the other night, i was channel surfing on the radio in my car as i drove to a friend's house. i settled on a world music channel and was excited to find they were playing a song that sounded quite spanish. but as i continued to listen, i began to feel anxious because i couldn't understand any of what the singer was saying. i all of a sudden felt very unprepared to be using almost purely spanish for a whole month. if i couldn't even understand this song, how was i going to be able to understand the guatemalans i was hoping to serve?
turns out the song was in creole and my anxiety was all for naught but it made me realize that as excited as i am about this trip, i'm still a little nervous. but i know that God has given me all the tools and education i need to do this. any fear that i have is not of Him; he has blessed me with all spiritual gifts necessary to complete the task he has laid before me.
if you guys are supporting me in prayer as i prepare for and actually embark on this adventure, i'd ask specifically that you pray for both katy and i, that God would grant our hearts peace and confidence in Him. and that once we arrive in guatemala that we would trust Him and throw ourselves completely into our work there.
in other news, i stopped in at the buffalo wild wings on the east beltline (in grand rapids. i apologize to my readers in other parts of the country. wish you could be here to eat chicken with me.). i've set up a fundraiser for sunday, june 5. sometime in the next couple of days they'll be sending me a flyer for the event that i'll be able to distribute to all of you lovely people. if you bring the flyer to the b-dubs on the east beltine anytime that day, they'll give me 20% of your bill to put towards my trip. awesome deal. you get delicious chicken and the satisfaction of knowing you're helping me go to guatemala.
i'll be emailing mpi today to ask them how my fundraising has been going so once i hear from them i'll give you all an update as well. also: i was reading the fundraising packet the other day and came across some contribution cards that they recommend donors use to direct their donations. this is different from the instructions i found in the welcome packet they sent me so i'll also be asking them if donations sent in the old format are still getting to my account. unfortunately, there isn't a strategic way for me post the forms online. if i figure one out, i'll let you know, but for the time being just go ahead and email me if you'd like a form. (katherine.a.turner@vanderbilt.edu)
thanks so much for your support guys. getting more and more excited every day. =)
commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
proverbs 16:3
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
why i do what i do.
i purchased my ticket last night. its acquisition was not without a few complications, but with the help my mother and a lovely indian man, i'm officially going to guatemala.
recently a good friend asked me an extremely relevant question and i thought it would be good to address it here as i include you guys in my preparation for this adventure.
he asked me, "why go to guatemala to help people when there are so many people in need here?"
as a pre-med student wanting to do medical missions abroad i get this question a lot. but this time i felt like i actually had something worthwhile to say.
first of all, i absolutely acknowledge the need for healthcare and general aid in the US. the recent tornado in alabama makes it impossible to forget that. seeing the importance of meeting that need, i do serve in the US as well as often as i can. service is not an event isolated to foreign countries in my life. but i do feel a particular call to serve abroad.
i think there's a standing misconception that tons of people are going abroad to serve because it's somehow a more glamorous life and they leave all of the under-served people of the united states in a lurch. in my experience, this is absolutely not true. for example, when i checked last week, manna was still accepting applications on a rolling basis. meaning they still have spots. meaning not everyone is leaping at the chance to help others in a foreign country. and it is by no means the more glamorous option. when you work abroad, you typically live in community either with the people you're serving or others you serve with. you don't have much free time and, if you're living with those you serve, you may not even have running water. it's a hard life. and a lot of people talk about doing it, but i think many people would be surprised by how few people actually dedicate their lives to service abroad.
helping others in a different country also requires a specific skill set. obviously being a doctor requires typical doctor skills but serving people who don't speak your language or who come from a completely different cultural background is a different story. the language barrier is what kills it for many people. if you don't already speak the language, you have to work with an interpreter (if there's one available). and even then it's difficult to get used to working with someone else in the room, translating everything that's being said. and supplies are often few and far between so this work demands ingenuity, flexibility, and patience from everyone involved.
