VCOM October

Last week, VCOM's South Carolina campus was here for a medical brigade. As always, it was an interesting and busy week.

Let me start by saying that I was a little sleep deprived going into it because my wonderful parents flew me home so I could go to my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful cousin (and a really great addition to the family), and I could not have had a better weekend with everyone. Thanks, Padres, for the tickets! It was a blast and I would have been so sad to miss that family event!

Back to VCOM. Last week was one of "those weeks" for us on the mission side of the trip. Between sick doctors, missing translators, schedule changes and one very bizarre hospital tour experience, the week constantly seemed to have reasons to take a turn for the worse. However, God is good and faithful, and He pulled off yet another success that had nothing to do with me or anyone else involved. 

We spent the first 3 days going to a different village each day, which were 3 that we attended with July's group from the Virginia campus. They are each 1-2+ hours from Santa Rosa which makes for a lot of bus time, but also means that the people we are see are incredibly grateful to have a brigade in town. It is always amazing to hear the expressions of gratitude and to watch as a new set of students develops an even deeper love for serving their fellow humans.

We spent the next couple of days around Santa Rosa seeing children from one of the local orphanages, touring the hospital, and spending time in the nursing home visiting with the residents.

These students (as they almost always do) impressed me with their love for people and ability to jump in and build relationships, even when they can't communicate. I'm sure I will be reminded of this group's lively personality every time I go to the orphanage and hear them talk about performing with "Justin Bieber."