Threefold Ministries

Medical Mission 2010

June 2010

Read about the success of the medical mission!
Nueva Vida Strikes Again - Lane Pharmasave Nicaragua Gets Official Installation - Translators, The Essential Ingredient - Nyni's Story - NOSM Sends Its Best and Brightest Again - Condega Mission Continues to Expand - Profile: Blanca Mairena, a Nicaraguan Dentista and more.

(Click on any small picture to enlarge it in a new window)

Third Medical Mission: A Success

In 2 weeks, we :

• treated 856 medical patients
• made 36 referrals
• treated patients at Skylark Retreat Centre and in rural Condega
• treated Nueva Vida School children for the 3rd year

For the last two weeks of April, fourteen Canadians traveled to the Skylark Retreat Centre in San Marcos, Nicaragua to participate in the third annual medical mission.

Medical Mission 2010: Top L-R: Angel, Jorje, Dr. Dave, Dr. Ben, Karl; Top Middle L-R: Mauricio, Eric, Idaña, Amanda, Kristine, Amber, Melissa, Ivonne; Bottom Middle L-R: Karla, Michelle, Dra. Blanca, Fernanda, Dr. Michelle, Carmen; Bottom (sitting) L-R: Carolina, Fifo, Ellen, Emily, Nyni, Fish, Gord, Gary

The team was, once again, quite an eclectic crew with different parts of Ontario and Nicaragua represented. Dr. Ben Quackenbush, a NOSM (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) family medicine resident, and Gordon Lane, a pharmacist of Parry Sound Pharmasave, joined the team for the second time. Parry Sound's Dr. Dave Clarke and Sudbury's Dr. Michelle Lamarre served as family physicians. Carmen Broughton, a nurse practitioner from Dunchurch, lent her skills and laughter to the team. Kristine Woodley and Amber Bacenas, both NOSM third year medical students, completed the medical staff.

Of course, support staff are essential to medical missions, and we were happy to have Ivonne Heaman, her granddaughter, Melissa Heaman and Michelle Fisher working in the pharmacy and doing vitals. Amanda Shaw and Emily Robinson filled in the details, while Gary Robinson and Rob Fisher worked on other projects at the Centre with Skylark Staff, Karl Murch, Mauricio Manzanares and Fifo Bermudez. Ellen and Michelle did an excellent job, once again, of health education!

Nueva Vida Strikes Again!

Deyvi Jose Reyes, a Nueva Vida grade 3 student

Nueva Vida students

Gary Robinson, Threefold Director,and Aden Renosa, Nueva Vida Director

Angel and Adan, student and director of Nueva Vida, respectively

On the first Wednesday of the trip, we had the privilege of seeing the children of Nueva Vida en Christo. This is a school in Managua that has been fully supported by Threefold Ministries for the last 5 years.

Both previous medical missions were able to provide care to these children, who range in age from 5 to 13 years. Because the Nueva Vida kids spent the whole clinical day at Skylark, various stations were set up. We had a craft and health education station, Veggietales movie station, clinical station and, of course, a soccer station!

It has been great to see the same kids over the last few years. In general, their health is good; this is particularly correlated with the recently established daily feeding program at the school which provides all students with a meal each day. These kids are so full of life and joy to serve!

Lane Pharmasave Nicaragua Gets Official Installation

Two years ago, Gordon Lane, owner and pharmacist of Parry Sound Pharmasave, travelled on the first medical mission. The Skylark Centre's medical building had not yet been completed at that point and so dormitories were used as makeshift clinics and a pharmacy.

Never one to complain, and most often the one to crack a smile in any situation, Gord made his assigned dormitory a satellite Pharmasave, with medicine in boxes and a shelf not quite ergonomically tall enough.

This year, however, Gord was able to christen the new Nicaragua Lane Pharmasave in the medical building! This all began with the official installation of the appropriate sign.

Gord did not have to bend down and find the right box to dispense meds, instead he could find the right bottle with ease on the new shelving system and dispense medication right to patients through the dispensing window. If you're in the area, stop by your friendly neighbourhood Los Medranos Community Pharmasave and ask for Gord.

The Team in Action

Translators– The Essential Ingredient

Jorje and a young patient. Nyni and Karla

No medical mission is possible without Nicaraguan translators! Each year we've been blessed by their calibre and professionalism. All are in their twenties to thirties and some are English language students from Ave Maria University in nearby San Marcos . Others are medical mission interpreter veterans with nearly a decade of experience in the field. It was great to be working again with Eric, Angel and Idaña; all of whom we've had the pleasure of getting to know over both previous medical missions. Jorje, Karla, Nyni and Fernanda were new to the project this year, although the girls worked in January with the Dental mission. Words can't describe the zaniness and joy that our Nicaraguan friends brought to the team and we were glad to work with them all!

Carmen and Eric  laughter always ensued! L-R: Nyni, Emily, Fern, Karla, Blanca

Nyni’s Story

Left:
Nyni, enjoying a break.
Bottom:
Nyni and some girls
from Nueva Vida
playing "volleyball".
.. or posing...

