A time for hard work, a time for friendship

Well, exam #2 is on the books now. After the exam, a few Christian friends and I gathered at a fellow classmate's house where his wife cooked us a delicious meal of homemade lasagna. We sat around the table an laughed and joke about nerdy-med school things, and just enjoyed letting down and fellowshipping after a hard weekend. We even got in a couple games of Apples to Apples--it's a great way to get to know people while having a hearty laugh. I really enjoy spending time with my classmates!

On Tuesday night I finally got together with a few second-years and did some "tromboning action". We pulled out the t-bones in the lecture hall around 9:30pm, and despite our rough sound, had a lot of fun. We're hoping to have it be a regular event, and perhaps if we get good enough, we can play for our classmates sometime.

Wednesday was another long day, especially considering what we did in the lab. Yes, this lab was the day for external genitalia dissection#2, and I approached it with trepidation because we were to reinact the Bobbit case. By the end of lab we couldn't bring ourselves to actually transect the penis, but some lab groups did. When we viewed the prosected cadaver, I could almost see the color drain from the guys' faces as the demonstrator showed them the transected tissue. The female's day of discomfort came on Thursday when the lecturer talked about the stress the female body goes through during childbirth, especially in light of how much stretching has to go on to accomodate a child's head.
Thankfully at lunchtime CMDA had prayer, and it felt really good to come together and pray for eachother and for our classmates and community. That evening some of us gathered at a local doctor-couple's house to hear a panel of healthcare workers speak on how they incoporate their work into their faith and use their life situations for ministry. It was really encouraging to hear how people genuinely "live it out" in a sometimes hostile world. An elderly lady who had served a whole career serving women in Pakistan through medicine was there too, and it was very cool to hear a few stories from her. I am quite thankful for CMDA and the kindness of local doctors and their mission to train up others. Before coming to med school, I had no idea that such great people-resources would be available.

Today is Saturday, and I have not done enough work, but I did spend time in friendship. I went for a long walk with a new gal-friend sharing our hearts, and talked for awhile with my family on the phone. Later I spent time with my extended Lebanese family at a birthday party for their twin 3-year-old boys. It felt really good to hang out with young kids who aren't afraid to touch you or hug you or climb all over you and who speak so matter-o-factly about life. They were sooo cute! And I enjoyed some good ol' fashioned Lebanese food--fatire, fatush, and BBQ tender baby ribs!!! I even tried fresh figs for the first time (I had only had dried figs before), which is particularily relevant since "Teeny" means fig.

Anyhow, it is now time to end my synopsis of the week--it's getting late and I don't want to be bushed for church tomorrow!