Global Missions Health Conference 2008

I spent Thursday - Saturday this week absorbed into the fascinating, challenging, provoking world of community/public health, refugee/IDP crises, relief work, community development projects, evangelism, urban ministry......medical missions.

I joined 6 other Kansas Citians in a 8 hour drive to Louisville, KY to the Global Missions Health Conference held at Southeast Christian Church (aka Six Flags Over Jesus, per Dr Condra from Children's Mercy - no offense meant to anyone - but it IS a flippin' huge church). I don't even know how many thousands of people were at this conference - dozens of hour-long breakout sessions over topics like urban neighborhood transformation through community-based medical care, refugee health in Afghanistan, how to allocate limited resources in the mission field, how to be a medical missionary despite your student loans, community-based primary healthcare and how it reduces the under-five mortality rates in rural India, how to avoid dependence syndrome and promote sustainability in overseas medical projects.........

Yes, if your mind gets boggled just reading all of the above, imagine being completely immersed in it for 48 hours.

I loved every minute of it.

What was even better was the fact that every person in the conference, or at least the vast majority of them, were motivated by the fact that their relationship with a Compassionate Creator motivated them to work in transforming the spiritual and physical lives of people who are born in utter poverty in the darkest corners of the world - from Memphis, Tennessee to Kabul, Afghanistan.

High points -

• Meeting various relief workers who had been in Sudan and worked with my coworkers (the NGO world is really incredibly tiny)
• Listening to Dr Carl Taylor, Dr John Patrick, and Admiral Zeimer
• Hearing Dr Donlon speak about his work in inner city Memphis, providing low cost medical care to refugees and how his work positively impacted the development of skills the ministry workers later used in their long-term work in places like Somalia and Sudan
• Talking with the physician who will be leading the team to Afghanistan in May of which I will insha'allah be a member
• Receiving total confirmation from the Lord that - yes - Kansas City is where I want you to be right now; and yes - I am sending you to the mission field in the future; and yes - I want you to go back to school!!!

There were so many quotes, words of wisdom, practical resources, just information that was poured into me over the few days of the conference, I feel it's going to take me weeks to sort through it all and start applying towards my future and current work.

Maybe even just as incredible as all the speakers and lecturers was the group I went with. I cannot even begin to describe the comeraderie and unity of spirit in that group - despite our very diverse backgrounds and experiences, male and female, nurses and med student, frequent fliers and non-passport-holders, country music lovers and folk music lovers and rap music lovers (that becomes very crucial information when you are in a car for 8+ hours with someone!), Catholic and Protestant - it is amazing how the passion for the Lord and for his people joins such diverse people together, and how much you learn and grow when you open yourself up to new experiences and new friends. I loved it!!!!! :)

Needless to say, I am terribly excited about what God has for me. I have no idea what I'll be doing in 6 months, where I'll be living, if I'll still be a "night owl" or not, but I just long so much to draw closer to God and see him take me down an incredible path of faith.

Let's rock 'n' roll!!!!

Passionate Nomad

So I refuse to discuss American politics on my blog ... there are enough people out there to voice their more educated opinions so that I would have nothing original to add ... however foreign politics is different......

Speaking of foreign, I just finished a biography today of Freya Stark - an incredible traveller and writer of the Middle East.

Passionate Nomad, by Jane Fletcher Geniesse, is 300+ pages of pure adventure. Freya Stark was a woman born in the late 1800's who went on to travel independently in the Middle East, beginning in the 1920's, when women simply didn't do that. She spoke multiple Arabic dialects fluently, published dozen of books on Arabic history and culture and multiple travelogues, and worked to promote democracy in Iraq and Egypt during World War II. She stated often that her one great regret was that she "was not born a beauty"; but Freya more than made up for that with her adventures of crossing uncharted desert territory with a few donkeys and Arab servants, playfully sweet talking guards into letting her through closed borders, and keeping up a constant communique of all her travels with friends and family at home. Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Afghanistan - she knew the Middle East like the back of her hand.

