As many medical students can confirm, type A people—you know who you are—like to compartmentalize.  We like to organize: work, time, people.   But in the three weeks that I’ve spent here, I’ve found God skewing my lines and boxes for people. Merriam-Webster defines...

I, perhaps like most of the students, began our outreach into the community with excitement and trepidation, hopefulness and uneasiness. It was discouraging to arrive at homes to only find our team loitering in front of a stranger’s home. But when we did reach a home...

The more people I talk to and the more houses I walk into, there is less esperanza to be found. Esperanza is the Spanish word for hope, and is also the name of the medical center that we are associated with. Time after time, people tell me about their lives; their son...

My time in Philly for SMI has been an exciting and equally challenging time. It has been mixed with struggles and growth. I would like to share an experience I had during the last few weeks to explain what I mean. During one of our community outreaches when we walk...

It’s common experience in the world of missions for people to come in expecting to give so much to the community, only to leave having received so much more than they could have possibly given. SMI has been no different in that regard. Between the families of Northern...

In almost every home we go in during outreach, we recommend a healthy diet and adequate physical exercise.  We also emphasize the importance of both the physical and spiritual aspects of health.  In one of our Biblical Foundations training sessions, it was said that...

Over the past couple weeks of SMI, I have seen the Lord work in mighty ways to shape my life and the lives of those around me. Coming into the trip, I tried to avoid forming preconceived notions about what to expect in my interactions with the people in North...

"Come in, we've been expecting you." She probably just said those words because people in scrubs had been strolling around the streets for the past week. Yet, I couldn't help but think how those words meant something more to me. God has a plan for each of us and he is...

I am blessed for this to be my second year on the SMI team.  It has been especially good because I can see the team developing and amazing stories coming about, even from the first day of outreach. We had evangelism training, which was really helpful. It eliminated...

Hello!  My name is Allison and I just finished my first year of medical school at SUNY Downstate.  I came to SMI this summer because I wanted to use what I learned so far to do hands-on work to help people.  I also wanted to see how God’s power can work to heal...

We were coming to the close of the opening set of praise when the pastor of the local church I had been assigned to for the course of SMI called out to those who were in desperate need of Jesus. He asked those who felt called to come to the front of the altar, kneel...

As I finish my second year of medical school, I have come to appreciate the lessons and experiences that I gained from the Summer Medical Institute (SMI). I initially applied to SMI because I felt that my medical education did not address how I would be able to...

While walking around today, I felt God calling our team to go into a local restaurant. Once there, we were able to set up at a table and do several health screenings. But more importantly, we were able to talk to the customers and restaurant owners about spiritual...