Medical Missions 2015 – Reflective Essay
There is no better testimony than the ones we treasure and share. Some are painful and some are ways for God to use and mold and refine us into the Christians we become for HIS GLORY. Â As a ministry leader, it’s a joy to see transformations during mission trips.
This video is just a glimmer of what fun we have in Uganda attending church at First Presbyterian Church of Ntenjeru, in the remote village close to Mukono City.
Below is a reflective essay written by one of the PBAU-GSOP university students after returning from the Uganda medical mission trip. Â I hope you enjoy.
Stained
Every story has a beginning and an end and my story is no different except that it starts the same way it finishes, with God leading the way. I once read that the work of God is completed in three stages, impossible, difficult, and done. This could not be truer even if I wanted it to be. When I started this journey, two things became clear, one I was going to have to trust God more than I wanted too and secondly, God was going to redefine who I was and what I wanted. There are few times in my life where I knew exactly what God wanted me to do. This was one of those rare moments. When I heard about the mission trip to Uganda from the 2014 team I knew it was where God wanted me to go. Why me, why this trip? I’m not sure what God’s reasoning was or what He saw in me but I knew I had to go. “For many are called, but few are chosenâ€, Matthew 22:14. I don’t know that there is anything special about me in particular for God to have chosen the path that he chose for me but I do know he was calling and that I had to obey. In Kisses for Katie, Katie discusses how God chose ordinary people, common people, simple people, and people with nothing special about them except that they said yes and this is precisely how I felt. The only thing that differentiated me was that I said “Yesâ€.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and it states, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircaseâ€. The first step is easy because you are working off of ground you have set foot on before and that is still visible. It’s those next steps in the stair case that are unsettling all those that you cannot see because the ground you are working off is new footing and so it goes without saying that faith is requirement. I had complete faith and took that first step without hesitation I said, “Yes Lord, I will goâ€. It was everything after that where I had to remind myself God had me by my right hand every step of the way and would not let me falter. My first obstacle, money, how in the world was I going to pay for this trip? I not only did not have the money for the trip but I had also managed to choose a mission trip that was the most expensive. And if life could not be hard enough, I chose to go to Africa in the midst of facing my own personal battles. I had just recently separated from my husband and here I was struggling to focus and stay afloat not only financially but academically as well. I had zero funds to buy me a seat on that plane to Africa. I remember the first prayer I prayed that started it all. I said, “Lord I have no clue how I am going to pay for this trip but I know you want me to go, so I know you will provide, I don’t know how but I am trusting that you will, just lead the wayâ€. I don’t know how I knew but I knew that God would provide. This is not to say I wasn’t worried because I was but this is where my controlling personality had to let go and let God replace it with peace and trust. Two scholarships later and with the support of my family, I had the money for my plane ticket to Uganda. God paid for my trip 100%; he achieved what I had thought to be impossible but this was only the beginning.
The greatest obstacle I would face was still to come, and that obstacle was me. We can be our own worst enemy and at times I was. I wanted to be vessel for God but in order for that to happen, I had to let Him transform every aspect of my life. I had to stop dwelling on the past and embrace the present and future. I think anytime you have spiritual growth you are bound to change drastically. When I obeyed God’s calling I was struggling personally to fight for my marriage and my own sanity. I was deeply depressed and felt as though I was failing in every aspect of my life. As I finished out my fall semester, feeling defeated at this point I recommitted myself to building a stronger relationship with God. I wanted this experience to be transforming and to do that I knew I had to trust God. As I approached the end of the fall semester I remember breaking down into uncontrollable tears and asking God, “How do I keep going? I am doing my best but I need your help. I am unsure of everything in my life right now and desperately need your guidanceâ€. Later on that same day I received news that I had been selected for the Great Commission Scholarship. This was the encouragement I needed, God was paving the way for me to go.
As I returned for the spring semester, I returned with a new found strength that God had given me which I would need. I set aside time each day to spend quality time with God in his word and in prayer. I noticed as I did, God began to transform my mind and spirit. Our mission trip to Uganda had much higher expectations than any other trip. I say this because the effort and work we were required to put in was much more stringent in comparison to my other colleagues who were also clerkship students for other mission trips. Expectations were very high and I do not like to disappoint but it was more than that alone that fueled me. I wanted to be able to be a blessing to others when I reached Uganda and so that meant I needed to give this trip my all. At the time I was immensely overwhelmed with everything I had to do but relying on God helped me and looking back I am so grateful that our preceptors had high expectations because it made me into a better leader. I tend to be very soft spoken so I was faced with having to voice my thoughts and take charge and lead. Leading is not my favorite because I do not like being at the center of attention. Leaders are the center of attention because they are looked up to in order to get tasks accomplished and so as this trip unfolded from preparation to the mission field I was forced to come out of my shell and lead. A diamond doesn’t become shiny and sparkly overnight it requires lots of pressure and this trip gave me the pressure I needed to shine. In Kisses for Katie, Katie talks about the story of the velveteen rabbit and in order for it to become real it had to be worn and torn down by life before it would become new. After preparing for this trip and actually going and coming this is how I feel. I had to go through tough times all around in order to come out new and shiny in the end.
