I'm back from Philippines and India! Got new passion, new conviction/courage, a new blog, new photos, and new skills (cooking/cleaning). aha.
In Philippines I saw what it means to follow God to whatever mission field (however rural or difficult) He leads us to; how people trusted Him to provide everything they need. How He took the little they had and multiplied it, and blessed their ministry. I learned the great joy of intimate sharing with unlikely friends, and was inspired to bring Jesus into medicine, whatever/wherever I might practice. Of course there was the peanut-butter-sand-beaches and blue lagoons and jellyfish, snorkeling in the open sea ("just jump!" "ok, you first"), chicken skin and puppies.
It is true that when we follow God to wherever He leads us, we recieve so much more than we give. When we lay our hopes/dreams/desires at His feet, it is not sacrifice by any means - it is giving ourself to a plan more wonderful, more intimate and sweeter and higher than anything we could ever imagine.
In Philippines I saw what it means to follow God to whatever mission field (however rural or difficult) He leads us to; how people trusted Him to provide everything they need. How He took the little they had and multiplied it, and blessed their ministry. I learned the great joy of intimate sharing with unlikely friends, and was inspired to bring Jesus into medicine, whatever/wherever I might practice. Of course there was the peanut-butter-sand-beaches and blue lagoons and jellyfish, snorkeling in the open sea ("just jump!" "ok, you first"), chicken skin and puppies.In India I saw the beggars, shopkeeping touts and swindling horsecart drivers in Delhi/Agra, saw the Taj (I like natural wonders better. Give me beaches anytime), experienced several 
harrowing bus rides (1. the guy/girl beside me always vomits; not pleasant on a 16 hour bus ride 2. it's a one-lane mountain path with our bus and a truck passing on opposite sides; one side is the mountain, and the other side...I can't even see where the drop ends), did lotsa cool medical stuff with minimal supervision *ahem*. But what struck me most was the sheer warmth and hospitality of the people at the hospital (it's near the himalayas so it's cold there), how they invite you in and cook for you and feed you and give you stuff and share their lives with you and whose kids climb all over you (check out the photos).
harrowing bus rides (1. the guy/girl beside me always vomits; not pleasant on a 16 hour bus ride 2. it's a one-lane mountain path with our bus and a truck passing on opposite sides; one side is the mountain, and the other side...I can't even see where the drop ends), did lotsa cool medical stuff with minimal supervision *ahem*. But what struck me most was the sheer warmth and hospitality of the people at the hospital (it's near the himalayas so it's cold there), how they invite you in and cook for you and feed you and give you stuff and share their lives with you and whose kids climb all over you (check out the photos).Through it all I guess I was awed again and again at the wonder of God's creation - the pristine beauty of Palawan beaches and the cold majesty of the Himalayan mountains. I was humbled, so humbled, by my inability to help/heal/change/comfort people so broken and so in need of physical and spiritual healing. I learned to love the people around me - Joanne/Charlene, Sheryl/Wanzhen.
And most of all, I learned that Jesus is the only one that truly satisfies; that every new day with Him is indeed sweeter than the day before.
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