It all started about two years ago when FAME Executive Director, Bill Warren came to visit my church, Kempsville Christian Church in Virginia. Bill gave an account of what FAME was about and where it was. My ears perked up when I heard “Indiana”, as that is where my father’s family is from and the state in which I was born. This was also the first medical mission my church had been involved with. As a Registered Nurse (RN) I had always dreamed of doing medical mission work, so I was very interested.
Later, after doing some research on medical mission trips and FAME, I realized at this time in my life I may not have the resources to pull off a mission trip out of the U.S., but I could get my feet wet by driving to Indiana to work in the medical warehouse. Fortunately, I was able to combine the trip with an upcoming family reunion in northern Indiana.
I loved the fact that we started each day there with a short devotional and prayer. I really felt like I belonged from the start and went right to work. My specialty as a nurse was in the O.R., so Barry Reed, FAME’s Director of Mission Resources, who oversees all the incoming and outgoing medical supplies and equipment, presented me with donated surgical instruments and had me identify and store them. I was impressed by the way other nurses had already organized the instruments, making my job a snap. Overall, the warehouse is very well organized, and it is amazing to me the amount and variety of supplies they have to support so many missions all over the world.
I was there for four days and each day was different and interesting. Wednesday I met a group from a local Indiana church who came and made short work of sorting, labeling and checking expiration dates on pallets of 100 cubic feet of supplies. It’s amazing what the Lord’s people can do when they work together!
Part of each day I was there was devoted to orthopedic supplies that had been donated. I sorted and cataloged splints and braces for about every part of the body. I sorted through enough wrist and finger splints for hundreds of broken bones. I was happy to have the job finished by Friday and now Barry will have a record of it all in the inventory system, making it easy to send what is needed to Africa, Mexico, Nepal, Honduras, Liberia, or Ukraine. These are just examples of the many countries my work with FAME might touch.
I almost hated to leave because I had not felt so appreciated for my talents and knowledge base as a nurse in a long time. Frequently, the day in – day out work in medicine can leave a nurse feeling under-appreciated and burned out. I would venture to say that a visit to FAME could do a lot to reverse that feeling in any other nurse or healthcare provider. I highly recommend it and I’m very glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to come here. I might even make that mission trip again in the next few years. Thank you, FAME Staff for having me.
Sincerely,
Debbie Gibson RN LT NCUSNR-R