Med Mission Nica: Day 7

It's was a bittersweet day on our full last day here in Nicaragua. What a blessing to be able to make our annual visit to La Chureca (the city dump) even though it is a heart breaking experience. Over 1000 people call the dump home with many young children making their home there. The Buzbees have multiple ministries going on in the dump - from medical and re-nutrition to education with the Christian School. We were able to drive through this morning and then stop and the school and see the kids. After a visit at the school we walked around the dump to see some of the residents that Elizabeth ministers to.

From there we headed over to Sister Ruby's house. Ruby was a dear friend and awesome evangelist and prophetess who ministered right outside the dump in a neighboring community. Our teams have always visited for a time of prayer and this team was no exception. And even though it was different since Ruby's home-going, it was still a powerful time of prayer as a team. The Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way, speaking and challenging our hearts.

This afternoon we had our team tour day where we travelled down to Grenada - one of the only cities that survived the war with it's colonial style buildings intact. We took a boat tour around Lake Nicaragua which was a fun experience until one of the island monkeys visited our boat. After Grenada we headed up to a little area called Catalina which offered a change in elevation that gave us cool breezes and a spectacular view of a crater turned lake and some places to shop.

We returned for our last team dinner and Maria pulled out all the stops with a traditional Nicaraguan meal. Our time has truly been amazing down here. I know God has worked through us, but more importantly in us. Please pray for our travels tomorrow, but also pray that God would continue the work He has started in all of us!

Med Mission Nica: Day 6

Well, I believe if we are able to be sad and glad that are clinics are over... I would think that is the case. On one hand, having a break from the near 100 degree temperature and long days will be welcomed, but then you realize that is why we came and we have had some great interactions and have built relationships with the patients, pastors and neighbors in these communities we are serving.

Today we travelled into Managua for our first "non-rural" clinic day. The people had greater access to healthcare but still faced the problem of not being able to afford the prescribed medicine. We set up shop today in a pretty tiny, but amazingly welcoming church called Iglesia Josue 1:9. The morning started a bit slow, but ended up being one of our more challenging days - in the sheer number of patients and some unexpected circumstances. It was around lunch time when we were thanking God for the fans in the church (at least air that is moving at 96 degrees feels better than stagnant air at 96 degrees!) and then the power went out. The pastor and his "staff" worked tirelessly to rig a small generator to the circuit breaker just to get our fans back going. But it was sporadic at best.

The neighbor across the street was incredibly generous to allow us to move our doctor's stations to the front of her house under a shade tree. So our doctors got a bit of shade and light breeze, but still had alot of heat to contend with and a growing line of patients. Our pharmacy and consult team had to endure the heat inside but thankfully had a few fans going. But it was amazing reflecting on the day. God continues to show us His power and plan and that He is in control. We can't even control the power in a church building! So we learned yet again that His purposes prevail and we are at best empty vessels that can only hope to be available and obedient.

On our way out, we got called upon to make a house call to an elderly woman who couldn't come to the clinic. She had been seen by a doctor recently and given meds - some good and some bad. It is always eye opening to go into the homes in Nicaragua and see how they live. It was a very tiny home with dirt floors, multiple family members and the elderly woman out on a cot in the covered backyard area. They thought nothing of welcoming our med team into their home and asking for help. We did have an opportunity to pray with her and treat her problems with limited resources.

God continues to show up - not that He isn't always present, we're just learning to recognize Him better - in great ways. This team truly has been unified in purpose and passion and it has showed this week! Praise God! We are excited about what He has in store for us tomorrow. In the morning we will visit the dump and school. We'll then go to Sister Ruby's house for our team prayer time. This will be my first visit since her death and I'm sure will be an emotional experience. But this time is always so valuable for our teams as God continues to speak into our lives.

After our prayer time, we'll have our tour day and get to relax for an afternoon before we have to pack to head back home. So far this has been an amazing trip, so I can only imagine what God has in store for us tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayer support.

Med Mission Nica: Day 5

Not that our other days haven't been hot, but we officially topped out at 99 degrees in the shade today at our clinic. God did provide an awesome breeze all day long, though. Today we travelled beyond Los Cedros to a community called Reyes del Sur. This is a community that has never had a medical clinic before and a place where Pastor Manuel from Los Cedros is trying to build relationships. And much to my surprise we did have some Campo kids from two years ago at our clinic today (4 of which were from a family of 11).

