It’s hard for me to grasp the concept that my time in Puerto Barrios is done, at least for a little while. I won’t be holding orphans, teaching them how to walk, and playing with Dalia every Monday. I won’t be at the Children’s Hospital every Tuesday coloring with sick kids and talking with concerned parents. I won’t be talking to prostitutes or walking through garbage dumps every week anymore.
Some things I’m happy are coming to an end- cold showers, constantly sweating, power outages, water shortages, rice and beans, pila washing, and language barriers. But then there are those things, like Pastor Roni, the kids at the hospital and orphanage, my neighbors, and my team, who make all those discomforts seem insignificant.
One of the many things I will take away from this experience is motivation, motivation to continue my education and become a medical missionary. It upsets me when I look at the statistics at the hospital and see that kids are dying from easily preventable diseases. It infuriates me when I see some of the conditions patients are put into and how untrained some of the doctors are here. From misdiagnosing a Staph infection as bug bites to giving the incorrect dosage of medicine, the past few months has shown me how much of a need there is for competent and trained doctors.
Before coming on this trip, the thought of medical missions sounded appealing but the thought of living in a foreign country for longer than a month didn’t. I wanted to have the American Dream: a husband, some kids, a house, and a stable job. I figured I could go on a medical mission trip once or twice a year for a couple weeks and that would be enough. That may be what God has planned for my life, but because of this trip if that is not what His will is, I will be ok. In fact, I will be more than ok. I will be happy because I know that He has something bigger and better planned for my life. I realized that there is nothing I would rather do than what God wants me to do. That means that if He wants me to pack up my bags and move to Central America and work there, I will. If He wants me to stay in the States and work in an undeserved community, I will do that. And if He doesn’t want me to become a doctor, I will be obedient to His call. And that is something that I couldn’t say with confidence three months ago.
God has used the people of Puerto Barrios to teach me humility, patience, and contentment. He has changed my outlook on life. In the last three months, He challenged me when I needed to be challenged and strengthened me when I needed to be strengthened. He gave me comfort when I needed comfort and taught me patience when I needed to learn. He showed me how good He is and how He always wants what’s best for me. He showed me that His plans are far greater than anything that I could come up with.
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.’”
-Jeremiah 29:11-13
God has blessed me with great supporters. Thank you so much for your reading my blogs, sending me encouraging emails, and praying for me. I love you so much!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Happy Birthday Mom!
This Sunday is my mom’s birthday, and I want to share a story for her. A few weeks into the trip, our team went to an elderly lady’s house and talked and prayed with her. I told my mom about her and every couple of weeks, my mom for some reason asked about her. I didn’t really know what to tell her because since that day, I hadn’t seen or talked to the lady. A few weeks ago during ATL (ask the Lord what He wants you to do), Joel, Taylor, Emily and I went to the elderly lady’s house to visit her. She was very happy to see us and welcomed us into her house. She told us that her son recently fell and as a result, had a neck injury. We prayed for him and then later prayed for her. We talked, read a passage in the Bible, and sang some Christmas carols.
The lady’s living conditions are not very good and she doesn’t have much money. Her house needs some fixing up, but I don’t have the skills to do that. I wanted to bless her, but I didn’t know how I could. After praying about it, I remembered my mom and how much she was asking about this lady. I knew my mom’s birthday was coming up and I knew that I didn’t have a present for her. But I also knew that my selfless mom would rather give than receive, so that is what I decided to do. With the money that I would have spent on a present, I went to the market and the mall and bought a basket full of food and goodies for the lady.
Emily and I went to the lady’s house last week and gave her the basket which we told her was a present for her from God. Tears filled her eyes when we told her it was for her. She kept saying “thank you so much” and “God is so good.” She later went on to tell us that she was having a lot of health problems. Her whole body was aching and the medication that she needed the pharmacy didn’t have yet. She asked us if we could pray for her. We sat down, laid hands on her, and prayed for her. When we finished, streams of tears came rolling down her face. We gave her hugs and then continued talking.
A couple minutes later, she went outside and came back with a basket. Then she started putting the things we had given her into her basket. When we told her that the basket was for her too, she got the biggest smile on her face. Then she pointed to the Christmas platter in the basket and said, “for me too?” We responded with “yes, it’s all for you!” She was so happy and it was so good to see her smile!
Then she cooked lunch for us. We had soup, tortillas, and rice, and it was delicious! We talked a little longer and then left, telling her that we would come back and visit her.
These are the people I am going to miss. This is why it is going to be hard to leave. An elderly lady who feeds us before herself, little girls who meet me at the park every week and greet us with huge hugs, kids at the orphanage who love you like family, Pastor Roni who treats us like his children, patients at the hospital whose parents don’t visit them, and the tienda owners who threw us a party this past week because they wanted to bless us... These are the people that have made Guatemala home to me the last three months.
Pastor Roni
My favorite girls in Guatemala
At the party our neighbors who own the tienda (store) threw us
Jose Manuel... He's getting so big!
Abel at the Hospital
The lady’s living conditions are not very good and she doesn’t have much money. Her house needs some fixing up, but I don’t have the skills to do that. I wanted to bless her, but I didn’t know how I could. After praying about it, I remembered my mom and how much she was asking about this lady. I knew my mom’s birthday was coming up and I knew that I didn’t have a present for her. But I also knew that my selfless mom would rather give than receive, so that is what I decided to do. With the money that I would have spent on a present, I went to the market and the mall and bought a basket full of food and goodies for the lady.
Emily and I went to the lady’s house last week and gave her the basket which we told her was a present for her from God. Tears filled her eyes when we told her it was for her. She kept saying “thank you so much” and “God is so good.” She later went on to tell us that she was having a lot of health problems. Her whole body was aching and the medication that she needed the pharmacy didn’t have yet. She asked us if we could pray for her. We sat down, laid hands on her, and prayed for her. When we finished, streams of tears came rolling down her face. We gave her hugs and then continued talking.
A couple minutes later, she went outside and came back with a basket. Then she started putting the things we had given her into her basket. When we told her that the basket was for her too, she got the biggest smile on her face. Then she pointed to the Christmas platter in the basket and said, “for me too?” We responded with “yes, it’s all for you!” She was so happy and it was so good to see her smile!
Then she cooked lunch for us. We had soup, tortillas, and rice, and it was delicious! We talked a little longer and then left, telling her that we would come back and visit her.
These are the people I am going to miss. This is why it is going to be hard to leave. An elderly lady who feeds us before herself, little girls who meet me at the park every week and greet us with huge hugs, kids at the orphanage who love you like family, Pastor Roni who treats us like his children, patients at the hospital whose parents don’t visit them, and the tienda owners who threw us a party this past week because they wanted to bless us... These are the people that have made Guatemala home to me the last three months.
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