Boys rule, Girls drool?

Only if you’re a mosquitooo. keekee. (Did you know that only female mosquitoes bite?)
Soo..I came back with 15 mosquito bites. 4 on my face, 3 on my neck, the rest on my hands (including palms). It was all over one night and I really think it was just 1 mosquito. I hope she exploded from her gluttonous act.

Other than that, the factory trip went very well! :) I had such a great time and wasn’t ready to leave. We basically went to an area across the border in China that is heavily populated with factories and provided free medical care to one of them. We set up our stations on cafeteria tables (gotta work with what we have!). One was for registration, the doctors, the pharmacy, and an evangelism team who shared the Gospel while patients waited for meds. I ran the pharmacy portion with a wonderful translator (one of the factory workers) and a resident. Over the couple days, 205 patients were seen and 11 of them accepted Christ.

Apart from the medical aspect, it was an eye opening experience to briefly step into the life of a factory worker. I only heard about sweatshops and factories. These are young people and old (high school, college, and up) who left their families miles away to live at the factory, to make some income to send back home. School bells ring at meal times, where they can eat/rest. But other than that they work like crazy, at least 6 days a week, many times over-time. More than half of the patients complained of dizziness and muscle pain.

This particular factory made buttons (the shiny shell looking ones on button-downs). I hope those buttons will always be a reminder to me...to remember these sweet people and to pray for them. I never would have thought that buttons on my shirts were coming from a factory filled with over-worked people. I’m so ignorant on all kinds of levels dude. Sooo Ameri-centric.

Slowly but surely, I feel God reviving my passion for global healthcare and for pharmacy, and just taking me back to the roots…why I'm here, why I went into pharmacy/healthcare in the first place. And it got me wondering if my job as a pharmacist will ever be as meaningful practicing in the states as it would be somewhere like Macau and China. I’m not saying this b/c I think I have so much to offer (in fact, I feel inadequate), but even the little training and knowledge I have retained goes a long way in a place like here.

I know we all have our complaints about healthcare in the U.S., but man, we have it great! Standardized medical care, a good understanding of Western meds used, the importance of quality assurance and patient counseling by pharmacy is non-existent. In fact, you can buy antibiotics and all kinds of stuff (other than controlled substances) without a prescription at any pharmacy. It’s also been revealed to me that there are some freakn unethical things that are going on in some of the hospitals in Macau (not our clinic). The worst part is, they get away with so much of it, things that would never fly in the states.

I know I’m not here for 6 weeks to facilitate miraculous changes in pharmacy or the clinic. But as God reveals things to me and gives me a burden for certain things in the realm of patient care and pharmacy on this side of the world, all I can do is pray that He uses that burden for His glory somehow…regardless of whether I feel or see it or not. I don’t want to bore you with pharmacy stuff so you can ask me on the side more about what’s going on and what I’ve been working on. :)

Next mainland China trip is Monday-Wednesday. About 6 of us will be going to a more rural area this time, again to provide free medical care and share the love! There’s gonna be a lot of traveling involved in this one, if you can remember us in your prayers. :)

p.s. I can’t believe I only learned 3 Chinese words since I got here. It’s so hard!
“Hi.” “Thank you.” & “Jesus loves you.”
p.p.s. Health update: Still having stomach problems! I’m really gonna consider the stool test if this persists through next week…yuck.

Pictures in this order: pharmacy, Dr. Sides, evangelism team, and all of us

Last picture: Dinner. (everything in China is served with the head!)

Simplicity

I’m convinced that God intended a lot of things in this life to be simple…much more simpler than we make it at least. For example, worship. Thank the Lord for talented praise bands and thousands of different praise songs we’re blessed with at our churches. But there’s nothing sweeter than to be re-introduced to simplicity in worship, because at that point you’re reminded, that it’s always been about the heart of worship anyway.

Just one guitar and voices, and the same few praise songs sung over and over.
Communion with plastic cups, taking pieces of bread from a plastic bag.

All of this on the beach, away from the busy city noise, with the sound of waves in front of us, and green behind us.

I was wondering what it was about Macau or this tiny rural deserted looking island that I just came back from, that I loved so much. Then I was reminded..anywhere you go, it’s really about the people that make or break your experience. And I’ve met some amazing people. I admire their passion for medicine, their love for God and people. They have such contagious smiles and laughs, and again, I’m reminded of simplicity…I love their simplicity. The way they live, the way they dress…things are just so much simpler on this side of the world, and it’s not because they’re dirt poor and they have no choice. Even their sense of humor and entertainment is so simple, but it’s so fun!!

This was one memorable Easter. :)
<--Here are the residents +/- few spouses.

