One week ago, less than 24 hours after being named Miss Moses Lake, I was boarding the plane for New York City. I arrived in New York City Monday morning, and for the next several days was able to spend amazing time with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. On Thursday I then headed to D.C. where I spent the weekend participating in the Clinton Global Initiative University.
A little background on a very large "Piece of Analiesse": Haiti. Roughly two and a half years ago I was a premed student at Western Washington University with an interest in seeing third world medicine. After much research and prayer, I found myself working as part of a medical mission team in Port au Prince, Haiti December 2009. Just two weeks after my departure from Haiti, with a new found love for the country and its people, the devastating January 2010 earthquake struck in the very streets I had just walked, killing roughly 230,000 people.
For days I could not leave my room, stricken with grief and the pain building with every additional piece of news coming out of Haiti. But with determination, and support from a dear friend and mentor, I was able to return to Port au Prince in March 2010 in order to participate in the relief efforts. Over the last two years my work in Haiti has slowly morphed, and I have had the absolute blessing and privilege of returning to Haiti five times now. With time my work has become more independent and geographically further from Port au Prince, and included in the work I have: provided impoverished schools with school supplies (paid for by the Moses Lake First Presbyterian church), put into place seven educational sponsorships on behalf of local middle school students (thank you Frontier Middle School and Chief Moses Middle School of Moses Lake!!), taught Cholera prevention and treatment classes in rural mountain villages with no access to healthcare, among a number of other things. My most recent endeavor, however, is the creation and implementation of patient record systems for the intermittent, mobile health clinics....and THIS is what brought me to the east side of the nation this week.
In New York City I was first able to spend two days with my dear friends, fellow Haiti-lovers and sisters in Christ, Christine and Rio. I have worked with Christine, a first generation Haitian-American working as a midwife in NYC, since my very first trip to Haiti the month before the earthquake, and with love we now refer to one another as "sisters from another mother". Rio is a professional ballerina and ballet teacher in Manhattan, a beautiful soul, and the co-creator of a new medical mission group in Haiti: Voice of Jean Rabel. Both ladies are incredible people, and for two days I was able to talk Haiti to my soul's content! Most important to my work, we were able to talk about the importance of using a patient record system in a mobile health clinic setting, and Rio is seriously considering (and has near agreed to use) the record system I have created during her first team trip this July. Check out Rio's medical mission trip to rural Haiti this July here: http://www.voiceofjeanrabel.org/missiontrip/
(Christine, Rio and myself in Central Park)
I then went on to spend a day with my aunt and uncle, both AMAZING people, who spoiled me like a girl has never been spoiled in a 24 hour period, as well as met with two additional directors of Haitian health organizations.
On Thursday I boarded the bus for the Clinton Global Initiative University in Washington D.C., and there I joined 1,000 incredibly ambitious and creative students from over 80 countries. For two days we heard from some of the leading international innovators, (including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, Craig Newmark (creator of Craig's List), and Madeleine Albright (former secretary of state), as well as MANY others), as well as spent many, many hours networking and discussing solutions to the world's problems with young individuals with similar interests to ourselves. I was able to talk about my work in Haiti, the detrimental effects intermittent medical teams can occasionally have, and my efforts to lessen those detrimental effects by the creation of a basic patient record system for the mobile health clinic. My thoughts and experiences were incredibly well received, and it was an incredible feeling for my insights to be so valued and so widely supported. Additionally, the stories and amazing projects and successes of individuals my age inspired me like one wouldn't believe, and have further encouraged my pushing on in my projects both domestically and abroad.
The Seattle Times coverage of my attending the conference can be found here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017869879_clinton30m.html
Personal highlights of my time in D.C., not directly related to the conference: Sitting peacefully on the front lawn of the capital building with birds chirping and the sun shining. My D.C. cab driver serenading me in his foreign language. A chance dinner with my mentor, friend and research supervisor from my time at Western Washington University, Dr. Finlay, who happened to be in the city for a neuroscience conference. My first ever couch surfing experience which resulted in my sleeping on the couch of my now favorite Bangladeshi, Rahul (thank you for being such an AMAZING host!). And a night out with my beautiful and sweet roommate from Armenia, Astkhik, and all of her Armenian friends there at the conference with her.
But, alas, eventually Cloud Nine must drift away, and I must come back to reality. In the last week I have been crowned "royalty", I have traveled to NYC, and I have met with a thousand "change makers" in D.C....and now I sit in the airport in Baltimore four hours earlier than necessary so that I can study for my impending Immunology final. Sigh....reality. Please pray that I can remain healthy and summon the energy needed to study for Tuesday's exam despite the extreme chronic exhaustion I am facing.
This morning I woke up in my hotel room to the sound of the church next door singing "crown Him the Lord of Lords!!!" What a beautiful reminder. May Christ, the only one worthy of wearing a crown in the end, have all the glory in all things! How very thankful I am that He has given me the experiences and placed the amazing people in my life that He has, and given me the abundant grace I need when I do not fully appreciate or appropriately respond to such gifts!