What was interesting to me about this book was the picture of the Middle East during the early 1900's that emerged, and the history lessons taught through Freya's travels. It was also revealing to read about Britain's decline as the world's great superpower, and how America firmly grasped that role following WWII. I really do wonder at how America so quickly forgot the occupation that gave birth to our Revolution, and now feels very little regret over instituting its own occupation of foreign lands. Maybe - just maybe - that will change. (And that's as close as I'm coming.......).

This was especially inspiring to me because her life as a traveller and writer really didn't start until she was in her late 20's - and even then, she really found her niche in her post-40 years. She was also single, except for a brief unsucessful attempt at marriage in her late 50's (The man was homosexual, so it's really no wonder it didn't work out). Of course reading it made me want to jump on a plane and run away to Jordan, or Syria or Lebanon, or at least take a look at the Egyptian pyramids, for crying out loud. My time will come...

Nicaragua Travel Tips...

Since I profess to be a frequent wanderer of the world ... I wander in my mind a lot too but that's a different post ... I thought I'd give you fellow travellers some quick tips on my recent trip to Nicaragua.

Our first and last nights in Managua, we stayed at the Best Western Las Mercedes. It is literally right across the street from Augusto C. Sandino International Airport. It's $85/night for a double. Rooms were clean; most of the staff spoke English; they had free Nicaraguan coffee in the lobby and a great breakfast buffet. The hotel isn't one building with a bunch of rooms inside; it's really a collection of small rows of rooms, connected by covered walkways that fortunately protect you from the rain, and if you wander around lost trying to find your way back to your room (like I did), you at least get to enjoy small gardens that show off Nicaraguan flora. There are also two pools on the grounds - we tried them both out and they were great.

In Rio Blanco, we stayed at Hotel Bosawas. One small room with two twins and A/C and a bathroom w/shower and running water costs about $15/night. Sheets and pillows provided were clean. It's set on the edge of town, so it's pretty quiet, and it has a great view of the town and surrounding mountains. There's a small bar on the premises, and the owners love to play bachata music loudly through the night. The center courtyard was all torn up and gutted while we were there - it looked like a Roman achaeological dig. Sorry I don't have contact information for the hotel - I'm too lazy to dig the numbers out of my travel gear packed away.....

On our way to Granada, we stopped at Mombacho Volcano and did a canopy tour on ziplines. It took about an hour and a half, cost $23, and was more than worth it. Nothing like hanging 100 feet above the ground with only a metal cable and harness between you and the sky. :) You can even convince the tour guides to let you do the zip line upside down or belly down Superman-style. To get to the zipline course, the guides drive you up the side of the volcano through beautiful rain forest trees and coffee plants. While on the zip line and on the platforms, you can look out over Granada and the surrounding area - incredible views. The reservation also offers a 3-hour hiking tour and other activities, although we only had time for the canopy tours.

Granada itself - we basically stopped in the historical square, ate at Mona Lisa Pizza Shoppe, bought a few trinkets from the sidewalk vendors of "folk handicrafts", and then left. I wasn't too horribly impressed with what I saw - including a street show of a giant woman puppet and a midget man acting out a blow job; the boys who afterward emerged from their costumes and went around with a hat asking for money didn't get any donations from me for that performance. I think they were the same 10-year-olds I had seen earlier in the day lounging against the side of a building smoking a joint and making kissing faces at me when I walked by....

On our way back to Managua, we stopped at Masaya at the marketplace, and the shopping there was fantastic. Tons of touristy handicrafts, clothing, paintings, pottery, coffee, cigars, leather shoes and bags, and tons and tons of hammocks. Definitely the place to go if you like shopping.

Things to buy while in Nicaragua -

Coffee (hint - most of the tourist places want to sell you fancy-looking bags of coffee wrapped up in burlap sacks for $8/lb; just go across the street to the local grocery store and you can pick up the same quality of coffee for $2.50/lb.

Hammocks - the quality and durability of Nicaraguan hammocks is proved by the fact that everywhere you go, you see Nics enjoying the evening breeze on their hammocks. You can pick up one for anywhere between $15-30 in the marketplaces.

