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God's Measurements

It was truly amazing how God orchestrated this trip for my family. We played a major role in bringing ten wheelchairs to Tela that I must share with you for it is true evidence of God’s specific instructions on His plan. I asked the hospital I am affiliated with (only TWO days before we left!) for ten wheelchairs. Having five family members, each of us could take two wheelchairs as our “personal luggage”. My son and I spent hours assembling and cleaning these chairs. The hospital was so generous – “take what you want Jo, we know you will put them to good use”. God specifically told me which ones to bring. Two were CP, two were extra large, one was a ‘Left Hemi’ (this one was extra special as it had belonged to my mother, who had just passed away), the rest were standard of various sizes. We also brought multiple crutches and special orthopedic shoes.

I can’t tell you how amazing it was to give these chairs away. Each time a need for one came, God told me strongly ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. The greatest confirmation came in that every chair given fit the recipient perfectly, even the children. They required no adjusting! Both the Cerebral Palsey individuals had never owned a chair, they were 18 & 28 and had been manually carried by relatives all their lives. God even had a sense of humor in saving my mother’s chair for the last. I saw only one CVA (Cerebral Vascular Accident) and she was a Left Hemi, just like my mother! I told her I had been waiting all week for her. She was so thrilled and told me she had been praying for a chair for two years!

PS. Every pair of shoes we gave away fit the first try! Each pair was pre-measured by God, just like the chairs!

Jo Zuckerman
Tela, Honduras

I have come because they told me my baby was dead...

"Yo he venido porque me dijeron que mi bebe esta muerto", she said. Translated...."I have come because they told me my baby was dead". She must have been my thirtieth ultrasound of the day, and the look in her Garifuna eyes told a story of deep sadness and despair. In my marginal Spanish, I asked her to lie on the table and with a squirt of the Ultrasound gel I coated the black belly button of her protuberant abdomen. Without even looking, I knew the baby was alive, as the probe would bounce off her belly with each fetal kick. Her face became bright with joy as we listed to the beautiful sound.... phew, phew, phew of the rapid heartbeat. We showed her all the fetal anatomy. The head, the face, the spine, the stomach, the arms and legs. Yes! Her baby was alive and well. “It's a boy!”, we proclaimed! Amazingly, she was full term and we directed her to go to the hospital to deliver her baby boy. Smiling ear to ear, in a soft spoken voice she asked, "Como se llama, Doctor? (What is your name?)" "Jeff", I stated proudly. J-E-F-F. Off she went with a smile on her face.

We worked the rest of the day and the next performing a multitude of ultrasounds. At the end of the last day we decided to take a trip to the local hospital. When we pulled into the guarded gate, the pink dilapidated hospital emerged. Patients were lined outside in the sweltering heat. Overhead the sign read "Sala de Emergencia", the Emergency Room. We requested a tour of the hospital from the director who was happy to oblige. We entered the obstetrical ward and then a room containing five women lying on beds with their newborn babies by their side. To our surprise, lying on the bed behind the door was our friend from the clinic with her newborn baby boy. I sat down next to her for the photo shoot and asked her, "Como se llama? (What is his name?)" With a gleaming smile on her face she stated "Jeff!" I gave her my nametag, even though she knew the spelling and I walked away the Proud Papa of a little black boy in Honduras. I think he even looks like me!

Jeffrey Zuckerman
Honduras

God's Hand

The trip to Panama truly seemed to be a blessing to both the servants and those being served. The Panamanians and the GHO group complemented each other. There is no doubt that God's hand was at work throughout the entire project. What a blessings it was to be a part of this team.

Bill Ogle

Panama

I saw my dream with my eyes...

Estera is a medical student who traveled from her home in Romania to serve in El Salvador for two weeks. She describes the “small one-room huts, where all the family lives, having a hammock hanged in the middle – this is what they call a house! Their basic food – black beans and tortillas. Since the water is not clean, they have to buy bottles or plastic bags with water. I used to believe that Romanians are poor – well, maybe we are, but we do far better than Salvadorians!

