Lessons Learned

Six weeks.  Nine hospitals.  And now 16 blog posts.

It's been a significant journey in many ways.  I've traveled all around Northern India, and I've been stretched both mentally and spiritually.  While there are several lessons/takeaways from the trip, there are three especially important ones for me.  First, the incredible level of spiritual maturity that many of the hospital staff demonstrated was both encouraging as well as humbling.  It was clear in my interactions that they trust God for everything, and the stories they have of God's faithfulness are pretty mind-blowing!  Their absolute trust in God (proven many times over) encourages me to strive for the same.

Second, as a life lesson, a trip to India teaches anyone that being flexible is important.  Even the best-laid plans can't always be relied upon for various reasons.  Therefore, it hit me again on this trip that it's important to be available to do whatever's most pressing in the moment- even if it means my future plans have to be put on hold.  When I learned to simply be available to help (without worrying about what's coming/supposed to come next), I found I really enjoyed the trip more.  I found I was also much more helpful when I was open to do whatever was needed, rather than what I thought was needed.

My last big takeaway is really the reminder that God is real, and He works in powerful ways.  Put simply, India is a hostile place for Christianity.  It is therefore clear that God has His hand in whatever successes we can produce.  Seeing God work firsthand through the hospitals is extremely encouraging!

Overall, it was a fantastic trip!  I really enjoyed my time in India, and felt like I was able to make a difference.  Thank you all for your prayers!

More Pictures!  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=3&l=4d83cb2951

More pictures!

Hey everyone!  I got my picture issue sorted out- I've put some of the most recent ones + explanations below!  As always, check the link at the bottom for even more pictures.

The director of a slum improvement project in Delhi. This project does some pretty amazing work improving the life quality of slum dwellers! 

Workers from the Palliative care project at Lalitpur hospital helping a man with advanced tongue cancer. Palliative care is care for the terminally ill and dying. Care for the dying is really uncommon here in India, so it's a huge ministry of the hospital!

Government and hospital workers running a health clinic in a rural village.

I visited a school to watch the hospital workers teach the kids about health. The kids love being in pictures :) 

Lots of people in a rural village gathering for a health clinic run by Lalitpur hospital.

A typical rural village house

Another typical rural village house.

More pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=1&l=4d83cb2951

The Last Leg

It's really hard for me to believe that I'm on the very last leg of my trip.  Tonight my family arrives in Delhi.  I really can't wait to see them! I haven't been able to think about much else for the last few days :).

As I look back on the last 5+ weeks, it's pretty amazing to think back to all the places I've been.  Nine hospitals total.  Seven of those in the first 3 weeks alone.  It's really been a wonderful trip.  This last part of the trip, I will go visit one more hospital with my family before I fly out on Monday.  It's hard to believe that the end of my time here is coming so soon- wow!

I'm currently working on some pictures from the last couple weeks.  I'll get those up when I have some time!  Also, as I compile some general thoughts/lessons/experiences from the trip, I'll put them up too.  In the meantime, make sure to check out my pictures if you haven't already!

Pictures! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=3&l=4d83cb2951

5

I'm counting down.  

Just. Five. More. Days. until I see my family :D.  Needless to say, I'm super excited!

I'll be in India for a while longer.  But, my family will be coming out and I can't wait to see them.  We'll spend a few days together at one hospital (Landour- the very first one I visited.  Near the Himalaya mountains) and go see the Taj Mahal together before I fly home.  

In the meantime, I'm here at Lalitpur hospital.  Lalitpur is unique from all other EHA hospitals since it has a Palliative Care program.  Basically, palliative care is care for the terminally ill and dying.  It's a really neat program since it is virtually unheard of in most of India.  Unfortunately, the cultural mentality is to abandon the old and dying, since they have nothing left to offer.  Since care for the dying is so counter-cultural, the workers have lots of opportunities to share the Gospel.  First, many of the villagers wonder why someone cares enough to serve the dying.  Great opportunities there to share Christ's love for everyone.  Also, since the patients are dying, they often start thinking about eternity for the first time.  Again, some pretty great opportunities to talk about heaven & redemption.

I got pictures of my visit into the community a few days ago.  Unfortunately I left my memory card at the last hospital (rrgh), so I don't have those pictures for you now.  However, I do have very similar pictures from last year!

