Growing Community Abroad

India Medical Team—February 12-22, Kochi, Kerala First of all, I would like to thank the Pathway community for supporting me as I travel to India in February. God planted a seed in my heart almost 2 years ago to join PICI in India. What a blessing it will be to spend time learning more about a culture that is so differnent from ours and to work beside Indian nationals who love the Lord and are spreading the Good News in Southern India (the state of Kerala). I've included some basic information about the trip so you will have a better understanding about what we will be doing while we're in India and I've also set up a small web site where I'm hoping to blog regularly while I'm in India so you can keep up with the team's adventures while we're there. Please keep our team in your prayers while we're gone. Ask God for safe travel, patience, and most importantly for His Holy Spirit to guide our work and to help us touch the lives of those we serve.
- Deb VanSchepen (Read about Debbie's trip on the mission blog!)

Background:
Partners In Christ International is a non-denominational Christian mission agency whose primary aim is to empower and equip national pastors, leaders, churches and ministries to create and execute their own vision of ministry, mission and community transformation. All of our work is done with and through local churches and ministries. We have been working in India for 3 years since our national director, Soji Manuel and his wife, Smitha, were brought on the staff of PICI. Both of them have a Masters degree from the Evangelical Seminary of Hosur. Prior to joining PICI they were on staff for 12 years with Campus Crusade of India. Since joining PICI, they have trained and mentored hundreds of pastors, leaders and churches across India, primarily in the states of Kerala and Orissa. They have also formed ministry partnerships with over a dozen indigenous church associations, denominations, ministries and mission agencies and are training their pastors, leaders, staff, and congregations in biblical worldview, discipleship, theology, and development.
Many mission agencies in the U.S. send medical teams to the Third World for the sole purpose of bringing treatment to those in need and providing American medical professionals with this kind of opportunity. This is not why PICI sends medical teams. The primary purpose of our clinics is not the medical treatment, rather, it is to strengthen the outreach and ministry of our local partners—to bolster and support their work by serving those in need in their churches and communities; to assist them in meeting needs through the medical treatment we provide that they may be otherwise unable to provide; to give them a vision and a greater credibility for broadening their mission and evangelism efforts. Each clinic is strategically selected by our staff and local partners for these purposes. Our role as Americans is not to see the clinics as an opportunity or venue to witness/evangelize, but merely to serve the “least of these” for our Lord as He said to. It is the role of the local Christians and our partners to do the outreach and the clinics help to support their efforts in a great and unique way.

Team:
Dr. Georgetta Bidwell-Voit is PICI’s Medical Director and has led all of our medical teams to a number of countries for many years, including India. She also has her own mission in Kenya and has taken numerous medical teams to that country. She will be in India for several weeks prior to joining up with the group in Kochi. The rest of our team includes Deb VanSchepen, Nancy Wiersema, Carli Doorn, Annette Compton, and Hoku Okumura. India is a first time destination for us, and we couldn't be more excited.

Clinics:
Clinics are planned for Monday-Friday and a possible half-day on Saturday. The clinics will be conducted with our local ministry partners and held in their churches or school compounds. One clinic will be in an area a couple of hours drive from Kochi with an indigenous mission agency and this will be held in a public auditorium. Several local medical professionals will be serving in some of the clinics and each clinic will be staffed with pastors, leaders and volunteers from the various churches.

Honduras with World Gospel Outreach 2010- Gary & Dianne DeVries On February 20 Gary and Dianne will be returning to the capital city of Honduras, Central America, known as Tegucigalpa. This 2 week trip will mark their work with 16 World Gospel Outreach mission brigades. It will also mark their 26th week serving with mission teams overall. Their work with WGO encompasses evangelism along with health care. The medical team is composed of not only eye doctors like Gary, but also dentists, physicians, nurse practitioners and many non-health related volunteers. Gary will examine the patient regarding eye health, providing eye medications as needed, and the prescription for glasses. Then Dianne will choose, from the thousands of donated glasses brought with them, the ones that best match that prescription. After a patient is seen regarding their physical care, others of the brigade will help them in their spiritual care and pray with/for them. It's just a wonder to see how all the God-given gifts and talents are being harnessed together to bring people to the "pathway" of salvation in Jesus Christ. That's the number one priority of these WGO brigades.
Each of their two weeks will bring them to 2 different villages. A "clinic" will be set up within a church or school building and several thousand people will be served in some category in health care and evangelism. A couple dirt-floor homes will be selected to receive a concrete floor installed by members of the brigade. A lot of children will also receive lice removal hair shampoos. There will be long and tiring days.
"Since our very first mission service trip in 1995 with Worldwide Christian Schools," says Gary, "we've had our eyes opened to the needs that are out there and the places God has chosen for us to fill. There's just so many. God has given us gifts to use and he also rewards us with indescribable joy when we engulf ourselves in His service. We've realized that over and over again."
"We thank Pathway Church, for their prayer support for this work being done in Honduras. It makes all the difference 'in the world'." - Gary & Dianne
To find out more about the ministry opportunities of WGO check out their website at www.wgoreach.org.