woman in her room with a prayer on it that God would bless the woman and heal her coughing and the cause of it. We heard more coughing. My mission sister went to try to find the woman and pray for her, while I continued to get ready. We were much earlier than we needed to be to leave for the day. Eventually, I was ready, but I did not know where to go to find them. I therefore stayed in my room and prayed for the woman from my room. Once it was time to go, I went to the front of the house to wait for our Cuban guest, a local physician who would guide us for the day. I found my mission sister praying for the woman. She had just recently found her. I joined them and prayed as well. The woman accepted the Lord in her heart and embraced spiritual healing. We also hoped for physical healing. Our Cuban physician host arrived and gave the woman a poster of the poem “Footprints”. How fitting it was that she would always know that she would never be alone!

Cuba Mission - Take Jesus With You

At dinner in a restaurant one evening in Cuba, I said to the waiter, “Dios te bendiga”. He responded thankfully and pointed out that they had Jesus on a crucifix on the wall in the restaurant. I encouraged him not to leave Jesus on the cross on the wall (i.e., crucifix), and instead to carry Him with him in his heart, having a personal relationship with Him. See, the cake in the dessert box was like a treasure. So is Jesus in our hearts. A treasure that we should guard and grow. We should let it grow so much that it gets bigger and bigger, fills our hearts, and spills out onto other people.

 

Cuba Mission - Jesus’ Ministry

As we walked into the church in Cuba, We were facing the back of the congregation. It was so beautiful to see so many people greeting each other and preparing to worship the Lord together. At the very back, there was a woman sitting by herself in a wheelchair. I took a picture of the congregation from the back. I showed it to my mission sister. I asked her, “What do you see at the forefront?” After hearing her answer, I said that Jesus ministered to the disabled, disadvantaged, and marginalized throughout His ministry. We both agreed and smiled. Eventually the team made our way to the front of the church, and sat in the front row as invited. However, I noticed that my mission sister was missing. I looked towards the back of the church where I had shown her the woman in the wheelchair. There I saw my mission sister leaning over administering to the woman.

Cuba Mission - The Flautist Experience

 

During the church service, there was a flautist that played with the praise and worship team. There were three occasions in which he played the flute. On each occasion, without fail, I would see a vision of the Throne Room in Heaven where angels would be gathering to worship the Lord; and I would also see lots of believers also gathering to worship the Lord; and the believers were greeting each other socially, in the same way that the believers in the church that Sunday morning had been greeting each other before the service. 

 

Cuba Mission - Vision For Church

 

On one of the occasions when the flutist played, I saw the following. I saw a crystal ball and God's hands around the crystal ball. God was over the crystal ball looking down into it and smiling at all the things He was doing in that church and all the things He was going to do. Then I saw the crystal ball turn into a ball of clay on a potter's wheel and as the potter's wheel turned, God's hand was fashioning the clay; and He was taking what He had done in the church so far and transforming it into something else.

 

Before the service, my mission sister had asked me if I thought there was enough space in front of the first row of chairs for her to be able to dance and praise the Lord. We often look to see how much space there is when we are in a church that gives her the opportunity to do so during worship in a church service. I told her that she also had the entire path between the two columns of seats with individuals sitting in them in the church. When I looked up after seeing the potter's wheel, I saw my mission sister dancing down that middle path in the church. I don't recall that she had ever done that before. Somehow, however, God had laid that on my heart for her that morning. And God showed me that the path in front of the first row of chairs, and the path down the aisle in between the two columns of chairs in the church, and also going up onto the altar or the stage or the platform, formed a cross.

 

God showed me that there is nothing that He plans to do in the church, and nothing that the church will be doing or attempting to do, that the cross hasn't already covered or provided the power and sufficiency for. I shared this with the pastor of the church at lunch, and he mentioned that through our presence there that day, God was showing him that this was indeed a new moment, a new time to herald a new type of transformation. 

Cuba Mission - Cardiologist - Hospital Director

 

My mission sister and I were at a table at lunch with the only cardiologist on the island. He was also the director of the hospital. My mission sister asked him about faith, given that we were having open spiritual conversations at the table. He then explained that he wasn't spiritual. I asked him if he endorsed any particular faith or religion or spirituality; he did not.

 

The next day we looked forward to serving at his hospital, as planned months before. The doctor team, including me, taught the doctors on cardio-oncology, surgery, and so on for adult patients, and the pediatric doctors had different topics at the pediatricians' hospital. My mission sister and others went around the hospital wards, caring for people, sharing the love of God with them, giving them gifts, and seeing many people reach out and wanting to know the Lord -- dozens of women, children, and men.

After the lectures that I and other doctors gave, and at which the cardiologist and director of the hospital had been present, he and I were walking through the hospital hallway. He said to me that our team there that day showed him that perhaps he did not need to close the door to religion or spirituality or faith when they were working in the hospital. That was a remarkable statement, given the discussion at the lunch table the day prior. When he had walked us out to the front of the hospital, God laid it on my heart to pray for him and so I sought his permission to do so. This was in front of the hospital, in front of doctors, patients, nurses, and so on. He was happy to receive prayer. A few of our Cuban team members stood around, including the pastor from the church the day before, who is a general surgeon at the same hospital. I asked them to correct my Spanish. I prayed in Spanish for the cardiologist’s hard work at the hospital, and I prayed what God showed me for him. 

