A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team member shares her experience working at our Emergency Field Hospital in Mississippi.
On the day that I received the call for my first Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployment, I hung up the phone overwhelmed by the goodness of God. I had prayed about missions and medical coming together in my life for many years and the time had finally come.
As I met my teammates serving at the Samaritan’s Purse COVID-19 Emergency Field Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, the presence of the Lord was evident in and through every individual. In the weeks to come, it would be the power of God working through my colleagues to sustain the work of the hospital.
Many experiences from this deployment remain etched in my mind. I remember a night shift nurse informing me that a patient who had earlier asked for prayer had made the decision to receive Jesus Christ into his life. I also think about the time that I walked by one of the patients who had been with us for a few weeks, and when I noticed that he was not requiring as much oxygen, he grabbed my hand and we prayed together. The patient thanked the Lord for His hand in healing and for the staff that had shown him such great love. Another moment that I remember is cheering as one of our patients was discharged from the hospital; one step closer to going home to his wife and children that we had talked with on the phone so many times.
My eyes were opened to the effectiveness of serving together as the body of Jesus Christ. I saw what it looked like for the many members to come together under the head of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). I witnessed what it looked like to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), to set our focus on the things above rather than the things of this world (Colossians 3:2), to mourn together and to rejoice together (Romans 12:15), to join together in prayer (Matthew 18:20), to do all things in love (Colossians 3:14), and for iron to sharpen iron (Proverbs 17:17).
Perhaps my favorite experience of all was watching our team “pass the baton.” Christ’s work never ceased. His earthly vessels took turns, and as one team rested and rejuvenated, the other stepped onto the battlefield.
When our deployment came to an end, I wished for just a few more days on the ground; a few more days to continue experiencing this community of fellow believers and a few more days to witness the joy of Christians serving together. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Jackson as a DART member, but even more so, as a member of the body of Christ. I greatly look forward to continuing to serve through Samaritan’s Purse.
This post was written by Madison Strausbaugh, a registered nurse and Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) member who recently served with us at our COVID-19 Emergency Field Hospital in Mississippi. Applications are now open to apply to join the DART. Apply now!