Before my elective, I had never left the developed west. I already had friends in Central Asia, but I was to live with a local Muslim family. I spoke a little Russian and they spoke little English. From the start I knew that I would have to rely on God to survive my eight weeks there. It is only through His help that I was able to enjoy myself and get home safely. My elective was based in a Central Asian state, part of the old USSR, at a Christian medical centre run entirely by believers. It has 56 doctors and dentists who freely give of their time, mostly in addition to their normal duties at other clinics - providing care at a comparatively low cost.
My supervisor was an American physician, who allowed me to shadow him at his private clinics and at the centre. It was fascinating to see how he was able to quickly transfer between western patients (£100), to locals to whom he would charge a few pence, each time maintaining the same level of love and respect for each individual.
My role in the clinic was to perform examinations whilst he took a history through his translator. Following this I would act as a pharmacist and produce the medication prescribed.
On his day off, I attended the clinics of some other western doctors. These were perhaps the most interesting, as it gave me the opportunity to accompany them on house visits. It is only when you enter a person's home that you can begin to understand how people actually live. The variation between clean, tidy neat apartments and the squalor of the drug addict were very revealing. Some had water, most had electricity. Visits out of the city showed me greater levels of poverty and how hard some people's lives can be.
The highlight of my elective was on a village outreach to a people group in the east of the country. They were very poor, relying on agriculture to survive. Whilst we ran the clinic, mission workers were able converse in the local dialect with the people queuing to be seen. We started a stampede by offering to give out John's gospels in the local language. Never have I seen people so literally hungry for the gospel, as old ladies fought each other for copies! At the end of the session, the village elder told us that he was so deeply impressed with us. The Muslims had come, but no one had bothered to help them because they had no money. The communists had come, but they had not helped. Now the Christians had come and they had given freely of their time and medication to help meet the needs of the people in his village.
A number of the patients stick in my mind. Two represent clearly the risks that people take as they blindly use alternative medicine. The first was a young man with hepatitis A who visited his shaman. He was told, 'Run your finger along the knife, everyone is healed!' Unfortunately the others had hepatitis B and now so did the young man. Unfortunately we were then only able to refer him to hospital. Another was a man who had a rash on his foot. The wise woman gave him some herbs, because the natural remedies are always the safest and best. When he came to the clinic his foot was a mess of swellings and sores. We can only guess that the original rash had disappeared long ago. By stopping him using the herbs and by applying steroid cream, we were able to stop what appeared to be an allergic reaction to the herbs.
An important part of my elective was spending time with, and encouraging the local Christian student group. I had the opportunity to help run an English language club at the local medical school. Through this we had the opportunity to meet local students and invite them to an evangelistic summer camp and to an Alpha course. It is amazing how much opportunity I was given by God, just because I spoke English!! The student group there has been growing rapidly in number and maturity and I am encouraged to see how the Truth is spreading amongst a people where it was suppressed so carefully under the communist regime. Pray that God will provide mature believers to help disciple them in their walk with God.
My supervisor was an American physician, who allowed me to shadow him at his private clinics and at the centre. It was fascinating to see how he was able to quickly transfer between western patients (£100), to locals to whom he would charge a few pence, each time maintaining the same level of love and respect for each individual.
My role in the clinic was to perform examinations whilst he took a history through his translator. Following this I would act as a pharmacist and produce the medication prescribed.
On his day off, I attended the clinics of some other western doctors. These were perhaps the most interesting, as it gave me the opportunity to accompany them on house visits. It is only when you enter a person's home that you can begin to understand how people actually live. The variation between clean, tidy neat apartments and the squalor of the drug addict were very revealing. Some had water, most had electricity. Visits out of the city showed me greater levels of poverty and how hard some people's lives can be.
The highlight of my elective was on a village outreach to a people group in the east of the country. They were very poor, relying on agriculture to survive. Whilst we ran the clinic, mission workers were able converse in the local dialect with the people queuing to be seen. We started a stampede by offering to give out John's gospels in the local language. Never have I seen people so literally hungry for the gospel, as old ladies fought each other for copies! At the end of the session, the village elder told us that he was so deeply impressed with us. The Muslims had come, but no one had bothered to help them because they had no money. The communists had come, but they had not helped. Now the Christians had come and they had given freely of their time and medication to help meet the needs of the people in his village.
A number of the patients stick in my mind. Two represent clearly the risks that people take as they blindly use alternative medicine. The first was a young man with hepatitis A who visited his shaman. He was told, 'Run your finger along the knife, everyone is healed!' Unfortunately the others had hepatitis B and now so did the young man. Unfortunately we were then only able to refer him to hospital. Another was a man who had a rash on his foot. The wise woman gave him some herbs, because the natural remedies are always the safest and best. When he came to the clinic his foot was a mess of swellings and sores. We can only guess that the original rash had disappeared long ago. By stopping him using the herbs and by applying steroid cream, we were able to stop what appeared to be an allergic reaction to the herbs.
An important part of my elective was spending time with, and encouraging the local Christian student group. I had the opportunity to help run an English language club at the local medical school. Through this we had the opportunity to meet local students and invite them to an evangelistic summer camp and to an Alpha course. It is amazing how much opportunity I was given by God, just because I spoke English!! The student group there has been growing rapidly in number and maturity and I am encouraged to see how the Truth is spreading amongst a people where it was suppressed so carefully under the communist regime. Pray that God will provide mature believers to help disciple them in their walk with God.
