testimonials

 
My name is Elaine Castro and I was born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey. I am an only child and grew up pretty much traveling back and forth between here and Ecuador. When I was eight, my parents separated. I was never really upset with this decision because growing in a household where alcohol and arguments was an everyday thing. I was sort of relieved. However, my father was a good dad to me. I would spend all my summers with him until the summer he passed away. I was 15. I knew about God, and I guess you can say I was a non-active believer. I was brought up Catholic and went to Catholic School for twelve years, but going to church was never really a family practice. I was so preoccupied with my teenage life that I never really stopped to thank God or even pray. But when this incident happened, I was upset. Upset with my mom, upset with me, upset with everyone including God. During this time I wrote two letters. One to my mother and one to God, my mother still have hers. In the letter I remember stating and asking how can he do this to me? Its one thing to have parents separated and only have the option of seeing my dad during the summer or maybe even holidays. But now he was gone and there was nothing I can do to help that.


Well, years went by and I lived a pretty normal life. I guess you can say I was privileged and I had my mother by my side the whole time. Of course, there were days when I would grieve my father’s loss because I wasn’t over it. It took time and before this trip I really thought, that grief was in the past. I didn’t realize it till after this trip that I was still in remorse, not only because of the loss of my father but also because I didn’t have God in my life. The emptiness I had for all those years, the emptiness I assumed was because of my dad’s death, was really emptiness caused by the loss of my heavenly father.


January 2008, I started my last and final semester of nursing school. I remember it had to be maybe my first or second day back and I was walking into the building when I saw Ms. Esser (Kathy). She approached me and she said, “Elaine, I was looking for you, I wanted to ask you if you would be interested in coming on a medical mission with my church?” Without any further questions, I automatically said, “YES”. I remember her face because she said, “wait I didn’t tell you the rest” and that’s when she went on to tell me about it b eing in the jungles of Peru. Which then, sounded worse than what the trip actually was, but I was sold. I already made up my mind. The next few months because all about preparing for the trip where we had meetings at a church, etc. However, being overwhelmed with school, work, and life in general, led me to believe that I was unable to handle this new experience. I know now, that was an excuse, because when you love and believe in something so much like God, you would make that time and that effort.


Well, to get to the point, this mission to me was genuinely the best experience in my life. I never expected to be touched the way I was. I remember, Pastor Bill proclaiming that we would see faces of lost souls, but what I realized when I saw those faces, was my own and by helping them realize that God was there all along, I goo met God, face to face. Throughout the trip, I heard people’s testimonies, and all of them inspired me and made me reflect on my life and my belief. At one point, I picked up the Bible, and I started with Genesis. It was as if I was reading the Bible for the first time. I thought “WOW” this book is speaking to me. So, then I began to wonder if I were ever to b e called to be a Christian believer, if I would get a sign or something, because it just seemed as if everybody had that “aha” moment and then that’s the day they were saved. That thought just boggled my mind because I never thought it could happen to me. The whole week I felt at peace and even though I still had some unanswered questions about this faith, everything was just starting to make sense and fall into place. It was if my destiny was unfolding in front of me and could not help but to receive it with an open heart and mind.


August 15, 2008, was the day we all made that dreadful 10 hour bus ride back to Lima. Out of all the people in the group, Sang Kim had appointed me to harass the poor bus driver to play the movie called “The Perfect Stranger”. I asked the driver three times to play it. When I saw the DVD cover, it didn’t really look interesting. So I thought I’m going to sleep when the movie is on. Well, I know some of you people did not watch it. But I did. I tried to fall asleep, but I could not. So I gave the movie a chance since I had nothing else to do and then I got into it. The main character had some pretty good questions, that challenged Christianity, which I also had and consumed my thoughts with, but of course “JESUS” gave great answers. So then comes the part where Jesus reveals a story about this woman’s parents separating, then about her father’s death when she was 13, then about the letter she wrote to God at that time. Sound familiar? And how this caused her to stray because she felt he never answered her back, and of course he explains why. So, I was like no way, this has to be a coincidence, it was like the movie was meant for me! At this point, I start crying because I was so overwhelmed with pain, understating, love and grief. Before I could even question this act of fate or before I could deny, someone very important to me said it’s not a coincidence, and it wasn’t.