 

I prayed about how God's love for him is so big and so much that it cannot fit in that hospital. It cannot fit in a house, and it cannot fit in the whole earth; the ocean is not big enough to hold it. The universe isn't big enough to hold it. God's love for him is bigger than all the oceans together; and because of that vast love that God has for him, God the Father sent His holy Son Jesus Christ to die for him on the cross, and to form a bridge between the cardiologist who was the director of the hospital and the Father; and that God wanted to give him His wisdom and have him experience His love, and wanted to show him the deepest purposes for which he specifically was intentionally created, to help him fulfill his purpose, to fulfill his entire potential in his life, since God created him for and with a particular purpose, mission, and calling.

 

At the end of the prayer, the Cuban nationals told me there was nothing to correct because the Spanish was all perfect. In my heart, I was wondering whether to ask the cardiologist if he wanted to give his heart to the Lord. However, we had to hurry on to the next destination, and so I didn't have the opportunity. At the airport later that week, I asked the pastor who was a general surgeon at the hospital to please follow up with the cardiologist and I told him why. He said he would and how absolutely incredible it was that the cardiologist had allowed me to pray for him in front of the hospital and that he had said what he had said to me in the hallway; that that had shown such change in his heart towards spirituality and faith. 

 

Cuba Mission - Physicians and Their Bibles

 

Remarkable things also happened with other doctors. After teaching one day, and offering the free New Testament Gideon Bibles to anyone and everyone present, a young general surgeon who looks a lot like me, came to me and asked me to sign her Bible that she had gotten from us. I signed it and included things in Spanish such as, “God bless you”, “God loves you”, and “God is with you during every surgery”. I should mention that after every lecture we would have a box of small New Testament Gideon Bibles available for all the doctors to take. I don't recall any occasion in which a doctor present did not take one. You see, in that country, Bibles are not readily available, and most people don't have one. So the opportunity to take one, especially a new one, a little one, a white one, that will fit seamlessly into the white coat pocket, is a wonderful opportunity of which everyone essentially availed themselves.

 

Another day after teaching, when essentially everyone took a Bible, about 10 non-surgical doctors came to me and asked me to sign their Bibles. I wrote “God bless you”, “God loves you”, and “See God in every patient” or “See God in all of your patients”. It was very neat for me too that they wanted to take selfies together with me — young doctors and older doctors holding their Bibles. There are a few doctors that would come to me and tell me softly too that they also knew the Lord. This was all a blessing to me, because I'm not used to being in a culture where so many people don't have Bibles and are excited to get one; where the overall culture does not fully embrace this sort of faith.

Cuba Mission - Sharing Cardiology Testimony

In Cuba, on the very last Saturday, the day before we left, I was asked to share a version of my testimony that was relevant to a group of about 50 doctors and other healthcare professionals. I shared about the salient events and experiences from that week, and I encouraged them. I alao shared about how when I was young, God called me to be a doctor and a missionary, and how I have been serving Him that way. I was 15 years old when I received that call on my life from the Lord. 

I also told them about another story from the past week. Before or after a few of my lectures, whenever there was some free time and I would be standing in front of everyone (junior and senior faculty, as well as residents, fellows, and students) waiting for what was next, I would tell them the following. I would hold up the little New Testament Bible from the Gideons, and I would explain to them how much reading the Bible and talking with the Lord makes a difference in my life. An example I gave them was about when I was in medical school and trying to decide for sure what kind of doctor I wanted to be. I explained to them that I had enjoyed many different rotations as a third year medical student, such as psychiatry, radiology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and so on. I truly felt I had a dilemma. I also considered neurology and oncology. I spent time in the Word as I usually would, and I prayed and talked with the Lord, as I usually would. I really thought that one day when I was driving to school, at a stop sign I asked the Lord to show me what kind of doctor He had designed me to be. I really felt that He gave me peace in my heart to be a cardiologist, and the particular kind of cardiologist that I am today. I shared how that sort of peace means a lot to me in my relationship personally with the Lord, and is reiterated whenever I read his word and spend time talking with him. 

Cuba Mission - Plump Dog and Skinny Dog

 

After speaking to the healthcare professionals at the church the day before we left Cuba, as I was leaving the church I saw a well fed, plump, beautiful dog. I took a picture of the dog. Then, as we were driving through the streets of Cuba to head to lunch, I saw a different very thin, emaciated dog searching for food in what looked like a park. The Lord made it clear to me that the plump dog in the church represented a few things. The plump dog represented the way we are in the church, filled with His spirituality and knowledge and wisdom, and that the world outside of the church is the little thin dog. God also showed me that on the mission, as we were going about as missionaries, we were the plump dog, and the people we were serving were the skinny dog. God also showed me that the people in Cuba who may be doing very well are like the plump dog, whereas the people that are suffering are like the skinny dog. 

And so as you go through your life, I want you to think about yourself as a plump dog and think about the people that God is calling you to minister to, to love on, and to serve as the skinny dog. Recognize that the skinny dog can become plump too, as you share your plumpness with them, in the name and love of the Lord.

