When Britney McEwen felt called to serve through medical missions this summer, she thought she’d be going overseas.
But God called the 25-year-old Alabamian to move to New York City.
“When I do my New Year’s resolutions, I usually pick a word instead of things I want to accomplish. I want to make my year encompass one word,” McEwen said. “This year, my word was ‘service.’
“I realized that something in my life was missing,” McEwen continued, adding that service was “a hole” she needed to fill.
Her desire to serve sparked a conversation with her pastor, Travis Collins of First Baptist Church Huntsville. In January, he connected her with Kareem Goubran, pastor of their new partner church, Graffiti Church in New York City.
She proposed an idea. “What if I came to New York for the summer, and I was just extra hands and feet where your team needed? I could take a nursing travel contract, and nobody would have to pay for me; I could pay for myself.”
Getting started
After praying about the opportunity for months, McEwen recruited a friend to serve alongside her and secured New York City housing at a Catholic convent.
But upon arriving, the 2020 graduate wrestled with her new role.
“What does a domestic medical missions intern do for a country … where a lot of people have health care, resources and clinics more so than you would find in a third-world country?” McEwen questioned.
After finding the church’s medical drawer completely empty, she began researching different organizations that would donate medical supplies domestically for the church.
A company called MedWish International answered McEwen’s request with a donation of 30-something hygiene kits, a blood pressure cuff and a couple of wound care kits.
Since she still had a few weeks before starting her nursing job in the city, she began helping Graffiti during the work week— and using her new supplies.
On Sundays and Mondays, she joined the church’s English as a second language class and connected with asylum-seekers at a nearby establishment.
“Being from Alabama, I knew immigrants were coming to the United States all the time, but I think we are kind of removed from that,” McEwen said. While volunteering, she enjoyed hearing people’s stories and using her limited Spanish skills to make simple connections, including one with a 19-year-old woman who wants to be a nurse.
McEwen spent her Wednesdays helping with a clothing distribution and community dinner, where she started holding blood pressure screenings using the donated blood pressure cuff.
“That was my first toe dip into what it meant to be a medical missions intern,” McEwen explained. “I built this community of people who always joke, ‘When you get older, you’re excited for someone to check your blood pressure.’”
Making an impact
During the screenings, McEwen found she loved making one-on-one connections and combining her love for nursing with service.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, she made sandwiches with other church members and passed out free lunches in the park.
“There’ve been people coming there for 20-plus years every Saturday ready for lunch,” McEwen recalled. “We got to meet a lady named Miss Irene. She told us stories about 9/11. … That really touched me in a way I didn’t expect.”
While McEwen has enjoyed her temporary experience serving in New York City, she wants to make a lasting impact at Graffiti.
“The point of missions is not for you to help them and leave. The point of missions is to help them so they can sustain or be better after you leave them,” McEwen said.
After receiving the idea from Collins’ wife, who is also a nurse, she decided to build an accessible first-aid kit that anyone — even those not medically trained— can use.
“What I’m working on is how can I teach them to use this first-aid kit, not so that when they open it, they’re scared, but that they can see the splints that we made or the gauze and be like, ‘I know how to use this,’” McEwen said.
‘Immensity of God’s love’
In September, she plans to speak in a church service on how to use this first-aid kit and how to react in emergency situations, like fire safety. After finishing her nursing contract in November, McEwen will return home to Huntsville.
“One of the biggest reasons that sent me to New York [is that] I feel like I’ve seen the immensity of God’s love here,” McEwen said while standing on the city streets. “The time that I’ve spent here — it’s so diverse; there are so many cultures to get to know.
“You don’t see the world in Alabama, but you see the world in New York City. You see how much God loves these people and that does not change by what we do or who we are. … I think I just needed to be reminded that God does love me and He loves everyone on this planet. [This experience] is something that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”
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