Tricia Hall's Story...
Berto is a boy that I met on my first trip to a developing country. I wrote about him in my medical school application essay, I made this picture into an 8 x 10 and kept it on my desk throughout my training, and I have it in our study even now. For me, he represents why I feel called to do mission work helping the disadvantaged here in our country and around the world. His distended belly was indicative of malnutrition, and he walked around in his little sandals, picking things up off the ground to eat. Berto must be about 17 now if he is still living. Berto was born in The Dominican Republic, where the number of children who die before they turn five is 2.9%, compared to 0.8% here in the US. In some African countries, almost 20% of children die before the age of five. And so I pray for Berto, I pray for this hurting world, and I pray that we can be effective vessels of God's love, bringing justice and mercy to all of His children.