 

 

Cuba Mission - Divine Appointment at Airport

 

On the last day of the Cuba mission, my mission sister and I were taken from the hotel at 4:30 AM to go to the airport and wait for our flight that was leaving at 11:30 AM. The airport was three hours away, but we got there in two and a half. And so at 7:00 AM, we sat at the airport waiting to check in. The check-in desk for our airline opened at about 9:30 AM. There was no place to eat until about 8:30 or 9:00 AM. And so from 7:00 AM when we got to the airport, to about 8:30 or 9:00 AM, we sat and expectantly waited. When we had learned the evening before that we would be leaving at 4:30 AM, we knew that God obviously would have a divine appointment there waiting for us. At about 8:30 AM, the divine appointment showed up. He was a young man traveling from college in the United States, through Cuba, to his hometown in Guatemala to see his family. He had no money. He showed us a gift that people in the airport had given him - a water bottle with water in it, and a sweater. Then we helped him get food, as well as internet and phone service in order to call his mom and let her know he was okay and on his way. He spent some time talking with my mission sister, who built him up spiritually. We appreciated that divine appointment.

Since then, I have been having a series of divine appointments in various cities throughout the United States. Keep following this blog, if interested in reading more!

 

 

New Season of Missional

In this new missional season, I will post a series of divine appointments across the United States and Cuba. Feel free to share with others. These will all be self-published in a book on Amazon soon. Stay tuned and stay in touch (drbrowncares@gmail.com, @drbrowncares, www.drbrowncares.com)!

New Condo Journal II

A couple of weeks ago, I dedicated my condo to Jesus, during quiet time one morning.

What struck me was the tremendous analogy of Hannah dedicating Samuel to God.

The immense fruit from that dedication almost overwhelmed me, as I wept before the Lord. If God chooses to use my condo as He used Samuel, what power will dwell therein.

As I write this now, my head bows in reverence and adoration. Reverence to the One who made me, adoration to the One who told Silvia that He's going to "bless [me] with a condo"!

I can't even begin to tell you the testimony of this process just yet. I'll have to wait till another post. But as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to pore over the story of Hannah and Samuel in the Bible, and pray that God will use my condo and use me all for His glory.

New Condo Journal I

I read the following scripture today: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~ Hebrews 12:2.

I felt like God was making an analogy for me.

First of all, I need to focus on Jesus, devour His Word more, lean on Him in prayer more, to increase my faith during this what-could-be-though-of-as-trying time.

That Jesus is authoring and perfecting my faith right now, with this what-could-be-thought-of-as-a trial.

That Jesus, being acutely aware of the JOY set before Him, the JOY to come, the JOY of redeeming God's people to Himself... endured the cross... endured His physical, emotional, mental, and even spiritual hardship. Knowing that afterward, He would sit at His Father's right hand and serve as the Mediator and Advocate and Redeemer.

He, knowing the JOY of what was to come, ENDURED the DIFFICULTY, the CHALLENGE of the CROSS. Endured years of growing up as a human being, all for God's ultimate glory.

Being patient through all the storms, all the accusations, all the abandonment, and all the pain... because of the JOY that was to come.

So God helped me to begin to look at things I'm going through at this moment, that way.

I joke that I'm homeless until my condo is ready, but I'm not. First of all, God is my home. Second of all, Jamaica is my home. Third of all, my church home in Connecticut is my home, and fourth of all the church family I'm staying with right now IS my home. I have never felt so completely welcomed into another family's home in my entire life!

They are such a huge blessing to me, and they definitely make this time of waiting easier. I pray that God blesses them without bounds.

CAR JOURNAL VI


NEGLECT

I know Jasmine is feeling neglected because I haven’t written about her in a while. So much has happened since my last entry. I wouldn’t even know where to begin, so I won’t think about it… I’ll just write.

RAMPAGE

Do you know that the enemy is on a rampage? And we have no choice but to fight?

But don’t be afraid, God Himself tells us in His Word that the gates of hell will not prevail against the name of Jesus.

You know Jesus came on earth, showed us how to live, died on the cross, was dead and buried, took into His possession the keys to Hades (or Hell) and sits at His Father’s right hand…Right? He is the King of kings and the Lord of Lords… Nothing is greater than He… No one is greater than He… The Enemy certainly isn’t…

So be strong and keep the faith and keep holding on. Yeah, we live in a world plagued with injustice, but keep your eyes focused on the Judge, the Counselor, the Great Physician, and there you will find peace.

There you will find the key and the ability to become ALL that you can be. All that He made you to be.

THE LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD

Jasmine is crying because it costs so much to feed her that one day I didn’t. Her gas tank was on E for several, several hours, while I drove around Connecticut slowly… hoping the car wouldn’t shut off on me… and making a plan for what I would do when she eventually shut off. I just wasn’t ready to go the gas station to spend $55 - $60 filling up her 14 gallon belly. I love my car, I am so grateful for my car…. But that’s a lot of money.

So the light was red next to the E and I kept driving slowly… When the light got bright orange, I would slow down till it was dark red again.

When I eventually stopped to fill up the tank, Jasmine guzzled down FIFTEEN gallons! WHO KNEW my car held 15 and not 14 gallons!!!


LIMITS

I guess sometimes you have to be pressed towards your limit for you to know what you can handle.

In Philippians 3:13, Paul tells us, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”

So no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve been through, no matter all the good and all the bad and all the things you’re uncertain of how to classify, just know WHO you are and, by golly, WHOSE you are. AND STRAIN!


EPILOGUE

My new favorite verse for this period in life is: "Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together." ~ Deuteronomy 22:10 (NIV). My friend asked me, “hmmmmm…so what happens when you plow with them yoked together?” I laughed and responded, “bad things…hinders you from fulfilling your destiny…from living the purpose God has for you.” (Unless, of course, you’re Hezekiah and God calls you to marry a prostitute to make a point about His relationship with Israel… or if you’re my friend whose husband ended up making a complete 180 degrees and now He is the amazing spiritual head of their household…)

What do you guys think? I’d love to hear from everybody.

