Most people in the world do not have access to all the health benefits that Americans have. If we have a small hurt, we can call 911 and get instant response to just about any illness or accident. But in the part of Nicaragua we ministered today, there is very little medical access.

Medical Clinic Day.

Today we were able to minister to 207 people and gave out thousands of vitamins and medicines. Many of these saw a doctor for the first time. Dr. Victor Cherfan is a OB/GYN and brought along a portable ultrasound machine. Eight women saw their unborn baby. The look on their face was priceless.

We had torrential rains in the morning prior to our clinic opening at 8AM (it’s the rainy season in Nicaragua). For a long time, nobody showed up. But after the rains, many came to see a doctor.

When a patient arrived at the clinic they went through six stages. First, they, they were registered under a tent. Second, we shared the Gospel to them under another tent, Third, they were brought in to triage, vital signs were recorded, and any symptoms were noticed. Fourth, they saw a doctor to determine the best approach to help them. Fifth, they were sent to our ‘pharmacy’ where they were given any medications that might help them.

While we were getting ready for lunch, a little boy had a cut on his foot. Dr. Michael Nelson was able to give him a stitch with the help of several of the other doctors and nurses.

One man was so weak he needed help getting to the clinic. There wasn’t much the doctors could do without a hospital. He possibly had heart problems. Though they were not able to help him physically, they talked to him about his spiritual life. He knew Christ as Savior and knew where he would go for eternity. This is the difference between a Christian missions trip and a humanitarian trip. The humanitarian trip is limited and many times reaches its limit. However, when the Christian missions trip hits its limit and cannot help someone one, we can turn them to Christ who will help them. I love missions trips.

Flood Victims.

While these medical professionals were helping people, the others (myself included) visited the church people. They recently underwent a flood. These people live in horrible conditions anyway – dirt floors, holes in the walls, no beds, etc. But with the floods up to 3 feet high in their house, the destructions was unbelievable. Yet, they were smiling, invited us in, and happy to visit with us.

Our two churches are going to raise the money to help these people. We will be able to lay a gravel floor in their house for $18. We can buy mattresses for about $25. We are also going to buy a grocery bag of basic food goods for less than $10 and feed nearly 100 families. Most of us were overwhelmed at the poverty conditions these people were living in.

Nicaragua Church.

This is Sunday and we typically have church on Sunday morning. However, they have their main church service here on Sunday night. It was a great time and we recognized many of the songs (although they were in Spanish). They fed us rice for dinner and came home.

Even though it’s only the first day, all the Americans were overwhelmed with the poverty of this country and the privilege of our country. We were reminded that we should share out of our bounty to those less fortunate.

The missionary, Max Kennedy, opened our day in prayer proclaiming that most people in the world would not do what we are doing this week. If more people would, it would be a better world.

You can read about all the other days at: Nicaragua Missions Trip 2016.