As part of my “bucket list” of experiences I hope to see and/or have throughout the race, it is my desire to meet some medical staff and see clinics and eventually even visit hospitals to pray over the sick. The medical field has always interested me and as I have grown older it has been not only my occupation but also my passion. Before deciding that the World Race is what God has for me in this present season, I was beginning the process of pursuing a nursing degree so I can dive in even further into healthcare. Healthcare and medical science has always been my calling, and I have had great influences in my family to point me in that direction. As God has redesigned my heart as a missionary, I am beginning to feel a calling to obtain a nursing degree to take those skills back onto the mission field.
Throughout the Unsung Heroes Campaign the Lord has allowed me to participate in this month, He crossed my path with an amazing woman of God who is living out her passion for healthcare through her faith to improve the quality of life for her people. I had the extreme honor of meeting 29 year old Veronica this week, a Nicaraguan doctor who achieved 6 years of education to return back to serve those in remote villages in the most desperate need of healthcare. It is her vision to provide healthcare to the children so they can live a better life and educate them well on how to maintain their health so they may grow up and teach the same thing to their kids and turn these communities around. The problems she sees the most often are respiratory infections, diarrhea, and infections of the feet, which are things that can usually be prevented with adequate education, sanitation, and hygiene. Veronica has been living her dream to serve her people as a doctor for the last 4 years. She visits multiple communities each day seeing about 30 people in every location. If the community doesn’t have a medical clinic she sets up wherever she can. The day I met her she was working out of a classroom in a local school. She works through a ministry called Rainbow Connection* from which she receives medications but says her greatest need is always needing more medicines because they are so expensive to obtain.
It was such a blessing to me to see someone living out their passion for medical care while practicing their faith at the same time by providing to the least of these out of a heart longing to see the betterment of her community. Thank you Veronica for the awesome example you set for furthering the kingdom of God with your gift of knowledge and pursuing your passion in a way that honors God!
*Rainbow Connection is a ministry reaching out to areas of need across Nicaragua and utilizes a total approach- providing medical access, schools, building stable homes, economic stimulation by helping start small businesses (we got to witness some hammocks being strung in homes and home grocery stores), and ensuring clean water. See more about this ministry at http://www.rainbownetwork.org/