Textiles - the marketplaces had beautiful blankets, bags, scarves, etc with ethnic designs, not too expensive.

Pottery - think Mayan.........

Nicaragua Update

I recently went on an 8-day medical missions trip to Rio Blanco, Nicaragua. Below is my final update to my supporters about the trip and what we did....

Hello Friends and Family,

I arrived safely back from Nicaragua this past Sunday night. It was a fantastic trip! God did so many wonderful things and the whole team had a terrific time.I arrived in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on Oct 18 and met with the other people on my team. God really answered my prayers in asking for team unity, because we all immediately clicked. There were people from all over the States - North Carolina, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Boston...but everyone shared a heart full of love for God and for the people we would serve.Sunday, we all piled into a huge school bus and and drove about 5 hours to Rio Blanco, a small city of 30,000 in central Nicaragua where we would do our clinic work. We also travelled with several Nicaraguans who were medical professionals (dentists and doctors) and our translators. We set up the clinic once we arrived in Rio Blanco in a huge unfinished cement church building. Sunday night we visited a local church, and a few of the team members shared their testimonies with the congregation.And Monday morning we started the clinic! Monday through Friday, the day's schedule was pretty much the same. People started lining up in front of the church early in the morning, and shortly after 8 am, we arrived at the clinic. I worked in triage, getting blood pressure and vital signs, asking their chief complaint, and handing out worm pills to everyone, as parasites are quite common. We also had a mobile medical unit, which was a huge RV with two rooms inside; one for laboratory tests and x-rays, and a small surgical suite where the doctors performed minor surgeries, such as lipoma and cyst removals. I got to jump in on a few procedures and one of the doctors taught me my first sutures - which was quite exciting. :)

Overall I felt the people's health was pretty good compared to some of the places I have been. We didn't see really very much malnutrition or diarrheal diseases, and nearly all the complaints had to do with musculoskeletal pain - which is not surprising, considering most of them are farm laborers or construction workers! We usually ended clinic around 5 pm and went back to the hotel for the evening after eating at a local restaurant. The food was fantastic - it was pretty much the same every day - beans, rice, feta-like cheese, and either beef or chicken; but it was sooo delicious. Our hotel was also really nice - actually had electricity, air conditioning and running water! So we were happy! Although the weather was so nice there (upper 80's, a little rainy) that we really didn't even need the A/C.

Every morning the team would meet for devotionals, and everyone took a turn giving them. It was so amazing to me how each and every person spoke on something I could relate to and apply. During the clinic, every person that came through was also given an opportunity to pray with local Nicaraguan pastors and to hear the Gospel message. Many of us also had opportunities to pray with people as well as they came through the clinic.On Friday afternoon, we wrapped up the clinic and drove back to Managua. Saturday was spent doing some sightseeing in Granada, a historical colonial city, and the surrounding area. We also went to a volcano with a rain forest on it and went zip lining through the rain forest for about an hour, which was an incredible experience! Doing it upside down is definitely the way to go. :D (see my photos for all the fun!) And then this past Sunday, I flew back to Kansas City and collapsed into my bed, grateful for such a wonderful trip.

I never actually got a "numbers count", but I believe we saw around 1500 patients during the week of clinic. Approximately 150 people prayed to receive Christ, and around 40 chose to rededicate their lives to him. I felt so refreshed after the trip and so thankful for all that was accomplished.Thank you so much for your prayers and support! You all make these trips possible, and I couldn't do it without the Body of Christ standing behind me. Below are links to some photo albums; hope you enjoy!

Faces of Nicaragua: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79226&l=2a233&id=503720902
Nicaragua Landscape: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79430&l=bf6bd&id=503720902
Nicaragua Team & Clinic I: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79434&l=d4148&id=503720902
Nicaragua Team & Clinic II: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79437&l=436d4&id=503720902
Zip-Lining Through the Rainforest: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79440&l=4bc50&id=503720902
Granada/Last Night in Managua: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79444&l=88197&id=503720902

God bless!Whitney Klaassen, RN