Missions Blog @ Covenant UMC, Dothan

On Friday afternoon we closed up shop at the clinic, but not before a packed day of assisting others and doing the Lord’s work. A five-year old boy with six toes on one foot needed an amputation so that he could wear shoes. One of our doctors, an orthopedic surgeon, was able to perform the amputation on-site. The procedure was very successful, and we had one happy little boy once the procedure was over!

Smiling now that the toe amputation procedure is over!

Prayer Update: We updated you previously about two young boys whom we transported to the hospital, one hour away, for further testing. Richardo, the 1-year old boy, was diagnosed with pneumonia and will receive further treatment so that he can heal.  We’re thankful that he is doing so well.  However, the other 10-year old boy, who had swollen lymph glands, had a worst-case diagnosis.  His blood work revealed that the 10-year old has leukemia. We left the family in the care of Panamanian doctors, and we will continue to pray for this child and his family.

A day in pictures: We had a wonderful final day on the reservation.  Here are a few photos from our final day.

Closing with the kids

Maria working with the children

Children at our Parasite Treatment Station.

A waiting line at our pharmacy station

Angie with her sporty new Ngobe dress!

Ngobe woman receives a new pair of glasses for the first time

After closing up shop on the reservation, we flew back to Panama City, where we had a great dinner together

Today was great!  Our team had the opportunity to cross the river into the Ngobe Reservation. The cage, suspended by a steel cord tied to two trees on either side of the river, is the only way that the Ngobe people have to cross. In order to get to school every day, the Ngobe children must either swim or use the heavy metal cage. We discovered that using the cage is not as easy as it looks, but its a lot of fun. Someone on the other side of the river pulls a rope in order to pull the cage to the other side.

Richard and Larry

Maria and Heather

We were surprised at how rustic the Ngobe homes are!  Just like walking through a museum of prehistoric peoples, the Ngobe live in bamboo shacks, have outdoor kitchens that use wood as fuel, and have a subsistence farming lifestyle that is very tied to the land.

A hen sitting on her eggs inside the home

Standing next to the Ngobe outdoor kitchen

Ngobe man uses a hand-powered sewing machine to make a dress. The $10 dress takes 3 days to make

We had a great time in our ministries today also.  The clinic saw many patients.  One man received a shot to relieve pain from carpal tunnel.  His pain is the result of many years of picking rice in the fields.  In our children’s ministry, the children watched the movie, Finding Nemo. Over 50 kids (and their parents!) watched with rapt attention at the Disney movie (in Spanish, of course!)  For people who have never lived with electricity, watching a movie is a new adventure!

Man receiving carpal tunnel injection

Watching Finding Nemo

Departing Panama: Around 7:30am on Sunday morning, our plane departs from Panama City to Atlanta (which means we must leave the hotel around 4:30am). Please keep our travels in your prayers.

Update on Samuel: Several days ago, we asked you to pray for an infant named Samuel and his mother, Anita. Samuel arrived at our clinic in serious condition, and we rushed him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with meningitis. This morning, Samuel passed away. The pastor of the church is purchasing a small casket for Samuel. We are sad at the loss of such a precious child, and we pray that God will comfort Anita in her loss.

Anita and Samuel

Signing-Off:This is our last blog posting from Panama.  We will post another blog early next week. It has been a fantastic trip for everyone, and a life-changing trip for several. Some young people have considered engaging in more extended mission experiences in the future. It has been my pleasure to update this blog throughout the week. Thank you for following our work and for praying for us. I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the Ngobe, a people loved by God, to remind us of the reason that we came. Blessings!  Mike

Today was a successful day on the mission site. Because we were rained-out yesterday, we had a steady flow of patients all day long. Here are a few photographs to record some of the activities of the day!

Steve painting

Ngobe hanging out around the clinic

Ngobe children chasing us as we leave the clinic

Larry working on the construction crew. They completed digging of the holes for the foundation of the new addition

Catholic Social Services provided a mobile dental clinic today so that we could have the equipment to do fillings

Serving a Ngobe person inside the mobile dental clinic

Dilemma of Crossing the River: On one side of a nearby river is the reservation on which many of the Ngobe live. Just on the other side of the river is our clinic and the elementary school. Many of the Ngobe who attend our clinic, or school, must cross the river. During the rainy season (which is just starting), the river can swell and become dangerous to cross. We saw many women wading across the river, holding their infant children over their heads!

The Rotary Club in Dothan is attempting to generate enough funds ($20,000) to create a footbridge so that the Ngobe will have a safe means by which to cross the river in this location. As a temporary relief, a cable line was placed across the river to help people to cross.

