Mission to Cambodia 2013
from Lacey Luttrell

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”   James 1: 2-4

My day started with a lot of questions. I questioned why am I here, what am I doing, and God, what is your purpose? We have reached that point in the trip where everyone is tired, people are ready to see a change in the work we are doing here, we are all wondering what our purpose here is, and we are needing strength and positivity again. It is something that we have heard will happen during the trip, but never thought would actually happen. It did. I knew I wasn’t alone with my feelings. Even though I had all these questions, for some reason I felt like today would be different. It was. I had been praying all this time that God would open my heart and let me see what I need to see in Cambodia that will make all this time worthwhile.

Today we went back to the hospital again. This was the last day we would be spending here, for tomorrow we are heading to Bottambong. I was not expecting too much today, because we were doing nursing check offs for the nurses who work in the hospital. The first time we came to the hospital, I did not do or see very much. It was not a busy day, so I was not expecting anything more of today. After a couple hours of doing the check-offs, Mrs. Morse switches up the groups, so some of us can go and observe various parts of the hospital. She sends Emily Eayre, Taylor Bonds, and me to the ER. They treat the ER as a faster clinic type setting, and it is free. We ask the nurses how it has been so far, and they reply with a little laugh, “there are no more patients today.” I thought, “Oh, great. Another slow day.” There was only one patient in the room. Little did I know, that this patient would have such an impact on my experience in Cambodia, and become something that I will remember forever.

We open the curtain to Bed 3 to see this tiny and frail old lady, with her two children, straddling the back of a wooden chair. We see her chest X-ray up on the board. It is very obvious that she has fluid in her lungs, so we proceed to ask the doctor what exactly is wrong. This precious old lady has pleural effusion. A pleural effusion is a buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity. We sit back and watch four doctors try to think of a way to get the fluid out, so the patient can breath better. As one doctor is putting in a needle between the ribs to numb the area, three other doctors are brainstorming about which needle should be used to drain the fluid. After three different needles are pushed in and out of this poor woman’s back, they finally choose a needle. They stick it between two ribs on the woman’s back to get to the lung that is filled with the most fluid. With only a needle and syringe at hand, they start pulling the fluid out, filling up three catheter size syringes. It took them a while to figure out how to hook it up to a tube, but they finally hooked it up and the tube drained the fluid from the lungs into a small gasoline tank.

At this moment, Emily, Taylor and I had a look on our faces that we will never forget. You could tell we were all feeling the same way, and could not believe what we had just seen. When we walked out of the room to take a lunch break, we all broke down. I do not think any of us felt more helpless, more questionable about our faith, or more heartbroken. At this time, I reflected on our devotional we had that morning. It contained the scripture at the beginning of this blog: James 1: 2-4. It talked about keeping your endurance, for when times get rough that is when God can take over your heart. When he is testing your faith and when you are most vulnerable, that is the moment that God can step in, show you his plan, and open you eyes to what he needs you to see. Today when I was most vulnerable, feeling down, and loosing faith as to what God’s plan for me was while I am here, he tested me.

Before we were about to leave the hospital, I asked if I could go back down to the ER. I felt a really big urge to go back down, even if the tiny, brittle, old woman was not there, I felt the need to go back. When I entered the room, the woman was not there, but there was a new chest X-ray. It showed lungs that were closer in size, a trachea that was midline, and a label that said “post” on it. The doctors said that they had taken out 500mL of fluid from her lungs, could have taken out more but did not want to take out too much, and she was well enough to be sent home. This new chest X-ray gave me hope, it gave me peace that the woman was feeling better and got to be home, and it really opened my eyes to the work we are doing here in Cambodia. I little smile and love goes a long way. Through trials and tribulations, God’s light can shine. He can take a hard and difficult time, and show you his beauty, his timing, and his perfect plan. Best of all, he will always give you the endurance you need to carry on and do the work that he provides you the opportunity to do.

Today I feel blessed. I feel positive. I feel helpful. I feel like I am doing what I can do in Cambodia. Whether big or small, our team is making a difference here.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”     Jeremiah 29:11