Cajamarca!

Sorry about the lack of updates as of late.  For all it's worth, I blame it on my ancient laptop that I'm too cheap to replace, lack of internet (too cheap for that too) and a very un-user-friendly blogging program.  Anywho, let's cut to the chase shall we...

Every year, since the beginnings of Peru Mission, a medical team comes from First Presbyterian church of Jackson Mississippi to Cajamarca (a beautiful but very underdeveloped city of about 217,000 people in the Northern Andes Mountains) for a week-long campaign.  This year I got to come too, along with our Peruvian doctor from the clinic in Trujillo and some other missionaries.  What a hardworking and dedicated group they were! The team included two OB/GYN's, a pediatrician, surgeon, dermatologist, two triage nurses, 5 dentists, a med student, and two medical defense attorneys and a CPA who just like to get their hands dirty. 

The first day we saw patients in Jesús, a small and even more underdeveloped town about an hour outside of the city.  They gave us the use of the government clinic for the day!  The pic above is of the team at the welcoming ceremony held in the city hall of Jesús, held just before we started seeing patients. 

 

Just about everyone in town showed up for free health care.  Anxiety was a bit high as I was assigned to translate for the OB/GYN (the one subject I almost flunked out of in nursing school).  Thanks to all who were praying for me, it all went really well.  I learned a ton about the subject I am the most afraid of in medicine, tell a few ladies the good news that they were pregnant (some were not as excited as others) pray with them, and so on.  An amazing experience.   The rest of the days we worked in the city.

I always have to remember that some of these folks probably don't know what things such as a child-proof medication bottle is, or how to open it for that matter.

 These dentists brought all the equipment that you would see in their offices in Mississippi in portable wood boxes to perform root canals, fillings, extractions, pretty much everything.

Quite a few of the wives and children of the doctors and dentists came to do VBS with the children in town.  I'm always amazed at how language barriers won't stop some people from ministering to kids.

As always, it was fun to get a taste of Southern culture while hanging out with these gems.  Here, for example, after the morning Bible devotion, everyone is singing the Ole Miss alma mater with such allegiance.  Throughout the week they would tell me about the best Southern beaches to go to, the all the places to avoid, how great the churches are there, and so on.  One gal told me that when I talk, I sound just like someone she knows from Seattle.  Woot!   

We saw over 1,300 patients in five days.  They were all so tired after waiting in line, but still so grateful.  Now we pray that the souls whom we cared for physically will also be healed spiritually in the great aftereffects of such an event in their community in the name of Jesus Christ.