A Glimpse of God's Handiwork

The Living in Faith clinic in Haiti is led by Dr. Russ Montgomery and his clinical staff and they have helped thousands of Haitians with their vision.  Russ has been serving there for years.  It is a country of great need and eye surgeons are always needed.

Take a few minutes (2:48) to watch the video and read the reflections of a Medical Student who went on a short-term trip to get a glimpse of the tremendous work Russ and his teams can do on a short term trip.

If you want to learn more about Living in Faith and their next short-term mission trips, go to https://www.livinginfaith.net/.

Reflections

I went on my first medical mission trip to Haiti. The medical team consisted of six people: Dr. Cindy Volpe (an ophthalmologist), Michael (her husband), Shay (ophthalmic technician), Shalanda (surgical technician), Russ (the optometrist who leads this medical ministry), and me. As a medical student, I had the privilege of doing a bit of everything including preparing patients for surgery, teaching the clinic staff, and capturing memorable moments on camera. The three surgery days on this trip typically began around 8 AM and finished as late as 9 PM. Through it all, I saw God’s handiwork and felt His presence during my interactions with the medical team, clinic staff, and patients.

The dependence on God and submission to His ultimate healing was exhibited by everyone on this trip. The day we arrived at the clinic, most of our time was spent unpacking and organizing supplies. However, before we did anything, Dr. Volpe gathered everyone in the operating room to pray. This was my first time praying collectively in an operating room, and it was a humbling experience to submit to God’s will and not our own agendas and ambitions. In the busy surgery days that followed, I continued to see this emphasis on prayer. Before each surgery, Dr. Volpe performed a routine eye exam followed by a request to pray for the patient—no matter how busy the clinic was. Often, I heard the humbling prayers of a surgeon declaring God to be the ultimate healer and that His healing of one’s spiritual eyes is infinitely more important than restoring physical vision. Other times, the clinic staff would pray in Haitian Creole. Though I didn’t understand these prayers, I still felt the Holy Spirit moving and witnessed the genuine faith of the Haitian people. When the prayers concluded, patients always responded with mesi (thank you) or Bondye beni ou (God bless you).

After seeing the clinic staff connect with the patients in Haitian Creole, I was inspired to develop my relationships with both staff and patients by learning their native language. Every morning I greeted them with one of these three phrases: bonjou (good morning), koman ou ye (how are you?), or salu (hello). I loved to see their faces light up when they responded in Creole, and they even taught me another cool phrase e.g., sak pase (what’s up?)! When administering eye drops to dilate the patients’ eyes before surgery, I learned from Job, one of the clinic staff, to say ouvri je'w (open your eyes) and gade anlè (look up). Some patients nodded in understanding while others began giggling uncontrollably at the butchered pronunciation—causing everyone to enjoy a good laugh with them finally correcting my pronunciation.

In the operating room, I routinely shared the teaching microscope with the clinic staff, so that they could also see the surgery up close and receive direct teaching from Dr. Volpe. Consequently, they also shared the microscope with one another, so that everyone had a chance to see the critical parts of cataract surgery. Immediately after the cataract surgery, sometimes Dr. Volpe held up her fingers and asked the patients how many they saw. Tears ran down patients’ eyes as they correctly answered and continued to thank God and the medical team. In these moments, I experienced the refreshing union of compassionate physical healing and acknowledgment of God’s love—a component worldly humanitarian medical outreaches typically lack.

As the surgery day went on, I saw the enlarging crowd of people in desperate need of vision care, and it drew up inside me an overwhelming sense of compassion and helplessness. It was at this moment that I believe I understood a little bit more of the compassion of Christ when he saw the large, sick, and helpless crowd recorded in the gospel of Matthew. Russ later explained to us that his clinic had over 570 patients on the cataract surgery waitlist. He informed us that there were other ophthalmologists in Port-au-Prince though they charged American prices and did not allow their residents (physicians-in-training) to work in the rural regions of Haiti due to the stigma of associating with people from the countryside. In reading literature on effective and longlasting impact in these medically underserved communities, it seems most ideal for these local ophthalmologists to partner with the Living in Faith clinic and serve these patients. However, much prayer, wisdom, and conviction are still needed to reach that point.

In conclusion, I learned a tremendous amount on this trip both medically and spiritually from our team, the clinic staff, as well as the patients. What an honor and privilege it was to serve with like-minded individuals, assist in surgeries, and partner with God in the healing only He can provide. The sight of desperate people in need of medical care drives me to be even more dedicated to train and learn so that I may give back to those who are underserved. God willing, I hope to go back to Haiti in the future.

-- Keke Liu