Update on travels: I'm off to mainland China again tomorrow for 2 days. This time to provide free medical care to factory workers. I'm really excited! Dr. Sides (preceptor), 2 residents, and myself will be meeting a team from Hong Kong for this trip. Please pray that we don't have trouble with getting meds across and such. And pray against H. pylori or E. coli infections. (only sort of kidding) :)


p.s. I don’t know if I can appreciate a bbq in the states after this weekend guys. These Chinese people sure know how to bbq!! (shrimp, pork, chicken, beef, fishcakes, sausages, eggplants and 3 diff kinds of mushrooms w/ garlic and butter and pepper, sweet potato, corn…). I'm salivating.
p.p.s One of the doctors made a joke about how I’m surrounded by doctors, yet I’ve had health problems without a diagnosis since day 1. True! Haha. Stool antigen test to test for H. pylori is the next suggestion. I think I’d rather receive empiric treatment (for you pharm pple, was it PrevPak??) for it than do a stool test. Wattya think? haha
p.p.p.s I fell in love with a little girl named Essie! She’s one of 6 children of one of the doctors here from the states, and 1 of 3 precious adopted ones. We got excited that we have the same favorite color (can you guess which color?) and we were born on the same month! :)


Kids are the greatest human example of simplicity, arent they? They laugh at everything, believe everything you say and take it for what it's worth. Gotta love 'em!


If only I had faith as pure and simple as one of these little ones~

Happy Easter

I think this is the first Easter I've spent this far away from home. Better yet, it'll probably be the only Easter spent on an island off China. :) I'll be off bright and early tomorrow morning on a boat to go on a mini retreat that the medical residents planned, since we have Monday off for Easter. Sneaking food across the China border to bbq at the beach, worship, communion and all! I plan on overdosing on meclizine to make sure I don't feel motion sickness on the boat ride there and back. Yikes.

Just for kicks, here's my room





And my aptmate & most passionate doc I've ever met, Christine. :)



Wishing you a Happy Easter!~

Two small battles

..i thought i'd share about.

1) Minor yet annoying health issues. Since day one that I got to Macau, I've had some kind of problem...it was dizziness/nausea for awhile, but now I've been having abdominal cramps that come and go for almost a week. We've ruled out just about everything! I think my problems could be way worse in a foreign country so I'm actually thankful. But it does get quite frustrating when my energy level is affected and I have to miss out on things.

2) Feeling inadequate, even useless. I think I always just wish there was more I can do..whether it's having more to offer to the team, to patients, or during other outreach events.

Interesting b/c the devotional for today highlighted this~
"If you feel less adequate for the challenge before you, for the day facing you, rejoice. You're in good company and in the perfect position for the Lord to do something wonderful in you and through you."

I guess it's a reminder that there would be something wrong if I came home everyday feeling accomplished and heroic. It's not about "feeling" like I was used to bless someone or help someone in need today..it's about trusting that as long as we're faithful to the task ahead of us today, God will use us to bless others and glorify Himself in whatever way HE desires. Gotta take the focus off of ME and what I can and wanna do and wanna see happen.

Great reminder as we near the end of Passion Week...More of Him, less of me.

Welcome to Macau :)

Hello from Macau on Good Friday :)

I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks since I left home. I've adjusted very well out here. In fact, I'm loving it! :) My awesome apartment-mate, a Chinese doctor from the states, has been amazing in getting me acquainted with this place and the clinic (Hope Medical Group).

So what have I been up to? LOTS! But here are a few things for now…

Hope Medical Group (Mon-Fri): A Christian family medicine clinic consisting of medical missionary doctors from the states as well as Chinese medical residents. They are honestly some of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met in my life! It's such a blessing to work and play with them everyday..


Schedule:
10-1:30: see patients with residents/attending
1:30-3:30: lunch break (long huh??)
3:30-7:30/8: more clinic

The days are pretty long as you can see but I've enjoyed every moment of it so far. :) Being known as a Christian clinic opens doors for patients to be prayed for at the visits (if permitted) and even share the Gospel if interested.

Bible Distribution: There's a ministry here run by a couple of the wives of doctors at the clinic who distribute Bibles every week with a team in a tourist attraction area. I had an opportunity to be a part of it earlier this week.

Two things.

One, I was quite surprised by how receptive and hungry some of these people were for the Word, compared to what you would expect in the states. Some were just so excited as they responded with a huge smile, “what? Free Bible??” There were others who stopped in the middle of the street and started reading immediately.

Second, I was reminded of what little faith I had. While Peter was in prison and on death row in Acts 12, his fellow church believers prayed fervently for him. But yet, when Peter miraculously is set free by an angel and shows up at their door, their first response was not to run to the door. It was more like “no way, it can’t be.” Yes, I believe it that they had prayed fervently and intensely for him, but it's clear that those prayers were built on little faith when you look at their response.
But God redeems all things, doesn’t He? He still responds to prayers built on little faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed. Even though I was praying throughout that morning, I caught myself wondering if there was any point to what we were doing. How many of these Bibles we gave out were gonna end up in the trash? In my moment of weakness and little faith, I was reminded that even if out of the 800 Bibles given out, only 1 person came to know the Lord, that is SO worth it. May God's will be done, not mine.

Much more to share, but I think I'll end my first post here. :)