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April 1999 - Paul's Report
The ship is underway
to begin what is expected to be a great outreach in North Korea, As I write
this letter the deck hands are trying to arrange the over flowing cargo
so that the hatch will close. All the empty cabins have been filled
up to the ceiling with boxes and relief supplies for North Korea.
The government of the Republic of North Korea has invited us to come to
their country to help their people. Mercy Ships plans are to deliver
the relief cargo, then send a medical team to work at the local hospital
and send out a team with care packages to a local orphanage. After
this brief outreach we will sail to South Korea. Our stop in South
Korea will serve many purposes, first of all we will be receiving supplies
for the upcoming outreach in El Salvador, secondly , there is a large
desire in South Korea to reach out to their neighbors. We will be
stopping in five cities to do a large scale public relations tour.
We have an international office in Korea and would like to see God provide
a ships to serve in that region of the world. |
Out Reach summery
The out reach in El Salvador
at the beginning of this year turned into so much more than we could have
ever thought possible. When we first arrived in El Salvador, they
told us not to go outside at night, that it was not safe. We noticed
that the locals who live there also did not go outside at night.
After we had been there for several weeks and made several local friends,
we learned of several areas that we could go and visit safely. The
evangelism team ministered to prostitutes and gang members in these areas.
We had an overwhelming response of people respond to our evangelism team,
one church increased in membership by several hundred people, 30 of which
were ex-gang members! Upon preparing for departure
from El Salvador, the mayor of La Union gave us a sending off reception,
and in his speech he mentioned that the crime rate had dropped 30% while
we were there, he went on to say that he had done everything he knew how
to do and nothing worked, then he said all we did was show up. After we left the government
officials wanted to invite us back, but they wanted more than just what
we do, They wanted to invite citizens from their neighboring countries
to come and receive the benefits of Mercy Ships outreach. What they
proposed is that they would bring in 100 people from Nicaragua, and 100
people from Honduras to receive cataract surgeries from Mercy Ships.
If you have been working in the Latin American area, this means a lot more
that what it sounds like. These countries have been at war for such
a long time, to have them reach out together is very impressive.
We have been in each of these countries and have good standing relationships
among top government officials and now the neighboring countries are working
together to bring their people to a common location to receive much needed
medical care. God has used the ministry to bring these countries
together. After the Korea PR tour
we will be going to Los Angeles and then in late January we will prepare
for the four month outreach to El Salvador Starting in February of 2000.
I have several friends now in this region of the world and I am looking
forward to spending some time with them as well. |
| Caribbean Mercy's Orthopedic Outreach
What a special time it was for Ship Physician and
Orthopedist, Dr.
Tim Browne on the last major post-op day when many of his patients returned
back to have casts removed and check-ups.. "It was such an emotional moment
me," said Dr. Tim. "There was such a feeling of closure to gather these
ones together and see the fruits of our labor. This is the largest scale
event I've ever been involved with. I hope this will be the start of many
more orthopedic outreaches for the future."
Overall, 316 patients received 348 surgical procedures |
 After two weeks of hard work, the dental team wrapped up their time
at the clinic. The group had targeted four areas and felt very good about
the results. "Up to 75% of the patients were from the Bendicion de Dios
village," said Dental coordinator, Denny Dewitt.. "A lot of these
folks were organized by the CHE promoters who took time to help bring them
to the clinic for treatment. I felt we were just a part of the greater
picture of what the Caribbean Mercy has accomplished with the well, evangelism
and the community health course."
During their time, 223 patients were seen and the team performed 511
procedures. |
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CARIBBEAN MERCY OUTREACH
LA UNION, EL SALVADOR
JANUARY 5, 1999 - MARCH 29, 1999
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OPHTHALMOLOGY SURGERY
Cataract Procedures - 273
Pterygiums - 62
Other - 9
YAG procedures - 32
Surgical Procedures - 348
Surgical Patients - 316
Total Procedures -376
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OPTICAL CLINIC
Patients Seen - 2325
Prescription Glasses Dispensed - 1885
Sunglasses Dispensed - 1264
Total Glasses Dispensed - 3149
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DENTAL CLINIC
Total Patients Seen - 223
Restorations - 263
Extractions - 232
Scaling - 16
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ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
Orthopedic Consults - 193
Surgical Procedures - 71
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PLASTIC SURGERY
Surgical Procedures - 24
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CHE
Total Class Participants - 15
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