This week we are wrapping up a very challenging and sobering training session called “International Health and Wellness.” We may not deal with the issues that many of the missionaries in the jungles will deal with, but we can be certain that we will have our fair share of complications too. By living in a primitive third world country in the tropics, we will be exposed to a whole host of new and peculiar parasites, viruses, snake bites, and other strange illnesses.
So far we have learned how to diagnose illnesses, decide on the proper treatment, and how to administer the treatment through medication and injections. We even had a session on pulling teeth, where we learned how and where to administer the anisthetic, and the ins and outs of extracting rotten, decayed teeth! It is scary to think that wherever we go we will be the medical experts since we have been through a whole 30 hours of training!
One missionary friend of ours told a story of a woman who came to her and said, “Would you look at my friend’s head for me? She has a worm in her scalp that pops out.” The missionary didn’t believe it, but went to the woman’s hut anyway where her friend was sitting. She looked closely at her head and saw a sore on her scalp, but no worm. She told the woman, that it was okay, she just needed to keep it clean and that she would supply her with some stuff to put on it while it healed.
The tribal woman stopped her, and said, “No, just watch, the worm will show up.” So she stayed and watched, and sure enough, a little worm came up from the woman’s scalp to get a breath of air. The missionary telling us the story said she nearly threw up all over the tribal woman, but maintained her cool, and left in search of a remedy. She was able to consult a local veternarian who had dealt with lots of parasites in cattle, and was able to give her a topical solution which killed the worm and was able to help the tribal woman regain her health.
We hope we never have to face something like that, but we are learning that stories like this are more the rule than the exception! We are so thankful for the training we are recieving and hope that the Lord will use it to help those in such need of medical attention, but more importantly those in need of a savior.