1 of 1
Janet stookey's in the business of saving lives—not only in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she's worked as an operating room nurse for the past 10 years, but also in Third World countries where good health care's a rarity. That's because Janet uses her vacation days to take two-week mission trips to other countries with the medical division of Operation Blessing International—a ministry that demonstrates God's love by providing the needy with food, clothing, shelter, and medical care.
Janet first read about Operation Blessing's trips in 1998 in a publication for nurses, then contacted the ministry for more information. "I suddenly felt a responsibility to help needy people since I was born and trained in the U.S.," explains Janet. "We're so prosperous, and just a little of what we have goes so far in other places."
Since her first trip to Ecuador in 1998, Janet's been to Russia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Vietnam, providing basic medical care such as eyeglasses and performing standard surgical procedures. The people she serves would otherwise never see well or possibly would die from treatable diseases. "To watch someone see for the first time is the best feeling!" Janet exclaims. "Once in Mexico, my team gave a nearly blind boy his first pair of glasses. You couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He kept walking to the window to see everything outside."
While Janet funds her trips and large companies donate the medical supplies, coworkers who have heard about Operation Blessing have helped contribute toward Janet's expenses. "It hadn't crossed my mind to raise money for my first trip," says Janet. "But the other nurses had a bake sale for me and raised $800! All nurses have a vision to help truly needy people; it was as if my trip fulfilled something in them, too."
Operation Blessing volunteers are trained to work alongside foreign hospital staffs to aid their progress without running the show. "The U.S. does medicine so differently, we have to be careful not to impose our practices on them," Janet explains. "Instead, we try to go with the flow. Our goal is to work with what they already have in place."
Besides offering medical help, Janet finds wonderful opportunities on these trips to share her Christian beliefs with others. "Sometimes I share my faith directly, and other times our group shares our faith through acts of love and service. People in Third World countries don't have a concept of volunteering. They're shocked we come to serve them. When they see our love for them, they can't believe it. It speaks volumes to them about the reality of Christ in our lives and his love and compassion for the world."
Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian Woman magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Today's Christian Woman.
1 of 1
 E-mail this page   Print this article  Post a comment |
