the countdown: 3 days

Counting today, I only have three more days here in Merida because I fly out on Thursday morning at 7am! I am going to miss my friends here so much but I am excited to sleep in my own bed and enjoy my mom´s cooking for a few days. For those of you who are sad because you´re thinking that I won´t have anything to blog about anymore, do not despair. I still have another adventure this summer! On June 26th I leave for Chicago to be a part of a ministry called Lawndale Summer Health Project. I will be working at Lawndale Christian Health Center which serves a low-income population in Chicago. Check out http://www.lawndale.org/ to find out more about the clinic. Training is the last part of June and the project is during the month of July. I´m very excited about this because I think that this clinic is the type of place that I see myself working someday (like in 9 or ten years...wow...let´s not think about that).

Here is the main body of my support letter which explains a little more about the program. I have been very blessed and have all the financial support I need for the project but I would love to have you support me by reading my blog while I´m in Chicago and keeping me in your prayers.

During the month of July, I will be working at Lawndale Christian Health Center on Chicago’s west-side and I need your support. LCHC is an amazing organization which provides holistic healthcare to members of this impoverished community, regardless of their ability to pay. This is especially exciting to me because this is the kind of place I see myself working when I complete my medical education.

Twice a week I will be shadowing the physicians there – learning from their interactions with patients and watching them share the love of Christ through healthcare. The remaining days, my fellow team-members and I will be out in the Lawndale community, checking up on patients and ensuring that they are following their care regimens for chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes. We will plan, organize, and staff health fairs in the community each Saturday.

One of the most important aspects of this project is mentoring. Not only will I be mentored by the staff at the clinic, but I will be mentoring high school students from the community who are interested in medical careers. They will go with us into the community as our guides to their neighborhoods.

Because Lawndale is committed to holistic, relationship-based care, most members of the staff live in the nearby community. By living with a member of the staff, I hope to better understand the importance of these relationships. There are still costs for the LCHC to sponsor this Summer Medical Project. I need to raise $700 which will cover my housing and food costs as well as training expenses. This is roughly $20 for each of the 33 days that I will be at Lawndale. I would greatly appreciate your support. All donations are tax deductible.

I would love to have a sponsor for each day so that I can personally let you know what I did that day. I will also be writing an online blog (journal) while I am there to keep you all updated on our progress and prayer requests. Whether or not you are able to sponsor me financially, I would appreciate your prayers during this unique chance that I have to serve right here in the US.

Some Statistics about the Lawndale Neighborhood:

North Lawndale
- 93.8% African American
- $18,000 median income
- 59% of children live below the poverty line
- 25.8% unemployed
South Lawndale
- 83% Hispanic
- $32,320 median income
- 32% of children live below the poverty line
- 11.7% unemployed

In recent Merida news:
-Friday night we hung out with Trent and Cait who are here for the rest of my trip and I went with Diego to the young adult program at his church
- Trent, Cait and I watched The Offfice...ahh, American humor:)
- Pau and I spent a nice relaxing Saturday morning at her house
- Saturday afternoon we all went to the beach (minus Ted who was working).
- On the way home we ate ceviche which is cold seafood with chopped up veggies. You get a HUGE plate of fresh seafood for $10!
- Saturday night, Trent, Cait, Diego and I went downtown to go dancing. It was a good time even though I was starting to get a migraine.
- It´s getting hotter here, I´ve been having trouble sleeping :(
- Sunday after church I went with Pau´s parents to visit her mother´s parents and then they dropped me off so I could do some shopping downtown. On Sundays they close off the streets in the middle of downtown and have music and vendors. It´s like a street fair every Sunday- one of my favorites about Merida.

I do have a couple of recent pics but they´re on Ted´s camera so I´ll have to add them later. Sorry.

I can´t believe how fast my time has gone! But I´m so excited to go home with all of my memories already captured. It´s kind of hard to have the "so how was your trip" conversation about a 6 week trip so I´m glad that so many people have been keeping up all along. Thanks so much. I love writing down my memories to share with you.