At this morning’s devotions, Cari Hall led us in singing “10,000 Reasons” on her ukelele, followed by another inspiring message from Dr. Greebon. Continuing in Psalm 23, Dr. Greebon focused on the last three verses, which assure us we need not fear because God will provide for us, and we can have confidence in his goodness and mercy until we dwell in his house forever.
Dr. Greebon shared the story of his former partner, Dr. Murray Fox, who joined a team back in the early 2000s. Dr. Fox’s first trip resulted in his seeking a relationship with God in a new way, discovering that, like all of us, we have a hole in our heart that only God can fill.
On a personal note, on my first trip in 2010, Dr. Fox took me under his wing, helping me get over my initial nervousness in being way outside my comfort zone.
Today’s Procedures:
This morning we met Reyna, a sweet six-year-old girl, who was born with deformities of her hands and feet. She is missing a hand on her right arm, and her left hand had a condition called syndactyly (webbing between digits.) Dr. Apel and his surgical team performed a surgical repair of each web space with skin flaps and grafts. She was very excited to receive a “Doctor’s Kit” with her own stethoscope because she wants to be a doctor!
Dr. Stehly operated on Hugo, a 67-year-old man in need of rotator cuff repair. Hugo originally hurt his shoulder when he slipped in some mud while carrying one of his children. Recently a chair collapsed under him, resulting in the need for surgery.
Dr. Crable’s patient Viviana was found to be in Stage 4 endometriosis and required an abdominal hysterectomy. Hopefully this will alleviate the significant pain she had been experiencing.
Esnalder, age 6, Dr. Apel’s second patient, severely burned his arm around age 2. The burns and subsequent scarring resulted in his thumb fusing to his forearm, webbing of his fingers, and dislocation of his wrist, rendering his hand unusable. His family drove 11 hours for his procedure, which involved releasing his thumb and pinkie fingers, skin grafting, and putting his joints back in their normal position. The hope is that he will have use of his hand again and a much brighter future.
We look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow and ask for your continued prayers!
Therese Kiernan, Photojournalist
