A Very Productive Weekend of Studying

Somehow I don't think "river crossing" has ever come up in any of my medical school training. I'll have to suggest an addendum to the curriculum for next year.

(thanks J-cuff for the pic. I'll upload mine soon :o))

Happy Earth Day!

The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy has a quote that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generatons."

Yes, I took that quote off the label of my favorite household product brand. In a society more technologically-advanced than those previous, we often fail to consider the effect that that technology will have on those after. Unfortunately, our advances may have a detrimental effect not only on the future, the environment, but ourselves as well. Have you ever stopped to consider how what you buy, what you eat, or what is in your house is affecting your health, the health of the earth, or the health of someone living in substandard conditions in another country?
I must confess that I hadn't either until about a year ago. It was when I was taking biochemistry that I began to realize exactly how much of an impact what we put into our bodies has on our health and well being. It wasn't until I began conversing with some of my more environmentally and social justice oriented classmates that I began to realize how a few pennies or dollars saved may be promoting a few more pennies or dollars being taken from those who are in far greater need than myself.
In light of this and the fact that it is Earth Day, I leave you with a few easy, med. student budget friendly tips to help make this world a better place:

1. Throw the whole "the lowest price is the best deal" concept out the window. I'm waiting. Did you do it? Good for you. Yes, you may save a few pennies here and there by shopping at certain businesses, but did you realize your meager savings is helping to promote decreased benefits for workers, substandard wages, CAFOs, social injustice, etc...?? A nice return for saving a few pennies, huh?

2. Read the labels. I know you all learned how to read, I hope. You'd be amazed at the amount and variety of chemicals that surround us everyday and even more amazed at what we allow ourselves to ingest. Think all of those chemicals are 100% safe? Think again. Most of them haven't been fully studied to discover the exact effect that prolonged exposure has on human health. And besides, with long names like "monopotassium phosphate, piperonyl butoxide, and dimethly benzyl ammonium saccharinate" it can't be good for you. People have survived for centuries without being surrounded by a plethora of synthetics. Why can't we now?

3.Buy organic. Every summer the Johnson City Downtown Clinic treats numerous migrant workers with severe health problems. The number one contributing factor? Pesticides. A few weeks ago we had a series of Toxicology lectures listing the types of pesticides and their toxic effects. I realize that we aren't exposed to the same levels as the migrant workers but it still makes you wonder if all those small doses aren't accumulating and having an effect.
Pesticide toxicity aside, organic farming is environmentally friendly and promotes sustainable living. It provides quality of life to the workers and the land. Too expensive? Buy bulk and raw ingredients. It's a lot more fun and versatile as well. Example: it's much easier to make quesadillas from tortillas, mushrooms, olives, peppers, cheese, etc..than to take that expensive organic burrito and try to turn it into a quesadilla. Besides, cooking is a great way to express your creativity and impress your friends.

4.Buy range-fed meat and dairy products. I'm sure you were wondering what the aforementioned acronym CAFO represents. Concentrated Animal Farming Operation. Basically its a glorifed slaughter house where an animal, such as a cow or chicken, spends its entire life in a small enclosed space waiting to become your dinner. Not only is it a breeding ground for disease, many of these animals are fed feed mixtures laced with some of our most potent antibiotics (and they tell you that antibiotic resistance comes from physicians prescribing too much amoxicillin for Jimmy's cold) in order to produce healthier, larger animals. Can't afford range-fed? Go soy. I know, you hear the words "tofu" and shudder. It tastes just like chicken...or cheese...or beef or whatever else. I have a great recipe for tofu-spinach lasagne if anyone wants to take that first leap.

5. Try natural household products. I highly recommend the brand "Seventh Generation." Their laundry detergent not only smells great, but it is also petroleum-free. Maybe if we all switched to non-petroleum based laundry detergent, we could drive the oil sheiks out of business. Maybe not.

6.Speaking of oil, has anyone not noticed the extremely high price of gasoline? I have a simple solution to save money: ride your bicycle. Not only is it fun and a great means of exercise, it's good for the environment. Walking is another great option.

7.Spread the word. We cannot act unless we know how to act. Spend a few minutes educating yourself about how you can have a positive impact on your environment, your health, and the lives around you. Check out the following sites to get started:

www.seventhgeneration.com
www.organicconsumers.org
www.appsusdev.org

It may cost a few pennies more, but it could save a few years of life for you or the future generation. Happy Earth Day!!!

A Wealth of Talents

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant." I Cor. 3:6

One of the biggest blessings of this year has been the opportunity to attend the Tolans' missions chats every other Sunday afternoon. Today was no exception as I was captivated by the words and heart of World Hope's executive director.

When I was younger, I used to think that a minister was that guy who stood up in front of all those people every morning and tried to make them fall asleep in thirty minutes or less. I could never do that. #1 I wasn't a guy and #2 I was terribly shy as a child and the thought of speaking in public was daunting to say the least. As I grew older, I realized that ministers weren't the only ones who were called to share Christ with others, we all were. So what could I do? I could be a missionary. Of course all missionaries have to be trained in the vocations of preaching, teaching, or medicine. Right? So when I decided to go spend 2 months in Honduras a few years ago, I really thought myself to be crazy for having accepted such an offer. I didn't have much training in any of those fields. Fortunately, God in all his omniscience already knew that to be a missionary, one didn't have to ascribe to one of the three former titles.

The title of this blog is part of the title of my Senior Honors Project for undergrad. It was 110 pages. Don't worry. I won't make you read all of it. I already made my professors suffer through it once. I'm not even sure how it became that long. To make a long story short, I went to Honduras not really knowing in what capacity I would or could serve. I was just a pre-med college student with some training in music performance and able to speak a smidgen of Spanish. As the weeks progressed, I found God opening my eyes to those roles he had already prepared for me. You see, God already has given us many talents, and with those talents we are able to serve others and share the love of Christ (check out 1 Peter 4:10). For me my small training in music led me to help some of the students learn new songs in English. My smidgen of Spanish turned into a broken conversation with a lady as I recounted a recent Bible study lesson about Proverbs 31 and how she was worth something to God, even if her husband had just left her for another woman. Those days spent coloring in coloring books as a child and playing games came in handy when living with a 4 and 5 yr old and their exhausted and lonely mother.

And Mrs.Lyons recounted similar stories tonight. Of a girl who had a degree in art who wanted to serve God abroad but didn't fit into one of the three aforementioned categories. What is she doing now? Helping make materials and propaganda to educate women and communities about the rampant sex trafficking that happens all around the world. God's used and continues to use people from all different backgrounds with all types of talents, architects, musicians, seamstresses, hair cutters, businessman, enigineers, electricians, health care workers, etc..., to spread his word around the world to the masses of his suffering and dying precious creations.

So as the verse written above states, we are all ministers and competent to spread the wonderful message of the new covenant. Just imagine: if time, money, and situation weren't an issue, where would you go for God? He'll take you there. Through prayer, faith, and obedience there are no limits as to what God can do through you.