There were 3 men from the National Police with us all the time, with guns for our protection. Since people are so poor, it is really risky for a foreigner to be seen alone. God touched each of these 3 men, in a different way! The first person I got to witness to was Antonio, the youngest, who began singing with us, praying, and cherishing as his greatest treasure a Spanish-English Bible that he got from us! In the last day he wrote a letter to all of us, saying that we were the most wonderful people he has ever met, that we are his friends, his family!! Then I saw Francisco, the second, crying during a drama, and Nelson, the oldest, was watching all the evangelistic programs so seriously, though he saw the same thing at least 8 times that week!

I think the Church in there was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen! I’m not talking about the building – that’s so poor that most of us wouldn’t even accept to attend it! I’m talking about the people! They are 100% committed to the Lord, dedicated in the ministry, for the salvation of their brothers! It is that kind of enthusiasm that I believe the First Church had! The same kind of love, the same kind of life! Imagine 12 year old children playing in dramas with the pastor, and with their parents! Imagine the entire church there, with us, all the time, serving in all ways they could! Imagine The Church!

What else can I say? I saw my dream with my eyes , I saw what I am heading to! I know now, more than ever, that this is my call, this is what I am going to do with my entire life!

Estera Decean
El Salvador

The beauty of the country is overwhelming...

but so is its need. The people are so beautiful, but their illnesses are myriad. In the chill of the morning they stand, huddled masses yearning….who cannot come to the Statue of Liberty. As we pass, they smile through their hurt, worship in their eyes for the Gringos who have come to help. It is in our Lord’s name we lay our hands upon them. We are thankful for knowledge and wisdom to be able to use medicine to heal the sick; the little ones covered with scabies, plagued with hernias, besieged by parasites. To heal the mothers and fathers, who toil long and hard to eke out a living for their families. And we weep in despair when the medicine isn’t enough. For the tiny nine month old baby; the retarded ones we can only pray for. Christ’s words ring in our ears, “Because you did it to these, the least of mine, you did it unto me.”

We secretly pitied ourselves for having to endure sickness, the cold, the heat, and the dust. Then we saw a man come with a chair strapped to his back, carrying his wife to our clinic, and our problems seemed smaller. The dentists had aching feet, but they stopped aching when a young man walked in with two unmatched, left footed shoes and no socks.

We cannot return to our countries the same as we came. We left something of ourselves here. We have some kind of effect on all we meet, and all we treat, and we pray that we were a blessing. We pray too, that we were a blessing and a witness to one another.

What are we taking away? We have all our memories. When we look at our souvenirs, or are reminded of Guatemala for whatever reason, we will again see the dusty streets, the afternoon clouds, and hear the wind at San Martin. And we will remember the beautiful, steep mountains and the tremor, and wonder when the big one might come. Or we will see again in our mind’s eye the dusty Nahaula streets and the people with their beautiful, colorful costumes and we will remember their happy faces. And then, as our eyes have that far away look as we remember, we may be asked, “Why?” but will not be able to explain our feelings. For they are our feelings that cannot be fully shared.

And so, as we are discharged, never to work as a group again, we hope that our paths may cross, in this or in some other poor land, in some other little town, fishing on the other side of the boat, which may be where we belong, where we are most free.

Joyce Scholten

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Stepping Out In Faith

Growing up in a Christian family, I knew that we are called to serve the Lord in everything we do. After I graduated from pharmacy school in 2002, I thought about doing medical missions, but felt unprepared for this. I was young, inexperienced, and unadventuresome. In the beginning of 2004, a friend encouraged me to give medical missions a try, and held me accountable to pursue this. I remembered hearing about CMDA and GHO in a Christian pharmacy organization I was a member of. I contacted them, and God placed me on a team to Honduras that April. Now I was starting to feel very nervous. I was told I would be the only pharmacist on the team, and I didn’t know anyone on the team. I have never left the country before let alone with people I have never met. I was one of the last to arrive at the Miami airport, and I saw about 20 people wearing GHO shirts standing together. I wanted to turn and run back home because I felt out of my comfort zone. God gave me the courage to walk up to these people and it was like we had an instant bond.