Our clinic was hosted at a widow's home who was also helping establish a church at her home. She thoroughly prepped her home and yard for the clinic and was an amazing host and a bread cook! She was a precious woman who, at the end of the day, invited us into her home and we had the chance to pray with her. Reyes is a beautiful place with a little river flowing nearby that we visited on our lunch break.

We set up clinic under this giant tree which gave us the much needed shade for the day. I'm not sure how many patients we saw, but our docs were presented with some interesting cases today and did their usual great job of connecting with the patients and ministering to them. Our pharmacy team had to battle the breeze but likewise got the job done. And no clinic would be complete without our consult team who explains the meds and tries to build relationships with the patients and even seeks to minister to them spiritually. We did have some good time in prayer with some of the patients.

God has been very present in our team time at night as we have processed the day and where we saw God show up. It's been a great time of connecting with each other and with the Lord to wrap our day. I've been personally blessed to be a part of such a unified and unselfish team. It's amazing what God can do and He deserves all the glory.

Tomorrow we will host our final clinic and I believe we are heading into the city of Managua. So please pray for our team that we will all have the stamina to finish strong and that we would be able to minister to the patients He brings us in word and in deed.

Med Mission Nica: Day 4

I think we all have been a bit surprised on how tiresome holding a full day clinic is! Even though we do have chances to sit throughout the day, we are all in some form or fashion really engaged with our work and with the people and in a very hot environment. But what a blessing to serve again in Los Cedros and minister to the patients today. For me, it was a special blessing seeing two patients who happened to be ladies whom we built homes for on previous construction missions. Sylvia came in today to be seen in the morning and Maura came in the afternoon. It was great to get a chance to catch up on their lives and get the 'annual' update.

On top of all the medical procedures and dispensing of pills, it has been great for members of our teams (mainly the fluent ones) to be able to minister spiritually by praying for many of the patients who come to clinic. One such lady who was battling depression due to being out of work and having a family to provide for was able to receive counsel and prayer. It is such a blessing to enter into the lives of these Nicaraguan people and try to get a glimpse into their life and hear their stories while seeking to offer the hope found in the Gospel.

After clinic today, I took the team on a quick walk through Los Cedros over to the Christian school where Pastora serves. We have spent a few construction missions serving at the school laying foundations, building sidewalks and even painting. Class was still in session, so we were able to connect with many of the kids that have come with Wildwood camp teams down to Campo Alegria.

After our long day, we took our dear friend and favorite Nicaragua cook, Maria out to dinner. We learned this morning that it was her birthday, so we moved our team dinner up a few nights so Maria wouldn't have to cook for us and could be our guest of honor. We learned that she had never been invited out to dinner with a team before and was so excited that she went out and got new shoes (it's a big cultural thing here). It is always a treat for our teams to be able to go out and enjoy some local food and we discovered a new place tonight called La Finca.

We're back at it for day three of clinics tomorrow in a very rural area - so rural that we can't take all our supplies and can't travel in the bus. No one has ever hosted a clinic in this community before so we really don't know what to expect. So please be praying for us - that God would grant us patience and understanding and also the ability to build trust in our new relationships.

Med Mission Nica: Day 3

We began our first of four clinics today. These clinics are a pretty massive undertaking as far as the organization and set-up is concerned. We arrived in Los Cedros to the church to find a line of people already waiting with their numbers in hand. You could see the appreciation on their faces before we even saw our first patient. After getting everything set-up, the process began. A patient first goes to triage to get vitals, medical history and pertinent information recorded. Then they are taken to one of our three doctors (Buddy, Lisa or Trisha) who begin the diagnosis and treatment process. They are then escorted to a waiting area while our pharmacy team prepares their medications per the doctor’s orders. Finally the patient is called up to have all their medication and treatment plan explained. It really is quite a well thought through (and executed) process.

But it is so much more than a process... and we are striving to remind ourselves that it is all about the people. And thankfully, God gave us many opportunities today to connect with people. Being one of the non-medical guys, I had the opportunity to man the "kid's corner" and had a blast giving away our famous trinkets, playing games and coloring to help them pass the time while waiting to be seen. Many others on our team had opportunities to engage the people to better understand their story and even to pray with them. It was great for me to see some patients today that were in church the night before and had come down for prayer. We even had a good few patients whom we had worked with in previous missions - either through construction or children that had come to Campo Alegria with us. In fact, during our lunch break, we went over to see Sylvia and her family but she wasn't home and the kids were in school, however one of her relatives came out to greet us. We built Sylvia's home a few years ago with one of our construction teams. It's amazing how the connections remain strong through the years.

