We need to back up again in the story and fill in a few details. I brought with me an RN and a worker like me. In Chengdu we met a Chinese Christian medical doctor. She would be the fourth member of the team and would help us get bus tickets to Kangding and provide any needed communications with Chinese speaking people along the way. In Kangding we were met by our full time ministry worker who was to take us up to Daofu where she lives. In Daofu we were joined by two medical people that are part of our organization in China. We are now a team of seven. In the morning a second vehicle with four Chinese medical doctors joined our group making a total of eleven. Together we made our way farther up into the mountains to the school at our target location.
The two story grey building under construction at the bottom of the above picture is a new classroom building. There were 180 students living at the school when we were there and it was expected to expand to over 300 the following fall. The next two rows of building behind this one is the present school where we stayed and did the health screenings.
To the extreme right of the picture, in the shade, is the classroom building containing several rooms where we set up our four examination areas. The building to the left of the picture is the dorm where the students lived. Students were brought to us in groups of ten. Each came to us, with an identification sheet, and posed for a picture to start the process.
Each of the students stood in this spot, allowing me to take their picture. It was interesting to see the different expressions and level of projected self-confidence. The picture number was recorded on the identification sheet and returned to the student, along with an examination sheet. Each student then preceded through the examination areas, having different parts of their anatomy checked by the assigned medical practitioner. Results of the examination were recorded on the examination sheet, with any abnormalities marked in red. The student took the sheets and gave them to a checkout person who marked the picture number on the examination sheet and entered the information along with the picture into an electronic form on the computer.
School officials and teachers watched our team work and saw how we related to the students and as a result they became more and more supportive of our work. By the end of the first day they were very impressed and decided to honor us the following afternoon with a presentation by the school dance team. That was a very special time for us and for those at the school. This was greater acceptance than we ever expected. Doing this kind of work and presenting ourselves as we did may one day result in questions being asked about Christianity by those whose hearts are being prepared by the Lord. We must work and pray and wait for the questions. If we move ahead of the questions we know from past experience that we might be asked to leave and not be able to return. To be effective, people must know and understand the culture and respect it and earn the hearing.
The examinations resulted in numerous red marks, indicating health issues. Our medical personnel will summarize the results and make follow-up calls were possible. The school officials have already asked what can be done to improve the level of health. Things like a toothbrush for each student so they don’t have to share. Wash their clothing, their hands and their bodies more often. These are a people who go to the outhouse and relieve themselves and pull up their pants without wiping. Then with hands covered with layers of filth they would cup them at the one water outlet, located in the school courtyard, and drink from them. Being at this school allowed us to see and experience life at a much different level.
While we were there the weather turned cold and we got a taste of living in very unpleasant conditions. The buildings have no heat and it gets really cold inside. Pushing your pants down in the outhouse and squatting over an open space in the floor is not what I call enjoyable, but that is how these kids live.
Here is where the three of us stayed who came over from Texas. We ate and slept here. I had this room and slept on the bench by the wall. The two ladies that came with me slept in the room behind the wall at the end of counter. Their room was heated from my room so I nearly died from the heat and they nearly froze to death. I would like to have had their room, but privacy was better for them if I didn't have to pass through their room. It was not the best conditions, but we had to make do with what we were given.
Here is where the three of us stayed who came over from Texas. We ate and slept here. I had this room and slept on the bench by the wall. The two ladies that came with me slept in the room behind the wall at the end of counter. Their room was heated from my room so I nearly died from the heat and they nearly froze to death. I would like to have had their room, but privacy was better for them if I didn't have to pass through their room. It was not the best conditions, but we had to make do with what we were given.
What was the special dance event like? We expected the dance to last a short while and then we would return to our examinations. The dancing started and after about an hour and one half we were asked to dance with them. That lasted another half hour and that led to picture taking and a great social time. Losing nearly a full afternoon put us in a time crunch but we managed to catch up the following day.
By the end of our examinations, school officials were proud of the fact that a milestone had been established in the form of a health baseline. They now had something tangible that they could build upon and when they learned that we planned to return in one year and repeat the process, they were real pleased. Not only do we plan to reexamine these 180 students but also examine all new ones. The school expects to have over 300 enrolled that following year.
Our goal is to do this work for three years and by then we hope that the local health team will be well enough trained to do the work themselves. The medical level of these health practitioners in these outlying areas is not very good. As the students were being examined the local health team gained in much needed experience.
What a blessing it has been for me to see how we carefully earned our way into this school to do this health screening and see how it opened up the hearts of so many people there. I now have firsthand experience of how the Lord begins a work in what was a closed area to people from the West. It is my prayer that what I have written, has helped you understand the process. It is a process that takes time, focus, caution, and prayer.
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