Just wanted to post my last blog on this website to let my readers (yes, all three of you excluding my family) know that I will no longer be blogging on this link any more. I've decided to switch from blogspot to wordpress. It's a very difficult web address to remember, so pay very very very close attention:
http://www.stephencliff.com/
Read that to yourself 5 times before closing this page. STEPHEN. CLIFF. DOT COM. It's a tough one. Hope you check out the new blog : )
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Birthday Video
Who said chivalry was dead? This video was made for a cancer stricken wife by her husband. It was for a birthday present. Seriously, get a tissue.
Rachel's Birthday Letter - Hi-res from
Rachel's Birthday Letter - Hi-res from
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Living in the Margins
I've finally learned one of life's most valuable lessons this week. Do you wanna hear? This idea has been thrown my way numerous times throughout my life time, but I never grasped it fully. If you've ever been a part of an athletic team, band, or any type of group project I can almost guarantee that you've let the words pass through your ears without realizing the potential stored in the advice. Maybe it will take a firsthand encounter, as it did for me, for my message to deeply resonate with you. Regardless, I still need to share. So here goes: The separation of mediocrity and excellence is found in the margins of life.
I learned this from the least conspicuous person in my life, Dr. Rockley, my inorganic chemistry professor. Let me preface this post a little bit before I send this man great praise. Simply put: he is evil. Evil, Evil, Evil. You've heard me talk about the difficulty of my previous chemistry professor last semester, trust me he was difficult, but he pales in comparison. I remember my last professor, Dr. Raff, saying that there was only one professor in Oklahoma State's Chemistry department that was more difficult than he was. . . I'll let you take one wild guess who I got for Inorganic two. The class average on our first exam: 24%. His feet barely touched the ground as he cheerfully skipped into lecture the following day. He proceeded to work out a 24 minute long equation covering three chalk boards to prove to us that statistically if we all closed our eyes and randomly guessed on the exam our class average should have been in a range of 25-27 %. In other words, as a class we would have been more successful if we had all guessed without looking at one problem and turned it in. After the cricket in the ceiling broke the threatening silence of the lecture hall, my neighbor stood up in frustration, blurted out a few obscenities, and stomped out of the classroom never to be seen again. Dr. Rockley's response: A crooked smirk accompanied by a humorously delayed, "loser".
The class average on exam two: 33%. Don't let this persuade you the exam was easier that its predecessor. No. This is simply a correlation to all the people who dropped the course after the first exam. The chemical engineering majors are bloating our average up into the all time highs in a Dr. Rockley chemistry course. And no, I'm really not joking to make this a better story. Thankfully, I've scored much higher than the class averages on both exam one and exam two, but I still am not attaining my goal of an 'A' letter grade. It's one of the first times in my life that I've been faced with such a mental antagonizing situation. Keep in mind this is a five hour course. In other words, it weighs substantially on my GPA. If I want a realistic shot at getting accepted into medical school than it's vital I don't mess up this course. And Dr. Rockley is in the opposing corner seemingly throwing upper-hooks at my dream. My enemy, my nemeses. A 5'4", 67 year old, New Zealander is making me question the realism in my intelligence. All semester I've hated his guts. Not because he's a bad professor, he's actually done a phenomenal job at making chemistry relevant to the medical field. Not because he isn't helpful, his office is located in an unused class room so he can effectively help students after hour teaching hours. Not because of his sadistic sense of humor or really even his level of toughness; it all boils down to the fact that I want to be a doctor and Dr. Rockley is doing all he can to prevent my dream from coming to fruition.
Before you jump the gun and inform me that no professor purposefully tries to fail his students, let me tell you about our lecture before the third exam that I took last night. With a numb brain from 16 consecutive hours studying chemistry, I stumbled into my seat in the chemistry lecture hall. The chemical equilibriums in my body spazing from the overdose of energy supplements and under dose of sleep could not keep me from missing chemistry lecture in fear of falling into the deepest hole ever dug at a university. The lecture that awaited us was not expected. I expected to learn how to solve complex acid/base equilibrium problems under dynamic pressure systems. Maybe add in a little advanced chemical thermodynamics to spice it up a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't get to learn any chemistry that day (no sarcasm implied). What I got was one of my life's greatest epiphanies. Like usual, Dr. Rockley walked into lecture five minutes late and found his way to the podium where he started a very unusual lecture. Neither chalk nor 60 pound textbook was needed to convey his simple, yet meaningful plea to my comrades and I. (Yes, military vernacular is needed, we are at war with this man, remember?) More seriously, he began to explain the simple message that excellence is found in the margins of life. He told us the gap between an average doctor and an exceptional doctor is being aware of the small things. An average doctor might not pay attention to the hidden clue that would save a person's life, while an exceptional doctor living in the margins would pick up on the subtle clues. An average doctor might put in mediocre effort and sometimes find a great result, while an exceptional doctor always puts in great effort and sometimes receives mediocre results. People are typically defined by the end results of their lives, but their lives are made up of these marginal decisions they make every single day. He went on to tell us he goes through his exams and looks deeply into each problem and tries to find where we could possibly make a mistake. In chemistry, a simple charge being different can ultimately change the entire outcome of a problem by three orders of magnitude. He purposefully makes his tests tricky because, "The only people to pass [his] class will be the exceptional people who pay attention to the little details". He refuses to pass a student who he personally would not feel confident in allowing them to be his own doctor in a life threatening situation. I know my parents and friends see him as being unrealistically harsh, but really think about what he's saying. It might be the first time I've thought it all semester, but he's exactly right. I don't even want to be a doctor if I feel incapable of taking care of someone. I want to try my hardest now so that my patients can have confidence in my abilities. Great people are made in the marginal decisions in everyday life. We are called to pay attention to the little things. In the end, it defines what you will become. Dr. Rockley might give me a grade that will hurt my GPA, but he's the only professor in three years of being in Stillwater that will leave a permanent mark on my life. I want to be the best I possibly can be. And that requires living in the margins. Thank you Dr. Rockley. I'll leave you with this to capstone my message.
"Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily." -Johann Schiller
P.S. I got an A on exam three. Miracles do and can happen while livin' in the margins.
I learned this from the least conspicuous person in my life, Dr. Rockley, my inorganic chemistry professor. Let me preface this post a little bit before I send this man great praise. Simply put: he is evil. Evil, Evil, Evil. You've heard me talk about the difficulty of my previous chemistry professor last semester, trust me he was difficult, but he pales in comparison. I remember my last professor, Dr. Raff, saying that there was only one professor in Oklahoma State's Chemistry department that was more difficult than he was. . . I'll let you take one wild guess who I got for Inorganic two. The class average on our first exam: 24%. His feet barely touched the ground as he cheerfully skipped into lecture the following day. He proceeded to work out a 24 minute long equation covering three chalk boards to prove to us that statistically if we all closed our eyes and randomly guessed on the exam our class average should have been in a range of 25-27 %. In other words, as a class we would have been more successful if we had all guessed without looking at one problem and turned it in. After the cricket in the ceiling broke the threatening silence of the lecture hall, my neighbor stood up in frustration, blurted out a few obscenities, and stomped out of the classroom never to be seen again. Dr. Rockley's response: A crooked smirk accompanied by a humorously delayed, "loser".