we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. if your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
romans 12:6-8
we have all been endowed with a specific set of gifts. and the Bible calls us to use them to their fullest. and so i feel like not using my ability to speak spanish and my heart to provide healing to others would be squandering the gift.
finally, there exists the simple fact that we have more than they do. in the US, we have a much more established community of service organizations and far more resources to help our needy than developing countries do. because of this disparity, i feel led to help even the score.
i fear i've painted a bleak picture of what medical missions looks like. it's not bleak; it's beautiful. it can be discouraging and heartbreaking, but the success stories illuminate out the darkness. it's ridiculously rewarding work and i can't wait to be involved.
and so this is why i want to serve abroad, starting in guatemala and wherever else the Lord will take me. i can't wait to begin this part of the journey He has prepared for me.
if anyone has any questions about anything i've said, feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment. i think this is an incredibly important thing to discuss and would hate to leave anyone feeling unsettled by anything i've said or haven't said.
thanks for all of your support. i'm so excited to continue to share this adventure with all of you. and to actually begin in 35 days. =)
then i heard the voice of the Lord saying, "whom shall i send? and who will go for us?"
and i said, "here i am. send me!"
isaiah 6:8
recently a good friend asked me an extremely relevant question and i thought it would be good to address it here as i include you guys in my preparation for this adventure.
he asked me, "why go to guatemala to help people when there are so many people in need here?"
as a pre-med student wanting to do medical missions abroad i get this question a lot. but this time i felt like i actually had something worthwhile to say.
first of all, i absolutely acknowledge the need for healthcare and general aid in the US. the recent tornado in alabama makes it impossible to forget that. seeing the importance of meeting that need, i do serve in the US as well as often as i can. service is not an event isolated to foreign countries in my life. but i do feel a particular call to serve abroad.
i think there's a standing misconception that tons of people are going abroad to serve because it's somehow a more glamorous life and they leave all of the under-served people of the united states in a lurch. in my experience, this is absolutely not true. for example, when i checked last week, manna was still accepting applications on a rolling basis. meaning they still have spots. meaning not everyone is leaping at the chance to help others in a foreign country. and it is by no means the more glamorous option. when you work abroad, you typically live in community either with the people you're serving or others you serve with. you don't have much free time and, if you're living with those you serve, you may not even have running water. it's a hard life. and a lot of people talk about doing it, but i think many people would be surprised by how few people actually dedicate their lives to service abroad.
helping others in a different country also requires a specific skill set. obviously being a doctor requires typical doctor skills but serving people who don't speak your language or who come from a completely different cultural background is a different story. the language barrier is what kills it for many people. if you don't already speak the language, you have to work with an interpreter (if there's one available). and even then it's difficult to get used to working with someone else in the room, translating everything that's being said. and supplies are often few and far between so this work demands ingenuity, flexibility, and patience from everyone involved.
we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. if your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
romans 12:6-8
we have all been endowed with a specific set of gifts. and the Bible calls us to use them to their fullest. and so i feel like not using my ability to speak spanish and my heart to provide healing to others would be squandering the gift.
finally, there exists the simple fact that we have more than they do. in the US, we have a much more established community of service organizations and far more resources to help our needy than developing countries do. because of this disparity, i feel led to help even the score.
i fear i've painted a bleak picture of what medical missions looks like. it's not bleak; it's beautiful. it can be discouraging and heartbreaking, but the success stories illuminate out the darkness. it's ridiculously rewarding work and i can't wait to be involved.
and so this is why i want to serve abroad, starting in guatemala and wherever else the Lord will take me. i can't wait to begin this part of the journey He has prepared for me.
if anyone has any questions about anything i've said, feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment. i think this is an incredibly important thing to discuss and would hate to leave anyone feeling unsettled by anything i've said or haven't said.
thanks for all of your support. i'm so excited to continue to share this adventure with all of you. and to actually begin in 35 days. =)
then i heard the voice of the Lord saying, "whom shall i send? and who will go for us?"
and i said, "here i am. send me!"
isaiah 6:8
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