2010 Medical Clinic – The Work In Me (Part 1)

In my last post, I talked about what God was doing in Ndjemane through our medical clinic. When serving others it is easy to think that the only people benefiting are the ones being served. Personally, nowhere has this been proven more false than when I served in Senegal.

Here is the first of the two things that I took away from my trip in 2010.

Few Possessions, Abundant Peace and Joy
What I saw in Ndjemane was quite different from what our culture and product marketers tells us is true. Most of the people in the village had an obvious joy and peace about them. The villagers had this peace despite having few possessions. They were joyful while living with few things in huts and compounds that were equivalent to what we would call “roughing it” camping.

The villagers’ peace and joy were contagious. As a result, this was one of the biggest take aways during my 2010 mission trip. Personally, I felt it was a challenge from God. It was a challenge to be more joyful and peaceful even when confronted with a lack of abundance and/or possessions. How could people who live in a 90% Muslim village and who have so few things experience more joy than I do in my life as a Christian who has so much. As Christians, we are called to be different. God calls us to have joy (“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” – Galatians 5:22).

Tomorrow, I am going to talk about the community I observed and how that drove a change in me.

A Little Help Goes A Long Way
I am leaving for Senegal in February, 2012 to be a part of a medical team that is providing medical care to the people of Ndjemane and other adjacent villages. Please be a part of my trip and help. There are a three main ways you can help:

1. Pray for the medical team and me. As we just read, God answers prayers and I believe he will answer our prayers about this team.
2. Share these stories. I pray that as I tell stories to raise funds for the medical clinic that people will also hear the Good News about the love that God has for a small village in Africa and how He also loves each one of us. It is a powerful and showering love that every person should have the opportunity to hear.
3. Most important to me is prayer and sharing these stories. However, if you would like to donate money to assist me with serving in Senegal. Check out the sidebar to the right to see how much I still need so I can cover all of my expenses in Senegal. (Here is the link to PayPal to donate to my trip.)

However you participate, thank you for being a part of the February 2012 Medical Team!