The class average on exam two: 33%. Don't let this persuade you the exam was easier that its predecessor. No. This is simply a correlation to all the people who dropped the course after the first exam. The chemical engineering majors are bloating our average up into the all time highs in a Dr. Rockley chemistry course. And no, I'm really not joking to make this a better story. Thankfully, I've scored much higher than the class averages on both exam one and exam two, but I still am not attaining my goal of an 'A' letter grade. It's one of the first times in my life that I've been faced with such a mental antagonizing situation. Keep in mind this is a five hour course. In other words, it weighs substantially on my GPA. If I want a realistic shot at getting accepted into medical school than it's vital I don't mess up this course. And Dr. Rockley is in the opposing corner seemingly throwing upper-hooks at my dream. My enemy, my nemeses. A 5'4", 67 year old, New Zealander is making me question the realism in my intelligence. All semester I've hated his guts. Not because he's a bad professor, he's actually done a phenomenal job at making chemistry relevant to the medical field. Not because he isn't helpful, his office is located in an unused class room so he can effectively help students after hour teaching hours. Not because of his sadistic sense of humor or really even his level of toughness; it all boils down to the fact that I want to be a doctor and Dr. Rockley is doing all he can to prevent my dream from coming to fruition.
Before you jump the gun and inform me that no professor purposefully tries to fail his students, let me tell you about our lecture before the third exam that I took last night. With a numb brain from 16 consecutive hours studying chemistry, I stumbled into my seat in the chemistry lecture hall. The chemical equilibriums in my body spazing from the overdose of energy supplements and under dose of sleep could not keep me from missing chemistry lecture in fear of falling into the deepest hole ever dug at a university. The lecture that awaited us was not expected. I expected to learn how to solve complex acid/base equilibrium problems under dynamic pressure systems. Maybe add in a little advanced chemical thermodynamics to spice it up a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't get to learn any chemistry that day (no sarcasm implied). What I got was one of my life's greatest epiphanies. Like usual, Dr. Rockley walked into lecture five minutes late and found his way to the podium where he started a very unusual lecture. Neither chalk nor 60 pound textbook was needed to convey his simple, yet meaningful plea to my comrades and I. (Yes, military vernacular is needed, we are at war with this man, remember?) More seriously, he began to explain the simple message that excellence is found in the margins of life. He told us the gap between an average doctor and an exceptional doctor is being aware of the small things. An average doctor might not pay attention to the hidden clue that would save a person's life, while an exceptional doctor living in the margins would pick up on the subtle clues. An average doctor might put in mediocre effort and sometimes find a great result, while an exceptional doctor always puts in great effort and sometimes receives mediocre results. People are typically defined by the end results of their lives, but their lives are made up of these marginal decisions they make every single day. He went on to tell us he goes through his exams and looks deeply into each problem and tries to find where we could possibly make a mistake. In chemistry, a simple charge being different can ultimately change the entire outcome of a problem by three orders of magnitude. He purposefully makes his tests tricky because, "The only people to pass [his] class will be the exceptional people who pay attention to the little details". He refuses to pass a student who he personally would not feel confident in allowing them to be his own doctor in a life threatening situation. I know my parents and friends see him as being unrealistically harsh, but really think about what he's saying. It might be the first time I've thought it all semester, but he's exactly right. I don't even want to be a doctor if I feel incapable of taking care of someone. I want to try my hardest now so that my patients can have confidence in my abilities. Great people are made in the marginal decisions in everyday life. We are called to pay attention to the little things. In the end, it defines what you will become. Dr. Rockley might give me a grade that will hurt my GPA, but he's the only professor in three years of being in Stillwater that will leave a permanent mark on my life. I want to be the best I possibly can be. And that requires living in the margins. Thank you Dr. Rockley. I'll leave you with this to capstone my message.
"Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily." -Johann Schiller
P.S. I got an A on exam three. Miracles do and can happen while livin' in the margins.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Completely Legal
It is finally my 21st brithday. I am officially an adult, even if I dont feel like one. My only plan for the day:
Go buy a hand gun while inebriated. Take the hand gun to the nearest convient store and demand I get free cigarettes and three powerball tickets. Once my mission is finished, I will enlist myself in the army and start training for basic.
This is what adults do, right?
Or maybe I'll sit in my cramped room and study for my Operations Management exam, Finance exam, and lab practicum.
Go buy a hand gun while inebriated. Take the hand gun to the nearest convient store and demand I get free cigarettes and three powerball tickets. Once my mission is finished, I will enlist myself in the army and start training for basic.
This is what adults do, right?
Or maybe I'll sit in my cramped room and study for my Operations Management exam, Finance exam, and lab practicum.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Invincibility
The invincibility of being a teenager has officially worn off. I've never realized how many fears I have. Whether rational or irrational. How would I handle a tragedy in my family? What if my long term plans don't work out? What if I never meet the "one"?
Trust me, I absolutely know the right answers to my questions. I know trusting in God will lead to the future written for me. I'm not saying I'm overwhelmed with doubt and fear. It's just that . . . It seems like I've taken many things for granted, without ever considering life without certain people or things. I've never considered what life might be like if I don't get my way. Will I be happy if life throws a Roy Halladay-esqe curve ball my way?
Ok, enough with the mellow dramatic blabber. Just a lot on my mind recently. Can't want until Thanksgiving Break.
Trust me, I absolutely know the right answers to my questions. I know trusting in God will lead to the future written for me. I'm not saying I'm overwhelmed with doubt and fear. It's just that . . . It seems like I've taken many things for granted, without ever considering life without certain people or things. I've never considered what life might be like if I don't get my way. Will I be happy if life throws a Roy Halladay-esqe curve ball my way?
Ok, enough with the mellow dramatic blabber. Just a lot on my mind recently. Can't want until Thanksgiving Break.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Life Shaking Observation
What makes you get up every morning? What is it that motivates you to give 110% in all that you do? If you're like me, you were born lethargic. Every day you must conscientiously battle with your mind to be productive. The root cause is most likely my entire life I've depended on external factors to fuel my passion in life. If I'm not trying to impress someone with my hard work, I'm out to prove a sadistic professor wrong. I love the feeling of surpassing unrealistic expectations. I don't necessarily seek the award for my efforts, I'm one of those rare kids that gets the "impossible" problem right on the board and never raises my hand to declare my answer publicly. In the end, I really am satisfied inwardly when I know I'm trying my best to give God the glory. For twenty years, I've based all my dreams, hopes, and plans in the fact that I love God. I want to enter the mission field one day because my love for God is so abundant that it flows over to his creation. I want to do my best because I love God so much I would never want to disappoint him. Really for a majority of the things in my life, I want to do good in the world because I love God. In church we're taught that we should read our Bibles and pray because we love God so much and it's a way to express our devotion to him. We're taught to not cuss, lie, or have premarital sex because we love God. I say all this because the past week, God has placed a paradigm shattering idea in my spirit. I hope that it bothers you as much as it has bothered me:
What if the church has been fundamentally wrong?
