The Journey is Just Beginning

Kong Sochenda in front of the nearly complete Health Center

Kong Sochenda watches daily with excitement as the new building adjacent to the health post is being constructed.  This week the construction workers are making the final touches to the building. The new Health Center, which is being financed by Samaritan’s Purse, is due to be completed in mid-November.   Kong Sochenda is the chief of Kork Roka Health Post and a midwife.  Over the past several months, I have had an incredible opportunity to visit with Kong, provide maternal health education to her and her staff, and purchase needed obstetrical equipment for the new delivery rooms.

These past several months have been a breathtaking experience.  There always seems to be so much to do and so many healthcare needs of the women and children I work with.  I stopped at the beginning of this month, November, to ponder some things deep in my heart.  It was this time last year that I turned 40.  A little over 20 years ago, I felt called to medical missions. With that, I entered Nursing School with the sole vision and dream of allowing God to use this tool as a way to minister the Gospel in developing countries.  So, for 20 years I continually prayed and asked the Lord, “When will you be sending me?”  

My 40^th birthday was a difficult one in that I looked back at my life wondering if my dreams and vision as a youth were meant to be fulfilled in a different way. In a way I just didn’t understand. Wayne asked me the other day “How would you like to celebrate your 41^st birthday”.  I said, “I can’t think of any other way that I want to celebrate it, other than to simply be right where I am, Cambodia.  I am living and doing exactly what I’ve dreamed of. 

This month, I had the opportunity to provide a half day educational seminar to the health center staff on the topic of Preeclampsia (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension).  The health center staff was extremely encouraged and grateful for the seminar.   According to Kong, she has rarely been provided with education seminars or up to date curriculum since her midwifery training years ago. 

As the exciting dedication day of the new building approaches, I have realized that success is not a place at which one arrives, but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.  I am thankful to God for allowing me to spend my 41^st birthday in Cambodia and using me in this journey.