Outreach and Other Fun Cultural Experiences

I've realized that I'm getting very slack at blogging! I haven't posted for a week! I just have so much to say that I can hardly cut it down to one post, so I just put it off and then I forget to do it. Its so strange here because I have so much to share with everyone, yet at the same time its all become 'just regular life' so it seems odd to blog about, if you know what I mean. 

Exactly a week from today I'll be landing in Houston.. how crazy is that! I can't believe how the time has flown! And sadly I think I spent part of last week caught up in the 'going home fever' (because this is another turn around weekend and all the other students are going home this weekend) and wished my week away. I still had a great week.. but I'm sad that I spent it wishing the time away, when now I only have a week left! God really challenged me to look for his guidance in each day and not to spend the day simply 'getting through' but look for the unique opportunities He gives me. He began changing my heart halfway through the week, so I think I experienced even more the last few days than earlier in the week.. but hopefully I can make the most of my last week and soak up as much of life here as possible!

view fr the clinic doc as someone came by

our supplies bins

Clinic was great this week.. this blog could go on forever if I share too many stories so I'm going to focus on the outreach clinic I helped with on Wed to Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge is on the eastern ( more rural and secluded) end of the island. There is a physical clinic building there but no staff so we make an effort to get out there once every week or so to see patients. It is absolutely beautiful! Well, the entire island here is beautiful! But Oak Ridge had a flair all its own. Like many of the little towns or communities here, it is build on the coast, near a little inlet (or bight); which means many of the houses are right on the water, and rather than walk they take boats. The same is true for 

Elizabeth with a little patient

the clinic and several of our patients arrived at the clinic by boat, stepped onto our little dock and into clinic. The clinic went well but it was pretty slow getting started because we hadn't told them in advance we were coming.. but we went back on Friday too and it was much better attended that day. It is so interesting to see the mix of local/traditional medicine with North American medicine. One woman had headaches so she was told to shave her head, and she honestly believes that keeping her head shaved, wards off her headaches 0- and who am I to tell her it doesn't? Outreach clinics definitely stretch us to be resourceful and make you thankful for the supplies you do have! Its amazing what kinds of things you can do with a bin of assorted medications, stethoscope and BP cuff! 

To avoid this blog becoming ridiculously long (like many of my others) I'm going to skip right to the other fun cultural experience I had this weekend. Last night, Peggy got us all invited to a thankyou/farewell party for a group of spring break college students that helped by rebuilding the hospitals ER. Their coordinator was throwing a huge party and asked if we wanted to come too.. so of course, you never say no to free food and a chance to get out of Sandy Bay! We drove down to Brick Bay and boy, did we get way more than we bargained for! The party was HUGE! They were bussed in locals from several different communities who were helped by this mission group (not only did they help rebuild the ER, they also built a bathroom at a local school and did vocational sessions in another town!). Each group of people from the different communities wanted to show their appreciation for the group and all their help - so each community did a different performance for us! There were songs, dances & lots of drumming! The Garifuna people (who are indigenous to the island and live more on the eastern end) were there and they did a lot of their tribal dancing, drumming and storytelling! It was fabulous! And we eventually ended up leaving just before a group of firedancers were coming up. Plus there was a ton of local food and lots of people to hangout with and enjoy the evening with!!