Nicaragua DAY 6

This morning Julie led our devotion. She shared how we were able to come on this trip. By the end we were all on the verge of tears. Certainly God had his hand in each step.

For the morning shift I was assigned to a home visit group. I joined a doctor, dentist, medical student, and PA student. We drove about 20 min into the country on the craziest road I've ever seen. I felt like I was on an amusement park ride! We stopped at two different houses to provide health care. They didn't have many health issues but we were able to pray with them. At the second house, they had a pet parrot! It's fairly common to own birds here but this bird was surprisingly calm. It even perched on our fingers!

After our lunch break I joined surgeon Jack! We had a gentleman with 3 lipomas. Jack let me remove one by myself! He talked me through the whole process and was extremely patient with me. First I injected local anesthetic then I made the incision! I've never gotten to make the first cut before! It was not too hard to remove the benign tumor-it was small and superficial. Then I stitched him up! It wasn't perfectly straight but it was better than the last time I tried at UF! Unfortunately, we were shorthanded so I had to hang up my surgeon's cap and return to triage. We were going even faster than before. It was loud and hard to hear the blood pressure sounds. I was definitely frustrated and exhausted by the end. After the last patient in triage, I watched the ultrasounds. We had two women, 3 mo and 5 mo pregnant. It was so cool to see the babies!

We had dinner tonight with the Nicaraguan pastors and their wives. They couldn't speak English so communication was difficult. But at the end we prayed and sang together. It's an amazing thing to hear and see God praised in two cultures simultaneously.

Lilika and I bought necklaces and bracelets from two young girls afterward. They've been trying to sell them to us all week. I'm really excited about my purchases :)

When I finally climbed into bed tonight, I read a note from my roommate, Melissa. She hid it in my suitcase. It was full of prayer and encouragement. I'm so blessed to have two amazing roommates!