Before I knew it the time had come and I was getting on an airplane to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country. Not only was it my first time out of the country, it was my first mission trip away from the United States. So many firsts all at once but I did my best to embrace it. My time in Uganda came and went so quickly. I have never felt like I did when I was there. The people of Uganda are near and dear to Jesus’s heart and you can feel God’s presence with them. It didn’t matter what area I worked in or where in Uganda I was serving I felt God’s presence and each day someone new found their way into my heart. I met so many people whom I absolutely adored and loved. The people were so kind and every smile I received was so genuine and refreshing. Everyplace in Uganda where our team devoted time and energy was well received, gratefully and happily. It was such a contrast to what we see in America. The people of Uganda may have very little but the gratitude they express for everything is so refreshing and in a way I believe they have even more than we do because of that. Their attitudes made me realize how much I take for granted and how I need to smile more and have a more appreciative attitude. Their lack of necessities makes them close to God and I saw how crystal, clear that was when we visited Arise Talents. The presence of God was so strong in our praise and worship together. In Kisses for Katie, Katie mentions that in America, she misses Jesus. In America we are blessed to have everything we need but when it comes to Jesus we are lacking because we don’t rely on Jesus for everything as the people in Uganda do. One of my favorite verses in the bible is Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.†This verse explains why God is so close to the people in Uganda.
After being there and working with the doctors in Uganda, it made me realize that I would like to return to Uganda and be involved in longer missionary work as a healthcare provider. When I first decided to go, I had this crazy notion that I might want to go to medical school following graduation so that I might be able to do more work as a missionary when it comes to caring for the health of others. Reading Kisses for Katie inspired me to want to do more and I love medicine so my thought process was that as a physician I would be able to help more. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after going to Uganda but this is another reason why I wanted to go. Working a long side with Dr. Moses and Dr. Robert only made me long to be a medical doctor more. It’s not just that they are incredibly smart but it’s the difference they are making in the lives of others that intrigued me more. Dr. Robert would light up when he was working with the kids but the kids also light up in return. Being the person that determines the ailment and prescribing treatment to an ill patient is truly rewarding. Seeing sick children is not easy but you feel better when you realize you can be the difference in that child’s wellbeing. I was excited and fascinated with determining the diagnosis and treatment. Both doctors allowed us to diagnose, ask questions, and determine treatment. It was amazing to know that I was able to finally apply my knowledge and best of all I was helping people who needed it most. I’m not sure where I will end up but I can say that after working with the doctors, I know that medical school is a strong possibility. I think that being a pharmacist will make me a better medical doctor if I choose to go that route. All of our education has been valuable and that manifested itself in the work we did in Uganda.
In summary, God has made it clear to me that whatever I do it will have to involve continuing his work in foreign countries such as Uganda. I can see myself returning to help again and I would love nothing more than to be able to return again. I love the people there and the work God is doing in all of the children. This experience in its entirety has transformed me and a large part of that transformation came directly from God but also from each person who chose to serve beside me in Uganda. I went from a very low point in my life to a point where I am ready for whatever life has next because I know God will be with my every step of the way. Every aspect of this trip allowed for change in my life and that is evident by how God blessed me along the way from passing difficult classes with good grades, restoring my marriage, and my sanity, and all because I chose to say, “yesâ€. I can’t believe all that he has done and I feel going to Uganda has given me more than I could give in return. I fell in love with the people and the country. I just want to close with the following passage from Kisses for Katie that parallels my experience:
Suffering. Rejoicing. Squalor. Beauty. Love. Pain. These are the things that surround me, and all of them are from Him. This life is beautiful and terrible and simple and difficult, and He is using it for His glory. My knees are dust orange, stained by the soil into which they press for hours as I beg God for the mercy and strength to continue. My tears flow in puddles that do not soak into the red, parched earth of Uganda. The puddles and the color of my knees remind me that I was not to leave this life unstained or unscarred. Even Jesus kept His scars after the resurrection. My stains are beautiful to Him and as I become dirtier, more beat up, I am becoming perfect, transformed into the image of the One who made me. And I am thankful.
Melissa Hubbard
Palm Beach Atlantic University – Gregory School of Pharmacy
Tags: Missions, Short Term Missions, Uganda
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 27th, 2015 at 5:20 pm and is filed under Newsletters, Short Term Missions, Uganda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.