2007! Engaged & AMA National Leadership Award!!

What: Engagement! 

When: Saturday, January 6^th, 2007 (10am to 11:30pm)

Where: 5 Boroughs of New York City

Who: Dr. Bridget Chow (Orthodontist)

How: Patterned after Bridget’s favorite marathon, the NYC Marathon (she’s one of the top 100 US women runners in the world!), I gave her a portrait at each stop with a bible verse, collage of photos, and virtue that I admire in her

1) The Start: Staten Island

Venue: Chinese Scholar’s Museum at the Staten Island Botanical Gardens

            Verse: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked for us” Hebrews 12:1

            Virtue: Perseverance

2) Over the Verazanno Bridge to Brooklyn

            Venue: Coney Island Boardwalk

            Verse: “Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

            Virtue: Generosity

3) Into Queens where “KoKo” lives

            Venue: Queens Museum where the NYC panorama is located

            Verse: “We are fools for Christ” 4:10

            Virtue: Cheerfulness

4) Across the East River into the Bronx

            Venue: Bronx Zoo in the last days of the “Holiday of Lights” Celebration

Verse: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with    his wife, and the two will become one flesh”  Matthew 19:5

            Virtue: Kindness

5) Home Stretch into Central Park

            Venue: Tavern on Green, where the Marathon ends!

Verse: “I have fought the good fight.  I have finished the race.  I have kept the faith.”  2 Timothy 4:7

Going forth…”Unity in Love”

I thank the Lord for providing me with a partner to complement future ministry!  I can already see the steps that he’s providing for the future.  In the coming year, I will transition to Cornell (New York Presbyterian on the Upper East Side) to finish pediatrics as Bridget begins practicing Orthodontics.  After a few years, we will move to the Boston area where I’ll finish my Masters in Divinity while she begins to take over one of her father’s orthodontist practices in the area. 

Finally, I was humbled to be nominated for and subsequently receive the

American Medical Association National Leadership Award for Residents

and Fellows.  I will receive the Award at the American Medical Association

"Excellence in Medicine Awards Ceremony" in Washington DC in February!   

* Check out Bridget's site for more pictures and details

www.xanga.com/orthobridge 

Cornell Pediatrics & Providence

Today, I accepted a spot to complete pediatric training at Cornell University Medical Center in July 2007 after finishing Preventive Medicine!  I've felt a calling to stay in NYC for the last few months secondary to the many ministry opportunities that God has provided over the last year, the relationships that I’ve forged with brothers and sisters at Vision Church, and the fact that my parents are soon moving up from Atlanta and my sister and Greg are here.  In my mind, I knew that God would provide a spot for me somewhere in the city because of his desire for me to continue the ministries for which I was already invested in.  I needed only of faith as small as a mustard seed, but in my heart my past failures haunted me into feelings of disbelief and inadequacy.   

I had just begun putting together a personal statement for a program in Boston.  In my mind, I wouldn’t really begin the process until the end of the year or spring.  Exactly two weeks ago on Wednesday, Drisdy emailed me telling me that she had just inquired of the pediatric program director at Cornell if there was an opening for a second year pediatric resident next July.  Dr. Bostwick emailed her back and said there was an opening and she was interviewing for the position now.  After forwarding the email to me, I emailed Dr. Bostwick directly with my CV and personal statement and she replied within an hour saying that she’d love to meet me!  The next morning I interviewed for the position!    

During the interview I told Dr. Bostwick about my passion for international health disparities, especially among children and in countries within sub-Saharan Africa.  I told her of my desire to serve the underserved and make an impact with organizations like UNICEF (pediatric arm of the UN), WHO, or World Vision.  To my surprise, she said that she too had once desired to be part of UNICEF after completing her MBA.  In addition, she had just recently come back from Tanzania where Cornell is helping to jumpstart a medical and residency training program.  She said that pediatric residents could rotate through there!!  I was so excited because Tanzania was the spot that I had almost gone to this summer to do pediatric HIV work.

