"Quiet my soul"

Sometimes things become fuzzy. Where at one point everything seemed so clear, so easily distinguished, so black and white.

There comes a time when you feel burdened. When you feel weighed down, confused, doubtful. You doubt others or you doubt

yourself. And in this time, when it feels as though God is far away, in this time, I find that the words of this song remind me that I

need to remember Him. Because He will never forget me. He who paid the ultimate price for my life, could never forget the

sacrifice. It is I who must come to Him. And say I say Lord,

"Savior I come

Quiet my soul, remember

Redemptions hill

Where your blood was spilled

For my ransom

Everything I once held dear

I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross

Where your love poured out

Bring me to my knees

Lord I lay me down

Rid me of myself

I belong to you

Lord, lead me

Lead me to the cross

You were as I

Tempted and tried

You are

The word became flesh

Bore my sin and death

Now You're risen

And everything I once held dear

I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross

Where your love poured out

Bring me to my knees

Lord I lay me down

Rid me of myself

I belong to you

Lord, lead me

Lead me to the cross

Med Center Update

Community Health Program

The Community Health Program began in February of this year. Dr. Maria about 20 community health workers over the past 6 weeks. The class, which meets Wednesday afternoons and will continue until the end of May, teaches participants about hygiene, nutrition and medicines. Participants are also learning how to take a person’s temperature and blood pressure. The goal at the end of the class is to assign 10 families from Cielo to each health worker. The health workers will be responsible for educating their assigned families about health, hygiene and nutrition. Topics will also include information on different diseases, their prevention and treatment. The health workers will check up on their assigned families monthly and report health issues to Dr. Maria.

Last Wednesday’s class covered medications. Students learned about different presentations of medications including pills, suspensions, and injections. Dr. Maria talked about the dangers of self-medicating, which is a widespread problem here in the community, as well as the side effects that come with different types of drugs. Dr. Maria emphasized that it is very important for each person to seek out a consult with a doctor or nurse and receive a prescription before buying or taking medicines. In the community, many people will go to the pharmacy and buy one pill of Amoxicillin when they have the flu. The members of the class learned valuable information, which they will then be able to pass on to the families in their charge.

In February and March, Dr. Maria and her assistant Diana gave mini-conferences in Cielo about Malaria and Dengue. The talks covered prevention, symptoms and treatment. As a result of these conferences, Dr. Maria ended up working with the community to pick up trash and discarded items where mosquitos lay their eggs. Over 50 members of Cielo showed up to help, the majority of which are youth.

Dental Program

Dr. Jose Manuel has been working hard with his new dental assistant, Heidi Caceres, to give teeth cleanings to all of the children at MIssion Emanuel’s school in Cielo. There are five classes: Maternal, Kinder, Pre-Primario, Primario, and Segundo in the Cielo school and over 100 students ages 3 to 9. Every Monday morning, Dr. Manuel meets with 8 to 10 of these students to give them an orientation as to how to clean their teeth. He then attends to them one by one to give them a thorough check up, which includes a cleaning and fluoride application and if necessary an emergency tooth extraction or cavity fillings. Each child is then given a toothbrush and toothpaste to take home as well as a piece of paper for their parents, which details what kind of additional work they need done.

Dr. Manuel and Heidi have almost finished providing teeth cleanings to all of the children in the Cielo school. We know that health starts at home and that even if we teach 3 year olds how to care for their teeth, they won’t be able to do it themselves. In light of this, we are meeting with the parents of the children in the school on Friday, May 28th to give the parents an orientation on dental hygiene and answer any questions that they may have on their children’s oral health.

