“Where are you going this time?”
The SEAPC Medical Team gets this question quite a lot. It is often followed up by, “Is there anything I can do?”
The one thing that no one has ever asked is how the entire undertaking is put together. The simple answer is this: Think of the moving parts of a vintage watch, with all the cogs, wheels, and springs. Each piece fits together with precision so that the timepiece will produce the desired result: keeping time.
In the same way, a medical mission trip is comprised of many components that must be carefully fit together into one cohesive whole. But before anything is begun, there is a mandatory starting point, without which the pieces may be put into place, but they won’t function.
Every trip begins with prayer. In fact, prayer is how a trip comes to be in the first place. Sometimes it’s the result of prayers from friends in other nations who need the services of a medical team. Sometimes it’s a desire placed into the heart of a missionary who has embraced the mandate to submit to the Lord’s voice. And sometimes it is the result of relationships developed over years of serving a nation.
God’s call to go is clear. Circumstances may dictate the destination, but the final result is always part of His plan. This fall the team had proposed a trip to Kashmir, India, but political unrest precluded it. Which means that although man had his plans, God guided his steps, and led the way instead to Nepal, to serve with friends who have a need to be encouraged and lifted up. The team left on September 15th.
Once a destination is chosen, preparations begin. Medical missions require medical supplies, medicines, and healthcare professionals. Recruitment of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, chiropractors, is a huge undertaking. Because those who work have to be willing to take vacation time to serve. And to use their own financial resources; generally, it costs airfare plus $100/person per day. It is a personal sacrifice. And although it often seems like there are not enough medical people to do the job, God always makes it work. Even if what is accomplished isn’t part of man’s plan.
A full medical mission team also includes prayer warriors with no medical background. Although medical clinics are the hook to bring people in, the endgame is to introduce them to Jesus through prayer. It’s great to relieve someone’s back pain with two weeks’ worth of Ibuprofen. How much greater is it to alleviate the burden of their sin for eternity through prayer? And through prayer, true medical miracles happen. Yes, miracles. Not just the ambiguous decrease of shoulder pain, absent headache, or feeling returned to numb toes. These things happen on every trip. So do quantifiable miracles. Tumors gone. Cataract eyes clear. Hands closed with contractures opened. All good stuff.
With a destination and a team in place, the SEAPC mission coordinator secures flights, while the team leader works with in-country partners to develop an itinerary, accommodations, and transportation on the ground. This is a fluid process that may change up to the day of departure—or even upon arrival. The old adage, blessed are the flexible, for they shall be flexed, is true. Every time.
Medical supplies are gathered from a variety of sources. Brother’s Brother Foundation fills requests based on donations they have received. This includes prescription medications as well as ancillary equipment. People donate over-the-counter meds and vitamins, as well as related provisions like bandages. Reading glasses are purchased at the Dollar Store. Some items will be bought at the destination with funds contributed for this purpose. Planning is not easy, as different maladies are prevalent in different areas.
To be good stewards, the medical team hauls a huge suitcase of medicine and supplies all over the world. It’s not unusual to be prescribing pain medicine from Indonesia to patients in Guatemala, or to be giving out Spanish-labeled meds for use in Asia. Being good stewards requires prayer—lots and lots of prayer. Especially as Customs and Immigration inspects the bags. God has been faithful. We won’t stop praying.
In addition to meds and supplies, the fundamentals of a good physical exam are hand-carried on each trip: stethoscopes, a scale, otoscope, blood pressure monitors. Also paper and pens, sharpie markers, bags to package medicine, plastic containers for creams, scissors, hemostats, stickers for the kids, height and weight charts. The list seems to grow with each trip, as the process is fine-tuned.
Research is required to be prepared, as most destinations do not include a local Wal Mart. A Bible and mission trip journal is standard. So are a towel, luggage scale, toiletries, and electricity converter. Clothing must be considered, as it may be hot and humid, cold, or muddy. Culture also plays a role. Some countries require that ladies wear skirts, cover their heads, or have sleeves.
For medical clinics, translators are necessary to understand patients’ physical needs fully. They are also useful for prayer, although the Lord knows the petitions in advance. It is helpful to have tables and chairs and at least one private spot for delicate exams. That being said, the team has functioned in a wide variety of locations, including churches, schools, village streets, hotel lobbies, kitchens, under a mango tree, and on top of an anthill.
Almost every medical mission trip—although well planned, supplied, and plowed in prayer—does not turn out as anticipated. There may be more patients. Fewer patients. Doors closed. Windows opened. There is one sure and certain thing on every trip: God is glorified. Arrive in Vientiane, Laos, but permission to work is rescinded? He leads to Thailand’s rural villages. Arrive in Mexico to find that arrangements have fallen through? He saves souls in a men’s prison. Van breaks down in the middle of nowhere? Locals receive the Lord and pain meds for aching backs.
How do all these myriad parts and potential problems come together? One word: prayer. It might be the intentional prayer of those who support the efforts of the medical team from the beginning. It might be prayer while the team is away. It is always bursts of insistent prayer in the field as issues arise, and we need Him right now.
Not everyone is called to go on a medical mission. But even non-medical people are needed—they are more critical than practitioners. Why? Because although anyone can pray, dedicated prayer warriors are the heart of the mission. What modern healthcare cannot provide, the Great Physician can and does. If you feel the call and wonder why there’s the answer. And your invitation.
Donations of supplies, medicines, and money are essential to the success of a trip. It’s impossible to do a medical outreach without these. Every person who provides a bottle of Motrin, a box of Band-Aids, or a few dollars is a huge blessing. Nothing is wasted. Anything that can’t be used for a future trip is gifted to a local medical professional or hospital.
Please be in prayer for the team. Global travel is rigorous and unpredictable. Politics and locales can be dangerous. Conditions may be less than stellar. Knowing that we are being covered in prayer is both a blessing and a reassurance. The importance of prayer from start to finish cannot be overemphasized.
This past Sunday, an SEAPC prayer team took off at 7:05 PM, from Pittsburgh, to Toronto, to Istanbul, to Kathmandu. It’s a long journey. Some slept, some read, listened to music, or watched movies. I travel like an infant: sleep, eat, bathroom, repeat. All of us, at many times during the two travel days and the time in Nepal, prayed and will continue to pray. For the mission, for the souls that will come, for the Holy Spirit to guide, for families left behind, for prayer walking and spiritual warfare, for the future of Nepal—the list is individual and unending.
Please pray with us until our return on September 26th at 10:30 PM. God already knows what we need. The way is being prepared. But having partners in the body of Christ is an encouragement to the team and reveals His plan as it unfolds.
To God be the glory, now and forevermore, both at home and in Nepal!
\”Pray at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.\”
Ephesians 6:18
