The thing that binds the volunteer performing the health drama in a remote village in Cambodia…the donor who gives…the doctor who takes his or her holiday to train or serve those in need….the volunteer who helps with an auction or sorts supplies in our humanitarian aid distribution center…the staff member who works for a nonprofit instead of the other places they could work…the thing that ties us all together is a belief that we’re able to make a difference…and for many a “calling” to make a difference.
Today, I met a doctor who has just arrived in Siem Reap from Cincinnati, OH. She is here to help train doctors on respiratory issues at a children’s hospital in Siem Reap. She is here for two weeks and this is, I believe she said, her seventh trip. I asked her why she’s here. She said it’s a long answer but the heart of it is that she is Jewish and this is Rosh Hashana and she could think of no better thing to do at this time. She feels God has called her to it. A Jewish Doctor working with a Christian organization in a 95 % Buddhist country. She, like all the others I met this week (those that work here, those that volunteer here, those that joined me on this team) have a common thread….it’s a quality that’s hard to define but binds us together in spite of a myriad of other differences.
I’m thankful for that thread I share with those I’ve met in this work over the last 4.5 years.
Linda
Heading home