When being welcomed into El Shaddai all 20 of us World Racers went around and told our contact our strengths such as manual labor, children, cooking or any other gifts we had and could be used during our time at El Shaddai. My turn comes along and I mention I am a nursing student, I love manual labor (for all those at home, I have fallen in love with construction), and I have experience with watching and teaching kids. After everyone has gone, the contact addresses me and asks me how much experience I have as a nurse. And so I am honest. I tell her that I have taken some courses, but still have quite a few to go, and that I have done medical missions and clinics in Peru before. To my surprise, El Shaddai has a full stocked clinic. It was then arranged that Tuesdays and Thursdays I would open the clinic from 9am-12pm for the surrounding community.
Tuesday morning rolls around and I am legitimately nervous for a number of reasons:
- In Peru, I was a student learning how to do all this stuff.
- Before, I had a doctor who was there to consult if I had a question.
- I haven’t thought about/practiced nursing techniques in quite awhile.
- I don’t speak SiSwati and a lot of the Swazilanders are not completely fluent in English.
- There is a full stocked clinic, but I have no idea what that means.
My assistant and I are walking up to the clinic at 8:57am, and my translator Julie tells me I already have a patient. My first thought was, “Seriously? I don’t even know what this clinic looks like and here I am jumping into already helping someone.” Thankfully most people that come into clinics like this have colds, headaches or other non serious issues. Tuesday morning flew by. Those 3 hours felt like 1 and I was having the time of my life. Talking to patients, learning their symptoms, and finding medicine to help them (if only temporarily). When I came back to my team that afternoon they could tell I was beaming because this is what I truly enjoy.
This is why I originally wanted to be a nurse. To help others. To care for others. To do something to make others better. And Swaziland is giving me that chance. For awhile I was unsure about what I wanted to do after the Race. Finish nursing school, go back to school for something else, get out on the mission field. I honestly had no idea or direction about what I was to do. And when I learned about my opportunity at El Shaddai, I knew this would be confirmation from the Lord about my future. The Lord has given me passions and desires for a reason. I need to learn to be confident in those and that they will help guide me onto the path that God has for me.
Here are some pictures of the clinic
