The Return

The M.A.S.H. 2011 mission is complete!!! We are all home safe after a very long 15 hour trip back to U.S. Although the journey was long we went through without any major issues. Now that the clinic is over we can happily report that we saw a total of 821 patients and gave out over 1,400 prescriptions. Most importantly we had 59 people give their life to Christ. It truly was a successful trip and none of it could've been possible without such an amazing team both on the frontline and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, such hard work came with a cost, as three of our team members (Daniel Norcross, Kelsey Woods, and Lorri Brodeur ) fell ill with a stomach virus. This sadly led to them missing the free day on Friday, which all of us had been looking forward to. This year we were given three options for our free day. They included Dunn's River Falls, Shopping at the market, or Dolphin Cove. All of this was of course after we relaxed at the Bailey's who generously allowed us to swim at their house and provided us with a delicious lunch. I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time and those that went to Dolphin Cove were given an extra blessing since the $125 fee to swim with the dolphins had miraculously been waved for them. Overall this year’s M.A.S.H. trip was a success in every sense of the word. Lives have been changed both on our team and with those who were cared for at the clinic. I think all of us are in agreement that we will return next year for another amazing week. Till then thank you for your continued support, God bless.
-M.A.S.H. Team, 2011

Day 7: Final day of the clinic

Wow! It’s already the last day here at the M.A.S.H. clinic; we have seen so many patients, as well as seen so many lives changed, both on our team and especially with the locals who have come through the clinic. In this morning’s meeting after breakfast we were encouraged to finish strong, be bold in our witness, and cheerful in our service. With already 135 people waiting at the gate, we know that we will be tested as we strive to fulfill these goals and serve our God. Despite how the day goes hopefully we can all look back on this week as a success. One definition of success we were challenged to dwell on today was from NCAA couch John Wooden who said, “Success is a peace of mind that comes from self-satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to become the best, that you are capable of becoming.” Armed with these words and after another battle cry of Halleluiahs, we headed off to finish this mission strong.

Day 6

Hey everyone. Today was Wednesday, and if you’ve ever been on a M.A.S.H. trip you know that it is possibly the most dreaded day of the week. This is primarily due to the fact that by Wednesday most all of us are quite tired, especially the doctors. In addition to this, we generally have more people show up on Wednesday for care. This year however things were not so bad. Although many of us were feeling a bit worn out from yesterday and the trip as a whole, we managed to pull it together and actually ended up closing a bit early. By 3:00 P.M. things were really beginning to quiet down, and by about 4:30 P.M or so our last patient was on their way. We had seen 139 patients and had 17 new believers in Christ! After a brief team meeting we ended the clinic the same way we started it every morning, with a roar of Hallelujahs and Yes, Jesus, yes’ that echoed throughout the Teen Challenge center.

With the day’s work behind us and some free time left before dinner we were allowed a special treat of heading to the nearby waterfall for a chance to relax and cool off. When we returned we had another great meal before us consisting of the best fried chicken we’ve ever had, some rice, plantains, and Chef Mello’s incredible sweet and sour sauce. Also below us we had some of the locals gracing us with their rendition of Bob Marley’s song “Three Little Birds”. Once dinner was over we gathered together for the nightly devotion, which was read to us by Ellen Gregory. Following this, Vonnie read us a book called, “The Pineapple Story”, which was a story about a missionary who desperately wanted to grow pineapples for his family, yet every time they would ripen, the natives would steal them. After many years and many attempts to keep them from stealing the pineapples, he finally put it in God’s hands by acknowledging that the pineapples were never his to claim in the first place. Once this happened, the missionary stopped getting angry at the natives for stealing his crop. Seeing this, the natives told the missionary, “You are no longer angry at us for stealing the pineapples. Have you become a Christian?” However, once it was explained that the pineapples were no longer the missionary’s the natives stopped stealing the pineapples since they did not want to be caught stealing from God. In the end the missionary learned just as all of us must learn, that demonstration equals proclamation. With this story for us to dwell on we all broke into fellowship for the rest of the night before continuing to bed.