Since then, I’ve realized that finding God is like finding true love. You hope that it would come to you in a moment when you are prepared for it, mature enough to understand it, and wise enough to appreciate it. Love, like God, is a choice. It is a conscious choice to be committed to a belief that is greater than you. “It empowers people to give their lives to someone else, even, as Christ did” and like I did that day. (John 5:13-17) God has brought healing to my grief. My faith started by accepting Christ’s love for me, and then committing myself to expressing that kind of love in my life and relationships. Before this trip, my priorities were distorted. I felt empty and lost. Now, I am found and I can honestly say, God is awesome, God is my Savior, and God is my one and only heavenly father.


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This summer I had an opportunity to go on a mission trip to Lima, Peru. I have been a Christian for about 30 years and a dentist for about 14 years, but this was my first mission trip abroad.


It has been about a month now since our return from the Lima trip but the dark and somewhat sunken faces of the Peruvian children and adult patients are still very clear in my mind. Every time I looked into the mouths of each patient, there were so many teeth to be treated that my heart ached because we could not treat all the teeth. There were just too many people lined up each day waiting for their once in a lifetime chance to see a dentist.


Even though there were four dentists, it was still not enough manpower to see all the patients. Dr. Lim had brought composite and curing light but the electricity was not powerful enough for the curing light to function. We did have a compressor and suction, so we were able to do some restorations with amalgam and glass ionomer.


Some had good teeth but poor oral hygiene. The sad part was, that they really had no means to have a better oral hygiene such as OHI, toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. We brought some but toward the end of the week, we ran out.


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We treated patients for four days and every morning, they were already lined up in the courtyard, waiting patiently. Even though we were limited to the quantity of service for each patient, each of them was so thankful and appreciative of our services. On our last day of treatment, there was an even longer line of people. By late afternoon, we knew we couldn't see all of them, even with four dentists. So, we had to give priority to those with pain, which meant mostly extractions. When the people heard this, they all said that they wanted extractions. When we lost sunlight, we had to close the clinic and had to let the people go. They were crying helplessly as they were leaving the courtyard. My heart was aching.


Throughout the week, observing the people and treating them, I said, Lord, this is not fair! We in USA have so much and these Peruvians have so little. Yet they appreciate so much and we, even Christians, appreciate so little. I was so ashamed before God for all those times I complained to Him for this and that and was ashamed for not being content with my circumstances. This trip has opened my eyes to a part of the world that I didn’t even know existed. The Lord has planted a heart of compassion in me for the Peruvians. Even though I could not communicate with my patients in depth, I was grateful to my Lord for the dental skill he has blessed me with and with this skill I was able to be a little help to the Peruvians and touch their lives in a small way.


It is my passion to allow each and every individual that I come in contact with, to be able to read the Word of the Lord. It is by the gift of donated glasses that I am able to give to most Jamaicans the ability to do so. In my 5 years with Team Healthcare, with the help of the Lions Club of America, we have given away over 2,000 glasses. I am able to see between 70 and 100 people a day, turning away often twice that amount due to lack of time. It is my desire to recruit ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians to use their God given gift to benefit those who are less fortunate than us.


It has also been my fortune to be funded and supplied by Merck, Bausch & Lomb, Alcon, and Allergan. Each company has donated generous supplies of glaucoma medications, antibiotics, antivirals and antiherpetic medications to be dispensed to those who are needy. As it has been well documented, glaucoma has a much higher prevalence in Jamaica than in the United States. Together with Kentucky University, The Ship of Hope, and other medical mission teams, we have co-managed and treated hundreds of chlamydial, bacterial, herpetic and viral infections as well as retinal detachments, glaucoma and dry eye.


The Lord has given us two eyes to see His beautiful creation, and no one should be deprived of that. No one.


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After graduating as a nurse practitioner I wanted to show my gratitude to the Lord for getting me through grad school, so I signed up for a missions trip to Jamaica. I knew that being obedient to His Great Commission would be pleasing to Him.


I had learned in school of the need for a “Collaborating Agreement” with my collaborating physician. What I experienced on the field was that I had the best collaborating agreement of all with my Great Physician. All I had to do was trust Him and be obedient to His leading.


