Four Days of Brigades

So I was finally able to see what it is like to be a part of a medical brigade. I have been honored to serve with Bay Community Church this week as we brought medicine and hope to over 500 people in the Cuenca Cangrejal. 

Participating in the brigades this week has been a very important piece of the HHIM vision. This whole medical complex is designed to be run by teams. It is an incredible feat...a God sized dream. Think about this for a minute...we run an outpatient medical clinic with a skeleton staff of 4 volunteers and we normally see an average of 30 patients a day. We were able to see 5.5 times more patients than we would normally see in one week! That is incredible! 

This week I really got to see first hand the type of impact this hospital, clinic, and outreach center is going to have on the community. This place is designed to have people coming and going. It is designed to facilitate relationship building between the local people and practitioners. It is a networking hub for medical professionals. It is a center of hope for the people.

Once the construction is complete here...there is going to be a huge infilling and outpouring. People will be blessed whether they are coming in or going out. 

All day today God was speaking to me. I play the receptionist so when all the patients are signed up I am able to hang back and watch what happens, talk to the people and play with the kids...sometimes I translate (which is really scary for me). So today I was able to fly under the radar a bit and just observe. I got to see over 24 volunteers pouring themselves out for the people. Every person on the team gave their all. None of them had anything left to give, and for that I believe they will be truly blessed. 

Something incredible is happening here. The people who come to serve here are changed forever and hopefully the people who come to be served are changed forever too. 

I am exhausted, but very alive. My heart is growing...I feel like someone is grabbing at my insides...I think it is called compassion. Christ had compassion on the people who came to him for healing. Even when there were so many and he was already tired...he still healed them. I pray that we are all filled with the compassion of Christ. I pray that we are challenged by his willingness and that we respond to the call he has placed on our hearts. 

Is God calling you? Is he asking you to have compassion for his people? How can you show the compassion of Christ in your life, in your marriage, in your home or at your job? 

Take a look...Matthew 14:14.