Dominican Republic - August 2007

The thoughts expressed herein are from my heart and if anything offends you, please don't hesitate to send me an email at medicaldimensions@hotmail.com. God bless you!

Introduction

I just got back from a medical missions trip to the Dominican Republic. I left Friday morning, August 3rd, and returned Saturday, August 11th. I guess that's about 8 days. We had a great time.

Setting Out - At The Airport – FRIDAY morning, August 3rd

I met the rest of the team at the JFK airport Friday morning. I got there early, about 7:30am. They arrived a little after 8am. There were two vans—one with people, one with luggage. Check-in was very smooth. Two members of our team worked their magic at the check-in counter. Suddenly all our tubs were being processed. So the rest of us checked in at the kiosks and we were all set. So when another member of our team found parking, we all proceeded through security, and went to the gate area to wait. So, throughout this entire experience, we got to know each other a little.

Landing


When we arrived in Santo Domingo, everyone worked together as a team to get all the tubs and two suitcases off of the luggage conveyer belt. We transported all the tubs through customs in one long line of 16 individuals. When we got through customs, a few members of the Episcopalian church we partnered with were already waiting for us. So there we met Father Samuel and another gentleman—our driver—and Ellen Snow. We all loaded onto the bus—luggage first, then people went on. Ellen Snow prayed for our entire week and the service we were going to provide. She prayed for God’s anointing over our work, our service. So we were off! We drove along the Malecón through Santo Domingo to San Pedro de Macoris, where we arrived at the Conference Center hosted by the Episcopalian church. Lovely hues of tan and green. We were informed of our assigned rooms. Each room had 3 – 4 beds, a ceiling fan, and a fan on the wall, I believe, along with a bathroom. Our walls were a shade of green. The dining area also served as our living room. That’s where we met, where we entertained each other. It was our rendezvous point when we were going out. Friday night, we were given an introduction to our homestay and a rundown for the activities the next day.

Setting Out - Our First Day - SATURDAY, August 4th


Saturday, we went out to a couple of Bateyes after breakfast. We handed out food—rice and beans—as well as hygiene items—soaps, rags, toothbrushes, that sort of thing. We also had flip-flop slippers, little children’s clothing and stuffed toys. The pediatrician lined up all the kids and gave them a general check-over. The internist saw any adults that had major complaints, and I made sure that from the very first person I interacted with who we were serving as a team, I made sure that from the very first person to the very last person I said “God bless you!” in English, Spanish, French, Creole—whatever it took to have the person understand me and respond accordingly. So, for the Spanish version it’s “Dios te bendiga” and for the French version, “Dieu te benu (sp???)” and for the Creole version, I think it’s “Bonais Benu (sp???)”. I dunno, I could be wrong. It’s a little hard to remember all three! I learned the Spanish version from a missions trip last summer. I learned the French one easily, but the Creole one was harder for me, because I couldn’t understand which word meant God. But I told that to everyone, and everyone responded with “Amen” or “Gracias” or “Igual” (‘you too!). It was really beautiful. We handed out the stuff and then whatever leftovers we had we took to another Batey and handed them out there, then we kept moving. That was Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, we went to the beach for a couple of hours, on our way back to the conference center.

Coming Back to the Base - Saturday Night, August 4th


Saturday night, we met Father Samuel. He gave us an introduction to the Episcopalian church we were working with. Father Sandino had met us when we arrived at the Conference Center the night before. He lives on the premises. Father Samuel had met us at the airport and he is our direct link to the service in the Dominican Republic. He gave us an introduction that night to the communities we would be serving and he kept telling us that it was a lot of hard work ahead of us. Some of us thought, “Oh, today was so much fun!” We couldn’t imagine what the week ahead would be like. For me, once you’re serving people and having fun serving, hard work just seems like… fun! So, we got an update on the next day’s activities.

A Dominican Church Experience - SUNDAY Morning, August 5th

Sunday morning, we went to Father Samuel’s church and he gave a wonderful sermon. He taught on two main scriptures. In the first scripture he referred to, a man was storing up all his gifts, all his riches in a shed, in a barn. Jesus told the man, you will die tonight! Where will everything that you have stored up go? What’s going to happen to all the gifts and riches that the man stored up in the barn? [Luke 12:16-21] In the second scripture Father Samuel referred to, Jesus was prophesying about his return and what he will say to His sheep, those who He called and who responded to His call: “When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.” The people listening to Jesus said, “When did we do these things? When did we see you and feed you, and clothe you and offer you something to drink?” Jesus basically responded, “Look at the people around you. Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” [Matthew 25:35-40] The main point of Father Samuel’s sermon was that we should use the gifts and riches God has given us to help others. We should not just store them up inside of us. Each of us has been blessed with different gifts. Some of us with similar gifts, but we should all use our gifts to help others, to serve others. It was very beautiful. He used it also as a segway to introduce our team to the church community and let them know where we would be stationed each day.

