The Summer Medical Institute

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Andrew Kelly, SMI 2010, New York Medical College MS2

At the Penitas outreach, I was in the eye clinic. At first, I wasn't too keen on the eye clinic because there isn't a lot of opportunity to talk to people about their spirituality, but I found out that it's a great opportunity to see the power of our medical assistance in the lives of our patients. I will relate the patient encounter that had the greatest impact on me. This woman came in who was pretty much blind. She couldn't see the huge letters on the top of the eye examination chart. So, we did our examination on her to find out what the appropriate lens for her was. We perform these examinations using paddles that have lenses of increasing power running from top to bottom. When we found the lens that gave her sight she started yelling out the numbers from the chart in a heart warming tone of excitement. Then, when we wanted to take the paddle from her and give her some glasses, we had a bit of a tug of war over the paddle as she didn't want to give up her new found vision. We eventually got the paddle from her, and then presented her with glasses adorned with ladybugs.

On our outreach to the Las Canas colonia, I was placed on a door-to-door team.The procedure for the door-to-door team was to offer those we visit blood pressure, diabetes, and spiritual screening. On one particular visit, the patient, a woman, did not want the blood pressure or diabetes screening but did want to talk about her spiritual life. We soon found out why. As we walked in the door, we could see a newborn lying on the couch. We found out that during her pregnancy, she almost died. As a result, she was troubled with questions about whether she would have gone to Heaven or Hell if she had passed away. There's no question in my mind that this was God's timing. So, my door-to-door team began sharing the Gospel with her. She was intent upon our words as we shared with her that she can be sure of where she will go if she would trust Christ with her life. We showed her where this was stated in the bible. In response, she decided to trust Christ.

On a personal note, God really strengthened my faith through my ministering to others. His truth has truly blossomed in my heart. It wasn't until this trip that my heart has responded to an alter call for salvation with the peaceful repose of the knowledge of my own salvation.

She answered the door so quickly, hobbling on one foot. As I came to find out later, this woman Maria had stepped on a nail a couple weeks before and had gotten osteomyelitis in her foot which then had to be debrided. In English this means that she
had an infection of her bone or bone marrow in her foot and debridement means that her infected tissue had to be surgically removed. Needless to say she was in a lot of pain and not very mobile and yet she answered the door so quickly. Dr. Martinez and I got her settled on the couch and I took her blood pressure. Her husband then came out and his blood pressure was taken as well. Then I started to ask them about spiritual things. They said that they went to a Catholic church and that they believed in the Bible and God but weren’t sure that they were going to heaven. I started to share with them about the gospel and how all you have to do to be sure of salvation and going to heaven is believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. After I initially shared this with them and offered them a Bible which they took willingly, I learned something through the translator. I found out that earlier that day Maria was feeling very discouraged about not being able to do anything because of her foot. She was asking God earlier to give her some sign. She said that when she heard the knock on the door she
knew it was the sign, which is why she got up even without her krutch. She then said that when she saw me she felt a connection and didn’t know why but that there was some connection. I told her that maybe it was because she knew that we would be sisters in Christ. I asked her if she wanted to pray with me and she said yes and accepted Christ! Maria then said that she thought that God was telling her that what she should be doing while she could not walk around much was read the Bible and get to know God better. I could see that she meant it and really did want to know God better. While I was sharing with Maria, Dr. Martinez was also leading Maria’s husband to Christ at the same time. It was truly amazing. I felt so humbled by this experience because I don’t know why God chose to use me in this way but He did so I just praise and thank Him for that. I will forever remember and pray for my new sister in Christ, Maria.

So it was probably sometime in March. I was exhausted and fed-up with all of the testing. It was right about that time where I was questioning why I put myself through such a torturous learning process. I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What exactly is God doing with me here?” I went to a CMDA (Christian Med. And Dental Assoc) meeting and an upper-classmen spoke to us about Summer Medical Institute She spoke of how great it was to be a part of God’s work down in Harlingen and what a great experience it was.

Eventually, after praying about it for some time, I sent out an application.

How Gracious the Lord is.

In the following months the Lord worked mightily in my heart and when the Lord worked everything out to allow me to go (including re-taking a course), I was overjoyed. But that was only the beginning of what He had in store.

I remember my first few days at SMI being full of such warmth and love. I met so many other students from all over the country that had such unique and interesting experiences to share from their walk with Christ. SMI also gave me a chance to meet the doctors that were serving in Harlingen and I was so inspired by their zeal for teaching and sharing how Jesus was working in their lives and the lives of their patients. It was such a blessing to speak to the families that we had seen in the clinics and throughout Texas. I hadn’t ever met so many people and gotten a chance to impact so many lives for Christ.

I was a little apprehensive about “sharing the Gospel”, thinking that I wasn’t ready because I hadn’t “done it before”, or that I just “wouldn’t say the right things”. The Lord was so awesome in the way he worked! SMI was a place where the Lord corrected my misconceptions and filled in the gaps of my understanding. Not only did the Lord grace me with the words, but He did it in such an exciting way, letting me know that He was in control the entire time, and that I didn’t need to be nervous or anxious.

