Dustin Chamberlain's dream of serving others through medical missions is living on through the nonprofit founded to honor his life.
Dustin's seventh Heavenly Birthday will be celebrated at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, and will include a chili supper and baked goods auction. The event has a new, larger location this year at Camp Siloam, according to his mother Deondra Chamberlain. Valet parking will be provided by Camp Siloam staff.
In 2011, Dustin was home on Christmas break from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, when he was tragically killed during a home invasion. His friends and family founded Dustin's Dream to honor his vision of becoming a missionary doctor.
Since then, the organization has raised money to build and then expand the Heart of Love Clinic in Guatemala City to a total of 7,000-square-feet. Dustin's Dream continues to support half of the clinic's operating costs in partnership with Life of Hope Ministry based in Joplin, Mo., Deondra said.
The clinic serves an average of more than 800 people a month and provides general medical care, physical therapy, pediatric therapy and dental services. It is located in a settlement that has grown around the largest garbage dump in the world. Approximately 10,0000 people who live in the settlement make a living from scavenging what they find in the trash brought in from other parts of the city. As a result, many patients suffer from respiratory problems, infected wounds and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, that are out of control.
Dustin's Dream also supports medical scholarships at the Siloam Springs High School and helps provide for local needs through organizations such as Bright Future Siloam Springs, Deondra said.
This year, Dustin's Dream and Life of Hope Ministry are planning to increase their support for the Heart of Love Clinic, Deondra said. Dustin's Dream is also hoping to partner with Life of Hope Ministry to support another ministry in Guatemala City called "Time of Rescue," which works with kids on the street.
"Obviously all this we're doing in faith because as of this date we just have a handful of monthly supporters but to encourage people to become monthly supporters we are going to have a fleece embroidered to anyone who signs up for $30 a month or more," Deondra said.
During Dustin's Heavenly Birthday Celebration, the organization will be giving updates about the clinic and the fourth annual mission trip that occurred in June, Deondra said. A mission team of 10 people from Siloam Springs, including a local doctor, dentist and several nurses spent a week helping out at the clinic.
Another exciting update has been the addition to the clinic this year of a water purification system provided by Healing Waters, Deondra said. Previously, the clinic did not have safe drinking water but now the clinic has safe drinking water and community members can purchase jugs of clean water at a reduced cost, she said.
Several anonymous donors made the water purification system possible and Dustin's Dream was able to donate $5,000 towards the system, Deondra said.
In February, Don Chamberlain -- Dustin's father -- plans to take a team from a church in Colcord, Okla, back to the Heart of Love Clinic to pour concrete floors in homes, do home visits and deliver groceries, Deondra said. In addition to the live and silent auction, those who attend the fundraiser will have the opportunity to donate $20 to purchase a bag of groceries to be delivered to someone in the settlement during the trip.
Deondra said that she feels a mixture of emotions when she looks at the success and growth of Dustin's Dream and the Heart of Love Clinic.
"It's really exciting, nothing's going to make Dustin's death be worth it, I wish it could have all happened without the loss of him, but just because it has happened, I can see how God's using it in a huge way," she said. "It was a horrible, horrible ordeal that we went through but then to see what has come through it, it's all going to be OK."
General News on 12/09/2018