made.good.again

BULA! Just returned from an amazing medical missions trip in Fiji (it’s one of the Pacific Islands, north-east of Australia; quite different from Mt FUJI which is in Japan =P). The population is under a million, with most people living along the coast - understandably, as the country’s economy is based mainly on sugar exports and tourism. A minority live in the interiors, planting crops such as tapioca and taro (yam) which are the Fijians’ staple foods.

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THE TEAM (from L to R: Pohan, Sue, Hsu En, Kelsey, myself, John our local guide/interpreter) travelled to the interiors where health access was poor. We brought along medical aids and our medical and nursing expertise, with an aim to serve the villagers in helping to improve their health and well-being.

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ACCESS into the village involved a 3 hour bumpy ride on the back of a truck (together with the week’s supply of groceries, our luggage, and a couple of villagers who were returning from town) - a few of the team members had a sore back for the next few days from the ride. It was one of those roads tracks  you knew deep in your heart that it’s only by God’s grace and protection that you were able to make it through safely to your destination! The last hour of the journey was through a non-road that was usually non-accessible to vehicles (naturally), but it was dark and we didn’t know that; somehow the truck just got us straight into the village. When we left the village on the last day, we had to ride on horses on the non-road for about an hour to get to the truck track (still wondering how the truck managed to get in when we came).

AT THE VILLAGE, we mainly did clinics in the morning, followed by health education in the afternoon and church service in the evening.

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CLINICS - Sue, Pohan and Hsu En triaged and prayed for each patient before sending them to be seen by either Kelsey (for wounds, dressings) or myself (for medical advice/treatment). One lady had knee pain, but felt warmth in her knees as the triage team prayed, and left without needing to see the doctor as she was painfree after! Kelsey did well with dressing wounds which were just left open and mostly infected (with pus squirting out when you pressed on them) - a couple of the wounds were completely healed when they came back the following day to have their dressings changed! God heals indeed!!

 

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I SAW Baby "A" who was only 4 month old and had multiple (>10) boils on her (little) head. Some were oozing with pus and she had a fever with it. My heart went out to her and wanted to cry when I first saw the poor little baby. I applied some antiseptic cream and prayed that she’d recover quickly. Pics below: two and four days later!!

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EDUCATION SESSIONS - we taught on hand hygiene, rehydration when one gets vomiting and diarrhoea with gastro, diet and lifestyle changes for prevention/management of diabetes and hypertension. It was encouraging to see the ladies huddling together to discuss about how they were going to change their eating habits and use less oil/sugar/salt/coconut milk in their cooking. The evidence was at breakfast the following morning when the ladies prepared healthy light-grilled roti instead of the usual deep-fried flour balls =)

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HMMmm… should’ve perhaps taught on CHILD SAFETY as well (e.g. do not eat bread in front of dogs).

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.TRAINING - we trained two ladies on some basic first aid and wound care, as well as early signs to look out for when someone was really sick and needed to go to the hospital before it’s too late. They were very grateful and keen learners, taking down notes and remembering them (we’d test them the next day). Apparently someone bled to death last year because no one knew what to do when her hand was accidentally chopped off with a machete. Pic below: the ladies practising with dressings and bandages.

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EVENING SERVICES - we had praise and worship (Fijians are the best singers, everyone can sing in parts!), and each of us took turns to share our testimonies/preach. God moved powerfully, touching hearts and changing lives each night. On the last day, God filled them with the Holy Spirit, from young to old - they were lifting their hands, many had tears streaming down their faces as they were set free from bondages and oppression (where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty), and empowered to serve the Lord, to preach the gospel and bring healing and deliverance to the other villagers and surrounding villages (Isaiah 61).

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              * * * * * To have L O V E * * * * *

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love if patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

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God IS love. (1 John 4:16)

We had God, and so we had love - for one another (the foundation of our unity as a team), and for the villagers (the foundation of our service).

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There were countless opportunities and ways to bless the villagers, I believe our eyes were opened because His Spirit of love was overflowing through us.

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LOVE IN ACTION - other HIGHLIGHTS…

Before and after a very professionally done haircut by our very own Hsu En (MBBS, Melbourne Uni, majoring in hairdressing).

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CHILDREN!! CHILDREN!! CHILDREN!!

Jesus loves the little children…

With cool hairstyle…

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With NO hairstyle…

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The heavy…

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The dirty!!!

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He loves ‘em all!!!

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BLESSED!!

The team’s been really blessed to have had the opportunity to experience God’s abundant riches as we availed ourselves to be used by Him. A BIG BIG THANK YOU to all of you who partnered us in prayer while we were there, the work accomplished was certainly achieved by a team larger than the five of us!