Pediatric Clinic

In February, we purchased an executive fridge for the clinic, which today has over 1,000 doses of different vaccines including MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella), Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Polio. The vaccine count is not normally that high, however, this past week, in cooperation with a campaign initiated by the Dominican Republic’s Public Health Department, Mission Emanuel clinic staff vaccinated 300 children in four schools in four days. These children, aged 3 to 8 years old, were vaccinated against Measles, Mumps and Rubella. The schools included both Mission Emanuel schools (Cielo and Nazareth), the public school in Nazareth and the Haitian Education Program that Mission Emanuel runs. The campaign continues throughout May concentrating on MMR and Polio. The clinic continues to vaccinate children and adults on a regular basis free of charge.

The pediatric clinic has undergone quite a few changes including new pharmacy cabinets in the reception area, swapping the doctor’s office with the vaccination area, and donations of equipment including an otoscope, glucose meters, electronic blood pressure machine and thermometers and emergency supplies. The clinic has been organized, cleaned and is in the process of being outfitted with all the equipment it lacks (hopefully in the next few months) as well as being painted with fun murals for the kids. With relief aid for Haiti pouring in from donors, we have also created a storage room in the clinic. Construction is being completed on bathrooms inside of the clinic as well. New policies and procedures have been put in place that cover things like medications, which cannot be dispensed without a prescription from a doctor. Also, employees now have job descriptions. All in all, I believe that the working environment has improved for employees and that the patient care that is being provided has also improved greatly.

Physical Therapy Program

The beautifully outfitted and whimsically painted physical therapy room is the most complete part of the clinic. In October of 2009 it was equipped and dedicated to continue caring for special needs children living in the community. All of this after years of hard work by Anna Harper, a physical therapist from Texas who raised the money and equipment for the center and also provides technical support for Aquilino. We currently have about 15 special needs children that attend therapy weekly. Aquilino provides therapy for children with cerebral palsy, Down’s Syndrome and other developmental issues. The therapy that he provides allows the children to strengthen their muscles and gain more mobility. The children that are in the physical therapy program are such a blessing to all of us. I know that the groups enjoy volunteering in the physical therapy room the most!

In order to utilize the space and resources that God has given us more, Mission Emanuel is working with the Asociacion Dominicana de Rehabilitacion, Inc. (ADR). ADR is a national non-profit in the Dominican that provides physical, occupational, hearing and speech therapies. They have been working in the country for over 50 years and have 22 centers across the island. We are hoping that a partnership agreement with the ADR to become a satellite center for them will allow us to better serve Bayona’s therapy needs. In the physical therapy room, we could have up to six therapists working at a time with children. We would like to grow towards this capacity in the near future.

Thanks, Anna Harper for the photo!

Transforming the Nations

Landa Cope speaking at YWAM Santo Domingo

Friday morning I got a text from my friend who is a missionary at YWAM (Youth With A Mission) asking me if I could come help setup for a breakfast they were having Saturday morning. I thought it would be nice to go and help out another organization as well as spend some time with my friend and hear the speaker the next morning. That evening I created response cards, set tables and did various other small jobs to assist in getting everything ready for the event.

In the morning I went with two other people to pick up Landa Cope, the featured speaker for the breakfast event (http://www.templateinstitute.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=27). She has been working with YWAM for 40 years and has written several books. Saturday she spoke about her most recent book, The Old Testament Template, which talks about how to create an impact on the world.

Her talk was very intriguing. One of the main points I took out of it was her talking about how in the 80's the Christian majority went to Washington to try to change government and ended up succeeding at doing pretty much nothing in the last 30 years. Its because you don't change the moral fabric of society through laws. Laws reflect the morality of society. Things like abortion are legal because citizens continue to have and want abortions.

We have to start with our own lives, examine ourselves and say, "What am I doing that is not really living for God?" and "How can I live by Christ in all I do?" Psalm 139: 23 and 24 says -- "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." We must first deal with our offensive ways. Think about it. If you were observing a church congregation and you saw that the members all fought with each other, gossiped behind one another's backs and the majority of the marriages were failed or failing, would you think that this was a place to find a new and better way to live? But this is how our churches look. We constantly tear each other down, we live in and of the world and we do not look like Jesus. So, why would anyone want to become like us?

