Medicine in the Jungle

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" - Isaiah 6:8 

I have been more than blessed to be able to go to Costa Rica over my spring break this year. This was a medical missions trip through Furman University Medical Missions Organization and International Service Learning. The idea is to go into an impoverished country and provide medical care by setting up a free clinic for the community. 

Costa Rica is located in Central America in between Nicaragua and Panama. The Caribbean is to the east and the Pacific to the west.

To give you an idea of how wonderful the people of this country are, they were voted the Happiest People in the World twice, 2009 and 2012. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed into their homes. They are one the most progressive countries in the world. 

However, these people still face health problems. Here is a brief look at some overall statistics from the World Health Organization. Lots of the problems listed were below, though not a significant problem, were very prevalent in our clinics.

http://www.who.int/gho/countries/cri.pdf?ua=1

I learned so much from this trip. I got to shadow doctors, learn how to give injections and do sututres, practice my Spanish, diagnose patients, and run the pharmacy. I went with an incredible group of college students that truly have a heart to serve and a passion for medicine. This is an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything else and is so much more than just a spring break to the beach. I always want to be intentional with my time, and I can think of no better way to do that than to love on the people of Costa Rica and to be blessed abundantly more in return. This trip reaffirmed my pursuit of a career in medicine and a life of missions.

God has played a huge role in allowing me to have this experience, and I am so thankful. I am only trying to use the gifts that he gave me to show the love of Christ to those around me. Please pray for those in  Costa Rica and who made this trip possible :)


Enjoy this brief glimpse of some the highlights of our trip, and maybe you can see a little bit of how important this place and these people are to me!