I'm Choosing to Feel Loved!

Last year the university enforced a new policy that students may no longer call professors and staff by their first names. With a three syllabal last name, I was often called Professor M. One student, however, decided that even that was too long and he began calling me ProM instead. It wasn't long before almost all the students were calling me ProM. It didn't bother me, I don't think it was ever said rudely and I can think of much worse things to be called.
This year I find myself still being called ProM, only this time by former students, new students, the office ladies and even a few fellow professors. I suppose I should feel loved?
Yesterday I went down to the school to make a few copies and do a little cleaning in my office. I went into the nursing student lounge to put some things in the student mailboxes. As I looked up at the white board, I saw this...

I suppose I should be glad that it didn't say "ProM Sucks!"

Living the Dream

This is written version of the schpeal that I gave in chapel on Friday. Of course I don't really read word for word while I'm giving an address but this is pretty close:

Have you ever had a dream? I’m not talking about the "I showed up late for class one day to everyone pointing and laughing only to find out I was in my underwear” sort of dreams. But have you ever had a time in your life where you know God was saying, "Listen up! There's something important here and I want you to pursue it!"

Each person you see is up here because they had that kind of dream and they went for it! For me this dream started in 1996. I was in Mexico for the first time, meeting my neighbor up close and personal, and God planted a dream that I called "the 3M’s:" Mexico medical missions. In Mexico, God showed me a people that He loved -- a people with an openness, a readiness, a connection, and a need that I felt called to work with.

Dreams are processes, in God's kingdom, and the journey is part of living the dream. One of my favorite memories from this trip was a church service one night, where we were all sharing testimonies. It was awesome to see how God had been shaping each of our ideas and circumstances, for all these years, to bring us to this place. The two weeks you're going to hear about are just the tip of the iceberg.

So what was this trip? Our work began in a village called Aldea, where we set up a clinic below a rock quarry to meet the needs of the surrounding community in partnership with a local church. We covered everything from runny noses, to ear infections, to prenatal care. Some of us even cut hair!

We spent the second half of the trip serving with the Red Cross, focusing on trauma patients. Our team had the opportunity to see life in the streets of Mexico City from a medical perspective. We rode in ambulances, dealt with accident victims, sutured wounds, performed CPR and saw firsthand the needs of the city, which extended far beyond just the physical. Even though we were “living our dream,” the work wasn't easy.

It truly was an amazing adventure, but really it's just part of the ultimate journey. God is at work in each of us, bringing us closer and closer to where he wants us to be – and really, that's The Dream that we should be living every day.

Yay!

It's official, NURS 4910 has been approved for credit and will be in the course catalogue for this upcoming summer! The students are extatic, as they should be, they worked VERY hard for this class. Since we've been back three different professors have asked my students to share about their experiences in their classes. I have a lot of juniors already expressing interest. Here goes something...

Is it OK if I'm Laughing?

August 15th marked the date of a good friends wedding, it was also the day we were to leave for Mexico. Fortunately our flight out of SeaTac wasn't until very late during the night, I had plenty of time to go to the wedding, pack my bags, pack the medical supplies and do last minute checks on paperwork before boarding the plane.
That morning I work up early to finish packing my bags and to run over to my sisters house to feed her cats before heading off to the wedding. I had to be there early as I was slated to work in the kitchen helping to prepare the wedding feast. The wedding was held on a farm in Arlington. The reception hall was a converted barn. The kitchen area was quite small for an event like this but we came prepared with crock pots and the like.
The food was well planned and there was a detailed list and timeline to follow as far as when to add the sauce, boil the noodles, etc... All was going well and I was right on schedule with my salad making duty when suddenly I saw from the corner of my eye flames jumping from the stove top! It seems that one of sauce pots on the stove had boiled over and caught the burner on fire. Two other women and I quickly turned off the stove, removed all the pots and attempted to smother the fire with the lid of a pot. By this time the room (and the reception hall) was filled with smoke. Unfortunately my pot lid idea was unsuccessful in smothering out the fire, we had bust out the fire extinguisher. Fortunately that seemed to take care of the problem very quickly but it also covered a large amount of our prepared food in layer of fine powder. Needless to say we ended up having to throw the food away, keep the guests busy and send somebody on an emergency Costco run.
In the end it all turned out OK but I did end up smelling like smoke for the plane ride to Mexico City. All in all it was quite the funny story; or maybe you had to be there...

I just saw that a friend of mine posted this really cool quote, I'm not sure where she go it from but I thought it suited the subject.
"Fire is the reuniting of matter to oxygen. If one bears that in mind, every blaze may be seen as a reunion, an occasion of chemical joy."