What if our passion in life should NOT be based in our immense love for Christ? I think we can learn a lot from Peter, the disciple, from this worldview on life. Throughout the Gospel, Peter seems to make it most known that he loves Jesus more than anything in his life. We see in the book of John, the 21 chapter that Peter is almost offended that Jesus would question his undying love for Him:
I know that I've lived like Simon Peter for many years. Loving God with all my heart. And if God questioned my love for him three times in a row, I'm certain that it would hurt my feelings also. Because like Peter, I've derived the meaning of my life from the fact that I LOVE HIM. But, the closer I've grown in my walk, the more I've realized that the meaning of life should be branched into the underlying theme that Christ loves us! We are human. The motivation in all we do simply can't be based in our feelings for Christ. Let's face it; we all have days when we don't feel the Lord. And what happens if a Roman soldier asks us on those days if we are associated with Jesus? Does our life flow out of our belief that decisions should be made on the basis of our love for God?
Five times in the book of John, John refers to himself as, "The Beloved Disciple" or "The disciple whom Jesus loved". Don't you think that irritated the heck out of the other eleven disciples? I can just picture Peter, who publicly declares that he loves Jesus so abundantly, over hearing John talk about how much Jesus loves him. I'm sure Peter inwardly called John selfish. Wouldn't we all? Don't you get it John? We must love HIM. He is the Son of God. We dedicated our entire lives in service to show Him our love? My initial reaction is to side with Peter. But what God has recently placed in my heart is that maybe John had it right. We could spend our entire lives trying to prove to God we love him by our actions... but the fact is, nothing we could ever do would be sufficient repayment. It simply is not about our love for him. From this point on, my desire for the mission field, my desire for medical school, my desire to be a righteous person will be based in the fact that GOD loves ME. It's really the only basis we can place our passion in that we are certain will never fade away. When times get rough, the remembrance that God loves us will be the extra push to get us through. We don't have to try to disguise our blemishes or inequalities with this superficial cover up of "the measurement of our love for God". We get eternal life because he loved us enough to come make a sacrifice, not that we loved him enough to make a sacrifice. The latter will be a byproduct of shaping our lives around the principle that He loves us.
What if the church has been fundamentally wrong?
What if our passion in life should NOT be based in our immense love for Christ? I think we can learn a lot from Peter, the disciple, from this worldview on life. Throughout the Gospel, Peter seems to make it most known that he loves Jesus more than anything in his life. We see in the book of John, the 21 chapter that Peter is almost offended that Jesus would question his undying love for Him:
"15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?". "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?". He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you". Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
I know that I've lived like Simon Peter for many years. Loving God with all my heart. And if God questioned my love for him three times in a row, I'm certain that it would hurt my feelings also. Because like Peter, I've derived the meaning of my life from the fact that I LOVE HIM. But, the closer I've grown in my walk, the more I've realized that the meaning of life should be branched into the underlying theme that Christ loves us! We are human. The motivation in all we do simply can't be based in our feelings for Christ. Let's face it; we all have days when we don't feel the Lord. And what happens if a Roman soldier asks us on those days if we are associated with Jesus? Does our life flow out of our belief that decisions should be made on the basis of our love for God?
Five times in the book of John, John refers to himself as, "The Beloved Disciple" or "The disciple whom Jesus loved". Don't you think that irritated the heck out of the other eleven disciples? I can just picture Peter, who publicly declares that he loves Jesus so abundantly, over hearing John talk about how much Jesus loves him. I'm sure Peter inwardly called John selfish. Wouldn't we all? Don't you get it John? We must love HIM. He is the Son of God. We dedicated our entire lives in service to show Him our love? My initial reaction is to side with Peter. But what God has recently placed in my heart is that maybe John had it right. We could spend our entire lives trying to prove to God we love him by our actions... but the fact is, nothing we could ever do would be sufficient repayment. It simply is not about our love for him. From this point on, my desire for the mission field, my desire for medical school, my desire to be a righteous person will be based in the fact that GOD loves ME. It's really the only basis we can place our passion in that we are certain will never fade away. When times get rough, the remembrance that God loves us will be the extra push to get us through. We don't have to try to disguise our blemishes or inequalities with this superficial cover up of "the measurement of our love for God". We get eternal life because he loved us enough to come make a sacrifice, not that we loved him enough to make a sacrifice. The latter will be a byproduct of shaping our lives around the principle that He loves us.
Mark 14:66-68
66While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. 68But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.
John 19:25-26
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby...
Who persevered to be at the foot of the cross for Jesus' last breath? Who was denying his existence? Maybe we're on to something here.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A.... STATE!
University of Oklahoma's medical school= A+
Next stop: Tomorrow at 2:00pm
Next stop: Tomorrow at 2:00pm
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Bleeding Orange
I suppose that the nature of this blog when I created it was to take you on the medical school journey with me. Sharing my perspective of the life of a pre-health student and hopefully as a medical student as well. I tend to get away from this topic very often as you know, but today I would like to take you a little farther in my adventure. For the most part, my opinions about a particular medical school are formulated around what their website advertises, how they treat me in my emails, and of course by ear. Today I will take a step forward in gaining a better perspective of one school by visiting the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences for their medical school "Open House" event. I've received tons of grief from my friends here in Stillwater for considering going to that "one place next to Oklahoma City", so I really don't need to hear more from you. Hah. I've decided against wearing my Ok. State shirt in case I happen to meet an admittance committee member... The little things matter when applying to medical school, ya know! I'll be taking a tour of their campus, hearing presentations from some of the professors, as well as having a Q&A session with current medical students. I've been conspiring to come up with a couple questions to stump them, any suggestions will be accepted. This has been the most stressful semester of my college career so I'm not positive when I'll find the time to update on how my experience went, but I'm going to try to soon. It's time to go make my future. Off to the evil empire!
“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”
-John M. Richardson, Jr.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Long Time, No See
I cannot believe that I have not blogged in over a month. This is something that I truly love doing. Even if it isn't the best, most creative writing in the world; writing helps me organize my thoughts and emotions. It's an avenue to relieve stress for my hyperactive wired scheduled life. And really, I have so much to say to the world. It's almost one in the morning and I find myself fighting off weariness (maybe from two weeks of less than 6 hours of sleep a night) to log on to my blog to express myself. This will not be the wittiest or most interesting post I've ever written. Although, this post is something that I've needed for a long time. This post is what I've been dreading, but also looking forward to. Because with my public claim comes responsibility. A responsibility that I think I've put off too long.
I've had a rough month. Rough academically. Rough mentally. I've discovered the beast of medical education. The enormity of the stress and deadlines. After a discouraging presentation from a doctor on the University of Oklahoma's medical school admissions board, I was mentally left with a reoccurring question that has robbed me of my sanity the last several weeks, "Do I really know what I'm getting into"? Am I really smart enough for this? Growing up our parents and teachers tell us that we can become whatever we want to be. Thus our childhood dreams are constructed to be the first woman president of the United States. Or to be a fighter pilot. Or to play professional baseball. They never trained us for the harsh reality that at some point in walking out our dream we will have to face our biggest fears. They never prepared us for the crossroads in our lives when a grown man would stare you in the eyes and tell you, "You're probably not smart enough be a doctor". It's a tough thing to deal with. And the mental anguish has had repercussions in other areas in my life.
