The Dinwiddie Mountain Medical team arrived safe and sound to the beautiful and accommodating Alfredo House. The beautiful scenery was incredible as I’m sure everyone knows, but my favorite was the sound of laughter and screams coming from the orphanage behind the house. Children playing without a care in the world, with a backdrop of such beauty was truly a lovely picture to behold. I’m so glad I said yes.
We have been blessed with a diverse team of first-timers, veterans, and all with different talents and backgrounds. We have three RN’s joining us for their first time; Jordan Meyers, Robyn Zeh, and Tiffany Christmas, all Emergency Room Nurses at Southside Regional Hospital in Petersburg, VA.
Jordan always wanted to become a nurse since she was a little girl. She followed her heart and has been working for the last four years as an ER Nurse and absolutely loves it. She’s always wanted to join a mission group but the opportunity never seemed to work out until last February when she was invited to join our team by her co-worker and friend Tiffany. Jordan jumped on the opportunity that fell into her lap and she said yes.
Tiffany was called upon by her brother Jay Harrison, who is also our team leader this year. Tiffany followed a different path as a young adult, working in an office setting and realized that no matter how high she climbed the corporate ladder, she just couldn’t find the fulfillment she was looking for. A friend had talked to her about nursing school and she decided to give it a shot. She applied to Nursing School, was accepted, and has now been an RN for 14 years. She said yes.
Robyn, like Tiffany, had started out on a different path but was steered toward nursing and instantly fell in love with it. She’s been a nurse now for 9 years and still feels as passionately about it as the day she began. She has been a friend of Tiffany’s for many years and was asked if she would be interested in joining her on this incredible opportunity, and her answer was yes.
Three little letters, yes, is all it takes to be a part of something as incredible and inspiring as joining the Friends of Barnabas on their mission trips to the secluded villages in the mountains of Honduras. So I give my gratitude and say thank you to the three nurses that took a leap of faith and said yes. Yes to being God’s hands and feet. Yes to bringing medical care to the impoverished families that live here. Yes to working from sun up til sun down, yes to God using you as a vessel to do His good works. Yes to dealing with the hard stuff. Yes to seeing things most people can’t imagine. Your yes means more than you will ever know, especially to the lives of the people you are changing. So once again, Thank You!
As I looked around the table at dinner, I saw people of all different ages, backgrounds and personalities and was so incredibly happy to be a part of this group. I’ll admit I was a bit nervous about not being able to offer “enough,” not being able to provide medical wisdom like our nursing staff and Dr. Joe, or translate like Carlos. After reading Romans 12:3-8, it all made so much sense. I’m not meant to do what the nurses or doctors do. I’m meant to bring forward my own gifts that He has blessed me with and use those tools to do His good works. If you are a Nurse, Doctor, Translator, Dental Assistant, Fluoride/Vitamin Dispenser, Vision Tester, Bubble Master or Sticker King, no matter what our roles are during this mission, we need to remember that we ALL said YES when the Lord called us. That is what truly matters.
~Laura Noyes
