Egypt Scout Trip
MED 4 OUR WORLD traveled to Cairo Egypt in early September to scout the area for a surgical mission trip. The three day trip included two full days at a hospital in meetings with the hospital director, four surgeons, and a very kind and hardworking charge nurse. We met many new friends, but quickly learned that Egypt is by far the most challenging country for us to serve because of both religious and cultural barriers. The purpose of our trip was three fold. The first was to find out if we could do surgeries in the clinic. Second, to see if we would be able to attain the appropriate government approval to do medicine in Egypt. Third, would the indigent patients be available and assessable and would we be able to serve these Egyptians for free? Unfortunately, each goal was met with an insurmountable barrier. The clinic was not adequate, nor prepared to safely complete the surgeries we perform. We also cannot attain the proper licenses to perform surgeries. Lastly, we are not able to serve the poor people of Egypt who are in need of free healthcare.
The local clinics charge each patient a portion of the cost for each procedure. This is not within our mission statement. We only do surgeries for free. We do not charge our impoverished patients. It was hard for us to learn this news and we felt a little defeated, but our mindset was encouraged when we attended a Christian Church in the middle of Cairo for a prayer meeting. Attending a two hour prayer meeting at a Church where thousands of persecuted Egyptian Christians worship was a sight to behold, and an amazing experience. We had never attended a church where we have to enter through a metal detector, pass bomb blast deflectors, and truckloads of armed military protect our eagerness to worship. We asked ourselves whether our faith would see past the fear. We were convicted!!!
We have learned so much from this visit about faith, conviction, and the grace of God. We are thankful to the Egyptian Christians for teaching us about pure faith. We went to Egypt with so many questions of how we could serve, but ultimately faced the realization that sometimes the answer is no. An answer we are at peace with. We learned a great deal about our mission statement and our calling. We also learned what others often endure to serve. MED 4 OUR WORLD is open to new opportunities, but unfortunately, there are too many barriers at this time to send a surgical mission team to Egypt in the near future. Thank you for all your prayers and continued support.