R. Rife & Carolyn Cole Saunders Division of Nursing

Louisiana College Goes to Mexico

By Crystal Parsons
President, Louisiana College Student Nurses Association

On May 28, two of my fellow nursing students (Mary Ford and Rebecca Quillin), two of my nursing instructors (Debra Migues and D’Laine Sonneland), a pharmacist from my church (Kenneth Harper), and I embarked on a medical mission trip to Matamoras, Mexico.

When we crossed the U.S./Mexico border, the harsh reality that the people of Matamoras live with everyday struck a chord in our hearts, pushing us to work for the next four days with the hope that we could make a small impact on the quality of life for the poverty-stricken city’s citizens.

We worked alongside Dr. Guillermo Lozano - a medical missionary and native of Matamoras - in makeshift churches-turned-medical clinics for five hours each day performing assessments and administering medicine to people from all spectrums of the lifespan.

While we worked at healing the bodies of these people, the pastor of each respective church was working at healing the hearts and spirits of these people. On the first day alone, 25 people came to know Jesus Christ as their savior. By the end of the week, we had seen approximately 220 patients.

Going on a medical mission trip with two fellow students, two teachers, and one brave man for a week was a physically, spiritually, and emotionally challenging experience. We saw social and medical conditions with which only citizens of a third-world country live. We learned things about each other that never in a million years would we have guessed.

We were hot and tired most of the time (that goes without saying). However, despite less than satisfactory conditions, we were blessed with the knowledge that we were there to use our talents to aid those who cannot aid themselves and the supernatural energy to do so. I will never forget my experience in Matamoras, Mexico, and I thank Mary Ford and Rebecca Quillin for making it one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life, Debra Migues and D’Laine Sonneland for the opportunity to participate in this trip, and Kenneth Harper for being patient while living a week with five women in the sweltering Mexican heat.

For more information about the Judy King Memorial Mexico Mission Trip...
http://www.lacollege.edu/academics/intlstudy/mexico/

For more information about the LC Division of Nursing, contact the Division Chair....

By phone....318.487.7127
By email....
In person....Cavanaugh Hall, LC campus