Casting our Nets

This morning we started off a few minutes early due to the long journey to Puri. We are again excited about ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the fishermen who live in these colonies just outside the city. Following yesterdays successful clinics, we were truly excited to spent the day ministering in another fishing village to the South. The inhabitants live in brick and mud huts with palm branch roofs on the edge of the beach, with sand blowing into every crack and crevice, no public sanitation, and few fresh water sources. The fishermen work hard, going out to sea around 5:00 am and returning in early afternoon; many of them live in chronic pain due to the highly physical nature of their work, and they often turn to alcohol to relieve their misery.

Two of our teams were located in a small church building, a third was set up under an open thatched roof adjacent to the church, and the fourth began the day at a local hospital but moved to the front porch of a building right at the water’s edge. Hundreds received medical help, and many had never before seen a doctor. With today’s patients we exceeded the 3000 mark after only 5 days of clinics. The teams continued to display resourcefulness and flexibility while we reshuffled team assignments in Ravi's absence.

Please continue to pray for good health and stamina for the team. The days that involve a long commute plus a full day of clinics are quite taxing on bodies of ALL ages. ;-)
.
.
The link below will take you to Today's photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594469830181
.
.
The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/

Fishing for the Lost

Today we drove to the Puri region of Orissa (near Konark) to a new fishing village location for us called Chandra Bhaga situated on the coast where all five teams spread out through this active vibrant village and setup our clinics. We saw some of the most dire medical cases that we have experienced so far on this trip and people with the greatest health & personal needs overall. Days like this make us feel both rewarded and insignificant. While there were a number of short term needs that we meet, we had a sense that these villagers did not have access to even "less than" adequate care.

We were excited to learn that there was a church in this village (one of the teams used their facility as a clinic location) and that it had been in existence for 30 years. We pray that our medical work with this village exalted the name of Jesus and gave the local ministry a springboard for further outreach.

.

.

The link below will take you to Today's photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594467230640

.

.

The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/