Villagers looking on as hospital workers look at a patient in the community

Women in the village gathered to watch as hospital workers cared for a dying patient.

An awareness drive conducted by the hospital workers with schoolchildren to prevent malaria.

Link for more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=3&l=4d83cb2951

The next stage

Heyyo everyone!  I know it's been a few days.  But, as promised, I wanted to let you know how my trip is going to be a little bit different in the next week and a half.  

Yesterday I arrived at Chhatarpur hospital, roughly 420 miles southeast of Delhi.  This is another hospital visit, but what's different about this visit is that I'm going to be here for 4 whole days.  After this hospital, I'll go to another one (Lalitpur hospital) for 5 days.  The significance of longer visits is huge- it means I can spend time with people, rather than just seeing buildings and hearing about what's done.  Being able to build relationships and talk with people is awesome- you get to hear great stories of what God's doing and it makes the visit all the more meaningful.  It also means I can immerse myself a little more in the work that the hospital is doing.  I'm excited that tomorrow (Monday), I'll be going into a village with the Community Health team!  I'll get pictures and put them up when I can.  

On a side note, I wanted to ask you to pray for my health.  I have a cold right now, and while it's not bad it certainly doesn't help anything.  So, please pray that I would get over this quickly and get healthy again!  Thanks!

Change of Pace

It's hard to believe it's already been three and a half weeks.  It's been a continual whirl of traveling, meeting people, and trying to help as much as possible with only 2 days at any given hospital.  In case you lost count, I was at seven hospitals total all over the country.  While visiting hospitals is great, I'm ready for a change of pace in the next 2 weeks.

The last few days I've spent in Delhi staying with a family I know pretty well here.  It's been a great opportunity to relax and get ready.  Yesterday I visited a friend who runs a slum improvement project here in the city.  It's called the Sahyog project, and it's been very successful in enabling slum inhabitants to improve their own situation.  It was great to catch up with him.

Tomorrow I'll be helping a little differently.  As EHA prepares to launch a major program that affects healthcare for the poor and marginalized, the official meeting is tomorrow.  Officials from the U.N. will be present, and as I understand this sounds like a pretty big deal.  I'm not quite sure, because I was only told earlier today :P.  Anyway, I'm supposed to video and edit the whole thing so they have an official record.  I understand this is a big help to them, so I'm happy to do it!

In a couple days I'll be leaving again for two more hospitals.  It'll be a little different than the first visits though- I'll tell you about it next post!

Pictures!

As promised, here are some pictures.  Remember, click the link at the bottom to see all of my India pictures so far!

Kids part of a 700 member school at Makunda hospital

A typical school room

The school's vice principal, who showed me around

Makunda hospital is in the middle of a jungle area

One of the hospital's wards

The neonatal ICU room

Tezpur hospital's CT scanner.  While quite expensive, this has proven to be an extremely useful piece of machinery 

An operating room

Dr. Howard Searle is on the left, and the two men on the right run Tezpur hospital

A pretty cool lizard :D

The spider that climbed out of my toilet :P.  It had a leg span of ~4 inches

More pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=3&l=4d83cb2951

Storytime!

Meet Injash.

Two years ago, as a deaf and extremely nearsighted 3-year-old, Injash was unable to walk.  If left to develop on his own, he would have had an extremely difficult childhood.  As a cripple/disabled child, he was unable to perform basic personal tasks (such as bathing and dressing) unassisted. Unfortunately, for most children born here in India with mental/physical disabilities, life is pretty grim.  Usually neglected and/or left to die, kids like Injash are given a new shot at life by the Community Health project here at Tezpur hospital.  Like Ringkhar from yesterday, Injash (5) is now doing well, able to move with a walker and able to learn without too much difficulty in school.  As I mentioned in the last post, these stories are pretty incredible reminders of how God is using EHA's Community Health projects to forward His kingdom!

India's population (1.1+ billion) is mostly (80%) Hindu, with a large population of Muslims thrown in.  These are the two major religions of India.  It is estimated that only 1.5% of population are Christians.  This presents an interesting dynamic- while the Hindus and Muslims generally are not hostile to Christians, they also usually are not open to the Gospel.  Street-corner evangelism and straight-up preaching typically are not very effective.  However, the hospitals under EHA provide a channel to share the Gospel.  Most Indians are surprised by the fact that EHA's primary target is the poor and marginalized.  Since this is so unusual in India, it opens doors and hearts for the spread of Christianity.  It is only through the hospital service that this sharing of the Gospel is possible.

