It's been quite a while since I've done a blog post! Now that I'm finally in my 4th and FINAL year of optometry school, I hope to be a little bit better about keeping up with this blog. So, before I tell you all about my trip to Belize during my week off between the spring and summer semesters, I feel as though I should update you on some very important things :-D
1. I PASSED part I of National Boards!!! That right there is a HUGE weight off my shoulders. Every 3rd year optometry student in the nation took this test on March 19th and 20th. We found out our scores on May 8th. I didn't check my until the 9th when I was home from Belize, and what a huge relief it was to see the "P" (which stands for pass) next to my score!
2. Fourth year is under full swing with my first rotation at the school. We have 3 rotations (summer, fall, and spring). One of them has to be at The Eye Center at Southern College of Optometry, and the others are a private practice site, and an institutional site. Since I'm at the school first, I'm counting down my final days of living in Memphis. After I'm done here, I will [finally] move back to North Carolina for my private practice rotation in Charlotte, NC. My final rotation will be from the middle of January to the beginning of May in Baltimore, MD. I'm looking forward to seeing some old, but not forgotten friends while living there for a few months :)
3. I have so many things to look forward to this summer, so be on the look out for many blog posts! I will also [hopefully] be keeping up with my healthy lifestyle blog posts! I've been thinking about some cool things to talk about, so contrary to what you've been thinking regarding "checking" on my blog over the past few months, please continue to stop by for updates!
So without further adieu -
Belize 2013
What an awesome experience to be with 25 other people completely on fire for God and driven to serve through optometry! We had 24 students and 2 staff doctors. The gorgeous Jacque Short did an AMAZING job planning the entire trip through a mission organization known as Praying Pelican. I actually traveled with Asbury UMC to Belize through Praying Pelican in 2006! It was neat to look back through old pictures and see what things had changed :). Our group joined a church group from Pennsylvania who was there participating in a food ministry. They delivered meals to the village, but were also able to tell locals about our clinic during their visits.
Sunday: We had church all morning and it was fabulous to see the local people welcome us with open arms and allow us to participate in the service. People from our group (as well as the other group) got to give testimonies and read some verses from scripture. We also participated in leading a few worship songs. After lunch was served, we had clinic all afternoon until dinner. The clinic was set up right down the road from the church, which also served as the girls' room, the dinning room, and the meeting area.
Monday: In the morning we had clinic and in the afternoon (around 3:30) we got to participate in children's ministry. We did things like soccer, balloon animals, coloring book pages, bracelet making, and pipe cleaner eye glasses. Finally that night, we got to attend a concert at a local park in Caledonia (the town where we were serving). Who was singing? The Heavenlies - a Belizean band who our Praying Pelican leader sings for!! It was great to have the opportunity to see him in concert while playing with the kids! Brandon and Ryan (two guys from SCO on the trip) also took the liberty to teach some of the little boys how to be gentleman by getting one kid, Vincent, to ask me to dance :)
Tuesday: The morning and afternoon were the same as Monday, but at night, we had another church service! It was a sad yet powerful church service as it was our last night in Caledonia. Jacque was presented with the Belizean flag and a plaque with a Bible verse. We also all got little trinkets to remember our trip! The one I picked out was a wooden ring.
Wednesday: SNORKELING!!! It was amazing to get to snorkel in the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world and stay overnight on the cute little island known as Caye Caulker! We got to swim with stingrays and see the majestic under water beauty that God created. It's absolutely mesmerizing. I hope to return to Belize for a 3rd time in the near future :)
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| Taking a break from clinic for some yummy coconuts |
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| Our amazing server |
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| So many glasses to give away :) |
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| My absolute favorite picture! |
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| My dancing buddies from Monday night's concert |
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| Me and Vincent with his "couches" |
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| Hanging out by the river in Caledonia |
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| Talking with a local who had come by our clinic after lunch on Tuesday |
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| I loved these trees! |
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| She made me glasses in one of my favorite colors! |
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| Jacque being presented with the flag and plaque |
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| Our Island, Caye Caulker from our water taxi |
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| Does this place need a full time optometrist?! |
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| One of the few pictures of me actually working in clinic ;) I promise I helped a ton! haha | | |
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| The church slash girls' room slash dinning room |
Whew! Sorry that was long. I hope to be better about blogging from here on out! I also hope that y'all enjoyed my selected photos from Belize! Until next time, just remember to let it roll, and keep God first! :-D
