it's for real people!!!!

MAY 15, 2010. I will venture over to MASINDI, UGANDA as part of a medical mission team with Palmetto Medical Initiative and Medical Campus Outreach. The purpose of this trip is to go and love on the people of Uganda as well as provide them with medical treatment they would otherwise not have access to. As an OT student my role will be to provide rehab treatment to people in the form of splinting when needed, wound management, and teaching correct body positioning, ergonomics, and exercises (people in Uganda do lots of manual labor working in fields all day and carrying large amounts of weight on their heads, therefore they have lots of lower back pain).

I cannot begin to explain HOW excited I am about this trip. All I can say is that God has put a huge passion in my heart to GO and SERVE the people of Uganda. I anticipate this to be an incredible learning experience, mostly in humility. From the little I know of the people we will be going to serve, I can tell they are extremely grateful for all they have (even though it is hardly anything compared to the way we live) and they know how to love in a way I've never imagined.

Lately we have been going through Acts in church. A few weeks ago, we talked about being compelled to Go. My pastor said something that I have not been able to forget. He said we need to set our heart default to "yes." With this he talked about people in the Bible who answered Yes to God before they were asked a question. This really hit home to me, because in a lot of ways, if I knew what the question was, I might not want to say yes. Therefore I need to say Yes first and be obedient as to where I am sent. God has given me the passion to be an OT and through that I have learned the skills needed to serve others in need. I know He has great plans in Uganda, and I am so thankful to be a part of them. Please join me in praying for the people of Uganda, the doctors, therapists, students, and myself on this team. Your prayers are much needed and very much appreciated!!

Here are a few pictures from last May's trip...

This is the local church turned into the clinic during the week.

Here are some OT students making splints for a little girl to help her walk.

Here are some kiddos playing outside the clinic.

If you would like more information about my trip, please email me at sad33@musc.edu