The Community Health projects, however, can sometimes evangelize better than the hospitals.  The hospitals serve whoever comes for treatment, but the Community Health projects actively seek out those who are the sickest and poorest.  

Overall, EHA's main goal is not to evangelize, but rather to provide high-quality healthcare to the poor and marginalized.  Read that again.  Initially, my reaction to this concept was that the priorities need to change.  However, EHA has realized that here in India, it is necessary to show Christ's love through service before people open to the Gospel.  

For me, this is a reminder that actions really do speak louder than words.  Often, but not always, striving to live more like Christ is the best way I can share the Gospel.  EHA is an organization that uses this principle as its backbone- and what a strong backbone it is!

One a completely separate note, I've tried to put the best and most relative pictures up here on the blog.  However, there are a bunch more I've taken that didn't make it here for one reason or another.  You can find those pictures at the link below!  It's an album on Facebook, but you don't need an account to see the pictures.

Keep checking the link (I'll put it at the bottom of every post), because it'll auto-update as I add more photos to it.  Enjoy!

More pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.241610675918590.57392.100002089786762&type=3&l=4d83cb2951

Tezpur

Today we moved yet again to another hospital in Tezpur, India.  I'm still in the region known as the Northeast, and I've noticed some really interesting things.  If you look back a few blog posts, I said I was interested in seeing the differences between north and south India.  It turns out that I wasn't far enough south to notice anything large, but there are some very obvious differences between Delhi (North India) and here in the Northeast.  For example, everyone here is more laid back than the people in crowded Delhi.  There's a lot of agricultural work, since lots (and I mean tons) of tea leaves are exported from the area.  The geography's also different- take a drive out of the hospital, and within a short period of time you're traveling through jungle.   While it's not exactly the Amazon rainforest, there are large "jungly" trees, big ferns/vines/creepers, jackals, mosquitos, big spiders, the whole nine yards.  It's an interesting effect to drive through fields for rice or tea plants, and then suddenly hit the edge of the field and start driving through this jungle.  

While the tea business is the main source of revenue for this area, many of the workers on the tea farms are slaves.  Even if they are paid, it's usually a pittance that can't really be called an income.  Working long hours for exceedingly small amounts of money, the families are very poor.  Child trafficking is unfortunately a massive problem here, and the Community Health project at the hospital has really helped the area around the hospital in terms of raising awareness and stopping the widespread issue.  

The Community Health project here also works with disabled children.  It was really neat to hear the story of Ringkhar, a small boy who came to one of the project's village clinics for help.  One year ago, he was unable to use the right side of his body.  His right arm and leg hung uselessly, and his family didn't accept him.  His father was about to abandon him.  However, after working with a physical therapist for the last year, Ringkhar is now able to live a normal life.  He walks nearly two miles unassisted to school every day.  His life has been drastically changed- now he has friends, he is accepted by the community at large, and his father even accepts him as a son now (a significant step forward in Ringkhar's life).  This is just one of the neat stories that the Community Health project here has produced.  I'll tell you about another one next time!

I know this is a large hunk of text to throw at you, but this hospital is really pretty amazing in what they do in the region here in the Northeast.  There's a lot to take in, but hopefully this is interesting enough to read ;).  I'll try to put another post up tomorrow!

Near Bangladesh

Nameste from Northeast India!  I'm now at Makunda hospital, a hospital that serves the poor here in this very remote location in the middle of a jungle.  The hospital is quite successful, on some days serving more than 450 patients from around the region.  Many patients come from hours away to receive treatment.  In addition, the hospital has two schools- a nursing school, and a "regular" school (K-10th grade) with over 700 students.  It's clear that God has blessed this hospital over the years!

Today I will be able to see the community health project at the hospital.  I'm excited to hear the stories- they're always interesting and amazing!  At the last hospital it was neat to see how one community banded together to make their situation better.  At this particular village, there was no electricity (a common problem in some areas).  None.  You can imagine what that means for daily life- considering almost everything we do requires electricity, it's a completely different lifestyle.  

