"Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don’t cry.' Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.'”
Luke 7:11-16 NIV
"Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."
Matthew 20:34 NIV
I don't remember her face or even meeting her, but I must have. It was during one of the outreaches that I participated in while learning the Honduran language and culture at the local Spanish Language school. She, a little girl just starting her life, played with her friends and was loved by her family. However, she was also diagnosed with the chronic autoimmune disease of Lupus.
In April 2023, I received a message from a friend and founder of a local non-profit feeding program. She informed me that a little girl at the school hosting her feeding program had passed away. This was the same school I had visited multiple times for non-medical outreach. My heart broke for this small, close-knit community. The little girl had passed away after displaying symptoms that could have been recognized by a doctor and treated early. The feeding program director asked if I could provide medical assistance to the school, and I immediately agreed. My heart was moved with compassion for this community school. I conducted a school check-up there with the aim of performing annual to biannual well-child checks.
A few months later, while practicing grant writing for a course in my master's program, I used Ver International as a practice subject after Pastor Natán and Kristen volunteered one of their projects to have a grant written by me. Through this process, I gained a deeper understanding of the heart and mission of VER, including their health and hygiene objectives. When they requested my help with school well-checks for a one-room school located up a mountain from the city, where parents were committed to educating and supporting the children in their community but struggled to find resources, my heart was once again moved by compassion, and I agreed.
Another year and another "yes" later, I found myself co-organizing and conducting well-checks for over 200 children in three different schools on an annual to biannual basis. Through this outreach, I have been able to screen and identify 92 dental and 38 glasses needs. Through dental and optometry short-term teams, we are able to meet these newly identified needs and make a life-changing difference in the development and educational career of these children.
Whether you are short-term or long-term, you can go into the field through a calling and obedience to The Great Commission. Ultimately, it is when you are motivated by compassion that the miraculous provision and healing of Jesus Christ occurs.
"Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." Bob Pierce
Esohe "Grace" Iyamu-Osagiede is a rural family physician at Clínica Betania in Siguatepeque, Honduras, providing health and hope to rural and impoverished regions. Grace completed a rural family medicine residency with Louisiana State University-New Orleans and is pursuing a master’s in nonprofit development/administration remotely through LSU-Shreveport. She spent two years of her medical education on the low-medically resourced Caribbean Island of Dominica, leading community medical outreach programs and participating in short-term medical mission trips to Honduras before settling there in Fall 2021.
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