Update and Prayer Requests from the Camerons – Intervarsity

Dear friends,

Thank you for praying for our recent medical missions trip to Nicaragua. We want to share praises to God with you and give you some highlights. We include three pictures here.

We were in three different locations in and around Managua hosted by local churches. The group was sixty plus, mostly medical students, and it included a number of physicians and faculty at UM. About one thousand people received medical help, medication, care packages, and prayer.

Students, who are being exhorted to see this kind of mission as part of their responsibility after graduation, organized this service project. For those leading, the work takes a whole year of recruiting, fundraising, procuring supplies, and generally organizing the trip. They did a great job. It was a life-changing experience for all involved.

An interesting note is that this project was the vision of a UM medical student who began collecting friends and several doctors for the trips. The student, now a doctor, is still part of this mission and continues to care deeply for the people there. He and his family also provide lunch for the medical student group that meets on Wednesday night at the UM medical campus. We pray that many medical students who participate in this project will continue to serve the poor with their skills as part of their calling when they become doctors. This student-led initiative, which integrates work and calling, is just what we want to continue to foster in other groups at the universities. You can continue to pray with us to that end.

Our primary concern was prayer, though at times, we also helped with registration and translating for medical teams. We made it our task to partner with ministers in the churches to provide prayer for the patients.

The teams were organized into different medical stations:

- Registration and initial medical records (weight, blood pressure, etc.)

- Waiting area (people waited a long time to be seen, mostly outdoors)

- Actual exams by medical teams led by a doctor with medical students. There were six specialists and a pathologist among the doctors. Half of the students were not Christians, since the group is open to the student body at UM.

- The Lab

- The Pharmacy (free medication, vitamins, hygiene care packages and a Bible were provided as well as fun bags for the kids and a children’s New Testament)

Prayer Station

We were touched by the great need that we saw in the people, but also with the great faith of all who ministers in Nicaragua. The highlight was seeing the students work so hard while being so thankful to serve the poor. There was hardly a break for lunch: everyone took a quick trip to the bus to grab a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which they had prepared the night before. Despite the hardships, both experienced and observed, the students count it all as joy and seemed eager for next year’s trip. The students also led worship at night and during a church service the last day.

Thank you for praying for this mission. We do not take for granted that we had safe travels, to and in Nicaragua, no major complications and that the joy of the Lord gave everyone strength for the task. It was no small undertaking.

May the Lord return the blessing to you and your family.

Hasta luego,

Gary and Marlene

Photos of the trip:

The lab

Preparing supplies to give away – medications and… Care bags for kids

Students examining a patient