A journey to find one's self

MOSES LAKE - It took a trip covering thousands of miles to N'Zao, Africa, a community of around 2,000 individuals, for Bethany Verhage to realize she had found her calling in life.

Verhage never dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. She never seriously thought she was destined for a life in medicine.

"As I head off to college, I just want to do something that will be fulfilling in my life," pauses Verhage as she holds onto a photo album filled with memories. "Something that will help people."

Filling the pages of the album are pictures of Africa's countryside, smiling faces of children and a few gruesome wounds of N'Zao community members.

Verhage took these pictures while accompanying her father Larry on one of his numerous medical missions trips to Africa.

"I wanted to experience it for myself instead of through pictures," smiled Verhage.

Together they were part of a team that was in N'zao for the transformation of the medical facility, Hope Clinic, into a complete medical center.

The clinic was inspired through short-term medical teams aiding citizens in the area. The realization of a more permanent facility was established with the creation of Hope Clinic.

"The clinic is nothing like what we have in the states," smiles Verhage.

Slowly the clinic has expanded to become a full medical center offering limited but affordable medical assistance.

"I realized just how lucky and blessed I am to be here in America and receive simple treatments," said Verhage.

She recalled one particular moment when she witnessed a small child infected with two of the most common illnesses; worms and malaria.

"He couldn't make any facial expressions because he was so sick and it took too much energy," Verhage explained.

"We gave him a toy, and you could tell by his eyes that he wanted to smile and say, 'thank you,' but it took too much energy."

When Verhage consistently showed interest in the diagnoses of patients, her father commented that she would enjoy a career as a doctor.

"He said, 'you could do this really well,' and for him to say that meant a lot to me," she said with a small smile.

Verhage's experiences weren't limited to patient time in the clinic. At one point during their trip she became frustrated with being assigned multiple days of maintenance around the clinic.

"When you go on a mission trip it's not about you. I kind of realized that," Verhage laughed. "If I had a good attitude, it wasn't that bad."

After making the realization, the following day she spent five hours washing walls with two young girls who unexpectedly joined her.

Verhage said the language barrier wasn't an issue.

"We just laughed a lot," she said with a chuckle.

She plans a return trip to N'zao.

"I'm sure I will go back sometime … This experience opened my eyes up to the world, how lucky I am and how blessed I am," smiles Verhage shyly, "Because of it I have a responsibility to share this with other people."