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