Plan For The Week - Setting Up The Pharmacy - Sunday Afternoon, August 5th


The first two days, we were in Monte Coca. Wednesday, we were in Alta Gracia. Thursday and Friday, we were in Consuelo, the location of Father Samuel’s Episcopalian church. It was a great experience. Sunday after church, we set the pharmacy up in Monte Coca, and one of the young men helping us from Father Samuel’s church was wearing a t-shirt in celebration of 85 years of the church’s presence in the community. The back of the t-shirt said “Aqui estoy yo. Envíame a mi.” It’s from a scripture in Isaiah. It means “Here I am. Send me.” It was just so great to me. I said to the two people I was talking to that that is what I say to the Lord. That is my attitude of service and worship to the Lord. And it was so beautiful to me. I told them that whenever I go on a missions trip, I sing a song for the church I am at to bless everyone, to bless me, and to bless the Lord. I told them that the song is called “Lord, I am available to You!” It basically says, “You gave me my hands, my eyes, my ears, my feet—all these—to show men the way, Your way. To wipe away the tears of those crying. Lord, I am going to give all of this back to You. I am giving you my hands, my eyes, my lips, my ears, so that you, Lord, can use them as You please." That is basically what the scripture says: “Here I am, Lord, send me!” So that really touched me. That was Sunday.

Divine Preparation - Sunday Night, August 5th

Sunday night, I opened a book my mom gave to me when I was in high school, “Bilingual vocabulary for the medical profession”. I was just looking through the medical scenarios to see if I could pick up a couple of words that could be useful on Monday, because I had not really reviewed any medical Spanish for a long time. The two words I read Sunday night were “desmayo” and “mareo”. “Desmayo” means “fainting”, and “mareo” means “dizziness”. Would you believe that the moment Monday came, almost every single patient had dizziness—“mareo”. Occasional patients had “desmayo”. It was such a pervasive word and I never knew that word until Sunday night! So it was such a blessing to me that I wanted to learn a couple of words and the two words the book taught me that I didn’t know were going to be so pervasive. I definitely do not think it was an accident or a coincidence that those two specific words that I learned was so pervasive in this community. One theory is that because a lot of the individuals are malnutritioned, they do not have a lot of glucose in them and they’re out in the sun a lot all day everyday, they’re dehydrated and malnutritioned, so that may cause them to feel dizzy when they are hungry. So that’s a theory. But it’s only a theory, who knows. Some of the children had been diagnosed previously with anemia.

Seeing The Patients - Monte Coca - MONDAY & TUESDAY, August 6th & 7th


All in all, it was a very great experience. On Monday, we saw about 127 patients in Monte Coca. We were in the community center and we had a chance to meet the “Cooperedad de Salud” (sp???) of the community. In fact, later on that week, we learned that she had been trained as a Nurse’s Aide—as an ‘Enfermera Auxiliar’. Her name is Patria. She was extremely helpful to us the entire time we were there in Monte Coca, on Monday and Tuesday. She then came to Consuelo to help us on Thursday and Friday. I retrained her on using the stethoscope, taking blood pressures with the sphygmomometer, checking patients’ pulses. The way she takes a pulse is by listening for a whole minute. I taught her how to listen for 15 seconds, but she does not know how to multiply by 4. So then I wrote down on a sheet of paper all the way from ’15 x 4 ‘ to ’40 x 4’. So that if she listened for 15s, she could look across the line on the sheet of paper, and figure out how much would be in a minutes. She said she was going to secure it in plastic and keep it. That meant a lot to me too. She enjoyed the gift enough that she would put it plastic although it was just written crudely with a pen on lined or ruled paper.

The BRIDGE - Journey to Alta Gracia - WEDNESDAY, August 8th


On Wednesday, we went to Alta Gracia. For both Monte Coca and Alta Gracia, we had to cross a bridge. The top of the bridge consists of long, horizontal wooden or metal planks of varying lengths, shapes, and sizes. There was probably a gap somewhere as well. A few members of the team were a little uneasy about that, especially one person in particular, who prayed heartily before we crossed the bridge. We crossed the bridge eight times over the course of Sunday through Wednesday. She was a good sport. On Wednesday, I believe, it rained. So the really long path back from Alta Gracia was kind of flooded. So it made the journey from Alta Gracia even more interesting.

Striking Shots - Non-Citizenship Dilemma


Something that struck me is that as we passed through communities and passed by fields and passed by people, many of those scenes reminded me so much of a lot of the shots I saw online. Before I went on the missions trip, I did a lot of research into the communities, the conditions of the communities, service to the communities. The pictures I saw online were so striking. Several times on my missions trip, as I looked out through the bus window, my mind’s eye would capture a shot of what I seeing. It would be just like an image on the web. So perfectly clear. It was just so beautiful to me to know that those same communities I read about are practically the same ones I was serving. Even if I read about ‘Batey #6’, we went to ‘Batey AB6’. The conditions are similar in most of the Bateyes. See, the thing is, the people who live in the Bateyes are Haitian descendants. Either first generation, second, third, or fourth generation. Some of them are Dominicans from intermarrying. So a lot are half Haitian, half Dominican. So you often find that a lot of the older ones speak Creole and the younger ones speak both Creole and Spanish, but that is not always the case. The second, third, fourth generations… If both their parents’ are Haitian and they’re born on the sugar plantation, in the Batey, they are generally not considered Dominican by the Dominican government. Because they are not born in Haiti, they are generally not considered Haitian. So they do not really politically ‘belong’ anywhere, in terms of documented citizenship. And that’s hard. Because it means they do not have official rights under any law. They do not seem to have rights under Dominican law or under Haitian law. They do not have a right to basic health care. The children do not have a right to education. Oftentimes, the children do not get to go to school.

