August 06, 2004
Rio Medical Mission - Day 7
´Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.´ 1 John 3:18
Greetings from the servants of Christ Jesus in Rio.
All are well and safe.
It was a short day today. We worked only till lunch time...then had a party for the children...then a departing celebration at the new church.
For the week, 681 eye, 833 children and 576 general medicine patients were cared for. 3,702 prescriptions were filled. 408 claimed Jesus Christ as there Savior and Lord. In addition, hundreds of floride treatments were given. For many, if not all, of the children, this was the first time their teeth had ever met paste and brush.
Tomorrow we begin our journey home with a scheduled arrival in Nashville - Sunday,1:00 PM.
In the coming weeks, when you see Raja and Kevin O´Brien walking the halls of Brentwood Baptist, make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their devotion to the Rio Medical Mission. As 1 John commands´...let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth´. Raja and Kevin´s ´actions´ have an enormous affect on these people. We are all overwhelmed by the out pouring of love. There is just nothing left to say!
Posted by at 03:38 PM | Comments (1)
August 05, 2004
Rio Medical Mission - Day 6
'...Jesus said, suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for to such belongeth the kingdom of heaven' Matt 19:14
Greetings from the servants of Christ Jesus in Rio.
All are well and safe.
Today was another beautiful day!
Children, children and more children..that is all that can be said about today. They were everywhere...and they all wanted to hear the salvation story. So we just sat on the ground and told the story, time and again...they are precious in His sight!
Praise God for the good work of today...and the good things He will bring our way, tomorrow!
The team cared for 155 eye, 147 children and 112 general medicine patients. The pharmacy filled 701 prescriptions. 98+ decisions were made (the + means that decisions were made, but for one reason or another we were not able to complete a card).
These bring the total, so far, to 584 eye, 728 children and 491 general medicine patients. 3,210 prescriptions have been filled. In excess of 356 have claimed Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord!
Posted by at 06:16 PM
August 04, 2004
Rio Medical Mission - Day 5
'But evil men and imposters shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But abide thou in the things thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.' 2 Tim 3:13-14
Greeting from the servants of Christ in Rio
All are well and safe.
We enjoyed another beautiful day. Although there were no clouds, it was still a comfortable day to meet and greet the people.
Today, 147 eye, 165 children and 132 general medicine patients were cared for. The pharmacy filled 767 prescriptions. 89 more were saved! Now these numbers might sound fewer than the previous day, but our day was cut short by 1 and 1/2 hours (for good reasons). By comparison, yesterday there were 42 decisions by lunch... today 65! Also, there was a surgery performed (albeit minor)that took the time of a number of people. Without going into a great deal of detail...this particular woman will have far less pain in her foot than she had earlier this morning.Praise God!
So, after three days...429 eye, 581 children and 479 general medicine patients have been cared for - 2,509 prescriptions have been filled - 258 decisions have been made. Praise God for the good work He has done!
As the scripture above would indicate, not much has changed from when Paul gave his final instructions to Timothy. These people have heard a lot of different 'stuff' from many 'deceivers'. We spend much time trying to sort through the many misunderstandings. It is encouraging that people want to listen..they do not want to be confused. We have had many, who have come just to hear what we have to say...not needing any medical attention. We were even invited into homes this day, as we shared the good news of Jesus Christ.
Praise God for the good work He will do, tomorrow!
Posted by at 05:31 PM
August 03, 2004
Rio Medical Mission - Day 4
'And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.' Acts 2:46-47
Greetings from the servants of Christ Jesus in Rio
All are well and safe
Again, God blessed us with ideal weather conditions, overcast skies with a pleasant breeze.
On this day, the team treated 163 eye, 223 children, and 133 general medicine patients. Added to the first day, the totals are: 282 eye, 416 children and 247 general medicine patients. Over the two days 1,742 prescriptions have been filled. But the really great news is that an additonal 101 decisions were made, bringing the two-day total to 170. Praise God for the good work He has done!
There are far too many stories to tell at this time...those will have to be saved till our return. But there is one from today of note. A lady came to the eye clinic wanting help. An eye exam was given and it was discovered that she had cataracts on both eyes...and there wasn't much the team could do. She became very frustrated that no one was ever able to help. She knew that she needed surgery, but had no money to pay. The team member asked if he could pray with her and that in some way God would hear their prayer and respond. During the prayer it came to the team member that when a person has cataracts that the normal 'readings' do not apply...so he tried a lense other than what would be normally called for. Once the lady put on the glasses she was able to see better than she had in many years. She began to read the 'evangi-cube'(this is a three demensional cube we use to share the gospel), she was able to see it so clearly...the team member took her through the gospel message and the lady accepted Christ as her personal savior, right then.
We look forward to an even better day tomorrow. God has blessed each of us richly!
Posted by at 06:50 PM | Comments (1)
August 02, 2004
Rio Medical Mission Day 3
´Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day´ Acts 2:41
Greetings from the servants of Christ Jesus in Rio.
All are safe and well.
We did not add three thousand this day...but it was still a good day.
God blessed us with overcast skies that made the day very comfortable.
God used the team to see 119 eye, 114 general medicine and 193 children patients. 857 prescriptions were filled...but most importantly 69 decisions were made. These numbers were very good, given that the first day always requires extra time for set-up. But on this day, the team was so well organized we started quickly.
God´s prescense was felt throughout the day as there were those standing in line, saved through the work of previous mission workers, sharing their personal testimony of God´s great love. Others spoke to our very prescense as living proof that God loves them.
As always the children are so very special. They make the work so enjoyable. They don´t seem to know that their life is filled with poverty...they don´t know that their not suppose to be happy. We have been blessed mightily by them.
We look forward to tomorrow...and the great things that God will do!
Posted by at 07:02 PM
August 01, 2004
Rio Medical Mission - Day 2
´Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church the Lord which he purchased with his own blood´ Acts 20:28
Greeting from the Servants of Christ Jesus in Rio
All are safe and well
Today was a very special day as we celebrated the first worship service in the church that was constructed this past week.
Members of our team layed hands on the new pastor. On this special day he was able to claim the first soul to Christ...a woman now filled with His abiding love.
The building was dedicated, in loving memory, to Raja O´Brien´s father. Although he was never here, he came to love these people, through the dedicated work of his daughter. Upon his death he asked that any rememberances be directed to it´s construction. Raja was presented with a plaque that will hang in the church from this day forward.
There were well over 100 in attendance that sang, heard God´s word and the testimony of those who love Jesus. All of the children are beautiful. They all laugh. They all want to be loved.
Tomorrow the medical team begins its important work.
Praise be to Christ Jesus for the great work He will do!
Posted by at 07:33 PM