We were impacted in many ways after the Medical Mission trip to El Crucero last September. However, watching and "feeling" God answer prayer was truly overwhelming. We pray in our daily lives, however NEVER have we seen such immediate responses to heavenly requests. It was as if God was right there with us - as if saying, "Why don't you just ask? Plain and simple like?"
For example, at the end of our first day of working at a remote village (Nuevo York), we returned to the clinic to unload and prepare for the next day. Dr. Oliver informed us that the clinic had been without any water in their two large holding tanks for over a month. We asked if there was anything that we could do by "talking to the water department” to help “expedite” the process. He replied that anything we would do would only set future expectations of "added bonus' for delivery" in the already slow process. He said that instead, we should gather our team together and pray. The 15 of us did just that and prayed that water would come for the clinic and it’s patients.
The next day, we showed up in the morning and we were surprised to see that both tanks had been filled to the brims! Dr Oliver was amazed and delighted! However, the water was in such abundance that the wooden beams supporting the water tanks were now breaking under the load! So we quickly devised a temporary fix and even though we could still hear the beams cracking, we prayed that the patch would hold until we could get the lumber to fix the problem.
At the lumber store, the clerk said he only had 2 of the 4 large beams that we needed. But again, saying silent prayer, we asked if we could walk around in search of alternate wood sources. There they were - the extra 2 beams that we needed. "Hidden" right in the back! Upon returning to the clinic, we were now faced with replacing and bracing the existing beams with thousands of pounds of water directly over our heads. Again, we prayed for wisdom, safety, and the ability to carry out the task at hand. We had many spectators (including the local ice cream vendor) who gathered and offered their prayers (and opinions).
And yet once again GOD came though! The water tower held until the next mission team arrived to cement and add permanency to the structure.
These are just a few of the many minor miracles that occurred on our trip. The power of prayer allowed us an injury free trip and the feeling of knowing that God certainly "had our backs" that week.
Inviting God into every challenge, not leaning on our own understanding, and going to Him first are some of the few take-aways that we brought home from El Crucero. We cannot wait to return to see what God has in store for us in 2016......
Mike Hulley, Justin Mullins and team
For example, at the end of our first day of working at a remote village (Nuevo York), we returned to the clinic to unload and prepare for the next day. Dr. Oliver informed us that the clinic had been without any water in their two large holding tanks for over a month. We asked if there was anything that we could do by "talking to the water department” to help “expedite” the process. He replied that anything we would do would only set future expectations of "added bonus' for delivery" in the already slow process. He said that instead, we should gather our team together and pray. The 15 of us did just that and prayed that water would come for the clinic and it’s patients.
The next day, we showed up in the morning and we were surprised to see that both tanks had been filled to the brims! Dr Oliver was amazed and delighted! However, the water was in such abundance that the wooden beams supporting the water tanks were now breaking under the load! So we quickly devised a temporary fix and even though we could still hear the beams cracking, we prayed that the patch would hold until we could get the lumber to fix the problem.
At the lumber store, the clerk said he only had 2 of the 4 large beams that we needed. But again, saying silent prayer, we asked if we could walk around in search of alternate wood sources. There they were - the extra 2 beams that we needed. "Hidden" right in the back! Upon returning to the clinic, we were now faced with replacing and bracing the existing beams with thousands of pounds of water directly over our heads. Again, we prayed for wisdom, safety, and the ability to carry out the task at hand. We had many spectators (including the local ice cream vendor) who gathered and offered their prayers (and opinions).
And yet once again GOD came though! The water tower held until the next mission team arrived to cement and add permanency to the structure.
These are just a few of the many minor miracles that occurred on our trip. The power of prayer allowed us an injury free trip and the feeling of knowing that God certainly "had our backs" that week.
Inviting God into every challenge, not leaning on our own understanding, and going to Him first are some of the few take-aways that we brought home from El Crucero. We cannot wait to return to see what God has in store for us in 2016......
Mike Hulley, Justin Mullins and team