04/02/2026
On July 28, 2025, second day of medical mission, our team served at a small rural clinic in Eldoret, Kenya. That day reminded us both of the limitations of short-term missions and of the deep meaning even a small act of care can hold for those who have almost nothing.
When we arrived early in the morning, a stroke patient who could not move his body had already been carried in on someone’s back and was lying on a clinic bed, waiting. He became the first patient of the day. From that moment until 5 PM, we worked steadily, trying to see as many people as possible. By the end of the day, we had cared for about 80 patients.
Dr. Shin focused especially on pain and neurology patients. It seemed as if nearly everyone who came was living with pain of some kind. Many patients arrived leaning on walking sticks that were not medical canes, but simple branches carved from wood. Seeing that, we kept asking ourselves: How can we help them more?
There was also the constant pressure of time. So many patients were waiting in line, and each encounter felt too short. We wished we could do more. Yet knowing that our time was limited, we tried not only to treat, but also to teach simple acupressure methods they could continue practicing even after we left, hoping to offer relief that might last beyond our brief visit.
This mission left us with both gratitude and ache: gratitude that even a short visit could bring comfort, and ache because the need was so much greater than what we could give in a single day.