I've avoided trying my best in my classes. I've let my discouragement get the best of me. I've looked for any and every opportunity to avoid making my ultimate decision if I want to continue down this path. I've coward away from the ultimatum because essentially, I am scared. It's scary to step out not knowing if you're guaranteed safety. It's terrifying to make this big of a commitment in the face of doubt. Some days I wish that I could just wake up and be a doctor without the many years of hard work and commitment. Unfortunately, life never works that way.
Ironically, I learned the most this week from one of the things that I've used to distract me from making my decision. I've started watching (mildly obsessing over) the television show "[Scrubs]". I subscribed to Netflix so that I could have access to every episode of [Scrubs] in all the seasons sent to my house. Yes, it is a little loony. I could sit and watch 7-8 episodes a day dispite the need to be studying. I've used it as a distraction from school and I've known it all along. I know that it seems silly that I'm talking about having a favorite TV show, but a certain episode has helped me more than I could express. I am going to work hard. I am going to get serious. Even if I face rejection down the road for my educational inadequacies, I will know confidently that I tried my best. Always remember, "Nothing worth having comes easy".
**Warning: One use of foul language at the 16 second mark**
I've had a rough month. Rough academically. Rough mentally. I've discovered the beast of medical education. The enormity of the stress and deadlines. After a discouraging presentation from a doctor on the University of Oklahoma's medical school admissions board, I was mentally left with a reoccurring question that has robbed me of my sanity the last several weeks, "Do I really know what I'm getting into"? Am I really smart enough for this? Growing up our parents and teachers tell us that we can become whatever we want to be. Thus our childhood dreams are constructed to be the first woman president of the United States. Or to be a fighter pilot. Or to play professional baseball. They never trained us for the harsh reality that at some point in walking out our dream we will have to face our biggest fears. They never prepared us for the crossroads in our lives when a grown man would stare you in the eyes and tell you, "You're probably not smart enough be a doctor". It's a tough thing to deal with. And the mental anguish has had repercussions in other areas in my life.
I've avoided trying my best in my classes. I've let my discouragement get the best of me. I've looked for any and every opportunity to avoid making my ultimate decision if I want to continue down this path. I've coward away from the ultimatum because essentially, I am scared. It's scary to step out not knowing if you're guaranteed safety. It's terrifying to make this big of a commitment in the face of doubt. Some days I wish that I could just wake up and be a doctor without the many years of hard work and commitment. Unfortunately, life never works that way.
Ironically, I learned the most this week from one of the things that I've used to distract me from making my decision. I've started watching (mildly obsessing over) the television show "[Scrubs]". I subscribed to Netflix so that I could have access to every episode of [Scrubs] in all the seasons sent to my house. Yes, it is a little loony. I could sit and watch 7-8 episodes a day dispite the need to be studying. I've used it as a distraction from school and I've known it all along. I know that it seems silly that I'm talking about having a favorite TV show, but a certain episode has helped me more than I could express. I am going to work hard. I am going to get serious. Even if I face rejection down the road for my educational inadequacies, I will know confidently that I tried my best. Always remember, "Nothing worth having comes easy".
**Warning: One use of foul language at the 16 second mark**
Sunday, August 22, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#7)
8/9/10
What an interesting day. This journal entry is coming from my iPhone notes while I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my flight at 1:30am. This is the beautiful side of mission work, right? Our flight was supposed to be leaving at 1:20, but we were informed when we got here that it would be delayed 2 hours. But... While we were sitting in the airport lobby with a friend just sharing stories, an employee told us the flight was on time and was boarding. This was at 1:15. So we stressfully sprinted through security. We were met by tired, thorough employees who searched every crumb on the bottom of my carry on bag, despite our need to get to our gate ASAP. I swear mental stress is more tiring than physical stress. We finally make it through the sluggish security and start our run towards our gate only to be met by the news that our flight was in fact delayed. Got to love the things lost in translation I suppose.
Today was our shopping day. We got to go downtown and shop for souvenirs and sight see parts of the city we didn't have time for this past week. Unfortunately, the last 2 days I've had a severe-to-deathly sore throat. It still hurts as I type. fortunately, there are advantages of getting sick on medical mission trips. I'm already on antibiotics, for no cost. Praise the Lord. It was tough saying bye to the team. I've REALLY enjoyed their company this past week. We really meshed well and have grown close.
What kind of people go on mission trips over four thousand miles away from home? Amazing, passionate, genuine, fire-filled Christians. I've had the best conversations with these people. You don't find many flaky Christians sleeping in sleeping bags, working long days for no tangible benefit in the Third world. They've all inspired me so much. I kept a tab in my notes on my phone that I just kept quotes from them when they would say something I could learn from. Considering I'm the youngest member of our team, they all have so much experience for me to learn from. Take this for example, I've been thinking about it lately: "How you treat the creation reflects how you feel about the creator". There is such wisdom in that. I've collected several little quotes like this in my phone. They didn't even know I was listening. These are the little things I've enjoyed so much on this trip. I think I've been blessed more than I could have blessed anyone else. Now, I'm going to lie down on this bench and get a quick nap in before my flight.
I sure am going to miss this place.
P.S. It's now 2:00 and I'm still waiting
P.S.S it's now 2:30 and I'm still waiting
3:03. Still waiting.
3:35 Take off
3:36 Just kidding. Drunk guys on plane just got us taxied back to terminal.
4:06 Take off again.
What an interesting day. This journal entry is coming from my iPhone notes while I'm sitting in the airport waiting for my flight at 1:30am. This is the beautiful side of mission work, right? Our flight was supposed to be leaving at 1:20, but we were informed when we got here that it would be delayed 2 hours. But... While we were sitting in the airport lobby with a friend just sharing stories, an employee told us the flight was on time and was boarding. This was at 1:15. So we stressfully sprinted through security. We were met by tired, thorough employees who searched every crumb on the bottom of my carry on bag, despite our need to get to our gate ASAP. I swear mental stress is more tiring than physical stress. We finally make it through the sluggish security and start our run towards our gate only to be met by the news that our flight was in fact delayed. Got to love the things lost in translation I suppose.
Today was our shopping day. We got to go downtown and shop for souvenirs and sight see parts of the city we didn't have time for this past week. Unfortunately, the last 2 days I've had a severe-to-deathly sore throat. It still hurts as I type. fortunately, there are advantages of getting sick on medical mission trips. I'm already on antibiotics, for no cost. Praise the Lord. It was tough saying bye to the team. I've REALLY enjoyed their company this past week. We really meshed well and have grown close.
