Galveston’s Trinity Episcopal Church is full of exceptionally gifted people who consider their faith to be central to their daily life and work. Oliver Black (pictured here) is one of those people.
Galveston is home to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). UTMB is a leader in the research and treatment of infectious diseases. With the construction of the new Galveston National Laboratory, scientists have a wonderful tool for studying diseases. However the scientists have not been able to actually see and treat the patients who have these diseases without expensive trips to rural locations in exotic locales where the diseases sometimes run rampant. Bringing patients with Ebola or some other exotic disease to Galveston is pretty much out of the question.
Now, however, UTMB is sending out telemedicine technology developed at UTMB, with a small team to these remote locations. The technology is being set up to connect back to UTMB to allow scientists and doctors here to see and talk with patients and physicians in these remote locations. Specialized medical equipment allows the physicians to listen to the heart, look in ears, nose, throat, etc of the patients in these remote locations.
Oliver Black plays a significant role in the design of the equipment being installed and is among those traveling to these locations to ensure a successful installation. He left on Sunday, December 2, for Sierra Leone on the second of a series of deployments. He visited Croatia last month. Future locations include China, Peru, and other countries. With lots of vaccinations and your prayers, Oliver should make it there and back with no problems.
Jesus promised that his followers would bring healing. Oliver Black is engaged in doing that by using his God-given skills to provide the technology that is necessary for the medical team to reach patients thousands of miles from Galveston. The apostles would be amazed at how one of Jesus’ disciples in the twenty-first century is fulfilling the promise of Jesus!
How's that for a glimpse of God at work in our world?
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