"Screenings..."

This last week I had the opportunity to participate in patient screenings.  Two of the days I was at the pray station and the third day I was assisting one of the nurses with pre-screenings for operations.  At the request of the local government and due to upcoming elections, Mercy Ships has decided to do 30 smaller screenings instead of one or two large screenings.  Over the last three days, we probably had over a couple thousand people come to the screenings. 

Many of the people were there for eye and dental care and there were those who came because they saw us as their last hope.  They are a few we were able to help...but unfortunately many we had to turn away. 

While I was at the prayer station one day, I had three parents bring their children for pray...the desperate cry of a parent's heart for the healing of their child.  Unfortunately their was nothing we could do to help them...one had epilepsy, another was severly handicapped, and the third had had meningitis.  I prayed for them as parents and prayed for the children...prayed that somehow God would touch their lives.

Their were other people that we were able to help...and to see the relief, the hope, the joy in their eyes was overwhelming.

Dr. Gary Parker was the the first screening and with the aid of the translator (in the orange hat) he gave this man hope of surgery.

All in all the screenings went very well and many people will be helped.