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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Medical Clinic

In October, we traveled to a small town near the Russian and Mongolian borders for our medical clinic. The area is very poor.
We weren't surprised by the dogs that would eat from the scattered trash, but we were taken aback by the numerous cows that would do the same thing.
 The doctors saw more than 400 patients.
It was so great to visit with several of the families that I met last month. I was able to give them photos that had been taken earlier. This woman was particularly overjoyed because her husband had never had a photo taken of him before. (You can see the two photos I gave her by looking in a previous September blog post.)
I was glad to be able to see this family as well. The man is the one who was so deeply moved by my handshake last month -- that I would be willing to respect him as an equal. It is very sad that there is such a social barrier between economic classes here, but I'm glad that we could begin forming a bridge.
The crowds kept growing as TV coverage increased. Wherever we went, people would mention seeing us on TV. The coverage continued after we left.
This is my good friend Dion who translated for me (the young man, not the donkey :)
Dion and I are standing in the town square.
I enjoyed being able to build a friendship with the hospital president.
 Here, Cathy is displaying her chopstick skills in front of Sam, Dorothy and John.
Dion and me again. Although I prefer using a fork, I'm so glad that I can use chopsticks. Before I was healed from MS, I never thought I'd be able to use chopsticks again.
Wherever we went, people were eager to befriend us. This is at an upscale market.
It was a joy to be able to distribute wheelchairs. For me, passing out wheelchairs is way more fun than a trip to Disneyland.
This woman recently had a stroke, paralyzing part of her body. She and her daughter were so happy for the wheelchair. Now she can get out of the apartment.
This family lost their home in the heavy rains last August. We were happy to help out with rent in their temporary home. It isn't much, but at least they can pay for rent through the winter.
This is not the whole group (some doctors were still with patients), but the photo gives a good idea of the team.
A few of our volunteers: James, Angela and Yvonne.
Yvonne and Sheen
Every day and each night, a group of us would pray and sing.
Here, we are prayer walking towards the temple, asking the Lord to awaken the dawn. Psalm 108.
~Kevin