More from Mexico CIty

Greetings from Mexico City! My apologies that we haven’t been able to update you sooner, our schedules have been jam packed with various adventures. Adventures which included a trip to the pyramids, a corn festival, a coffee house, a southern gospel version of “This Little Light of Mine,” stained glass window depicting Spanish Conquistadores wearing Nike and Converse tennis shoes and the list goes on!
The last brigade was held yesterday which was probably a good thing as we ran out of vitamins to distribute to those who came. I believe the last update was written right after the first brigade. I’ll attempt to fill you in starting from that point. Our second brigade was held at a new location, the base of a rock quarry in an area called “Aldea.” Aldea is a very poor area and is apparently notoriously difficult to evangelize (as we were told by our hosts). Worship death and the dead is also prevalent in this area. Overall the day went well, we saw somewhere around 70 patients and had the opportunity to encourage and be encouraged by our host church.
Wednesday was set aside as a “play day.” We visited the ancient Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan. It was an amazing experience to be able to have team devotions atop the Pyramid of the Sun. As we walked through the ruins of the great Aztec City we were reminded of Isaiah 40. Verse 8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
Thursday and Friday were spent doing more brigades but this time at Ezekiel and Eva’s church (our housing hosts) here in Chalco. All went well with the clinics and many people were served. Our patients ranged from newborns to the elderly presenting with a wide range of problems from heartburn to the more complex problems including diabetes and glaucoma.
This morning at church three of us were able to share testimonies. Zanna spoke about dreams that God lays on our hearts, Alex spoke about God’s purpose in our lives and I spoke about the vulnerability and about how God wants us to know Him and to be known to Him. I don’t think any of us knew what the other was going to talk about but as it turns out they all fit together perfectly, especially with the message that Carlos (our host) had prepared for the service. Carlos spoke about God’s call for all of us to share our hope with others whether in our own neighborhood or other countries. Some are called to be missionaries near and some are called to faraway lands. The church here is just beginning to send out missionaries to other people groups. They have access and unique connections that could make them effective in this work beyond what many Americans have. It was amazing to be able to encourage them in that. After the message we able to pray for all the young people and encourage them to live out God’s purpose in their lives. What an amazing day!
Tomorrow we begin our work with the Red Cross. The students are excited but a bit nervous. It’s the start of the second leg of our journey full of potential for exciting new adventures. We will keep you updated as time and internet access allows.

Mexico City Update

We’re here! We arrived in Mexico City on Sunday morning after a rather uneventful flight. Customs was an adventure as Janell and Sarah were both stopped and our mountains of medical supplies were searched through. In the end all we lost was a few boxes of syringes but hundrends more made it though!
After the customs fiasco, our wonderful hosts Carlos and Carrie,were waiting for us on the other side and we were able to have first meal in Mexico at lovely little café on the way to the church. We are staying with Carlos’ aunt and uncle, Eva and Ezekiel. They pastor a small church in the outlying area of Chalco. What wonderful gracious hosts they are!
Yesterday we began work at or first brigade. Between Mr. Peck and Dr. Luna we got through about 60 patients, most of them children. Janell did a lot of the translating for her dad while working at his clinic station. Julie and Sarah did a lot of vital signs and triage and also worked with Dr. Luna. Alex and Zanna were “flexico in Mexico” and helped out with an unmet need by cutting hair for school children as the school year here in Mexico begins next week.
After the clinic experience we headed to a pharmacy to pick up some medications that wished we would have had at the clinic during the day. While at the pharmacy, 5 more children showed up needing medical certificates for school. (apparently they do this at the pharmacy?) The pharmacist, a friend of Carlos and Carrie’s, “invited” us to help him out with the assessments. So… There we were assessing school children on the side of the street outside the pharmacy window, why not!
While assessing the children at the pharmacy, Carlos got a call from his uncle who hosts a Christian radio show. He was inviting us to be on his show! I wasn’t quite sure how the girls would feel about this but I thought it would be a great opportunity so I said yes; after all, Mexico is flexico. What a hoot, we were on the Mexican equivalent of Focus on the Family being interviewed about missions!
Thank you to all of you who are praying for us at home. God’s hand of protection as truly been upon us and we are so blessed to be a small part of what He is doing here in Mexico.

Greetings from Taipei!

Hellow everybody, I've made it safely to Taipei. We are on a 4 hour layover between here and Cambodia. The flight wasn't bad at all, I got a window seat but nobody in the seat next to me. I got to spread out a bit and get some good sleep and still had some time to relax and read a good book. (In His Image by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey).

Right before I boarded the plane I turned to one of my teammates and said, “What am I doing?” “Following Jesus,” she answered. I must admit that I never really had any special interest to work in Asia. When I was asked to consider going on this trip my first thought was ‘no’. Now I find myself in a foreign airport with a team I don’t know, totally “pumped” for the unknown that lies ahead. How did I get here, well I hope my new friend was right, by following Jesus.

This is going to be a very different sort of trip. Not only is it a new place with a team that I don’t know at all, but I’m not in any way shape or form in charge! I never thought of myself as a control freak but I must admit that it is quite different to be placed in this position. I have a lot to learn and I have a feeling that this whole experience is going to be an exercise in listening and being prompted. Praise the Lord for situations such as these where I have no control, no idea what’s going on, don’t know the language and the only thing I can do is listen, wait upon the Lord and following His prompting.