Cambita Garabito; It's All About The Plans

 

Jeremiah 29:11 begins with "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord".  The unfortunate thing is that I am pretty sure that I don't know what His plans are when it comes to the mission trips we make.  You would think that I know that by now after 34 trips, but I just keep learning. Take for instance our recent MMI trip to the Dominican Republic on January 29,2024.  

MY PLANS

It takes quite a while to "plan" for a trip like this.  But this is not just me, it involves coordination with a large number of people over a long time.  Sheri and I and Bill and Pat Waswick are involved throughout the year in advance of the trip.  The challenge is that we don't know how many people will go with us, how many people we will take care of, nor what those conditions will be.  So, making plans in and of itself is complicated by any number of erroneous assumptions.  But we have the benefit of experience and a history of doing this kind of thing.  One of the difficulties is in remembering that this is God's plan and not our own.  We make a prediction of how many we will have and what we will do, then go about trying to achieve that goal.

Peoples

It begins with the people who join us.  We know that to set up and run a clinic we need at least 5-10 participants and in surgery we need 15 to 20 to run two to three surgical tables.  The size of the places we go can limit us also.  So, when we had 33 sign up to go, we thought we might have a few too many.  Most people who go, want to be busy.
  Jim Collins, the author, says it's not enough to have the right number of people on the bus, they have to be sitting in the right seats to make an organization productive.  But when one of our participants had to return home for a family emergency and two more came down with COVID, we ended up with the right amount of people and those were sitting in the right places.

Places

This year we were returning to Yaguate where we went last year.  At least we thought we were until we were told around 2 weeks prior to leaving that the hospital in Yaguate was being remodeled and we couldn't go there after all.  A new hospital had been recently opened in Cambita Garabito.  As we found out, so new that the surgery area had not been used at all.  We were scheduled to go to 5 different villages and set up our medical, dental and vision clinic but not until we arrived did we find out that 3 of the villages could not host us. 
Fortunately, the MMI staff in the DR was at work behind the scenes and replacement sites were found.

Products

What we can do is certainly controlled by who and how many we bring, but also what we bring has an impact on what we do, namely the supplies, equipment, and medications.  In the DR, MMI has a warehouse that can hold the big equipment and supplies such as tables, lights, anesthesia machines and sterilizers that we need for a project since we can't count on all of the hospitals to have what we need.  We are able to set up a "MASH" like hospital in almost any facility.  But, the disposable supplies are more of a problem. 

We generally bring 1,000 to 1,500 pounds worth of supplies as our checked luggage (27-gallon Rubbermaid-like tubs).  We collect those supplies year-round and process them here then take with us.  Medications are purchased from a non-for-profit wholesaler.  We know that we usually see around 500 patients in the clinic so we try to bring enough medications to provide for that number.

  Vitamins are commonly given out to each of the patients as they represent a luxury for the people there.  So, I ordered 18 bottles of 1000 each to take only to find out in November that they couldn't supply the order since there had been so many worldwide needs (Ukraine, Tsunamis, Earthquakes).  So I approached our church and a "Vitamin Sunday" was set up for people to bring vitamins to church on December 3.  Together with what was collected and cash donations made, we were able to take almost 13,000 doses of vitamins.  I have to send a list of each bottle and amount to Customs in the DR 6 weeks in advanced so I sent my list only to find on my front porch three days before Christmas a box that had the full 18,000 vitamins that had been backordered.  God provided abundantly and more that we planned.  The abundance provided for future projects that didn't have vitamins with them to also provide for these needs.

HIS PLANS

I have learned that the best way for me to follow His plans is for me to not get to far ahead and be willing to be flexible if I find that I was wrong about what I thought I heard Him say.  These projects certainly prove that.  Being flexible seems to be one of the most valuable skills that one needs to participate in a mission project.  So, with that view thru the rear-view mirror, I can better see how His Plans have unfolded.

Unity

1 Corinthians 12:25-26 So that there will be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  We were able to bring 33 people from the US and work with 11 from the Dominican Republic with such diverse backgrounds to include 2 countries, 10 cities, 5 states, multiple jobs at home, and most of who didn't know each other prior to landing in a foreign country.  It was that common purpose that united us all into a cohesive and productive "body" that we equally suffered and equally rejoiced during the project.

Service

John 13:15  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 

Year of Project	2024
Patients Seen in Clinic	442
Health Education	837
Prescriptions Filled	1,634
Eye Exams	192
Dental Patients	101
Major Surgeries	48
Minor Surgeries	33
Consults	107
Commitments to Christ	10
Project Location	Cambita Garabito

 The wonderful part of going on a mission trip is that everyone who comes does so voluntarily and of their own free will expecting to serve.  Almost every year, I have people share that this type of comradery and environment is why they went into health care in the first place.  Likewise, the responses to us by the patients and families we see is heartwarming.  
Statistics are a poor way of quantifying our impact but still help to underscore the services that we were able to provide to "the least of these" that Jesus talked about.

I received a beautiful hand-written in lovely cursive English from one of our patients that I would love to show you some time as it  hanging on my wall.

  It was interesting that she thanked us not for our medications, our dental work or even our skilled surgical procedures but for our presence.  We just showed up and followed God's plan.  If I stopped my post here, it would be considered just nice heartwarming entertainment.  But there is more.

YOUR PLANS

So now the hard part.  What does this mean for you?  There are many opportunities to serve on mission trips with MMI in over 23 countries annually.  For some, that is not a good option.  For some, going with us to the DR next year around the last week of January may be an option.  Or maybe it's helping with the purchase or packing of the medications and supplies.  And hopefully, it includes praying now for next year.  But the Great Commission, as I read it, doesn't seem to have a "none of the above" option.  So, consider going, giving, praying or maybe all of the above for the least and the lost as we begin to try to figure the Plans He has for us all.