With the assistance of the community health project workers, community leaders met together to try and fix this problem.  They learned how to write up an "official" petition to the state government, in which they asked for electric power lines to be installed.  After the leaders and nearly 500 village inhabitants signed it, they sent the petition to the state.  Due to the help provided by the community health project at Fatehpur hospital, the village now has electric power. 

Often, it's things we take for granted that are lacking in the villages.  The main problems include lack of electricity, lack of sanitation, easily preventable diseases, etc.  It doesn't help that most of the village inhabitants are exceedingly poor, most earning less than $1 per day.  The learning resources and training that the Community Health Projects offer provide hope to the village.  It's stories like the one above that make Community Health so cool for me, since it is clear that progress is possible and is happening!

I'll try to write up a few more of these great stories and pictures in a future post!

Back in Delhi

And I thought getting up at 4:15 was bad.  This morning, I caught a train back to Delhi from the hospital in a town called Fatehpur.  The problem was, the train started at 6 AM.  Not so bad in itself, but we had to plan on a 3 hour trip to the train station.  Yep, I woke up before 3 AM :P.  

As terrible as that seems, it really wasn't too bad.  All joking aside, I've really appreciated the plans that have been made to accommodate me here.  All of my trips to/from train stations and airports have been taken care of, and that makes all the difference in the world when traveling so quickly around the country.  

The time at this last hospital was very good.  I was able to go out "into the field" (local villages) where I could see firsthand how the hospital's Community Health project worked.  Basically, the Community Health project workers help village residents make life better for themselves.  The workers call this the empowerment approach, since they teach the villagers how to make their situation better rather than simply fixing problems for the people.  This allows the villagers to continue to improve their situation when the project has run its course and has pulled out (usually after 2-3 years or so).  It kinda reminds me of the story or saying about giving a man a fish vs. teaching him how to fish.  

I'm sitting in on a group of community leaders discussing the community's problems and possible solutions

My job is to document this process at each hospital we visit and record the progress that has been made so far.  I've gotten some pretty cool success stories- like villages getting electricity and clean water for the first time, schools getting staffed/started up, etc.  It feels great to be able to help, rather than simply visit. 

Tomorrow I head out to the area known as the northeast, where there are 3 more hospitals to visit.  Once I get more good pictures I'll put them up!

In transit

I know it's been a few days... sorry.  This is the first time in several days I've even had an internet connection.  So you get two posts today!  Be sure to check below for a post I wrote a few days ago but was only able to upload now.

Back in Delhi today.  After a long overnight train and another plane flight, I'm back for less than 20 hours before I take off again (at 4:50 tomorrow morning... ughhhh).  The last hospital visit was really nice- While the hospital was very small (1 doctor, 3 nurses), I was able to listen in on some fascinating conversations with the doctor.  It was amazing to talk with her, because it was clear she had an incredible trust in God's faithfulness.  She had some amazing stories about how the hospital had been on the verge of closing multiple times, and yet it is still open.  She has such a singular focus on God, it was pretty awesome/encouraging/strengthening to talk with her. 

Well, I need to go get ready to travel some more tomorrow.  I've put some pictures below!

At G.M. Priya Hospital there was a large school

The schoolchildren assembled outside of their building

The schoolchildren welcomed us, writing about 30 cards.  I knew they like to be around foreigners, but this was completely unexpected!

Children happy to meet Dr. Howard Searle, the doctor I'm traveling with for part of my trip.  He was one of the founders of the whole hospital organization.

From left to right: Dr. Howard Searle (Founder of the Emmaunuel Hospital Association), Dr. Jayashree (director at G. M. Priya hospital), and some weirdo :P

One week In...

And not doing too badly!  As I write this I'm waiting for an overnight train that will take us to a hospital called GM Priya.  I just got off a flight that took me from Delhi south to a city called Hyderabad.  This is considered the upper part of southern India, and this is the first time I've been out of what's considered north India.  I'm interested to see what differences I can see between northern and southern culture.  That's just one of those things about India- it's so big, and has so many people that the people, food, and customs in one area can be drastically different in another area.  I don't know what I'm going to find in that regard- I may not even be far enough south to see a change, and the hospital may be in a location that is too rural for things to be much different.  I really don't know- I guess we'll find out together :D.

