Every time I have gone on a mission trip, I come home more thankful. Thankful for the part of the world I was able to see, for the people that we were able to care for, for the different things I get to experience, for the friends I make along the way, for the overabundance that I know I have in my life but is such a stark contrast of the need that I see on each and every trip. My most recent trip to Thailand with Medical Missions Outreach found me so thankful for the things that I just mentioned, and then some. I think about Thailand almost every day. The people were wonderful and genuinely happy. They were some of the most welcoming people I have ever met. The country was beautiful, the heritage and love of family was deep, and the food was interesting at times! I also think about the fact that most of the people in Thailand do not know that Christ came to die for their sins, and by doing this He freed them from the bondage that I saw. I think in America, we too sometimes live in bondage to certain things when we aren’t meant to live life this way.

Our clinic treated a total 1473 patients and consisted of 56 team members. While, these numbers were a little lower than we were expecting, I believe that every patient we encountered was handpicked to be there by the Lord. How do I know that every patient was handpicked? Each patient is given a number when they come to clinic, then they wait in line to be seen. We don’t go and pick patients out of the crowd. The patient that is next in line is who we treat. A couple of patients that I treated really stuck out to me. I was able to treat a patient that recently had a stroke and presented to clinic with physical deficits. This is one of the main patient populations that I take care of in the United States. When I asked the patient and her grandson if they understood what happened, what was causing her extremities, understanding, and speech to not work like they used to, they said that no one had explained things to them. I am hopeful that I was a blessing to her as I shared information from the job I do in the United States. I hope that the information shared could help her live her new normal in an easier way and help some anxiety. Another patient was given the wrong diagnosis by her physician. When I spoke with her about her symptoms and showed her pictures, her face lit up when she pointed and said “this is it! This is what I have!”. There were some simple things that she could do to help her pain and my awesome interpreter was able to write out instructions and a proper diagnosis for her physician. When I think of the patients that I was allowed to interact with, I am humbled that I was chosen to be there at that place, at that time, and to be blessed by everyone from my team to our patients and everyone along the way.

Thank you Upward Twist for assisting me in being able to do the above and also blessing my life in the process.