A Light In The Dark - Building A School for Children in a Batey





Father Samuel is building a school in another community. He got permission from the government, from owners of the Batey to use the space to build a school. He has completed two rooms. Completed meaning that the walls made from concrete blocks are in place, and the roof seems to be in place. He has completed two rooms, one for small children and one for big children. He also wants to build a third room for a small pediatric clinic. The kids in that Batey usually have to go really far to go to school, so he wanted to build a school that is right in the Batey, so that they would not have to struggle to go all the way to school. I believe that in this school they may also get a chance to learn about the Lord. That is a great work that God is doing through Father Samuel.

Waiting Room - Alta Gracia - Wednesday, August 8th


On Wednesday we had an interesting day at Alta Gracia. A lot of the women and men were waiting to be seen in what seemed like a pile of people by the door. I did not have much privacy with my patients each time, so I asked everyone to stand outside the door. But oftentimes, some women were pushing and came right next to my patient. A patient would be telling me about an infection in her private areas and other patients would be leaning in to listen to the interview with the patient. I just could not handle it. So I got up myself and told them to stay behind the door. I told them to get down because the door was a little higher than the ground. I told them that I was not going to see anyone unless it was orderly and quiet, and unless they were all behind the door and on the ground. So then I went back to working and the guard came back. While I was working with the next patient, I happened to glance towards the door and I saw a woman’s foot up and over the edge. Her foot was inside the door. My eyes went slowly from her foot up to her face. She took her foot back. I smiled broadly and gave her a thumbs up! This was Wednesday.

"God bless you!" & Prayer

From Monday to Wednesday, every single day, I would tell every patient “God bless you!” The patient would always respond with “Amen” or “Thank you!” or “God bless you, too!” Occasionally, a patient would say, “I am a Christian! I go to church!” The first day it happened twice, and each time I took the opportunity to offer to pray with that patient. They would respond, “Oh yeah. That would be great!” One was a woman and one was a man, that first day. When I prayed with each person, the presence of the Lord was so tangible. At the end of the prayer, there would be smiling faces, theirs and mine, and they would go on to their next station. I noticed that when I prayed with the men, they all had their hats off by the end of the prayer.

Serving In A Church - Alta Gracia - Wednesday, August 8th


On Wednesday, I prayed with a couple of women who just seemed tormented. I had Father Samuel’s daughter translating for me at one point between Spanish and Creole. I asked her to ask the patient why she was tormented. At first she looked at me weird and I said, “Yeah, ask her why she’s tormented”. She asked her what was wrong with her, which is not what I said. The patient responded about the pain in her belly, the pain in her side, she had pain here, pain there. I then said, “Ask her why she is tormented in her spirit.” The young woman went ahead and asked her the question and the woman said because of all the problems in her life. So I asked, “Can I pray for you?” and the woman responded, “Sure.” We bowed our heads and I prayed for the troubles in the woman’s life. As I prayed, I heard a male voice agreeing in prayer. When I looked up at the end, it was a gentleman who had been helping us set up the building for the clinic. He said he was so happy that I had just prayed. He took out his card and showed me that he was the Pastor of the church in whose building we sat. He was so proud to be the pastor of the church and I was so blessed to have him there in the prayer with us. So I prayed again for another lady.

Praying For The Children - Wednesday, August 8th




Later on that day, I was standing with the pastor and some children. I said to the pastor, can I pray with you for the children and he said, “Sure”. All the children closed their eyes and I prayed for them, for their health, and for their growth into young men and women who know the Lord, into powerful young men and women in their community. That was really nice. About 20 minutes later, after some children had received toothbrushes and the like, they were asking me for more and I said, “I don’t have toothbrushes, all I have is more prayers,” and they responded eagerly, “Ok!” So I asked, “Do you want more prayers?” and they said, “Yeah!” I responded, “Really?! You just had prayer. Why do you want more prayer?” A little boy replied, “Because God is good. (Porque Dios es bueno.)” I was so moved by it. They weren’t just here to see the doctor—the pediatrician, they weren’t just here to get free stuff, they were here even to recognize God’s goodness and get some prayer. I said, “Ok. What do you want me to pray for this time? Your health? Your mom?” A little boy said, “My mom!” So I asked him, “Is your mom sick” And he said, “Yes! She has high blood sugar.” So I took him over to sit with me. He closed his eyes and I prayed that God would heal his mom and make her feel better. I then asked who was next and a little boy said, “Me!” I asked him, “What do you want me to pray for?” and he said, “My mom!” I said, “Is your mom sick” He said, “Yeah!” I asked, “What is she sick with?” and he said, “High blood sugar.” So I sat him down and I prayed for his mom that God would heal her and make her feel better. For each one, I prayed that God would heal the spirit as well as the body. So then, after that, a third boy pushed his way to the front, came in, sat down, and closed his eyes. I asked him what he wanted me to pray for and he said, “My mom.” So I prayed for his mom too. Then I was called by our internist, who had taken the community Nurse's Aid under his wings, to give her two of our glucometers and a bunch of glucometer strips. So I gave her those as well as lancets and everything she would need to check individuals’ blood sugar over a long period of time. It was interesting because I don’t think the internist necessarily knew I was praying for these children’s mom’s blood sugar, to heal the moms, to heal their bodies and their spirits. Blood sugar testing and care is a real need in the communities. So that was Wednesday.