What kind of people go on mission trips over four thousand miles away from home? Amazing, passionate, genuine, fire-filled Christians. I've had the best conversations with these people. You don't find many flaky Christians sleeping in sleeping bags, working long days for no tangible benefit in the Third world. They've all inspired me so much. I kept a tab in my notes on my phone that I just kept quotes from them when they would say something I could learn from. Considering I'm the youngest member of our team, they all have so much experience for me to learn from. Take this for example, I've been thinking about it lately: "How you treat the creation reflects how you feel about the creator". There is such wisdom in that. I've collected several little quotes like this in my phone. They didn't even know I was listening. These are the little things I've enjoyed so much on this trip. I think I've been blessed more than I could have blessed anyone else. Now, I'm going to lie down on this bench and get a quick nap in before my flight.
I sure am going to miss this place.
P.S. It's now 2:00 and I'm still waiting
P.S.S it's now 2:30 and I'm still waiting
3:03. Still waiting.
3:35 Take off
3:36 Just kidding. Drunk guys on plane just got us taxied back to terminal.
4:06 Take off again.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
True Feelings: Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#6)
8/6/10
What an incredible, fun day. It was independence day here in Bolivia. We went to a huge parade downtown. There was just a great spirit among the people. Bolivian flags flew proudly all over the city. I actually got on Google today and noticed they redesigned their front page with Bolivian flag colors. It made me feel really proud to be here. There was a lot of drama in the La Paz, the capitol, last night with people quarantined in the palace. I'm not sure what exactly happened but it had something to do with drugs. Whatever exactly happened, it prevented President Morales from attending the Santa Cruz parade. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Morales doesn't have much respect for the people in Santa Cruz. The feelings are mutual. Morales is a socialist, borderline communist. The Bolivian constitution states that a president can only serve two, four year terms in office. Morales just recently changed the constitution and is currently serving in his third term. As far as his background, he has no formal education whatsoever. He gained his power through the coca growing industry. Yes, coca leaves is the base for cocaine production. In fact, Morales is STILL the president of the coca growing association as well as president of the country. Like most socialist/communist reigns, Morales has the support of the poorer class, which of course is the majority of the population. Be in prayer for the politics of Bolivia.
When pro-Morales supporters marched in the parade , members of the crowd booed and threw trash at them. The moments got a little tense with hundreds of militants holding guns and tear gas containers. The primitive, angry resentment was exciting to me (a sheltered American city boy). After the parade, we went to a local pastors house who also owns a very successful business. His house would have been an upper class home in any city in America. It was refreshing to get to relax. He just let us hang out and he also cook out on his grill for us. It was an amazing time to just chill and talk to our team members. Our team is full of incredible people. I am taking by all of their stories. I've gained so much wisdom from them this past week. I'm really going to miss them. I feel like they've almost become family. We've all had to depend on each other. I feel very bittersweet about my return "home". I know Tulsa will always be my physical home, but I've never felt more at home than now. I am excited to see my friends and family, but I really do love it here. I love the people. I love our team. This trip has done more for me than I could ever have done for the people we're here to serve. Most importantly, I am in love with Jesus. Your walk with Him is so close when you have nothing else. See you all in a couple of days.
Love,
Stephen
What an incredible, fun day. It was independence day here in Bolivia. We went to a huge parade downtown. There was just a great spirit among the people. Bolivian flags flew proudly all over the city. I actually got on Google today and noticed they redesigned their front page with Bolivian flag colors. It made me feel really proud to be here. There was a lot of drama in the La Paz, the capitol, last night with people quarantined in the palace. I'm not sure what exactly happened but it had something to do with drugs. Whatever exactly happened, it prevented President Morales from attending the Santa Cruz parade. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Morales doesn't have much respect for the people in Santa Cruz. The feelings are mutual. Morales is a socialist, borderline communist. The Bolivian constitution states that a president can only serve two, four year terms in office. Morales just recently changed the constitution and is currently serving in his third term. As far as his background, he has no formal education whatsoever. He gained his power through the coca growing industry. Yes, coca leaves is the base for cocaine production. In fact, Morales is STILL the president of the coca growing association as well as president of the country. Like most socialist/communist reigns, Morales has the support of the poorer class, which of course is the majority of the population. Be in prayer for the politics of Bolivia.
When pro-Morales supporters marched in the parade , members of the crowd booed and threw trash at them. The moments got a little tense with hundreds of militants holding guns and tear gas containers. The primitive, angry resentment was exciting to me (a sheltered American city boy). After the parade, we went to a local pastors house who also owns a very successful business. His house would have been an upper class home in any city in America. It was refreshing to get to relax. He just let us hang out and he also cook out on his grill for us. It was an amazing time to just chill and talk to our team members. Our team is full of incredible people. I am taking by all of their stories. I've gained so much wisdom from them this past week. I'm really going to miss them. I feel like they've almost become family. We've all had to depend on each other. I feel very bittersweet about my return "home". I know Tulsa will always be my physical home, but I've never felt more at home than now. I am excited to see my friends and family, but I really do love it here. I love the people. I love our team. This trip has done more for me than I could ever have done for the people we're here to serve. Most importantly, I am in love with Jesus. Your walk with Him is so close when you have nothing else. See you all in a couple of days.
Love,
Stephen
Sunday, August 15, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#5)
8/5/10
What an exciting day. We did a traveling clinic to an old people’s home. It was about an hour long drive out there, but it was totally worth it. This is one the most unique ministries I've ever come across. Their unofficial motto is: "Preparing people for heaven". This facility has a clinic, garden, outdoor bread oven, a full kitchen, and even a sugar cane press. They don't have any housing yet, but are in the process of building a very nice one. We got to eat fresh tangerines, lemons, and even fresh cane juice. There are probably about 120 people who travel in from surrounding villages to be at this ministry. From the minute we arrived we couldn't get away from the people. They were that nice and inviting. They all called me, "Dr. Stephen", which deepens my desire for my future. I was also met with sloppy wet kisses from all the teethless old women. It was wonderful... The retired people actually come to work every day here. They pick fruit, tend to the gardens, and make sugar cane juice. Their background in farming and very hard work ethics makes this place very special to them. It gives them meaning again. It makes them feel valued and useful.
As far as the clinic went today, we got to see goiters, numerous high blood pressures, arthritis, and even another case of Chagas disease. These people were truly grateful for what they received today. One man broke down in tears during our clinic. He told us that he often feels, "overwhelmed". It almost made me tear up. It was a very trip defining moment and one that I will not easily forget. What we are doing has a great purpose. We are impacting hundreds of lives. Our clinics are officially over. We've seen over 300 patients this week and had 80-90 people come to know the Lord this week. It has been an incredible time. The next two days we will be relaxing and recuperating from a hard week's work.
Tomorrow marks Bolivia's 188th Independence Day. We will be celebrating at the Santa Cruz parade. As I write, I hear many fireworks all around. I first thought they were gun fire (these initial inclinations are common and understandable in 3rd world countries). Hah! President Morales will be at the parade. This will mark the first time Morales will be in Santa Cruz in two years. Two years ago Santa Cruz almost led a rebellion to overthrow the oppressive government that Morales runs. There was massive amounts of tension that caused all the airports across the countries shutting down, which prevented a Bridge Builders team from entering the country then. Even now, there is tension building with the arrival of Morales in Santa Cruz. All it takes is one crack head to take a shot at Morales at the parade and we probably won't be able to leave the country for another week. That probably wouldn't bother me honestly. I love what we're doing here. The next two days we'll be relaxing and sightseeing. I'm looking forward to it. I miss all of you like crazy. God is so good.