Day 5: Clinic Day 2

Hello, we are on day five of our mission here at Jamaica, and hopefully by now you all have seen some of the pictures and videos we posted documenting our amazing time here. Once again there was a line at the gate from the time we woke up at 6:30 A.M. and perhaps even earlier. Unfortunately, early in the day we were faced with an obstacle, one of our local doctors had not come in, leaving us shorthanded and with an extra 30 people to take care of. With this in mind the question was raised, "Do we send people home?" After much deliberation, consulting, and a small peace offering for the doctors, it was decided that we are here to give people care even if it meant some overtime. That said, the people were not sent away and Doctor Jay and Doctor Don Christenson, with the help of the nurse team comprised of, Margo Agee, Laura Reichert, Karen Poteet, and Lorri Brodeur, as well as the pharmacy team with Phil Agee, Alison Freeman, and Kelsey Woods, all stayed late to see that the people got the care that they had waited so long for. Despite the added pressure, the team adapted beautifully, coming together with one mind and one purpose to achieve our overall goal of service. By the end of the day everyone had been served even though it meant that the clinic officially closed at 7:00 P.M. instead of 5:00 P.M. As those who made the extra sacrifice made their way back to Teen Challenge, they were met with a roar of applause for their dedication and service to the cause.
As the night wore on we were once again graced with the musical styling of The DJ Gospel Godsta, followed by another awesome worship service. The devotion was given to us by Gina Mosley; she spoke on what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus and how it can cost us everything to follow Him. The three criteria she pointed out in order to be a true follower of Christ included: 1. Loving Jesus more than anyone else even your mother and father, 2. You must carry your cross daily, and 3. You must give up everything you own. She challenged us to evaluate ourselves against these criteria to see if we truly are living in Christ's footsteps. Lastly one of the questions her messaged raised was, "Are you a believer or are you a disciple?" With these thoughts in mind we truly had a lot to think about. The devotion was followed up with a powerful yet personal testimony from Dana Brown who shared how God redeemed her and made her His child. We ended the night with some delicious ice cream and a much needed time to relax.

Day 4: Nightly Devotion and Worship

With day one of the clinic officially behind us and our stomachs full from an awesome meal of plantains, pork, chicken, and rice, we all gathered together for the devotion delivered to us by Ethan Fiore. After his message we had a special guest; one of the Teen Challenge students named Kieno aka the Gospel Godsta, performed a reggae style rap for us, which I dare say could rival any signed artist I have heard. Even though many of his lyrics were too fast to truly hear there was one in particular that got our attention, it was, “chat to the Bible” which we were told means speak to the Bible. After the applause died down we began some worship lead by John, of the Teen Challenge staff. When we were done I don’t think there was a single person on our team who was not moved and didn’t have a feeling of spiritual refueling. The rest of the night was given to fellowship and rest as we all prepared for another day at the clinic.

Day 4: The first official day of the clinic

Well my friends today was the first official day of the clinic. As we woke up to prepare we saw a line had already formed by the gate with people eager to get treatment. After a hearty meal, we all began setting up our stations, from registration to the prayer tent everything started to come together. Once the gates opened people began filing in quickly, and our team was just as quick in getting them processed. As they waited under the canopy we had several speakers set up where they could listen to gospel music, as well as hear preaching from some of the Teen Challenge members. We also had Vacation Bible School set up for the kids so that they could color, do crafts, and of course learn about God as they waited for their parents. One thing that was new to M.A.S.H. and has so far been an incredible hit is the sno-cone stand, where patients and M.A.S.H. workers alike can come get cool and refreshed. The continued to go well as our team and the local team worked in perfect sync together getting people cared for and truly personifying what it means to be a servant of God.

As the day wore on and the crowd began to thin out we all got together for a brief meeting to discuss the day’s events and to see if there was room for improvement. We agreed that although there is always room for improvement overall things had gone outstanding we had served a total of 213 patients, with about 130 of them going to medical and 83 seeing dental. We were also informed by the prayer tent that 15 had given their lives to Christ. It was indeed a good day but now its time for some well deserved food and fellowship to close the day out.

