Turning down other study abroad destinations that boasted warm temperatures and white sandy beaches, these two ONU nursing students opted to follow their hearts to Romania. Their faces gleam as they explain their decision to trek to a poverty-stricken region out of a desire to obey God and help others.
Lennon explains, "A service-oriented outreach to the poor just fit what we want to do with our lives."
Traveling to Romania through the Veritas Romanian Studies Program offered Clauson and Lennon a chance to polish their medical skills and gain priceless experience in their field. ONU offers the program for students majoring in a number of different areas and matches them up with experiences that pertain to their targeted interests. A wide range of programs are emphasized from education to social work.
As nursing majors, Clauson and Lennon's tasks all related to the medical field while they were in Romania. They aided in starting a medical clinic in the village of Tigmandru, and helped meet some of the health needs of the Romanian people. Clauson and Lennon were also put in charge of teaching health classes to children and carrying out a needs assessment for the startup of a second clinic in a neighboring village.
The grave state of the medical situation in Romania strongly impacted the girls. "We worked with a Nazarene church to fulfill the dream of opening a health clinic in one of the rooms of a newly built church in the village of Tigmandru. This offered the people of the village easy and more affordable access to health care, which they lacked, and at the same time it gave us the opportunity to familiarize the church as wanting to care for their physical needs as well as their spiritual. We were able to use donated medical supplies and medications to help treat these people, when most of them did not have anywhere else to go for treatment," explained Clauson.
One specific occasion to put their nursing skills to work came when a little boy approached them with a severe burn. The team did not have the doctor present that day, and they had to rely on their previous two years of nursing education. Clauson and Lennon took care of the boy and were later told by the doctor they had carried out the treatment properly.
The experience of being able to use their nursing skills ignited a renewed desire in these ONU students to keep learning. "I am much more motivated to learn as much as I can. I want to be a nurse, and I want to be a good one. Now I am more confident in my skills," says Lennon.
Clauson agrees that she has also grown: "I became more aware of the different factors that play a role in community health nursing, and the importance of being culturally sensitive to others."
Notably, the two ONU students explain that their most extensive growth occurred on a spiritual level. Clauson explains that it was stretching "being in an unfamiliar culture, but God was still the familiar God I knew."
Lennon adds, "[The experience] brought God out of a box for me. He breaks language barriers. That's what heaven will do."
The compassionate, hard-working duo made an impression on their on-field supervisor. In a letter to ONU's nursing department chair, she wrote, "These young women were outstanding representatives of ONU [and] the nursing profession. They made a tremendous impact on the Veritas team and on the many individuals whose lives they touched."
Now back in the U.S., Clauson and Lennon admit there has been some culture shock in returning home. Being back amidst the lavish plenty in their home country has taken some getting use to. "Certain sights bring back the memory of the people we cared for in Romania," the girls agree.
The trip overseas served to plant a desire for further international nursing service in both Clauson and Lennon. "The dream of nursing others in [different] cultures feels tangible. Like it could really happen," the girls chime, finishing each other's sentence.
With hearts eager to go where God calls them, these two juniors are thankful they had this opportunity and are continuing to strive hard towards their goals of becoming nurses.
--ONU
Reprinted from NCN News
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