My Maiden Medical Mission to the Riau Archipelago - Pasir Panjang ...

customs. I believed it would be just a matter of time.
I prayed to God about it. With the medicine still at the
customs, we went to meet the interns and then proceeded
to the kelong.
When we reached the kelong, I was expecting a 5 star
kelong as we had been told during the meetings for
the medical trip. But it was a kampong kelong. However,
I thought it would be a good experience for me
to stay in a kampong kelong because we don’t have
such experiences in Singapore. Initially, I thought I could
adjust to the kelong life easily. But there were rats,
bugs and flies that I had to put up with.
the first night of my bath. It was quite a hard but
enriching experience for me. Thirdly, there were insects
and rats that caused me to wake up in the middle
of the night hoping and praying that they would
not disturb me. I had some insect bites. Fourthly, the
heat tortured me but I felt especially good after having
a cold bath. Lastly, I was not accustomed to the
Indonesian time though their time was only one hour
behind Singapore.
I have a lot to be thankful for this medical trip. I thank
God for seeing us through the trip and making the
impossible possible. He provided us the way out when
there seemed to be no other way out. The setbacks
could not bring us down. In fact, it strengthened our
faith in Him. I also thank God for His divine plans for
me. I had heard this in church, 'God has not
forgetten you in His plans'. Previously, I did not fully
believe this. However, I now believe, God knows how
to work wonders in ways which Man cannot foresee.
Since I was in secondary school, I had aspired to be a
medical nurse with the purpose of helping others. This
trip made me realise it may be God's plan for me to
do my nursing course. I felt good rendering help to
the needy patients on this trip.
Therefore, I can now confidently say that God has not
forgetten me in His plans. I can use my knowledge
and skills to administer to the sick. He empowered me
with the confidence and enthusiasm to lend a helping
hand to others, especially the sick. I will definitely want
to go for another medical outreach if possible.
Batam Medical Missions
by Sarah Yeo
Continued from Page 1
As the day for the medical trip drew nearer, I was
excited and yet worried because I am a dental surgery
assistant and not a medical nurse. Dental and
medical procedures are quite different. But I believed
God would see me through the trip.
When we reached Batam, everybody was worried
because the medicine could not get through the customs.
I do not know why, but I just felt it would clear
The food was delicious and the meals, sumptuous.
We were very happy with the food. I was very touched
by the good food that Uncle Lincoln and Aunt Daisy
had prepared for us. After a while, we received the
good news that the medicine had cleared the customs.
We really thanked God for the good news. When
the medicine arrived, everyone started to pack the
medicine into individual plastic bags. I enjoyed packing
them.
The next day, we reached the first village of our medical
trip. When we reached there, we started to prepare
everything ready to see the patients. When I saw
the first patient coming towards me, I was a bit scared.
But I managed to get over it. It was quite difficult to
communicate with the patients as we do not know
their language. I was thankful that there was an interpreter.
Our first medical outreach at the first village
was quite a success though the weather was rather
hot. When I saw the happy faces of the villagers, I felt
very happy. To me, it was worth coming for this trip.
The following day, we reached the second and the
last village for this medical trip. From the briefing the
night before, we improved on our procedures for seeing
the patients. The doctors treated more patients
here than the previous village. After seeing the patients,
we had to go back to the boat. When we were
walking to our boat, we had to cross a difficult bridge.
I wanted to cry but my sister held my hands and crossed
the bridge with me. I really appreciated her understanding.
I also thanked God who watched us during
this medical trip.
I hope I can go back again to help the needy again and
I am thankful for this opportunity given to me by God
and His church.