No Wildwood mission day would be complete without a visit to the Stop and Go for the fruit popsicles. They are so good and were such a treat to try to cool off after a long, hot day! We are also having some great team time together at night reflecting on what God has been doing in and through us so far. Thanks for the continued prayer support!

Med Mission Nica: Day 2

It will definitely be hard to put today into words. Sundays are great days down here in Nicaragua. It is always so amazing to have our perception and understanding of worship expanded by worshipping in a global context. We started our day of worship at Verbo Church. This is the Buzbees' church and shares some similarities with what we are "used" to. Many of the songs we sang today, we knew the English version and then Elizabeth even translated the sermon for us which was a blessing. After church we had the Buzbees join us for our Sunday lunch and had a great time sharing together. A good bit of our team are 'veterans' or have connections to the Buzbees, so our time with them is always treasured.

No trip to Nicaragua would be complete without the trek over to Wimby's Market. Anything you could think of is for sale there and they are ready to bargain. This team was spared my annual tour of the 'meat' section, though. We did have to make it a quick trip so some of the team could make it out to church in Los Cedros.

Brooke, Kathy, Buddy, Lil and myself made the trip down to Los Cedros for church. Los Cedros is a community near and dear to the Wildwood teams as we have built three homes there, taken the children to Campo Alegria and also worked in construction on the Christian school. Pastor Manuel and his wife have also become dear friends and partners in the ministry.

I was given the opportunity to preach tonight and really felt like the Holy Spirit had spoken to me in my quiet time this morning and so it seemed like He was preparing me for something - and then found out later that it would turn into a message. The worship service is so different in Los Cedros. It's not modern, no A/C, no words on the screen or other amenities, yet the people worship with passion! Nearly all have walked to church in the heat and work up quite a sweat in their passionate worship which lasts over two hours. I wonder each year if I found myself in that situation if I would make the effort to go to church.

After I preached, we invited anyone down for prayer. Our team came forward and we prayed individually for about 25 people. It was a powerful time of ministry and the Holy Spirit was palpable. God really challenged my heart during that time and I felt Him calling me to a greater ministry of prayer. I'm not sure what that will look like, but am trusting Him on that one!

We hit the road early tomorrow for what will be our first day of clinics. We will be heading down to Los Cedros for our first clinic day. Please be praying for our team that we would have the opportunity to minister physical and spiritual healing!

PS - if you are reading this on Facebook - head to toddveleber.blogspot.com to check out pics. You can also follow us in real time at twitter.com/wwoutreach.

Med Mission Nica: Day 1

Well we have made it safely to Nicaragua and I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this team. It already seems like God is doing a good work in the hearts of those that are on the team, so I can only imagine what He has in store for us this week.

We had a pretty uneventful travel day and despite having only a short layover - managed to make it just in time for our departing flight from Miami. We then arrive in Nicaragua, in the middle of their hot, dry season (it hasn't rained since November) and it starts raining... and not just raining, but pouring for about two and a half hours! What a blessing as we ended up with much cooler temps than expected after the rain.

Today was a fairly relaxed, but important day for us as we had to prep all the supplies for our clinics that will be starting on Monday. All the pills and vitamins had to be sorted, bagged and labeled for distribution from our clinic pharmacy. This process took us over four hours, but we did get to take a break and enjoy a nice dinner prepared by our favorite Nicaragua cook - Maria!

Tomorrow morning we'll join the Buzbees for church at Verbo and then have a relaxing Sabbath afternoon to enjoy some silence and solitude before heading to evening church in Los Cedros. Our Wildwood teams have invested much energy and resources into the community of Los Cedros and it is always exciting to join them for worship and see families we have built homes for and children we have taken to camp.

We appreciate your prayer support and will do our best to have daily updates. Pray that God would work in us and through us in a powerful way. Don't forget to follow our twitter updates at twitter.com/wwoutreach.

A Cry for Mercy

O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why, then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success acclaim and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words and thoughts can be come a hymn of praise to you.

I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.

Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.

- From A Cry for Mercy by Henri J. M. Nouwen