I went on my first mission trip as an 11-year-old in 6th grade. Just a short one-week trip to Mexico with our church and a sister church, where I did a lot of the same things our youth did in Nicaragua. Some of you may be surprised that I went at such a young age and why I did so. I went because of my parents, who I’m sure had the best intentions for me, encouraging me to experience the hardship that many people around the world face. But I did not have a motivation to go on that trip. As an 11-year-old, I was simply too young and too immature to understand the purpose of a mission trip. In the end, I gained very little spiritual value from that experience. The dirty houses and lack of basic resources I saw in Mexico had little impact on my life; after that trip, I was so happy to come back to the comforts of my house.

Fast forward through middle and high school, and I never went on another mission trip. Even though there were many chances to go with my dad to Africa for medical mission, I kept thinking back to how inconvenient and frustrating those times were in Mexico and thought that just a week of work in a small town would not make a large enough impact.

This past year was my first year in college, where I started to build an interest in medicine. So, when I was offered the chance to travel to Senegal on this medical mission trip, my primary objective was to gain as many clinical exposures as I could, which is challenging to obtain in the US. Still, I was hesitating prior to our departure, thinking that the trip would be a waste since I would have to miss a week of classes. It was only until a lot of encouragement from my parents that I chose to go.

 

Our surgical team primarily operated from a local OB-GYN hospital in the capital city, where we would perform surgeries and check-ups, free of charge for the patients, who had no money for their surgeries. All surgery related cost was covered by Africa Cries Out. I’m sure many of us have been to the doctor and are used to clean and comforting hospital rooms with well-maintained medical equipment and technologies. In Senegal, the rooms are cramped and much smaller, with flies buzzing around and dust all over the floor, frequently seeing mosquito flying around the operating field. This was the first time I had been to a hospital outside the US, so what I saw was much, much worse than I expected. We did our best helping the hospital staff to accommodate the high number of extremely malnourished and unhealthy patients that come to the hospital, which experience over 8,000 childbirths per year with only 10 or so patient beds in the labor unit. The hospital also has a very limited number of medical instruments and outdated technology, such as ultrasounds. But I was still shocked at the end of the week, when the chief surgeon begged us to leave as many of our surgical instruments as we could spare at the hospital for them to use. They also urgently needed a portable ultrasound, which could potentially save many patients lives. Because the truth is, with no federal funding, this hospital will continue to struggle under the weight of the thousands of patients who come annually. I realized that there are sick people all around the world, and most of them do not have the luxury of living here in the US. I even saw two or three mothers that were recovering from birth share the same hospital bed, which is something that would never happen in the US.

I am also glad that I was touched by the Lord during this trip. Senegal is 97% Muslim, so you can imagine how rare it is to find a practicing Christian. On the very first day in the hospital, we met a Christian nurse. As she told her story of being the first Christian in her all-Muslim family, who rejected her for not following Islam, I was touched by her bravery and dedication to serving the Lord in such a challenging environment. Before a surgery, she would participate in our prayers for the patient, praying with her broken English that the surgery would go well and that the patients would know Jesus. We also met this wonderful local Christian pastor who drove us every day to the hospital and acted as our translator. I could see how strongly he believed in the work we were doing through his sacrifices and joy, waking up at 5am every day to pick us up from the hotel, and lifting our spirits by singing hymns on the car ride to the hospital every morning. I was moved by how God can work across different cultures and people and uses us as vessels for change.

I hope that after my brief words today, that you all can recognize how fortunate we are in America to have secure and safe healthcare. I am very grateful to have had the chance to participate in this trip, which inspired me to help those who are unable to help themselves. After the trip, I was determined to raise funds from anyone who is moved to support the Africa Cries Out (ACO) so that we could provide African people with life-changing supplies when we go back to the country in March 2023. Thankfully over $20,000 was raised in a short period of time so that two portable ultrasounds were purchased and donated to the local hospital and ACO. I am grateful to ACO for giving me the opportunity to help improve the quality of life for the patients there and advance God’s work into that country.

 

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If you feel moved to support our ministry in Africa, please contact us：

 

Jun Xu’s WeChat: jun9174343767

Email: Africacriesout@gmail.com

Public WeChat account: LifeExploring (人生天路)

Website: https://africacriesout.net