Love,
Stephen
What an exciting day. We did a traveling clinic to an old people’s home. It was about an hour long drive out there, but it was totally worth it. This is one the most unique ministries I've ever come across. Their unofficial motto is: "Preparing people for heaven". This facility has a clinic, garden, outdoor bread oven, a full kitchen, and even a sugar cane press. They don't have any housing yet, but are in the process of building a very nice one. We got to eat fresh tangerines, lemons, and even fresh cane juice. There are probably about 120 people who travel in from surrounding villages to be at this ministry. From the minute we arrived we couldn't get away from the people. They were that nice and inviting. They all called me, "Dr. Stephen", which deepens my desire for my future. I was also met with sloppy wet kisses from all the teethless old women. It was wonderful... The retired people actually come to work every day here. They pick fruit, tend to the gardens, and make sugar cane juice. Their background in farming and very hard work ethics makes this place very special to them. It gives them meaning again. It makes them feel valued and useful.
As far as the clinic went today, we got to see goiters, numerous high blood pressures, arthritis, and even another case of Chagas disease. These people were truly grateful for what they received today. One man broke down in tears during our clinic. He told us that he often feels, "overwhelmed". It almost made me tear up. It was a very trip defining moment and one that I will not easily forget. What we are doing has a great purpose. We are impacting hundreds of lives. Our clinics are officially over. We've seen over 300 patients this week and had 80-90 people come to know the Lord this week. It has been an incredible time. The next two days we will be relaxing and recuperating from a hard week's work.
Tomorrow marks Bolivia's 188th Independence Day. We will be celebrating at the Santa Cruz parade. As I write, I hear many fireworks all around. I first thought they were gun fire (these initial inclinations are common and understandable in 3rd world countries). Hah! President Morales will be at the parade. This will mark the first time Morales will be in Santa Cruz in two years. Two years ago Santa Cruz almost led a rebellion to overthrow the oppressive government that Morales runs. There was massive amounts of tension that caused all the airports across the countries shutting down, which prevented a Bridge Builders team from entering the country then. Even now, there is tension building with the arrival of Morales in Santa Cruz. All it takes is one crack head to take a shot at Morales at the parade and we probably won't be able to leave the country for another week. That probably wouldn't bother me honestly. I love what we're doing here. The next two days we'll be relaxing and sightseeing. I'm looking forward to it. I miss all of you like crazy. God is so good.
Love,
Stephen
Bolivia Video
I was planning on waiting until the end of my series of journal entries to post this video. But I've decided to post the video so you can get a visual sense of what I'm writing about. It's a simply made video, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#4)
8/4/10
I felt like I was benefitting from Jim Elliot's life efforts today. We treated 5 or 6 Quechua Indians in our clinic today. They are a branch of the indigenous Indians who migrated down from Ecuador to parts of Bolivia. They are a very unique people. They all dress with 4 to 5 layers including an apron on the outside. Our interpreters have difficulty understanding them. Best of all: They are all very strong and sure of their faith. It's easy to see the influence Jim and his wife have had on their entire culture. I felt honored to come across these people on the mission field. I got a photo of a couple of them that I posted at the bottom of this blog entry.
As far as the clinics went today, I was an official doctor... At least according to the Bolivians. I saw my own patients and made my own diagnoses. I've really learned a lot in just the last three days of doing a clinic. It's been very beneficial to apply things learned in school. One of my patients had Chagas disease, which is only found in Bolivia and Paraguay. This excited our team physician, Dr. Carey. He totally stopped all orders of business to get out a tropical disease textbook and teach us students about the uniqueness of our case. It was really interesting. We've run into cases of tuberculosis, Pneumonia, and even a staph infection. Needless to say, I've used about seven bottles of hand sanitizer. This experience is priceless. Dr. Carey even sent us home with his text book to read more about Chagas disease. Guess you can't avoid homework even when you're on the mission field. (Edit on 8/5/10: I got in trouble for not reading my homework. Uh oh.) I'm merely a beginner. It's so easy to treat the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem. I really have a desire burning deep down to learn more. I want to be knowledgeable. I want to be the best I can possibly be.
I got to have dinner tonight with seven engineers and businessmen. I was easily the poorest and least intelligent person in the room. I tried my best to not foolishly spill my coffee all over the table and interrupt the wealthy aura of the room. Nonetheless, it was a unique opportunity for one of our team members to share his testimony with them. I'm not sure why I was the only other one invited. Maybe it was simply my beautiful face.
I've been too busy to write much lately. And I know I'm too tired to remember all the exciting things I've experienced. This Friday (8/6/10) is Bolivia's 188th Independence Day. There will be a huge parade that we will get to attend. The president, Evo Morales, will be in the parade. Its sub 40 degrees here and my fingers are getting stiff with the lack of a heater. It's time for me to go crawl into my sleeping bag. It's very late and I must wake up early. We are going on a 100 mile journey tomorrow to set up a remote clinic. Over 20 people came to know Christ for the first time today. Praise God. Praying for you.
Love,
Stephen
I felt like I was benefitting from Jim Elliot's life efforts today. We treated 5 or 6 Quechua Indians in our clinic today. They are a branch of the indigenous Indians who migrated down from Ecuador to parts of Bolivia. They are a very unique people. They all dress with 4 to 5 layers including an apron on the outside. Our interpreters have difficulty understanding them. Best of all: They are all very strong and sure of their faith. It's easy to see the influence Jim and his wife have had on their entire culture. I felt honored to come across these people on the mission field. I got a photo of a couple of them that I posted at the bottom of this blog entry.
As far as the clinics went today, I was an official doctor... At least according to the Bolivians. I saw my own patients and made my own diagnoses. I've really learned a lot in just the last three days of doing a clinic. It's been very beneficial to apply things learned in school. One of my patients had Chagas disease, which is only found in Bolivia and Paraguay. This excited our team physician, Dr. Carey. He totally stopped all orders of business to get out a tropical disease textbook and teach us students about the uniqueness of our case. It was really interesting. We've run into cases of tuberculosis, Pneumonia, and even a staph infection. Needless to say, I've used about seven bottles of hand sanitizer. This experience is priceless. Dr. Carey even sent us home with his text book to read more about Chagas disease. Guess you can't avoid homework even when you're on the mission field. (Edit on 8/5/10: I got in trouble for not reading my homework. Uh oh.) I'm merely a beginner. It's so easy to treat the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem. I really have a desire burning deep down to learn more. I want to be knowledgeable. I want to be the best I can possibly be.