As I mentioned before, the last few days have been quite nice.  Rather than jumping on a plane or trying to catch a train somewhere, I was at the last hospital (Herbertpur) for 4 days.  It was nice to rest, read a little, meet some new people, and catch up with some people I had met before.  But now I'm on the move again… and I'm excited for the weeks to come.

In the villages

Yesterday I think I finally got over jet lag- thank goodness.  It's been really nice to actually talk to people in the evening without feeling (and probably looking) like a zombie.  Last night I spent more than 2 hours playing ping pong with several guys here at the hospital.  Unlike last year, the hours of practice paid off- I didn't make a fool of myself :D.

This morning I went with workers from the Anugrah project here at Herbertpur Hospital.  The Anugrah project helps disabled children by giving them mental & physical therapy.  Since disabled children unfortunately are often neglected, the project gives them a second chance by teaching basic life skills such as how to cook and how to clean a floor. 

Working on motor skills in the hospital training center

Disabled children in a village training center

A girl who has received physical therapy and her family 

Overall, the last few days have been quite enjoyable.  Everyone here is very welcoming and kind, and that combined with some rest has made it easy to adjust and really feel productive/useful.

Started work!

Today was a first in several ways- I finally had a decent night's sleep, I saw the Himalaya mountains, but most importantly I started work with the community health workers here at Landour Hospital.  In short, the community health workers help increase the quality of life in the villages surrounding the hospital.  Dr. Anil Cherian, the head of all of EHA's community health projects, asked me to summarize each of the projects' operations, goals, and successes.  I am very excited about this task, since I know it will really help the organization.

As I interviewed the head of the community health project here at this hospital, it was encouraging and humbling at the same time.  I was encouraged to hear about the great success the project has achieved.  It is clear that God is working here in India, especially among the poor.  This is one of the things that has always encouraged me on my visits to India- it reminds me that God is real, and He does work through us.  As I talked to to the worker, we discussed how unique it is that the workers here at Landour Hospital live among the villages they serve.  I asked him if this means that Landour is an example for all of the other hospitals-  his response was remarkable.  He responded "Well, yes, but Jesus is our example."  His answer demonstrated the focus on Christ that many of the workers here have, and the focus that I need to have more of.

On a completely different note, Landour hospital is located on the side of a mountain.  Take a short walk up to the top, and the snow-capped Himalayas come into view- it's really incredible.

Well, that's it for now.  I move to a different hospital tomorrow, so I'll be updating this soon!

Hey Everyone!

This blog is where I'll be posting pictures and information during my upcoming trip to India.  I look forward to working with the Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA), a network of hospitals that works to serve the poor and marginalized in India.  EHA's medical service to the poor shines a light for Christ in ways that specifically and powerfully impact Indian culture.  I plan to work with each hospital's Community Health Project, a project by each hospital that pushes medicine (and as a result, the Gospel) out into the surrounding rural villages.  I am blessed to be able to serve alongside this organization!

While you're still reading, I'd really appreciate prayer for a few different things while I'm in India.

-  Continued health is one of the biggest prayer requests I have.  India can be tough as it relates to staying well.  Pills and shots can only do so much - on my previous trips, I've seen that many times, I need to rely on God to keep me healthy.

-  Safety can be issue in some of the places where I'll be visiting.  I'll just keep this short and ask for prayer for safety and travel.

-  I will be spending roughly six weeks away.  In India, this would be incredibly draining if I tried to do it by myself.  Fortunately, I don't have to :).  Prayers for God-given energy would be greatly appreciated.

-  Lastly, one of my personal prayers, in addition to those above, would be for a servant's attitude.  I want to help the mission there as much as I possibly can.  As I said above, I am planning to work with the hospitals' Community Health Projects.  However, as I have learned before, plans can change in India on very short notice.  Please pray that I would be open to however God wants to use and change me on this trip.

Thank you for your prayers.  I really appreciate them!

I will be leaving January 27 and anticipate coming back on March 14.  This blog will be my primary means of updating my progress.  I'll also be updating my Facebook profile, my Twitter account (@dandrew94), and even sending out an email or two if there are large updates.

Check back often, and thanks for your prayers!