Consuelo - Good Report! - THURSDAY & FRIDAY, August 9th & 10th

Thursday and Friday we were in Consuelo. That was very interesting. There was a gentleman who came to us on Friday. Apparently, he was from St. Martin. His dad is from St. Martin and his mom is from St. Kitts. Both are English-speaking countries, so he speaks both English and Spanish. He said he came to us because his wife had come to us on Thursday, and she went home and told him that we here at the clinic, we treated people so well that he should come to us to talk to us. He came to get a second opinion for a problem that he had gone to a doctor for the day before. Here he was. He waited in line to come and spend some time with us, because he heard that we treated people well. That was a wonderful thing for us to hear as well.

Each day, we saw on average 130 – 160 patients. So from Monday to Friday, that would give us a total of more than 700 patients!

Party - Bachata - Testimony - Friday Night, August 10th


Friday night, Father Samuel threw us a party. It was wonderful. We had dancing, bachata, and lots of food. Father Samuel thanked us for our week’s service. He exhorted us in the Lord, and God used him to really answer a prayer of mine, which to me is a gorgeous testimony. You may remember that towards the beginning I mentioned that the church was celebrating it’s 85th year of existence in the community and that there was a t-shirt the young man was wearing and the back of it said, “Here I am. Send me.” During the course of the week, I wore my English Christian t-shirts when I had the opportunity. I remember thinking, “How great would it be if I also had Christian t-shirts in Spanish!” That night, Father Samuel gave every single member of our team one of the t-shirts, “Here I am. Send me.” To me, it was God answering my prayer, just like that. I was not the only one on the team desiring a t-shirt. We had planned to purchase them, but we had not gotten around to it. And there God answered all our prayers and just gave them to us! That is something I will never forget. When I wear this t-shirt, whenever I see this t-shirt, I will think of them, the wonderful spirit of Father Samuel and his family, and the amazing love that God has for these people and for the great work that God was able to do in us and through us throughout the week.

Fulfilled Prophesies - God's Authority - Serving Servers

One remarkable thing about the trip is that I knew the Lord was sending me to physically and spiritually serve the patients, but also to spiritually serve those who were serving. I knew that I would be instrumental in some way in the spiritual aspect of the lives of the servers throughout this week, the team members. In fact, in church, there were some wonderful prophesies the Sunday before I left. I sang a song “Lord, I’m Available To You”, then the pastors prayed for me and there were prophesies. One of the prophesies was that I was going in God’s authority. Another prophesy was that I should not be hesitant, because yes, I was going in God’s authority and I was going with God’s anointing. The moment I stepped off the plane, God’s anointing would be upon me, and my feet would be as lamps. That people would look to me for guidance on the trip. That I had the gift of healing, that people would experience not only physical healing, but also spiritual healing. Those were amazing pieces of knowledge to keep in my pocket as I went on the trip. And it is true. The moment I stepped off the plane, I did have the Lord’s anointing and I have had it ever since. There was just a wonderful peace throughout the trip.

The Missing Element

The only thing I didn’t have peace about was the lack of a spiritual overtone. There was no discussion of the spiritual and biblical motivation for what we were doing. The team seemed to consist of individuals who were catholic, Episcopalian, and agnostics. There was no mention of God outside of Father Samuel’s church or the lady who prayed for our entire week, while on the bus from the airport. Not a single mention of God amongst the team members. That struck me as quite unusual and I was not comfortable with it.

Spiritual Implosion

One night, as some of us were sitting around talking as we had done for a few nights in a row, I had the same familiar feeling that we were just talking about nothing. The conversation was meaningful to them perhaps, but to me we were just talking about nothing. We didn't put any kind of energy or discussion into the spiritual aspect of our service, not even once during the week. The rest of the conversations were about vacationing and visiting other countries and stories about college and in light of the spiritual void I felt, these stories meant nothing significant to me. No offense to my fellow team members, but I just wanted more. One night, the Da Vinci code came up, and the lady sitting next to me—a team member—was talking about her views on it. I was saying, I don’t believe that’s what’s really said in the Bible, in response to something she said. She said, “It’s in Matthew”. I said, “It doesn’t actually say that.” She replied saying it didn’t quite say that, but… and the guy next to me was yawning audibly and making sounds that made us have to stop the conversation. I said, “Finally a conversation I actually want to have and we can’t have it!!!” Someone said, “Well it’s not polite conversation.” I said, “You guys aren’t polite! Let’s not kid ourselves here,” which led to a fit of laughter from all of us. The group I was sitting with was definitely not polite. Later that night, in my room, I was lamenting to my roommate, a nurse. I said to her: “You know it’s so frustrating to me that on all of the missions trips that I have been on before, we have worship together in the morning, we come together and talk about the day’s experiences at night. And the spiritual aspect of it is what motivates everyone on the trip! It just frustrates me that no one on this entire trip is interested in talking about God or the spiritual aspects of what we are doing”. She said, “Well, I have been thinking about that. I am interested in that too.” I said, “Ok. But in general, no one is really saying anything about it.” She said, “Well, you and I could sit down and talk about it and I am sure if we approach the leader we could do something.” I said, “If we tell the leader tomorrow night that we are going to get together and discuss the spiritual aspects and debrief, talk about what struck us during the day, and people who are interested can feel free to join us, will you support me in that?” She said, “Yes, definitely. And even if it’s just the two of us, it only takes two." So the next day, in the morning, she asked the group leader if she would be ok with that, and she was.

