Trip to Kashmir

The organisation that I worked for, sent a team of medical personnel to Kashmir, Pakistan to provide medical relief for the earthquake victims. The team has just returned from their 10-day trip.

Before the trip, its written all over media that the weather there, is trying, cold and tough. I heard a little sharing from one of my colleagues who went and saw some photos... it was surely physically more tough than the trip to help the tsunami victims! It was freezing cold, especially the nights. It was cold despite sitting beside the fireplace. The team lived in a camps where tents is sighted everywhere. The field hospital was not in a building but under a huge tent on dry mud. Made shift beds were everywhere. Operations and procedures are sometimes done without Anaesthesia. My colleague had to drop her bags and went to help in a woman's delivery upon her arrival at the camp (I am sure there was no epidural given!!). What was heart-wretching was that the woman had wanted to give away her baby to my colleague immediately after birth. Of course my colleague couldn't just accept the baby although she would like to bring the baby back home. I am sure it was the physical conditions, the lack of food and the uncertain tomorrow that drove a woman to painstakingly give away her newborn just after birth. She probably thought that the child would have a better life and chance of survival with a 'foreign lady' who had flew miles to help her and her countrymen.

Other conditions were like how everyone in the team had to pee in the bushes, toilets that cannot flush and they have to live with the stench. Everyone in the team fell sick at different timings. Some had gastroenteritis (infection of the stomach area), all of them dropped a few kilos as they had no time to eat lunch on the first few days. They only survived with breakfast and dinner, and sweets to give them energy in between.

As I am blogging at the comforts of my home, I am certainly in a much fortunate condition than them. The Pakistianis had beautiful mountains and nature but living in poor conditions, facing the threat of the cold and insufficient food and earthquakes. Sometimes I ask myself why I am sometimes not contented with what I already have.

Would I ever pluck up enough courage to go help in medical missions like this? I did contemplate to help the tsunami victims but I did not. It surely won't be easy time. How would I measure up if I am placed in a situation as the Pakistanis? How would I measure up in my faith to the Sovereign God whom I love??