I got to have dinner tonight with seven engineers and businessmen. I was easily the poorest and least intelligent person in the room. I tried my best to not foolishly spill my coffee all over the table and interrupt the wealthy aura of the room. Nonetheless, it was a unique opportunity for one of our team members to share his testimony with them. I'm not sure why I was the only other one invited. Maybe it was simply my beautiful face.
I've been too busy to write much lately. And I know I'm too tired to remember all the exciting things I've experienced. This Friday (8/6/10) is Bolivia's 188th Independence Day. There will be a huge parade that we will get to attend. The president, Evo Morales, will be in the parade. Its sub 40 degrees here and my fingers are getting stiff with the lack of a heater. It's time for me to go crawl into my sleeping bag. It's very late and I must wake up early. We are going on a 100 mile journey tomorrow to set up a remote clinic. Over 20 people came to know Christ for the first time today. Praise God. Praying for you.
Love,
Stephen
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#3)
8/2/10
I woke up at seven this morning and just now got back to our house (11:20pm). It was a very long day at the clinic. Everything I saw today will forever be burned into my memory. I saw and learned to treat impetigo, scabies, third degree burns, large fungal growths/infections, and atopic eczema. Seriously, Google search the images of these skin diseases. Now imagine innocent seven year olds with these skin issues. It's heart breaking, but the excitement on their faces when you provide a solution is one of the most fulfilling couple minutes I've ever experienced. This is what I'm called to do. I love it. I also worked hard taking vitals for over 70 people. It was a hectic day to say the least. Life of a real doctor? I think so.
I've noticed that my natural ability to entertain children transcends borders and cultures. I continually distracted myself from my duties by playing with the children. At one point, I had a group of eight children surrounding me talking to me in a language I can barely understand. My heart breaks for God's children. I will say a prayer tonight for every child I met today. It's devastating to see such beautiful children go home to poverty stricken homes and often times abusive homes as well. I often wonder if they will all remember me. I hope they will. May God be with them every day of their lives.
This is a short post. I'm exhausted. And it's only the first day of clinics. God is my strength. By the way, at least 20 people came to know Christ for the FIRST time today in our clinic. Praise Him. Nothing makes my heart happier. The people here in Bolivia have such a large view of God. I've learned that God can only be as big as we make him. How big do you make God? Are you keeping him in a box? Are you fully dependent? I'm praying for you.
Love,
Stephen
I woke up at seven this morning and just now got back to our house (11:20pm). It was a very long day at the clinic. Everything I saw today will forever be burned into my memory. I saw and learned to treat impetigo, scabies, third degree burns, large fungal growths/infections, and atopic eczema. Seriously, Google search the images of these skin diseases. Now imagine innocent seven year olds with these skin issues. It's heart breaking, but the excitement on their faces when you provide a solution is one of the most fulfilling couple minutes I've ever experienced. This is what I'm called to do. I love it. I also worked hard taking vitals for over 70 people. It was a hectic day to say the least. Life of a real doctor? I think so.
I've noticed that my natural ability to entertain children transcends borders and cultures. I continually distracted myself from my duties by playing with the children. At one point, I had a group of eight children surrounding me talking to me in a language I can barely understand. My heart breaks for God's children. I will say a prayer tonight for every child I met today. It's devastating to see such beautiful children go home to poverty stricken homes and often times abusive homes as well. I often wonder if they will all remember me. I hope they will. May God be with them every day of their lives.
This is a short post. I'm exhausted. And it's only the first day of clinics. God is my strength. By the way, at least 20 people came to know Christ for the FIRST time today in our clinic. Praise Him. Nothing makes my heart happier. The people here in Bolivia have such a large view of God. I've learned that God can only be as big as we make him. How big do you make God? Are you keeping him in a box? Are you fully dependent? I'm praying for you.
Love,
Stephen
Monday, August 9, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (#2)
8/1/10
Last night I had this horrible nightmare that I slept outside and was awoken by an Amazonic thunderstorm. Than I realized that it was reality. Due to our large team that is assembling here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia we are running out of bed space. So a couple of the other men and I decided to sleep outside on the patio. We woke up at 4:28am completely soaked by a thunderstorm like none other. Take Tulsa sized raindrops and multiply them by 900x and that is the size of Bolivian raindrops. We drug our soaked sleeping bags inside to attempt to sleep some more despite our conditions. We've learned very early that we can't come into a country like this complaining. They need to hear us speak life. So all we could do at four in the morning is laugh. It really is hilarious when you think about it. A bunch of gringos sleeping outside in a third world country, getting poured on. There is no time to be vain. I'm learning to grow and adapt.
I love Bolivia.
I'm currently listening to our incredibly talented team sing praise and worship. Something truly beautiful happens when people from many backgrounds, cultures, and countries come together for one purpose. We have Bolivians, Peruvians, Paraguayans, Tulsans, Georgians, and a South African working together to spread a simple, yet life changing message: Jesus loves you more than you can comprehend. We went to two different churches today to spread the word about out clinic this week. We got to pray for healing with many people. Their desire and faith is unbelievable. They walk to the alter with expectation. It's really been challenging me. Do I have similar faith? Man, I couldn't be more perfectly in God's will for my life.
Our lead doctor, Dr. Carey, informed me today that tomorrow (Monday) and Tuesday I will be shadowing him with patients. He gave me 20 pages worth of common tropical diseases to study in all my free time. He told me, to my surprise, that by Wednesday I will be seeing my own patients. How crazy is that? From Chemistry lab rat to doctor... I'm only 20 years old! I'm so excited. I've got a sheet of a lot of common medical phrases in Spanish that I must learn. He told me I have two days to significantly grow up. I've never been so excited about a challenge. This is my destiny. God is so good. Dr. Carey also told me that I could shadow him when we are back in Tulsa when we return. I'm excited about the connections I'm making. I respect the spiritual emphasis Dr. Carey puts on his practice. He instructed me to spend at least five minutes with every patient to share the gospel with them. He told me that there is a level of trust and openness to share the gospel with patients because they share their physical secrets with you. I've been absorbing as much as I can from the many experiences people on our team have had. We have one lady who has been to over 188 countries. How incredible.
In other news, I ate a chicken heart today for lunch. No, I'm not kidding, a chicken heart! And it actually tasted... good! Go figure. I washed it down with a cup of passionfruit juice and pineapple juice. I love this place. I was born for this. It's past one in the morning now and I must wake up in a few hours to prepare for clinic. Good night America. I miss you Depot. More than you know. My family as well : ) Be in prayer.
Sincerely,
Stephen
Last night I had this horrible nightmare that I slept outside and was awoken by an Amazonic thunderstorm. Than I realized that it was reality. Due to our large team that is assembling here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia we are running out of bed space. So a couple of the other men and I decided to sleep outside on the patio. We woke up at 4:28am completely soaked by a thunderstorm like none other. Take Tulsa sized raindrops and multiply them by 900x and that is the size of Bolivian raindrops. We drug our soaked sleeping bags inside to attempt to sleep some more despite our conditions. We've learned very early that we can't come into a country like this complaining. They need to hear us speak life. So all we could do at four in the morning is laugh. It really is hilarious when you think about it. A bunch of gringos sleeping outside in a third world country, getting poured on. There is no time to be vain. I'm learning to grow and adapt.
