I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve received to enable me to go on medical elective to Papua New Guinea. I spent seven weeks at Kompiam Hospital in Enga Province, a rural mission hospital in the remote highlands. It was an experience that has grown me both as a medical student and as a Christian, and I’m very grateful for your generosity in making it possible.

Kompiam is one of very few hospitals in the province, and the doctors, nurses, and students working there carry a lot of responsibility. With only two or three doctors covering the wards, clinics, and emergency department, they were often stretched thinly and working long hours. Despite this, I was often struck by their compassion and kindness, both towards patients and towards the students they were teaching. Whether dealing with injuries from tribal fighting (where both victims and perpetrators might be lying in beds on the same ward,) or with complex medical problems, the staff consistently treated each patient with dignity. This was a powerful image of the way medicine can serve as a wonderful picture of God’s love for mercy.

At times the limits of a resource-poor setting were painfully clear. Some conditions that would be manageable in the UK proved devastating without the right medicines or equipment. One patient I won’t forget was a young boy who presented to a nearby hospital I was supporting for a week. He was being treated for miliary TB, yet sadly, despite the best efforts of the doctor, tragically died. Sadly, this tragedy seemed so avoidable with proper healthcare funding; he was unvaccinated, there were no specialist TB services, and there was no working defibrillator as the hospital didn’t have electricity in the afternoons. Moments like these were tragic, distressing and sobering, yet they also deepened my longing for the day when Christ will restore all things and bring full healing.

Alongside hospital work, I had the privilege of joining outreach patrols to remote villages. These were a real highlight: flying in by bush plane, setting up a clinic under a tree or in a simple hut, and enjoying the beauty of this wonderful landscape in our free time. It was a joy to play a small part in providing care in communities that otherwise have minimal access to medical help. I also particularly enjoyed the times I was sent on patrol or to support a smaller hospital nearby as I could form bonds with a smaller number of the medical students from the University of Papua New Guinea. I was deeply grateful for the chance to read the Bible with one or two of them, share stories from each of our lives and build friendships.

Spiritually, the elective was a time of both challenge and encouragement. It was a real joy to have deep conversations with a few people, but I also saw the desperate need for good theological teaching; it was challenging to sometimes hear biblical interpretations that focussed on works rather than the grace and mercy of the loving Lord Jesus. That left me with a burden to see Christians fed well from the Word, and has grown my desire to be theologically trained at some point in the future.

Through it all I experienced God’s kindness and care. Psalm 139 became a real anchor to me – that even “on the far side of the sea” his hand holds me fast, he hems me in, behind and before me. Thank you again for your support. Your support enabled me to learn and grow and gave me the privilege of learning from some remarkable people who are serving Christ in PNG.