When Dr. Silvia Martinez began her ministry in Los Angeles, Dominican Republic, she was young but felt strongly called to serve the poor. With the help of the Luke Society in 1992, Silvia founded Sociedad Lucas – The Christian Center for Integrated Health. The people in the community were not only glad to have a place to go for affordable medical and dental care, but also found that there was someone there who would listen to them and pray for them.
Silvia’s standard of care for her first patients set a precedence for her ministry to this day. Many of the women who came to the clinic had no obvious health problem. But as Silvia began asking questions, she discovered that they would confidentially share about their life problems, giving her an opportunity to share about the love and grace of Jesus.
This standard of care is given to all her patients, regardless of their background. "Our patients testify they feel peace in their heart when they come to us," she says. "This has made them ask about what we have that they don’t have. Then we have the opportunity to share the gospel with them, and many people have become Christians after that."
At the beginning of Dr. Martinez’s ministry, she recognized a need for a maternity ward. Her dream was realized in 1998 when a maternity ward was built onto her clinic. She delivered 10 babies that year before Hurricane George destroyed the building. "Most of these babies and families are still going to our clinic when they are sick," she says. "Some of the babies even call me mom!"
The clinic is currently in the process of being turned into a hospital, and the maternity ward will finally be rebuilt. Currently, they offer general practice, gynecology, pediatrics, dental care, optometry, laboratory work, a pharmacy and psychology.
"Our vision is the same, but we have expanded our ministry to other areas. We now are building a bigger clinic where more people will be seen by doctors," she explains. "We will also have surgeries for those who need it but cannot afford it."
Dr. Martinez’s work also focuses on the outlying communities of Los Angeles. "At the community health area, we are now working in more places, trying to expand the knowledge to change their environments. We are empowering the community so they can help themselves," she says. "Our medical brigades have increased in number so we can go to more communities to help with medicine, evangelism and health education."
When Dr. Martinez first visited the villages, she was surprised at the number of people who were sick from preventable diseases. "They could prevent those illnesses, but because of lack of knowledge and lack of opportunity, they couldn’t," she remembers. The diseases she saw included malnutrition, typhoid fever, HIV/AIDS, gastrointestinal diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, and upper respiratory disease. "The introduction of community health has got the community to work together to know the causes of many diseases, to know how to prevent them, and to know how to work in unity to preserve their health."
The medical brigades have been an open door to minister to the whole person. "We do evangelism, sharing the gospel with the people there, preaching, distributing evangelical literature, and we also bring some Christian videos for the children," she says. "Our goal is to touch the people in Jesus’ name. We go to areas where maybe nobody goes. We want to reach the unreached people."
The staff of Sociedad Lucas are visiting ten villages every two or three months, depending on the needs.
They have also trained nearly 150 community health workers, who share their knowledge of health and prevention with the community. "They have the knowledge of what is affecting them, and they plan and know how to fight the problems, then the community will change for the better," Dr. Martinez explains. "Their communities respect them a lot."
Many of these ten villages have seen vast improvements in their quality of life. A water purification system has been set up to reduce disease caused by contaminated water. Also, many people living with disease like high blood pressure have been diagnosed and receive medication. Six of the villages now have nutrition centers for malnourished children up to five years old. "Now about six hundred children are being fed, and many children are being recovered from that terrible disease, malnutrition," Dr. Martinez says.
The people in the communities recognize what Dr. Martinez’s work has done to improve their well-being. "They are very thankful because they have seen the difference," she says. "They enjoy working together with us as partners for the benefit of their communities."
Not only do the community people enjoy the work, but the clinic staff and volunteers do as well. "We enjoy visiting the villages and working there because we know that we are doing God’s will," Dr. Martinez explains. "We go there in Jesus’ name to help people. But it is like a double way. Our lives are also touched when we see what great things God does when you obey His calling, how many lives are changed for the better and for the glory of God. You never will be the same after going to help one of those villages."
Now that Dr. Martinez has been running this ministry since 1991, she can look back and see how her life has changed. "I have learned to recognize our Lord in every situation. I have come to be closer to Him," she says. "In the ministry, sometimes we make mistakes, but when God is there with us, even from the mistakes, He can show His grace and give us a new beginning. He never fails. He never gets tired of us."