Spiritual Infusion


That night, we were so tired that we did not announce it at dinner. But during dinner, I did ask one lady if her husband and she would be interested in joining us. After dinner, a few people were just sitting around as usual, and my roommate wanted me to go get a verse to read. So I went to get my Bible and journal. As I was looking through my journal for a verse, I came upon one that was very fitting for a lady in our group. It is in Isaiah, and it says, “I will be with you when you go through the waters, when you go through the river, the waters will not overwhelm you. When you go through the fire, the flames will not consume you, for I am the Lord your God.” [Isaiah 43:2,3a] It was for the lady who was scared by the bridge. I think she, as well as everyone else, enjoyed the verse. I offered to pray for everyone there at the time and they said, “Sure.” I prayed for how great the week had gone so far and I thanked the Lord for the opportunities we had had. I asked Him to guide us and protect us and lead us through the rest of the week. Some people left because they had been waiting for someone to go out on the town for the evening. About seven of us remained. We talked about our experiences. I talked about praying for the kids. I talked about praying for the women and men. Other persons talked about what moved them, and at the end of it, I was saying it was so great to do what we did, because I really wanted that. I really desired that and I was happy that there were other people willing to take part in that and that everyone could get something out of it. I read another verse; it was a verse on peace. That’s what my journal was mostly about. It’s called the Serenity Journal. Then I prayed for us again and we all went to bed. That was really wonderful. That meant a lot to me. I had been looking forward to it all week, and I knew that part of why the Lord had me there was to help guide the servers spiritually and to serve them myself. So, I was glad that Wednesday I got something out of it and I know that others did too. The goal was to repeat that Thursday night and Friday night, but because of the scheduling of what we ended up doing, including going shopping for souvenirs, and Father Samuel’s party, we did not quite get to repeat it. But that one time was significant. That one time meant a lot to a lot of people on the trip. It also helped me to grow. The prophesies really were instrumental in my stepping out boldly on this trip. The prophesies inspired and encouraged me not to be hesitant, to know that I was going with God’s authority. To know that I had his anointing, that my feet were lit with his lamps, that I was to bring spiritual guidance to the team and that I was to serve the team spiritually as well as our patients spiritually. I knew that was what I had to do. All those prophesies empowered me and gave me the boldness—the holy boldness and divine confidence—I needed to do what I was meant to do.

Back Home - Akin Desires - SATURDAY, August 11th

Saturday morning, we got on the plane and we came back. When we got to our team leader’s home, from there I was given a ride to my home by one of the gentlemen on the trip and that man is Haitian himself. He has been going to visit the Bateyes in the Dominican Republic for the past 15 years, twice a year. Once a year, he just goes and brings them lots of things and just fellowships with them. Another time during the year, he goes on missions trips with other individuals and takes them into the Bateyes too. On a bus ride to the Bateyes one day, I had told him that I prayed with patients the day before, the way I pray with patients in Hartford. On the drive home in Connecticut, he told me he thought it was great that I had shared my faith with patients in the Bateyes. He was saying that he is used to missions trips that are more spiritual in their focus and their motivation. He was used to getting up in the mornings, having devotions together, then in the evenings having some kind of debriefing about the day. I told him I was used to that too. That is why Wednesday evening some of us sat around and did that. He asked, “Why didn’t you come and get me??” I told him that I had no idea who was interested! I told him, “NO one said anything, no one mentioned anything, it was impossible to know who cared about that stuff.” He said he would have loved to come. Then we talked about the fact that nobody is going to know what’s going on unless the leader sets the tone. The leader of the trip has to set the tone.

Possible Return - Planting Of A Seed - Continuity

I told him that if I am called to return next year, then I will return next year, and before we go we can let people know that we are going to have ‘spiritual debriefing’ in the evenings. People are welcome to join us. That also was a blessing to me, that he endorsed the idea. I feel that in the same way that they view their work in the Dominican Republic as the start of something bigger, greater, and more longitudinal and having more continuity, I also felt that the work the Lord started through me, in terms of the spiritual aspect, was going to increase. It was planting a seed that He would water, that would become a glorious flower. So that this trip would become like several others where even though it’s a mixture of believers and non-believers, at least a couple of believers will lead the others in thinking about the spiritual implications of what they are doing, and the spiritual motivation behind what they are doing. And the sad thing was that several people who identified as specific religions or denominations seemed to consider themselves as being on the trip for humanitarian purposes, and not specifically to share God’s love and His good news. Rather, to help people because it’s the humanitarian thing to do. Yet, you never know what is really in people’s hearts, so we cannot assume. We cannot judge. We can only serve, pray for, and love the servers, as well as those we serve.

Resolution - Saturday, August 11th

On Saturday, we got to the airport safely. We got through security smoothly. We arrived very safely once again at JFK, and we were transported by bus back to Connecticut. Thank you very much to our trip coordinator’s friend and co-worker. We arrived safely at our trip coordinator’s home and it was a good journey. I would do it again. Once I know that I’ll have the Lord’s authority. I would definitely embrace prophesies again before I go, because I just want to walk in His will. I prayed for healing, individually, for so many people, and I believe with all my heart that the anointing flowed through me, through my hands, into them, through prayer. And that healing will come. Physical healing will come, spiritual healing will come. That the words I spoke into those children’s lives will not return to me void. That the words I spoke into those adults’ lives will not return to me void. They were words spoken by the authority of Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit’s leading. And I believe that those words will really transform their hearts, their lives, their spirits. I don’t believe that anything could be taken for granted. Glory be to God. I believe His will was done. Glory to His name.