Giant Waves, Circumcisions, and Awesome Beauty

After a very rough trip there, including battling rough seas and lots of sea sickness casualties, we finally made the island nearly 12 hours after leaving Manila. (Praise God I was spared from hanging over the side of the boat!)

When we arrived to Balesin, we were all struck by the incredible, unsullied beauty. Until a year ago, there was no electricity on the island and the people barely scraped by with fishing. After a brief recovery period, we jumped in and saw 200 patients our first afternoon. We limped back to dinner and our bunkbeds in small cabins (leftover from the old family who sold the island to the development corp).

The next morning we were back at the elementary school where the clinic was held and went back to work. I took vital signs and then later assisted with minor surgeries such as circumcisions (it is a rite of passage for young boys here) and cyst removals. I was too chicken to help in the dental room with tooth extractions. Yuck. I think we saw about 400 patients total. The prevalent issues were vision problems, hypertension, tuberculosis, and rotten teeth.

Before leaving the island, we were given a few hours to play on the beautiful beach and take a quick boat ride around the western side of the island. It was stunning to see such a beautiful island without neon signs and bars. It looks much like it must have looked 100 years ago.

Thanks so much for your prayers and partnership! It was a wonderful trip and I look forward to hopefully going again during future annual trips.