Kelly Kinsley, MD
Your Best Pathway To Health – San Antonio Report
Sometimes anticipation is greater than reality.
I knew it was going to be big but somehow the scale of what was going to be offered didn’t hit me until I stepped into the Alamo Dome and saw the sprawl of dividers and equipment. From my vantage point, I could see that one fourth of the dome was covered with dental chairs and equipment. Another fourth of the dome was set up for eye evaluations. Another fourth was set up for medical and surgical care and the final fourth was set up for triage, health education, psychiatric care, and pastoral care.
One thousand seven hundred national and international volunteers joined together to meet and treat the healthcare needs of 6,193 San Antonio residents over the course of three days. The city sat up and took notice as daily news coverage helped get the word out to the city. Mayor Ivy Taylor visited one day and toured the event, greeting guests and volunteers alike. Much appreciation was expressed by all.
Each day I had opportunity to see a variety of skin related problems. One particular encounter, however, has stood out prominently in my heart.
She had been standing in lines for over six hours, plagued with a large lesion on her chin. “That is so gross!”, she had been told. “Get it fixed and maybe we will hire you,” others had said. It had cost her three jobs and she found it difficult to look people in the eyes; she knew what they were thinking.
“Are you the dermatologist?”, she quietly asked. “Yes I am. How may I help you?”, I replied. For three years, a draining cyst festered on her chin. She had seen multiple doctors and was told it would cost her a thousand dollars to have it removed. She didn’t have the money, no one would help.
“Let’s get that off.”
“Today?” she asked.
“Right now,” I said.
Her eyes widened, filling with tears, her hands covering her mouth in disbelief.
We laid her down on a camping cot. Crouching down next to her, I adjusted the very small light and prepped her chin. With excitement and disbelief she kept saying over and over again, “This is going to change my life…because of you my life will never be the same…” All the while, I was trying to remove the cyst from her chin. I gently requested she pause for a moment while I did the portion of the procedure that required a nonmoving mandible. She stopped but was still smiling…really big.
The cyst came out easily and intact. “Thank you Lord.”, I said to myself. After placing the last suture, I removed the surgical drape that covered her face. She knew we were done and, once again, began to repeat how this was going to change her life.
After bandaging her chin and giving her instructions on how to care for the wound, I knew it was time to say what God had been pressing upon my heart. So I said, “I know that having this cyst gone will change your life and open up opportunities and I am so thankful to have had the privilege to help you today. But there is something I need to tell you. It is not because of me that your life will be different. It is because of God. He is the one that made it possible for me to be here and He is the one that brought you here. So you see it is because of God that your cyst is gone. What we did here today will make a difference, but the only one who can really change a life is Jesus. He has changed my heart and life and I know He can do the same for you.” Her eyes got big and moist with tears again. “May I pray with you?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. And we did.
For me the reality of those few days far exceeded all that I had anticipated. Many encountered Jesus in His “church” over the course of those three days and the efforts put forth by all who participated will have results that will carry on into eternity.
“Give and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom. For with what measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” Luke 6:38.
We often look at this verse from our perspective so as to be reassured that whatever we give to God we will see it back multiplied over and over. And while that is definitely true I so want this verse to be true for Jesus as the giver who gave Himself, without measure, for His church. I pray that His giving without measure would be given back to Him in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over and put in His bosom. I pray that this would be so by the fuller and fuller manifestation of Himself in His church as we arise and shine making Him manifest in more events like this, both large and small, throughout this planet. Will you join me in this prayer and in participating in more events like this?
To get involved with Pathways to Health and AMEN Free Clinics go to: amensda.org/missions/free
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