January turned out to be a wonderful month, and a great beginning to the new year. It started with a very lovely trip to Michigan and Nashville to visit both my family and Ian's. Ian's sister, Bri,  is expecting twins in March, so it was fun to see her ever growing belly. Although I only got to spend one day with his family, I had a really great time being with them and watching Bri's children Amina and Malek play.

I also enjoyed spending time at home with my parents as well, perhaps one of my greatest trips home yet. Even though Michigan was at least 30 degrees colder then Alaska, crackling fires, hot tea, furry creatures, and good conversation kept me very comfortable. 

However, my greatest moment came after my dad found a scrapbook of love letters from my mom. All these years (close to 50) he had been collecting notes, cards, movie passes, etc and putting them into a scrapbook. I could do nothing but cry at these tender treasures.

As my parents, I seem to somehow forget that at one time they too were young lovers, starting off on an unexpected life journey. And after 47 years, their marriage is my greatest pride.  Giving me two brothers and best friends is a very close second. 

I love living in Alaska, however, if there was any grievance, it is the long and costly distance to see those I love back home. As a matter of fact,  I had not seen my brothers or their families in almost 1 year.  So, one of the first things I did was drive with my parents to Nashville to visit my brother Jason and his family. I could not believe how much my nieces, Micah and McClaine have grown in one year.

Micah now has larger feet then me, and we laughed at her giving me her hand me down shoes.  Even though our time together was short, (minus my giving Micah her first set of stitches at 2:00 am after loosing a fight with a ceiling fan) we had a wonderful time together.

Still I have to say that I am really proud of my brother Jason and sister-in-law, Susie. First as a couple and second as parents who have raised two beautiful girls: compassionate, sensitive to others, honest, and pure. As a bystander watching them interact with the girls, I noticed how they always make time to listen to them, never too busy to help or to play. As I watched  them invest in the lives of their children I realized how important this act of love really is.

And not just for the children of our world, but for all of its citizens as well. Investing in others,  intimately connecting with them, and showing selfless love, truly are the greatest things we have to offer each other. In fact, it is the framework that holds this world together.

We have been told about the survival of the fittest, the victory of the strongest, and the success of the cleverest. However, precious little is said about the glory of the most loving. I hope in my lifetime this changes, or at least in my sphere of influence it does. 

As for Jason and Susie, their example is shaping the young minds and hearts of their daughters to live this truth and be a part of the change. 

This spirit of love and giving strongly accompanied me as I traveled to Nicaragua on a medical mission trip. 

For starters, in my luggage I carried 5 soccer balls donated by my brother Jason, toys donated from my brother Blake, coloring books, crayons, match box cars, etc donated by my parents and colleagues along with 50 little dresses and 75 homemade little purses. 

Two of the dresses we made

It is hard to imagine the poverty that exists around the world. I am always taken by how little people survive on, how hard they work for food, and how much they continue to smile. 

This trip was very emotional for me, more than any trip prior. Perhaps it was because I had so many people back home donating for my cause, or because of the reactions that I received.  On three occasions when I gave a child a gift, toy, or purse, they actually gasped. 

This shy little girl was watching me from behind the door. When I motioned for her to come over and pulled out a kitty coloring book and crayons, she let out a gasp, as she shyly opened up her hands to receive the gift. Just as it did then, it still makes me cry remembering the joy this simple gift gave. 

And these brothers (wearing their best clothes to come see the doctor) told me that although they loved soccer, they have never owned a real ball. Their mother told me that they had made one out of an old T-shirt, sticks and socks. After I gave them the brand new soccer ball, they wouldn't put it down. 

One of the little purses we made

I am reminded of a bible verse in Isaiah;  if you spend yourself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like noonday. This is exactly how it felt, not because of anything I had done or given, but because of the joy that love created. 

 I wish that all my donors could have shared in my experience. I can only say that it was truly life changing for me and thank each of them for loving the children and people of Nicaragua as I do.

I was extremely happy to have my fellow colleague, Jaclyn, come to Nicaragua this year with all of her emergency medicine expertise.  Even though this was her first ever medical mission trip, she handled it like a pro and I believe returned home changed as well.

Often in between patients I would look over to see a smiling Jaclyn, happily embracing all the head lice and scabies.

Even though we have been friends since our medical training almost 7 years ago, sharing this experience with her and seeing her tender reaction to the needs of others will always be a special memory in my heart. 

Here we are outside of one of our more modern offices.  

And here we are outside the more bucolic one. Notice our bathroom (outhouse) in the background. 

 One of my favorite things this year was using my new fetal heart doppler to hear fetal heart beats. In the developed world we often take for granted the frequency of prenatal ultrasounds and hearing our babies heart beats at each doctors visit.  For most women in the 3rd world, however,  they often do not get this chance to bond with their baby.

A little boy playing with the Matchbox car I gave him

So this year for each prenatal I saw I offered to give them the opportunity. As you can imagine, no one turned this down.  Two women even cried at hearing the fast lub-dub of the baby in their womb, and of course this made me cry as well.  Another reminder that in the end of things, we are all the same.  Mothers across boarders, languages, and creeds love just as we do here in the developed world.  I am so happy that I was able to share this with them.

 This woman came to us one year ago with horribly infected and necrotic leg wounds. Two years ago she was seen by an Italian team for her painful varicose veins. At their clinic they did a vein stripping and unfortunately she developed horrible leg wounds and ulcers. When we first saw her we thought she would most certainly die of sepsis (infection). We did the best we could in giving her supplies and antibiotics and told her to try to get to a local hospital for ongoing care.

One year later she shows up as my patient miraculously improved despite her 3rd world conditions. Even in the midst of no running water, no access to health care, and tropical climates, she managed to keep her wounds clean and covered still using the tattered ACE wraps that we gave her 1 year ago!  With smiles and many hugs she thanked us for coming back to help her again. All those who knew her just sobbed.  She is such a tangible blessing.

This year I also did some minor procedures. Here I am removing a large oral lesion from a woman's mouth. 

And here I am giving a lady a joint injection in her knee. 

As always our home base for the week was at an orphanage in Jinotega.  Since I love the story of the peace crane (as a matter of fact I wear my peace crane necklace everyday) I decided to show the little girls how to fold the origami versions. We had a great time with lots of laughs trying to make them fly.

A group of us also decided to hike a nearby mountain with some of the children. The views from the top were just amazing.

I would say this trip was an unbelievable success. With only 5 providers (two ER providers, one pediatrician, and two in family practice) we were able to see well over 1,000 patients. It truly feels good to help others, but more so to connect with them more intimately. I always leave truly honored to have been allowed to serve them and more convinced of the similarities that unite us all.

I am also convinced that a significant part of working in poor communities is discovering and appreciating what God has already been doing there for a long time.  They have not been forgotten by him, sadly, only by most of us.

I have also come to realize that the the spirit of the person is not only in the heart, but also in the hands. And it is only by joining them together and using them to help one another can things begin to change.  So as we go about our day, may we not forget our brothers and sisters abroad and may we not be afraid to join hands with them and create change.

Blessings
-Sarah