Since that first trip in 2004, I have returned to Honduras many times. Each experience has been different and life changing. I first went to Honduras to serve the Lord and minister to the less fortunate than me, but I came away more blessed. My outlook on life has changed, I no longer take for granted the things I have, and the freedoms I have. I have also grown closer to God through these trips. It has also been great to meet fellow Christians in the medical field, to build each other up and talk about ways to portray Christ in our everyday life back home. I have also had the great privilege of developing strong friendships with the local people. It is great to return time after time to the same areas and to encourage the people there.

I am looking forward to the plans God has for me in the future, whether it is short term or long-term missions. I also want to encourage anyone thinking of going on a trip to give it a try. The people are great and God will provide all the skills you need. Never feel like you are unqualified when the Lord is on your side.

Rachel Middleton

To date: 13 GHO Trips!

Family Acts of Service

This is the third consecutive year we have gone to [the] Dominican Republic, each time with a different combination of our children. It has been a joy to see how much of an impact these trips have had on them and on us. We have truly been blessed as a result of our experiences. We have learned about sacrificial service from the Oasis Church, our hosts. We have seen the Lord bless our children with a new desire to serve Him and new interest in the health professions, and we have had an opportunity to reach out in the name of Jesus to a different race and culture, showing that His love knows no bounds.
Gary & Marilyn Forester

From A Spouse's Eyes

Signing up for this trip as a spouse of a medical student (with no medical experience personally) I was unsure of what to expect. I was on the "logistics" team, but still did not know what my role would be until we got in country. Each logistics person saw a need and jumped right in, whether it be sharing their testimony, playing music, or running the pharmacy- God orchestrated the team perfectly so needs would be met. I highly encourage other spouses to go!

Maggie Feldt

Truly Blessed

I am amazed by the strength & conviction of my fellow team members, & more by that of the interpreters. I enjoy how we all blessed God & were blessed, prayed for each other & were blessed, helped each other - and were blessed.

Bob Landes

Seeking the Lost

GHO is an organization with a vision unlike any other I have seen. It does not offer trips for individuals to selfishly fulfill a good deed, nor does it strive to meet a mere quota of how many can be 'won' to Christ. Instead, it is an organization that uses greatly needed and appreciated medicine and love to seek out and embrace those who do not call Jesus their own. Then through the ministry and devotion of the local churches, disciple them as they themselves become fishers of men. As Ricardo Castro, GHO Honduras Director, so wisely concluded, 'To God be the glory!'

Melissa Shockey

Honduras

Jump Start

I have seen the devastation of man in several third world countries from the confines of a US military career. From my experiences (primarily in South East Asia and the Middle East), man is capable of inflicting an amazing level of suffering. In contrast and through the love of Jesus, we are also capable of producing unlimited LOVE.

My wife and I prayed that God would both use our family to glorify Him and to help us raise the spiritual maturity in our three boys. Our recent trip to Zambia did much more than we ever hoped for. Through the dedication of a core group in Thomaston, GA, and several hundred dedicated brothers and sister in Christ in Zambia, our small team of 30 people was able to kick start a ministry that resulted about 1,700 patients treated and over 2,500 souls saved!

Like the starter cranks for the old 'Model A's, the team was a small but vital tool in God’s amazing work. The last report from Zambia is that the number of brothers and sisters in Christ has now grown to 9,000! The Holck Family will return to Zambia as soon as the rest of the team has had a chance to recover. I could include a picture of the team, the working conditions or the many people that helped in this effort. Instead, I decided to include a picture the face of those we serve.

Darrell Holck, Lt Col, USAF (Retired)
Zambia

How do I fit in?

As we headed to Ethiopia, I had no idea how God was going to use me on this team. I knew my husband would be very busy in the pharmacy, but what about me? I did help out in the pharmacy, but primarily I worked in the dental clinic. What an awesome privilege! I saw many, many men, women, and children in great need of dental care, which they received from two great dentists on the team. But most importantly, Jesus Christ was shared with each of these individuals and many prayed to receive him as Lord and Savior! The harvest is ripe!

Helen Sharp

Ethiopia

Share Your Testimony!

Email GHO pictures or share your experience from a GHO trip: gho@cmda.org.

Global Health Outreach
P O Box 7500, Bristol, TN 37621
423-844-1000 (Phone)
423-764-1417 (Fax)
Email: gho@cmda.org

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