I love Bolivia.
I'm currently listening to our incredibly talented team sing praise and worship. Something truly beautiful happens when people from many backgrounds, cultures, and countries come together for one purpose. We have Bolivians, Peruvians, Paraguayans, Tulsans, Georgians, and a South African working together to spread a simple, yet life changing message: Jesus loves you more than you can comprehend. We went to two different churches today to spread the word about out clinic this week. We got to pray for healing with many people. Their desire and faith is unbelievable. They walk to the alter with expectation. It's really been challenging me. Do I have similar faith? Man, I couldn't be more perfectly in God's will for my life.
Our lead doctor, Dr. Carey, informed me today that tomorrow (Monday) and Tuesday I will be shadowing him with patients. He gave me 20 pages worth of common tropical diseases to study in all my free time. He told me, to my surprise, that by Wednesday I will be seeing my own patients. How crazy is that? From Chemistry lab rat to doctor... I'm only 20 years old! I'm so excited. I've got a sheet of a lot of common medical phrases in Spanish that I must learn. He told me I have two days to significantly grow up. I've never been so excited about a challenge. This is my destiny. God is so good. Dr. Carey also told me that I could shadow him when we are back in Tulsa when we return. I'm excited about the connections I'm making. I respect the spiritual emphasis Dr. Carey puts on his practice. He instructed me to spend at least five minutes with every patient to share the gospel with them. He told me that there is a level of trust and openness to share the gospel with patients because they share their physical secrets with you. I've been absorbing as much as I can from the many experiences people on our team have had. We have one lady who has been to over 188 countries. How incredible.
In other news, I ate a chicken heart today for lunch. No, I'm not kidding, a chicken heart! And it actually tasted... good! Go figure. I washed it down with a cup of passionfruit juice and pineapple juice. I love this place. I was born for this. It's past one in the morning now and I must wake up in a few hours to prepare for clinic. Good night America. I miss you Depot. More than you know. My family as well : ) Be in prayer.
Sincerely,
Stephen
Sunday, August 8, 2010
True Feelings: The Vents of an Inexperienced Missionary (First Post)
7/31/10
God is so good. Flying standby can be quite stressful but it presents God numerous opportunities to prove himself faithful. I had no idea how much I would be trusting God yesterday when I woke up at 4:00am to leave the country, All of the flights from Tulsa to Dallas were booked, which shattered my plan. Me and my fellow team member, Gary Jackson, made a last second decision to hop on the flight to Chicago instead. We arrived in the world’s largest airport only 20 minutes before the next flight left for Miami. When I arrived at our gate, I received news that I was taken off the standby list for some unknown reason. This meant I was put at the end of the list now. The lady at the counter told me, "You won't be getting a flight out of Chicago any time soon". I started praying. There are 5 seats available on the flight and I am number 6 on the standby list. The list on the screen slowly starts filing down. One name at a time is removed as their names are being called on the intercom. When only three names remain, the screen goes blank. After a long silent pause the intercom interrupts the boisterous Chicago crowd with, "Jackson and Cliff can now board". Praise God. We get the last two seats available on the entire flight. For whatever reason, one person in front of me did not show up to claim their seat. The same story happens in Miami going to Bolivia. And we end up getting first class for our nine hour flight. God is always faithful. There is nothing more rewarding that living perfectly in God's will.
My heart breaks for Bolivia. They are in such great need of help in every way possible. From the minute I stepped off my plane, my heart grew. We got in past one in the morning today, so our goal was to just sleep as soon as possible. When we woke up, Misael has prepared a great breakfast for us. Eggs, ham, cheese, fresh bread, and papayas. After our delicious breakfast, we headed out to the facility that we will be using for our clinic this week. We spent four hours cleaning and disinfecting the place. Driving and walking through Santa Cruz is heart wrenching. We've all seen photos of poverty and we've all heard stories of the living conditions of third world countries. But when you actually walk down a dirt road, stepping over rotting trash while you see children and women dig through garbage for food, something resonates so deeply in your heart. Seeing deathly skinny horses and dogs roaming alley ways seriously messes with your paradigm in which you view "life". There is more to life than living in our AC generated homes, having two car garages, and having massive television sets. We live above and beyond anything these people could hope for, yet we complain about everything... I'm already growing in my area of complaining. I've worn the same underwear and haven't had a shower in 52 hours. Yes, seriously. But you won't hear a complaint out of me. The heart of someone who is fully dependent on God for survival is a beautiful thing. How can you become more dependent on God today? Go it!
"Diarrhea is genetic here in Bolivia. It runs in your 'jeans'"
God is so good. Flying standby can be quite stressful but it presents God numerous opportunities to prove himself faithful. I had no idea how much I would be trusting God yesterday when I woke up at 4:00am to leave the country, All of the flights from Tulsa to Dallas were booked, which shattered my plan. Me and my fellow team member, Gary Jackson, made a last second decision to hop on the flight to Chicago instead. We arrived in the world’s largest airport only 20 minutes before the next flight left for Miami. When I arrived at our gate, I received news that I was taken off the standby list for some unknown reason. This meant I was put at the end of the list now. The lady at the counter told me, "You won't be getting a flight out of Chicago any time soon". I started praying. There are 5 seats available on the flight and I am number 6 on the standby list. The list on the screen slowly starts filing down. One name at a time is removed as their names are being called on the intercom. When only three names remain, the screen goes blank. After a long silent pause the intercom interrupts the boisterous Chicago crowd with, "Jackson and Cliff can now board". Praise God. We get the last two seats available on the entire flight. For whatever reason, one person in front of me did not show up to claim their seat. The same story happens in Miami going to Bolivia. And we end up getting first class for our nine hour flight. God is always faithful. There is nothing more rewarding that living perfectly in God's will.
My heart breaks for Bolivia. They are in such great need of help in every way possible. From the minute I stepped off my plane, my heart grew. We got in past one in the morning today, so our goal was to just sleep as soon as possible. When we woke up, Misael has prepared a great breakfast for us. Eggs, ham, cheese, fresh bread, and papayas. After our delicious breakfast, we headed out to the facility that we will be using for our clinic this week. We spent four hours cleaning and disinfecting the place. Driving and walking through Santa Cruz is heart wrenching. We've all seen photos of poverty and we've all heard stories of the living conditions of third world countries. But when you actually walk down a dirt road, stepping over rotting trash while you see children and women dig through garbage for food, something resonates so deeply in your heart. Seeing deathly skinny horses and dogs roaming alley ways seriously messes with your paradigm in which you view "life". There is more to life than living in our AC generated homes, having two car garages, and having massive television sets. We live above and beyond anything these people could hope for, yet we complain about everything... I'm already growing in my area of complaining. I've worn the same underwear and haven't had a shower in 52 hours. Yes, seriously. But you won't hear a complaint out of me. The heart of someone who is fully dependent on God for survival is a beautiful thing. How can you become more dependent on God today? Go it!
"Diarrhea is genetic here in Bolivia. It runs in your 'jeans'"
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