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June 27, 2002
(For more background information on this story, see
$110,000 Worth of Supplies Headed for Pohnpei.)
Lauren Petford
arrived in Pohnpei on June 15, anxious to learn the fate
of the container load of medical supplies that Canvasback
had shipped to the island six weeks earlier. As
medical coordinator for Canvasback, Petford had
spearheaded the container project and dedicated much time
and care in the previous months to making it a success.
When packing the
container, however, she had no idea that she would be
traveling to Pohnpei with a dental team in June and would
therefore be able to meet the shipment on the other end.
On arrival, Petford learned that the container was still
sitting at the dock unopened. Later, she sent the
following report:
"It's 5
p.m. and we have taken nine
truckloads from the container to the hospital. There are
only the tables and x-ray left! The newspaper, radio
station, governor's son, hospital director, health director
and public information officers were there to witness the
opening of the doors. Mr. Benjamin
[principal of the Adventist school]
gave us a truck to use. The
materials manager and dental staff helped me
unload. Praise the Lord! I am walking on air."
At the same time,
while working with the dental team,
Petford learned that the dental clinic
was
running out of amalgam filling material and couldn't
afford to order any more until October. "I knew that
in the container was a box loaded with enough amalgam for
over 4,000 fillings," she said. "God knew their needs long
before we got there." The value of that box was about
$5,000, nearly a year's supply for the dental clinic.
Amazing, considering that she had had packed these
supplies long before the need arose.
"I worried for months that the items I
sent may not be well received," she
said. "I can't wait to
share with you how many items arrived just as the hospital
ran out. The Lord helped us pack that container!"
From left: On
hand when the container doors were opened were
hospital materials manager Dwight
Ma'am Nakanaga,
Director of
Health Services Simao Nanpei, Chief Administrator Wincen
David
and Canvasback medical coordinator Lauren Petford, RN.
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