It all starts in our homes, first with us and then our families. Each church should be reflecting the love and goodness of God, but it cannot do that until each family is seeking God's will in their lives. Then and only then will the church become a place where unbelievers are attracted to and want to be. Then and only then will the morals of our society change. It starts with you.

He will bless us if we only follow him...

Jeremiah 7:5-7 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.

This is what we are and what we are not...

1 Thesselonians 5:5-11 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But, since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. THEREFORE, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Wake up church and come back to your God. The Lord wants His people to repent, seek him and turn from their wickedness. Then, will He heal THEIR LAND.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Routine Vaccinations

One has to ask oneself if childhood trauma really can cause major issues later in life while helping to administer vaccinations for school age children. If so, I am afraid I was unfortunately a willing participant in a necessary activity that will cost parents thousands of pesos in therapy later on in life.

Yesterday, Melissa (our Medical Assistant) and Mari (a nurse from Cielo) vaccinated the children in the public school of Villa Nazareth per the instructions of Public Health and with my assistance in preparing everything. I heard about the successful vaccination of 87 children from ages 5 to 8 and was happy to have checked one school off of the list.

Today, as we do not have regular clinic hours, I told Mari that I would assist her in vaccinating the Mission Emanuel school in Cielo by filling out the paperwork while she administered vaccinations. Well, I had no idea what I was getting myself into...

After preparing the cooler for the vaccines, collecting the paperwork and securing the box of syringes, alcohol and cotton balls we started out in "Maternal" which is like pre-school for 3 year olds. Thats when reality set in... Mari instructed the teachers to handle the paperwork and instead handed me a large syringe and showed me how to prepare 10 doses of the SRP (in Spanish) or MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine for the children. I who am deathly afraid of needles then had to fill syringes with the vaccine and hand them off very shakily to Mari who had the much more difficult job of sticking each child successfully in the arm as they squirmed about instead of in the eye as I was afraid would eventually happen. Fortunately, it did not and we finished out the day of vaccinations after an hour and a half of giving vaccines to children ranging from age 2 to 8.

My abrupt and disturbing introduction to vaccinations was actually a pretty neat experience and I look forward to learning how to actually give the vaccines to the children eventually. And hopefully when I do it won't cause them irreparable emotional damage.

There and Back Again

Its been less than a week since my time in the states ended and I am starting to adjust to the heat again. It helps that it rained most of the day bringing the temperature down to bearable (I’m only using one fan instead of two).

Having just come back from the states highlights the differences in lifestyles again. Electricity going on and off... no hot water (sometimes no water)... mosquitos, ants and other kinds of bugs, everywhere. Sweating all the time because I walk wherever I need to go and there is no air conditioning for the most part and well, its a tropical climate.

I find that the first week or so can be pretty tough, because I am not only adjusting physically, but mentally as well. I just got back from helping my parents move to Maryland. I was able to see friends, family and meet new people as well. It was a great blessing to be able to spend two weeks with them and my sister as well as getting to talk with my brother and many family members on the phone.

Its nice to see the people who care about you, who keep you in their prayers and who worry about you from time to time. Its a good reminder that you are not out there fighting alone. That even though at times it feels as though you are a world away you are never father than a 6 hour plane ride or a phone call on Skype.

I was encouraged with every interaction that I had either with college students seeking direction in life or with old friends and respected adults giving wisdom and advice to help me along my way. It was also great to see how the Lord is working there in the church and in the lives of all of you. He is awesome and good and He never lets us down. I am so thankful to have a family that loves and supports me and reminds me, as well as my friends, of God's love and goodness.

Please continue to pray for me, for the community here in Bayona, for God's will in all that we do at Mission Emanuel and for the church as it grows and expands. Please also pray for my support raising and for my work in the clinic. Also, for the clinic staff and their families.

Blessings,

Anna