Cable and cage over the river

Update on Samuel: We have been praying for baby Samuel, who was diagnosed with meningitis. His condition remains the same, very critical. The hospital gave his mother, Anita, meal tickets and a place to stay while she stays at the hospital far away from home. Because Samuel is in very critical condition, Anita is permitted to see Samuel only occassionally, but we keep praying for them!

Upcoming Itinerary:Tomorrow (Friday), we will work with the Ngobe until lunch, have our final farewell ceremony, and then come back to the hotel to get cleaned-up. We will fly back to Panama City on Friday night, and on Saturday, we will spend the day seeing the sights (including the canal!). On Sunday morning, we will fly back to the U.S. We will do our best to keep the blog updated in the coming days.

Baby Samuel: One patient from our medical clinic won our hearts today, and we ask that you join us in praying for an

Baby Samuel and his mother Anita

infant named Samuel. Samuel’s mother, Anita, walked for one hour in order to find a car to hitch-hike a ride for an additional hour just to come to our clinic. Samuel looked very ill, and the doctors at our clinic had the suspicion that the baby might not live very long. We rushed Samuel to a hospital over 20 miles away, and they diagnosed him as having meningitis. At this point, his prospectus is very critical. So, please join us in praying, and we will keep you updated with how things develop.

Vacation Bible School: Over 60 children attended our Vacation Bible School today. Jan, the director of that ministry, was excited to share how responsive the kids have been to the crafts and games. Today, the children made little animal shapes out of pipe cleaners. Something as simple as this craft connected with the children, and parents were glad that the children could take the little crafts home with them. The local church leaders expressed their joy that our missionaries are working not only with important medical concerns, but we are also reaching families through the VBS, making photos to give to families, and helping locals with needed construction work.

We've nicknamed this cute kid "Boots"

Children proudly display their pipe cleaner animals

A child happy to be at VBS

Dental Clinic: Yesterday, the dental “clinic” was set up outside underneath a tree. Without electricity or water, Dr.

Using the Dental Room with a Ngobe patient

Dauphin was only able to extract decayed teeth. Today, we loaded up a busload of patients and drove them 5 miles to a public health clinic with a dental room so that we could fill cavities instead of only extracting teeth. It turned out, however, that much of the equipment in the dental room did not work properly, and most of the people were sent back home. Many patients, however, still received needed extractions.

Photo of the Day: During the day, several women prepare dinners of rice and beans for all of the patients who arrive for medical treatment. While working, one of the women put her small child to sleep in a nearby hammock.

Ngobe baby asleep in a hammock

The Medical Clinic: Today was an amazing first day of work! We all traveled to the edge of the Ngobe reservation, where many people walked long distances to attend our medical clinic. Overall, approximately 160 people received medical or dental attention today, and as the word spreads that doctors are in the area, more people will visit the clinic in the coming days. Patients arrived with medical needs including parasites, nausea, infections, and a variety of other illnesses. Many patients have little or no other options for receiving medical care, and short-term missionaries bring the little or only medical attention that they will receive each year.

Pharmacy: After patients see a doctor, they visit our make-shift pharmacy to receive a six-month supply of vitamins

Workers in the pharmacy along the Pablo, the Ngobe interpreter

as well as any other medications needed  to treat their particular illness. Because the Ngobe primarily speak the Ngobere language (very different from Spanish!), we are very careful with our translation! Our doctors write a prescription in English. Joan Collins, one of our missionaries who speaks Spanish, translates the English prescription into Spanish. Then, a native Ngobe speaker, Pablo, translates the Spanish instructions into Ngobere for the patient!

Vacation Bible School: While parents visited the medical clinic, children had the option to attend the VBS. Many chidren attended games, singing, crafts, and Bible stories led by several of our missionaries and local church leaders.The children’s favorite activity today was watching a Focus on the Family cartoon tranlsated into Spanish: They sat with rapt attention throughout the entire video.

Ngobe girl attending VBS with her mother

Ngobe children watching a movie at VBS

Singing at VBS

Construction: On the same site as the medical clinic, several of our missionaries are continuing repairs and construction on a new on-site clinic. We painted the interior and are laying the foundation for an additional room that will be added-on. Our hope is that mission teams from other churches will sense the call to come and provide medical care for the Ngobe in the future, and that a more permanent medical team can help with ongoing care.

Rev. Boykin's stylish hat

The new clinic

Taking Photos at the photo station: Several of our missionaries have a passion for working with children, and they are taking photos of Ngobe. We are taking digital photos and developing them immediately. This is the first time that many people have ever received a picture of themselves or their children. We watched many people, adults and children, walk away, grinning ear to ear at the photo that they received.

Children waiting in line at the photo station