Day 3: Clinic Setup and Devotions

As we all left church with the sermon on our hearts and minds, we felt prepared for anything that this week may throw at us, and with that thought in mind we recharged with a quick lunch and headed off to begin set up of the clinic. For the most part things went incredibly smooth, other than the usual obstacle of trying to see how everything will fit together. However, we all came together as a team and had the entire clinic set up in just a few hours. Then we tried something M.A.S.H. has never done before, we immediately began seeing patients. These patients included the Teen Challenge members as well as the church members. Overall, by the time we called it a day, we had seen sixty patients and handed out about 110 prescriptions. Needless to say dinner could not come soon enough. After a brief word of encouragement and congratulations on a successful day, we began our meal joined by the locals who had also prepared it.

After some free time, we all joined together for the nightly devotion lead by Phil, who spoke on the reality of spiritual warfare. He reminded us that even Jesus was tempted, and went on to say that the only way to truly win against Satan and temptation is with God’s Word. When he was done, Doctor Don Christianson shared an incredible and personal testimony with us that I will not delve into for the sake of his personal privacy. That said, he shared with us that we should never let our guard down and never think Satan can’t and won’t attack you, because it is at those times that we are most vulnerable.

Having heard such amazing messages and having accomplished so much, sleep came extremely easy, especially knowing that the following day is when the real work begins.

Day 3: Church Service

Hello again, yesterday was a great and very productive day for us here at M.A.S.H. After breakfast and devotion we all headed to the church down the hill for Sunday service. My friends, if you have never been to a Jamaican church service then I encourage you to do so before this life is over; it is truly a powerful and amazing experience that all American churches could truly learn from. We started the service with the song “Yes Lord,” which I thought was incredibly fitting since our battle cry for this week is “Yes Jesus, yes!” After a few more songs that were equally as powerful, the director of Teen Challenge, Anthony Richards, spoke a few words to the congregation. He then introduced Pastor John, who spoke to the church about our parternship with Teen Challenge and our goals for the week. Pastor John then called Phil, Adam, and Vonnie up to each give a testiomony. One of the things that really stuck out was Adam's description of a Jamaican service as he put it "the worship and passion is just so real and raw". It is that exact reason why I implore anyone who has the chance to attend one of these services to do so; their passion for God is incredibly humbling. After the testimonies, we sang a few more praise songs till we were instructed to go around the church and greet at least ten people. This in itself was an awesome time as we all got to mix with the locals as one body of Christ.

Soon after the message began, and if I was to say a message it would be an understatement. Delivered by the senior pastor’s daughter Lorraine Chisolm, the message was from John 8 where the Pharisees bring the adulterous woman to Jesus in an attempt to trip Him up. I’m sure we all know the story in which Jesus says, “Any who are without sin, let them cast the first stone.” This was the story, but in a new light. She instead painted a picture for us, telling the tale from the eyes of the woman as she was being dragged against her will into the midst of people who hated her for what she had done. Pastor Lorraine challenged us to put ourselves in that situation, but to then imagine Jesus standing there with us waiting to pardon our sins just like he had done with the woman. She went on to say that despite how bad a situation in our life may look we will always have Jesus standing with us in the midst of it all.

Day 3: Breakfast and Devotion

Good morning everyone, it's a beautiful day here in Jamaica and once again our team woke up well rested and ready to take on the day. We were again treated to a great breakfast of fruit, cereal, and oatmeal thanks to our hospitality team. The devotion was given by John Hilling this morning, painting a great picture for the new people, and reminded us veterans, about what to expect in a Jamaican style church service. In addition to this, one of the points he made that really stuck out was the reading from Philippians which stated, "Do not worry about anything, yet pray about everything." With this statement in mind we here at M.A.S.H are preparing our hearts and minds for the service, as well as for the coming days of the clinic.