I was in a situation that was completely different than any I had experienced in the acute care facilities that I had worked at. I had never done public health nursing and seeing clients in the clinic setting was completely new to me. I was paired with a pediatrician to visit the clinics set up in churches and at a banana plantation. We worked at different ends of the same room and were able to discuss situations that were interesting. I was able to practice independently, see clients, assess their situations, formulate a plan and treat them with the resources we had available.


I was able to minister to the spiritual needs of the patients as well the physical and emotional needs. The support of the team I was with and the fellowship we experienced was a real joy.


God taught me that He is my “Collaborating” Physician here in the states as I practice every day and I thank Him for the reality of His presence with me!!!


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It was already mid afternoon and many of the teenagers were believing that much of the hard work they had put in already was behind them until the cry was heard. "More concrete, we need more concrete!" With that alarm call, the young teens picked up their shovels and buckets again and began mixing the sand, gravel, cement and water in order to complete a set of stairs which would bring the children to and from their upstairs classrooms. No cement trucks or power mixers here - it was all mixed and carried by hand. No one complained!


This group of 24 teenagers from the Dallas, Texas and Northern New Jersey area were working at the Annotto Bay Basic School in Jamaica, West Indies. This construction project is another outreach of Team Healthcare in addition to their medical team trips. For many of these teenagers, this was the first time they traveled outside the United States to see what's it like to work in a foreign country exchanging part of their summer vacation for the experience of interacting with the warm, friendly people of Jamaica.


This is one of many major projects underway at the Annotto Bay School to bring it hopefully to completion within the next year. The most recent trip to the school in February completed doors and windows on a second classroom building built last summer. Still, there remains at lot of work to be done including the construction of a new classroom building to replace a very fragile structure currently being used, electrically wiring the new buildings and completing an office and bathroom among other tasks.


The school itself is known as a basic school which includes grades one through 6(?) and is located on property of the Annotto Bay Gospel Chapel pastored by Raphael Thomas and his wife Velda. Through his vision, the school has grown to a point now where some 275 boys and girls attend classes complemented by a dedicated teaching staff of men and women learn the 4 R's (reading, riting, rithmitic and RELATIONSHIP with the Lord). Be assured the Bible and prayer is also taught at this school.


One trip to the school to see the smiling faces of the children and experience being surrounded by these same children, all of them trying to hug you, is all you'll need to come back again and again.


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In 1986 my friend asked me if I “wanted to be a missionary.” I thought it was a joke but soon found out he was dead serious. His question dealt with serving on a “Short Term Missions Team.” This particular one was going to do construction work for one week. We were to raise our own financial and prayer support for the trip, the purpose being that we would be doing what “real” missionaries did.


At 67 years of age I have served on ten mission trips. My particular “gift” is evangelizing while the medical people peek, pick and pull teeth. I have held a flashlight for a dental hygienist that was cleaning teeth; worked solving problems with drill compressors, pushed stubborn transportation vehicles, sang with school children, gave out “Jesus Loves You” stickers, and driven down the left side of the road (in Jamaica) with fifteen God-loving servants who were singing and blowing bubbles out the windows while waving and greeting the people as we drove by.


As a “senior” you have the advantage of not using vacation time for a trip. In effect, your time is your own. Trip conditions allow just about anyone willing to serve. It is not home, and you will encounter inconveniences like cold showers. You will work hard but the younger folks help keep an eye on you so you don’t overdo it. I’m on medications for various maladies, as are many of the seniors on the trips. Aches and pains don’t count. If you have any serious medical conditions, you should consult with your own doctor before planning any trip.


Your extended journey in life may have provided you with wisdom. You may be of help advising or assisting people either on the team or otherwise with problems. I have found that it is I who gain from looking, listening and adhering to the direction of the Holy Spirit.


In all honesty, I don’t know of anyone who has not returned from a short term mission trip unchanged. The joy of serving in the field with like-minded people from all walks of life is overwhelming. You can not speak the word of God to others, you can not serve people who desperately need medical help, you can not engage in morning and evening devotionals, and sing songs and worship with others and not have your heart touched forever. You will never forget. God will give you abundant blessings. For the first few days after you return to our paved roads and enriched lives with the cleanliness and glitter, you won’t be able to talk very much, only think. Then soon you won’t be able to stop talking about a wonderful God who sent you out to serve Him.