My name is Nidia Isabel but everybody calls me Nyni. I am from Nicaragua and I have been a translator since I was 14 years old! I have been involved in children's ministry, street evangelism, pastor's conferences and this is my sixth time working in a medical team, but it's my second time working with Canadians.

The mission in San Marcos was unforgettable! We attended kids, adults and teenagers! It was a lot of fun too! I was working in the Pharmacy with Mr. Gordon who is a great person. It was very nice seeing him giving the information about the medicines to the patients! He did very well and by the end of the week, he was able to say the following Spanish words: pastilla, tome una diario con alimento, vitamina para los niños, etc.

Next, I worked with Dr. Woodley. She is great and very sweet, always with a big smile for her patients.

This team was very friendly; even when they were working too hard, there were always smiles on their faces and a love for the people! I was even considered one of their patients as one day I almost fainted from taking too much Advil and thankfully Dr Clarke looked after me!

Thanks team for being so nice and thanks to my co partners, the other translators: we did an awesome job!!! We all did it with love and that is the most important part... God bless you all.

"We all did it with love and that is the most important part."

- Nyni, translator

NOSM Sends Its Best and Brightest Again

Amber Bacenas and
Kristine Woodley

Kristine and Fernanda with perfectly healthy 96 year old patient in Condega!

For the last two trips, NOSM (Northern Ontario School of Medicine) students have participated on the medical missions. This year was no different as we had the pleasure of working with Amber Bacenas and Kristine Woodley. Both these women just recently completed their third year clinical clerkship in Parry Sound under the supervision of Dr. David Clarke.

This trip provided a great opportunity for them to continue to hone their skills. Among many of the benefits of this trip is that rural Nicaragua, although different in a number of ways, shares many similarities to rural Northern Ontario which is were these women most likely will end up once they graduate.

Condega Mission Continues to Expand

Gary Robinson holds a plaque of gratitude to Threefold presented by the group of Condega pastors. These men of faith had been gathering regularly to pray for their communities and hoping for a medical team to visit them. By the wisdom of God, this has happened on the last two missions!

For the second year, we were able to travel to Condega, a town in northern, rural Nicaragua . This mountainous region of the country is reminiscent of a Spanish villa with its hilly vistas, lush green fields, real cowboys and warm people!

A number of years ago a group of 10-12 pastors in this region started praying for a medical team to visit the Condega region as medical care is not consistently available for most of these people. God's timing is everything! On the first medical mission we were able to meet Omberto, one of the pastors of this Condega group, while he was serving as a lab tech at Skylark. He explained the need in his community and we travelled to Condega on the next trip to meet the needs of the people.

During this most recent trip we were able to serve the people in Condega once again and also expanded our care to another community close by!

Threefold Ministries

Threefold Ministries is a Canadian Non-For-Profit charity and registered NGO working in Nicaragua to bring hope and help to those in need. Our mission statement and goal is to partner with others in "projects, people and programs that encourage great commandment living and great commission thinking." We do not receive government funding and are only able to do what we do through the generous support of private donors who provide financial means for us to accomplish our goals. If you would like to partner with us in this regard, please send your donation to Threefold Ministries at the address below or contribute on-line now. A tax receipt will be issued for all donation s over $20. Specifically we are looking for contributions to be made that will assist in ongoing care of some of the patients we just saw. There are a number that need diagnostic tests (blood work, X-rays, ultrasounds) or specialist consultations that are only available in nearby cities . All cannot afford the transportation, let alone the procedure. If you would consider donating to this need, you would make a major difference in our patients' lives!

Threefold Ministries, 88 James St, 2nd Floor Parry Sound, ON P2A 2X5 Phone: (705) 774-6428
Email: Gary Robinson CEO or Emily Robinson Administrative Assistant

Profile: Blanca Mairena, a Nicaraguan Dentista

Blanca is no stranger to Threefold Ministries, as she just recently participated on her third medical mission with us! She is a Nicaraguan and has been practicing dentistry for six years in her hometown, Esteli. After high school, she had to wait for a year before entering dentistry due to lack of funds. She states that by the generosity of her parents and blessing from God, she was able to attend the Universidad National Autonoma de Nicaragua (UNAN) in Leon for dentistry.

She works five days a week and her daily practice consists mostly of fillings and extractions. Despite her skill and availability she only sees about 3-4 patients a day. She would love to see more, but her clinic is located in a poor community of people who generally cannot afford dental care.

Being able to help people is her favourite aspect of dentistry and she thoroughly enjoyed being able to do this on the most recent medical mission.

She got involved with Threefold Ministries through a connection her mother had with Umberto, a Nicaraguan lab technician and pastor that volunteers with the medical missions as well.

One of her most cherished moments of the recent medical mission occurred after an extraction, when she was able to sit and talk with her eight-year old patient who had just lost his father.

Her gentleness, genuine concern for others and kindness are some of her most evident characteristics. We are thrilled to be partnering with her in Nicaragua!