Welcome back to the Team Anderson blog! We are writing to you from beautiful Antigua with its amazing landscape and colonial buildings. Today was triage day and operation room setup to prepare for Monday’s surgeries.
Before walking to the volunteer site, we had a 7:15 am morning devotional. The main takeaway from the devotional is that we have been blessed by having the ability to give to others. The service we provide to the community here is significant and changes lives. This reminds us of why we are here and to follow Jesus’ path in giving to those less fortunate to us.
In the morning the team walked to Obras Sociales, the local hospital where FIP is volunteering. Upon coming on a brightly yellow colored building with ornate decorations I was stunned by the beauty of the city. Around the building, crowds of people gathered anxiously waiting to get seen inside and that is when it hit me how necessary our services are for these families.
When talking to other resident FIP volunteers, they stated that this trip for them was life changing. To see how fortunate we are back in the United States is profound compared to Antigua. This new perspective enhances the appreciation you feel for having access to basic medical services and increases the need to give back to others, to serve.
During the day, one story stuck out to me. It was the first patient I saw with one of the surgeons on the FIP team. The father of the patient was so grateful that it brought tears to his eyes. He thanked the Lord and the whole team at FIP for providing our services and making sure his child would be cared for. As we prayed together in asking for the Lord’s guidance I started to tear up. This surgery being provided for this family for them is nothing short of a miracle. To us who can live in a world where medicine is readily accessible, you rarely face these problems. Today was eye opening not only to the wonders of the city of Antigua, but how thankful the families are for FIP.
Everyone is excited to start surgeries tomorrow! Stay tuned for more stories throughout the week,
Catherine
To support this team and their commitment to our patients visit https://donate.faithinpractice.org/team/373498
