album050910DRreport  (28 Slides) [Page 1 of 1]  
1 * I participated in a weeklong medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic during the month of September. Many stayed for another week but this report will only reflect the week I was there. This was done through a group called Medical Ministries International (www.mmint.org). * 2048 x 1536 * (629KB)
2 * We arrived at the Detroit Metro Airport in style. How convenient that this limousine pulled up behind for the picture. This is Dave (P.A.-C) and Sally (R.N.). We three from MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland, Michigan joined a team of about thirty others in the D.R. I am taking the picture (you will find this a common theme throughout this report). * 2048 x 1536 * (864KB)
3 * After taking a swing from Miami through Puerto Rico (because it was almost $200 cheaper than going direct) on a plane full of deportees, we arrived in the Dominican Republic. * 2048 x 1536 * (892KB)
3a * We spent the night in Santo Domingo and then headed towards Las Matas de Farfan were we did our ministry. I show this picture because we had an incident were a transformer exploded directly in front of and directly above this pickup. There was a huge explosion and flash and sparks everywhere. These guys bailed out of the back of this pickup and thankfully no one got zapped. * 2048 x 1536 * (689KB)
4 * ?Welcome to Las Matas de Farfan? * 2048 x 1536 * (1.34MB)
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4a * We arrived, we broke into our teams. There was a surgical team that worked in a local operating room and a medical team. The medical team of which I was a part went out to various nearby villages to do outpatient medicine. This is a picture of the Dominican and American co-directors of the ministry. * 2048 x 1536 * (793KB)
5 * I would like to take you through a typical day of the medical team. It began with a shower?sometimes cold, sometimes hot, or sometimes with this solar camp shower that I brought. * 2048 x 1536 * (838KB)
6 * We would eat breakfast and load up the bus. * 2048 x 1536 * (1.28MB)
6a * And ride to a nearby village. * 2048 x 1536 * (808KB)
6aa * We set up clinic mostly at local school buildings. The locals were always glad to see us. * 2048 x 1536 * (1.33MB)
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7 * We unloaded the bus and set up the pharmacy. * 2048 x 1536 * (959KB)
8 * And our ?exam rooms.? I got the corner with the window this time. * 2048 x 1536 * (913KB)
9 * And the nice view. * 2048 x 1536 * (961KB)
10 * Then we would gather outside and the minister would open us with a song and a prayer. * 2048 x 1536 * (971KB)
11 * While we waited for our first patients to arrive we had a prayer walk. * 2048 x 1536 * (1.2MB)
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12 * Then we would begin to see patients. * 2048 x 1536 * (877KB)
13 * And more patients. * 2048 x 1536 * (798KB)
14 * And more patients. * 2048 x 1536 * (869KB)
15 * And more patients. We typically saw about 130 patients per day divided between five clinicians. * 2048 x 1536 * (757KB)
16 * We wrote a brief note of the complaints, clinical findings, and required medications. * 1536 x 2048 * (690KB)
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17 * The patents would then turn in their ?prescriptions? at the pharmacy and go to ?integrated health.? At this location they would receive basic health education and ministry. Each day there were patients who received the Gospel of Jesus Christ and made a decision to follow Him. * 2048 x 1536 * (864KB)
18 * We had a relatively extensive pharmacy but often did not have the required medicine. We gave out lots of antibiotics, antifungal, and antiparasitic medication along with basic pain medications (Tylenol and Motrin). We also used stomach, allergy, blood pressure, and diabetes medicines. * 2048 x 1536 * (824KB)
18a * We gave out tons (almost literally) of vitamins. * 2048 x 1536 * (1.04MB)
19 * There were always lots of interested observers. For some reason in the D.R., looking into windows is not considered rude. * 2048 x 1536 * (848KB)
21 * After work, we headed back to the camp for a little R &R. * 2048 x 1536 * (1.08MB)
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22 * Our week went so fast and soon enough we had to get back to the airport. * 2048 x 1536 * (669KB)
23 * Although we arrived on a plane full of deportees, we left the country on a plane with the president of the Dominican Republic (the man in the light colored shirt bending down). * 2048 x 1536 * (901KB)
24 * This was a wonderful trip both medically and spiritually. It was really hard to come home after having another taste of my heart?s desire. I don?t know if I will ever return to the Dominican Republic in this lifetime, but I do know that God will continue to use me to shine His Light in this Dark world. Thanks to all those who participated in this trip through prayer. * 2048 x 1536 * (664KB)
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Album last updated on Sep 17, 2005 - 07:49 PM