On Wednesday, September 4, Stanley and Julynn set out from
Haiti and journeyed on rough roads and across national borders to Azua,
Dominican Republic. They came to meet
myself, and other members of the Orphan’s Heart medical team in hopes we could
help Julynn. Julynn is a beautiful young
lady in her thirties that possesses a smile that lights up the room. She married her ferociously devoted and loyal
husband, Stanley, a year and a half ago.
Soon thereafter she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. When she was finally able to get access to
some medical treatment, a surgery was attempted, but it was too late. The cancer had spread throughout her body,
and she was given no hope for a cure. Part of the carnage the cancer was wreaking
on her body was severe fluid build up in her abdominal cavity, known as
ascites. This ascites was beginning to
cause her difficulty with breathing and even walking. She traveled to meet us in hopes we could drain
some of the fluid off, as she was no longer able to receive any medical care in
Haiti because of the severity of her condition as well as lack of financial
resources. Stanley and Julynn’s journey
took some 8 hours to meet up with us in a motel room in Azua, yet the Divine
orchestration of our meeting began over 10 years ago. I would like to share with you a story that
illustrates how God is constantly and relentlessly working out His divine will
in all of our lives. One of my favorite
parts about mission trips, is that they illuminate some of the most clear and
obvious examples of this truth.
First, let us track back 10 years to the winter of 2002 and
discuss what is known as “the match.”
Each year graduating medical students, after completing interviews at
potential residency spots across the country, turn in a rank list. That rank list is entered into a computer
along with the rank list the residency programs make of the candidates, and the
computer matches the candidate with a program.
On March 17, 2003 I, along with Brandon Smallwood and Adam Jenkins,
found out that we would be completing residency at East Carolina University in
Greenville, NC. There, we became close
friends and on Wednesday evening September 4, 2013 found ourselves standing in
a hotel room in Azua with Julynn working together to perform a procedure to help
alleviate some of her symptoms.
Now, let us consider August 14, 2010. I had traveled to Haiti to work with
Samaritan’s Purse mobile medical outreach clinics. They worked in two different regions of
Haiti, and a last minute switch caused me to be reassigned to a compound called
Jack’s Beach where we stayed in tents. I
shared a tent with Tony West. Tony was a
hospice nurse from Mississippi with a heart for missions. We became close friends that week finding
many common similarities in our hearts for international missions. Tony and I kept in touch after that trip and
I followed the journey God took him on to become a full time missionary in
Haiti where he runs a medical clinic.
Several months ago Tony decided to come to the Dominican Republic to
work with our Orphan’s Heart team this week.
Tony also recently decided to begin taking lessons in learning the
Creole language. Stanley, Julynn’s
husband, is Tony’s Creole teacher. And
because of our Divinely orchestrated meeting on August 14, 2010, and his
obedience to God’s call to full time missions in Haiti, and his decisions to
begin taking Creole lessons from Stanley and to come and work with me in the
Dominican Republic, Tony stood with Brandon, Adam, and myself in a motel room
in Azua on September 4, 2013 as we began our efforts to help Julynn.
I do not believe in luck or chance. I do not believe in coincidence. I do believe in God’s sovereignty, His
omnipotence, and His love. I believe that God so loves Julynn that over
10 years ago he began orchestrating events in the lives of all of us involved leading
up to the moment in a motel room where we were gathered around Julynn’s bed
praying for God’s will and His help.
I would like to thank Orphan’s Heart for their work in the
Dominican Republic and around the world. Their intense commitment to bringing
God glory through their dedication to meeting the needs of the “least among
these” is truly making a difference in the lives of people like Julynn.
Allen
J. Holmes, MD An
Unworthy Servant
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