God is certainly faithful and I can now concentrate more on ministry without the worries of finding a spot.  I am beginning to see the path which God has ordained slowly taking shape!  May this story encourage you to know that he provides beyond our expectations if only we trust in his sovereignty and providence.  I look forward to serving fellow brothers and sisters at Vision for the next 3 years!!  Then....it'll be time to finish seminary :)  

Preaching & Balloon Animals 101

Blessed with the opportunity to speak at OCM Jireh this past Sunday, I’ve came to the realization that I am more passionate about preaching the Word than I am about pediatrics and preventive medicine. The diligence for which I prepare, the thoughts and prayers which fill my mind, the attention to detail; the process earily parallels medicine but somehow means much more to me. Looking out into the congregation and seeing truth seep into the minds of teenagers, young adults, and parents, there is a sense of joy that overwhelms me. It is as if an epiphany occurs in the faces of the congregation when the Spirit moves. I now understand why I was once involved in theatre and even why I relish being ‘KOKO’ the Clown; in part it was in preparation to help ‘engage’ congregations and individuals to the gospel. (Thanks Pastor Joseph). Sometimes I dream of quitting medicine entirely and concentrating on full time ministry and seminary. The road will certainly not be easy going back to finish pediatrics after the conclusion of preventive medicine in June.  However, deep inside I feel called to finish the medical race that I’ve begun. I can see a small glimpse of the future where pediatrics, preventive medicine, and preaching will all intersect and be used together for the glory of His kingdom. In the meantime, I’ll press on and be encouraged by the opportunities He provides me to be a vessel in the kingdom sea.

On a lighter note, during my last day at AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality) this summer, I gave a presentation on 'evidence based' animal balloons. The folks seemed to like it much more than all the medical presentations. You too can learn!

FREE INTERNET!!

   Can you believe it, the city of Alexandria, VA (where I'm living this summer) has free internet service for the Old Towne area (a historic area next to the Potomac River)!!  The city is paying for it!!  WOW......  I'm thinking we should lobby NYC to pay for free internet access too.  It wouldn't even cost that much in NYC since everything is so bunched together.  Now that would be a great use of taxpayer $$$$.  Where does my NYC tax go anyway? 

Can't believe my time in DC is coming to a close.  It's been a great experience working for AHRQ (federal agency under Health and Human Services, essentially a sister organization of the CDC and NIH) and catching up with old friends!!   

The New World War II Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background...

The Capitol in the evening....

Jefferson Memorial along the Potomac....

Finally, a little illusion......move your eyes left and right.....do you see the gears moving? 

Wheelchairs, Chikungunya, Preaching, and Biryani

 He walked into the distribution area with broad shoulders and bulging biceps. His face was tempered with the shadow of suffering yet he grinned at the spectacle of wheelchairs around him. He would have been a striking figure if not for his legs, which were shriveled and shrunken from his childhood bout with polio. Yet he walked, not with his legs but with hands propelled by the strength of his shoulders and arms. He maneuvered up and down and side to side before resting on his shiny new wheelchair. His smile said ‘thank you’ a thousand times more than words could express........... He received the physical gift of mobility, but the greater gift of eternal hope.

 Chikungunya! A delicious delicacy of India? Rather, fevers, headache, chills, joint pains, and nausea! Such were the symptoms of 4-5 teammates including one stubborn Melody! Luckily not as lethal as malaria, but akin to its brethren it is a mosquito born virus. Joint pains are a key and help differentiate it from other mosquito born vectors.

A small basement with decrepit walls, bare ceilings, and nary space for chairs…. the site of a humble church in Hyderabad nestled in a predominantly Muslim region. Blessed with the opportunity to preach the gospel, I was at once inspired and touched by the congregation who sat on the floor listening to the translation in the sweltering heat. Yet, their eyes were fixed and their ears were attentive to the good news. What salt and light in such an area of darkness! 

Basmati rice with exotic saffron spices, green and red chili peppers, and tender mutton. Hyderabad Biryani was deliciously tasty and definitely to die for! Add to this hot butter naan and puffy puri breads and mouths are certain to water!