SMI was truly an answer to prayer. The Lord was gracious enough to offer me a glimpse of what He had planned for me and for that I am so thankful.  If you’re reading this wondering what the Lord’s calling you to do this summer, I urge you to pray about SMI being a part of that answer. I am extraordinarily humbled to say the Lord used this Spirit-led ministry to answer mine.

“I can do everything through Christ who gives me Strength.” Philippians 4:13 

Eunice Shin, SMI 2009, New York Medical College MS2

For our first outreach event to Mercedes, Texas, I was appointed as a site director along with another student. Our jobs were to scout out the clinic and the colonia where we were going to set up shop, organize how the clinic would be run and make sure all the SMI students had everything they needed to go out and share the Gospel. We were both clueless as to what was going to happen, what our roles were as the site directors, and what kind of stories we would hear about at the end of the day. I felt a little bit nervous and under-prepared but at the same time, I was excited to see what SMI was all about. I stayed back in the clinic to make sure everything ran smoothly while my site-directing partner went out to the colonias. One of the first things I noticed was the willingness of the SMI students to help out whenever there was a need. No one was complaining about how tired they were or the difficulty they had with the language barrier. But even though everything was going smoothly, I became increasingly frustrated with myself because I felt like I wasn’t fully embracing my role as a site director. I felt mostly like a busy body running errands and asking people if they were okay, but nothing was coming out as a heart of worship to God. It seemed like I was there to perform a task as a site director, not to serve my teammates or the patients in the clinic. At the end of the day when all the SMI students gathered around to share about their experiences and close in prayer, I felt like my day was wasted and that I had accomplished nothing. It wasn’t because of my excellent coordinating skills that the clinic had run smoothly or that going door to door turned out to be a success. But one by one as people started to share stories about the people they met, how many seeds they were able to plant in people’s hearts, and how many people came to know Christ, I was immediately humbled. I was holding back tears with each story that was shared because God was reminding me then and there that it didn’t matter if I was a good site director or how much my heart was invested into the whole experience. It had nothing to do with me. But we went out to Mercedes as a small representation of the body of Christ and God had a plan to use our team to help people medically and spiritually. My frustrations with myself melted away and I began to take joy that we were all able to be a part of God’s team. As we finished off the day, we stood in a huge circle holding each others’ hands and prayed.  It was then that I felt the power of the unity we have in Christ. Even though our team had known each other for less than a week, that unity was already apparent. We were no longer just a team of medical students and doctors but we were brothers and sisters who needed each other to be a different part in the body of Christ. More importantly, we all needed God to go out and pave a way for us to share the Gospel of salvation to the people in the colonias. As we were praying together, I sensed God’s power working through all of us. We had an entire month ahead of us and I began to see that there were so many more stories to be told as our team would go out to provide medical care and to share the Gospel. If God was able to do what He did in our first day of outreach with the little experience that we had, then surely He would do even greater things as the SMI students, doctors and translators opened up their hearts to be used by Him more and more in the coming weeks. And that’s exactly what God did throughout the entire month of July. In the end, this summer wasn’t just about meeting new friends and sharing in the fellowship that God blessed us with, but it was about God bringing us together and showing us the lengths He will go to reveal His great love.

Preethi Kondamudi, SMI 2009, Drexel MS2

My experience at SMI was phenomenal. At first I was not sure if SMI was what God had planned for me. I was trying to find various ways I could serve over the summer through different medical clinics and doing research. But God made sure none of those plans followed through. He was tugging on my heart to go on this missions trip but I was hesitant. I had never been on a month long missions trip before and it was a little intimidating. It would be a new place living with new people and out of my comfort zone. But one day God just urged me to look at the website and read about it. I knew this was where God wanted me to be at that point. So I quickly sent in my application even though it was months overdue. God was faithful and my application was accepted. The experiences I had at SMI are priceless. I met an amazing group of people and I could spend hours describing the impact these people had on my life. To see hearts with such passion for serving Christ was truly a blessing.  
 

I never experienced door to door evangelism before and it was definitely intimidating at first. I was so concerned about whether I was saying the right words or whether I came off too strong or too soft. The first couple of times I knew I was relying more on myself than the Spirit. But God taught me that it doesn’t matter what my abilities are. He uses each of us with our flaws and our talents. Once I let go of myself and let the Spirit lead, my experiences became so much more fruitful. I saw people accept Christ in front of my eyes. It was amazing! God provided me with boldness I never had before and I pray that I can continue sharing Christ with others here in Philadelphia.  
 

There were so many awesome things I gained from this trip including amazing friendships that will last a lifetime. We truly became a family at SMI where we shared each others’  burdens and struggles and encouraged each other on a daily basis. It was like a little piece of heaven. Being able to wake up and worship and pray as one body and continuing to serve Christ throughout the day was awesome! I also met the SMI team and coordinators who were so kind-hearted and willing to share their experiences and wisdom with us.  
 

One of the major aspects of SMI that stayed with me is the integration of medicine and faith that was so beautifully intertwined in Harlingen. I have always wondered what it would look like to serve God through medicine. This is exactly what SMI is about! I saw doctors pray with their patients and invest themselves in their patients’ lives because of their passion for Christ and love for people. It really hit home realizing the importance of spiritual health along with physical health. I am so thankful that God allowed these experiences to become part of my life. It has truly changed my life for the better.  

(C) 2005 The Summer Medical Institute