2015 LCMS Mercy Medical Teams; new trip added to Uganda

Read what members of a team that traveled to western Kenya last year had to say about their trip, which helped about 2,000 people in a week’s time.

• “You can’t go somewhere like that and see people like that and not come back different,” said Madison McKinney, a college student from North Carolina. “I know people always say, ‘It changed me.’ But it really did. I’m so grateful for the opportunity.”
• “I’m just grateful to have the chance to interact with these people who are just surviving by the sweat of their own brows,” said Dr. Katie Butler of Boxford, Mass. “Their faith is all they have … this has been life altering for me.”
• “When I talk to people about mission trips, almost everyone has the reaction of thinking ‘this isn’t a good time for me to go,’ and they’re always right, and this wasn’t a good time for me to go either,” said the Rev. Dr. John Juedes, pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Highland, Calif. “But what I find is if you decide to go in spite of it not being the ideal time, you’ll still find an ideal blessing at the end of it, and that’s the thing I find really encouraging.”

LCMS Mercy Medical Teams are currently accepting applications for medical professionals and committed laity to provide voluntary service in a short-term, primary care, clinical setting. These traveling, temporary, off-site rural clinics will bring desperately needed health care to some of the most underserved rural areas around the globe.

The following trips are planned for 2015:

• March 13-22: Madagascar, Africa (Clinical Team)
• June 12-21: Kenya, Africa (Clinical Team)
• Aug. 15-23: Uganda, Africa (Clinical Team) New trip added!
• Oct. 9-18: Madagascar, Africa (Clinical Team)

Plus, more opportunities are coming soon!

We need you … yes, you!

How to apply for service:

We will confirm your acceptance to serve on a team after receiving your application and completing an interview process. LCMS Mercy Medical Teams will follow with additional travel details and orientation materials. We ask that you prayerfully consider these opportunities and we thank you for your service. Remember, you MUST respond to this email if you are interested in this service opportunity.

If you are interested in volunteering let us know promptly because we will begin working soon on necessary travel arrangements and visa applications, sending out team handbooks, advising on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization and health recommendations, and sending out your paperwork to sign and return. Please respond to this email if you are interested!

Itinerary and work:

Join us as we serve the unmet needs of rural villages in some of the most remote areas on the globe. You will never forget the beautiful faces and lovely smiles you meet. However, the national economy and often primitive resources prevent many villages from offering adequate health care. Most of these villages have no regular medical services and many rarely — if ever — have access to medical care. Our team will travel to surrounding villages and provide primary care health clinics and free medicine.

Please respond to:

Tracy Quaethem
Project Coordinator
LCMS Mercy Medical Teams
888-843-5267
mercyteams@lcms.org
www.lcms.org/mercyteams

Thanks and God bless!

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Short Term Mission Program