Analiesse
A little background on a very large "Piece of Analiesse": Haiti. Roughly two and a half years ago I was a premed student at Western Washington University with an interest in seeing third world medicine. After much research and prayer, I found myself working as part of a medical mission team in Port au Prince, Haiti December 2009. Just two weeks after my departure from Haiti, with a new found love for the country and its people, the devastating January 2010 earthquake struck in the very streets I had just walked, killing roughly 230,000 people.
For days I could not leave my room, stricken with grief and the pain building with every additional piece of news coming out of Haiti. But with determination, and support from a dear friend and mentor, I was able to return to Port au Prince in March 2010 in order to participate in the relief efforts. Over the last two years my work in Haiti has slowly morphed, and I have had the absolute blessing and privilege of returning to Haiti five times now. With time my work has become more independent and geographically further from Port au Prince, and included in the work I have: provided impoverished schools with school supplies (paid for by the Moses Lake First Presbyterian church), put into place seven educational sponsorships on behalf of local middle school students (thank you Frontier Middle School and Chief Moses Middle School of Moses Lake!!), taught Cholera prevention and treatment classes in rural mountain villages with no access to healthcare, among a number of other things. My most recent endeavor, however, is the creation and implementation of patient record systems for the intermittent, mobile health clinics....and THIS is what brought me to the east side of the nation this week.
In New York City I was first able to spend two days with my dear friends, fellow Haiti-lovers and sisters in Christ, Christine and Rio. I have worked with Christine, a first generation Haitian-American working as a midwife in NYC, since my very first trip to Haiti the month before the earthquake, and with love we now refer to one another as "sisters from another mother". Rio is a professional ballerina and ballet teacher in Manhattan, a beautiful soul, and the co-creator of a new medical mission group in Haiti: Voice of Jean Rabel. Both ladies are incredible people, and for two days I was able to talk Haiti to my soul's content! Most important to my work, we were able to talk about the importance of using a patient record system in a mobile health clinic setting, and Rio is seriously considering (and has near agreed to use) the record system I have created during her first team trip this July. Check out Rio's medical mission trip to rural Haiti this July here: http://www.voiceofjeanrabel.org/missiontrip/
I then went on to spend a day with my aunt and uncle, both AMAZING people, who spoiled me like a girl has never been spoiled in a 24 hour period, as well as met with two additional directors of Haitian health organizations.
On Thursday I boarded the bus for the Clinton Global Initiative University in Washington D.C., and there I joined 1,000 incredibly ambitious and creative students from over 80 countries. For two days we heard from some of the leading international innovators, (including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, Craig Newmark (creator of Craig's List), and Madeleine Albright (former secretary of state), as well as MANY others), as well as spent many, many hours networking and discussing solutions to the world's problems with young individuals with similar interests to ourselves. I was able to talk about my work in Haiti, the detrimental effects intermittent medical teams can occasionally have, and my efforts to lessen those detrimental effects by the creation of a basic patient record system for the mobile health clinic. My thoughts and experiences were incredibly well received, and it was an incredible feeling for my insights to be so valued and so widely supported. Additionally, the stories and amazing projects and successes of individuals my age inspired me like one wouldn't believe, and have further encouraged my pushing on in my projects both domestically and abroad.
The Seattle Times coverage of my attending the conference can be found here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017869879_clinton30m.html
Personal highlights of my time in D.C., not directly related to the conference: Sitting peacefully on the front lawn of the capital building with birds chirping and the sun shining. My D.C. cab driver serenading me in his foreign language. A chance dinner with my mentor, friend and research supervisor from my time at Western Washington University, Dr. Finlay, who happened to be in the city for a neuroscience conference. My first ever couch surfing experience which resulted in my sleeping on the couch of my now favorite Bangladeshi, Rahul (thank you for being such an AMAZING host!). And a night out with my beautiful and sweet roommate from Armenia, Astkhik, and all of her Armenian friends there at the conference with her.But, alas, eventually Cloud Nine must drift away, and I must come back to reality. In the last week I have been crowned "royalty", I have traveled to NYC, and I have met with a thousand "change makers" in D.C....and now I sit in the airport in Baltimore four hours earlier than necessary so that I can study for my impending Immunology final. Sigh....reality. Please pray that I can remain healthy and summon the energy needed to study for Tuesday's exam despite the extreme chronic exhaustion I am facing.
This morning I woke up in my hotel room to the sound of the church next door singing "crown Him the Lord of Lords!!!" What a beautiful reminder. May Christ, the only one worthy of wearing a crown in the end, have all the glory in all things! How very thankful I am that He has given me the experiences and placed the amazing people in my life that He has, and given me the abundant grace I need when I do not fully appreciate or appropriately respond to such gifts!
Analiesse
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