We are officially in week three of the Diagnostic Laboratory Course (DLC) here at the Family Care Centre. Our pioneering class is made up of three Ni-Vanuatu students and two American students. The goal of the course is to train the students to be equipped with skills necessary to pioneer their own bush laboratories in their communities, or in other areas where medical facilities are not easily accessible. The students will also be able to diagnose different types of parasites and diseases through testing blood and stool samples.
The past week the students had a lab practical, where they searched for the parasites they had been learning about in class. Their faux patients were the staff here in Teouma Valley, and thankfully all of the samples were clear, but they had the chance to use the techniques they learned to look for parasite and important information about our bodies. Through the samples, the students could tell what our diets looked like!
We believe that science and faith should not be separated, and that the discoveries made in the lab also bring us to deeper understanding about the God we serve. The DLC empowers students to look for God in everything, even under the microscope; this challenges them to find God in the smallest creations. As they continue to learn, we pray that they will catch the vision and heart for science and God together, to carry it back to their homes, or out into the missions field to spark transformation and serve their people practically.