Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68173
GLOBAL MASSAGE OUTREACH MISSIONS TO MOLDOVA Every one of the eight medical mission trips that Seattle massage therapist Barbara Ingram has taken to the Eastern European nation of Moldova has been an adventure in hardship. Running water gets shut off, sometimes for days at a time. Elevators freeze, leaving people stuck inside. A walk down a rutted sidewalk is a twisted ankle just waiting to happen. "It's a developing world, and they lack a lot of comforts," Ingram says. "But for some reason I enjoy putting myself in that situation. I guess I'm just a glutton for joy." Annually, Ingram leads a team of massage therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists on trips sponsored by Medical Teams International, based in Portland, Oregon, to this former Soviet republic, now the poorest country in Eastern Europe. They provide rehabilitation therapy primarily to children. "We've done massage on young adults and juveniles, many with burns, but everything else as well," Ingram says. "They've given us children with kidney stones and broken arms." For years, she and her husband, Tom, also a massage therapist, jointly led the trips. Tom made his last trip in July 2007 and died 10 days after their return. He was suffering from cancer and wished to spend his last days helping Moldovan children. Mary Bryan, a massage therapist in Tacoma, Washington, and longtime massage instructor, joined one of the Moldovan mission trips, and recalled with fondness Pasha, a 13-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, who deeply touched her heart. "I was having trouble getting him to cooperate, but I saw he was really watching the birds outside," she says. "I asked him to imagine he was a bird and that he could fly. I had him visualize running to take off. I told him to push off with his legs and extend his arms. He and I went flying together!" she says. "I got him to do a lot of active movement for himself. I could assess not only his physical capacity, but was able to connect with him emotionally. I think Pasha was one of my biggest wins in my 25-year career." Cost to join the two-week trips typically ranges from $2,200 –$2,400, and therapists pay their own way. For information, contact Medical Teams International at www.medicalteams. org or 800-959-4325. The faith- based organization sponsors medical missions to 24 countries, as well as missions within the United States. "I enjoy putting myself in that situation. I guess I'm just a glutton for joy." Barbara Ingram, volunteer MT in Moldova 56 massage & bodywork march/april 2010