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Local volunteers staff global medical missions

They take free care to countries where the need is greatest.

By Sheryl Kay, Times Correspondent
Published February 15, 2008

LUTZ

At the end of this month, Dr. Terry Schmidt will fly over the crystal clear Caribbean waters surrounding the island of Hispaniola.

He'll land in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he'll board a bus that will take him out past the posh five-star resorts that dot the coastline, and continue into the rural countryside until he arrives at a local batey, a migrant labor camp set up for Haitians who harvest the sugar cane.

This is no vacation for Schmidt. As a member of the evangelical volunteer group Christian Medical Services, Schmidt, chief of dentistry at James A. Haley VA Medical Center, will be joined by 25 doctors and nurses who provide free medical support for people of Third World countries.

It is a mission, he said, they are all called to do as an act of obedience.

"As a Christian you're called to be an ambassador of Christ, to spread the word to all parts of the world," said Schmidt, 55, of Lutz, who is also a former NFL player for the Chicago Bears. "The medical services are a vehicle by which to bring these people in to hear the word of Christ."

The group was formed three years ago by doctors in Tampa at a time when Construction for Worldwide Evangelism was looking to initiate a medical services program, said Dr. Jack Maniscalco, a Carrollwood neurosurgeon. The organizations joined forces, with Christian Medical going in as a follow-up team to areas where CWE had built churches, schools and health clinics. Since then, missions have gone to Nicaragua, the Amazon forest in Brazil, Bolivia, Ghana, and the Dominican Republic.

Through CWE and other evangelical organizations, Christian Medical recruits volunteers from all over the country. Generally 20-25 doctors, nurses, and dentists go on the mission, joined by two to four evangelists. While the costs in the country they are visiting are paid for by donations made to Christian Medical or CWE, volunteers pay for their transportation.

Although the doctors come from a variety of backgrounds, most do not necessarily perform the exact specialty that they do at home. Patients are extremely poor, and have no other access to medical care. Infections are common, and doctors have had to treat malaria, typhoid and even leprosy and tuberculosis.

After each patient has been evaluated and treated, a meeting is set up with one of the evangelist volunteers.

"This is their time to learn about Jesus," Maniscalco said. "Our primary vision is to transform lives around the world for the gospel's sake."

Cultural differences occasionally come into play. As an example, Maniscalco described a patient with an open-wound infection who had trouble understanding how taking an oral antibiotic might help, when all of his previous experience had been with natural salves and creams applied directly to the skin. By consulting with the local ministers and translators, the doctors are informed of such differences and better prepared to help their patients.

"We've been to Muslim countries, atheist countries, heavily Catholic countries, and no matter where we go, everyone really wants the same thing," Maniscalco said. "They don't care if we're green or yellow or what our politics are; they just want to know if we can help them."

Contact reporter Sheryl Kay at skreporter@hotmail.com or call 813 230-8788.

How you can help

In the next 12 months, Christian Medical will embark on four missions including the one Schmidt leaves on this month. Donations will be gathered through two major fundraisers. The first is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Embassy Suites-USF, with Dr. Al Weir as keynote speaker. Tables seat 10 and are available for a $1,000 donation. For more information, call CWE at (813) 877-8420.

[Last modified February 14, 2008, 21:48:10]