Well, here I sit in the Guatemalan Airport, filled with a variety of emotions. But first I should update you on the recent goings on since my last post. For my last clinic with La Misión (at least probably for a long time) we went to the Hot Place to do clinics and pass out water filters. Once again, I worked intake, this time with my good friend Nanne Abbey who came with the church team from Spokane. Nanne is a Spanish middle school teacher who was the one who originally got me connected with Tito. She had been praying that college students from Whitworth would start going down to intern for him, and if it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have ever met these incredible Guatemalan people.So Nanne, Lauri (another teacher) and I worked in intake. Once again, I was taken aback by the strength and resilience of the mothers who come in to be seen. One woman had an entire entourage of children clinging ALL over her (if you have heard my adventures in breastfeeding down here you would know what I mean). She told me that she was 25 and then proceeded to have all of her 7 children seen. The oldest was 13 years old, meaning that this woman started having children when she was 12 years old! Of course, the father of these children was nowhere in sight
and they probably had multiple different fathers.
While this is always discouraging to me, I was encouraged to hear from the filter teams about some of the progress made in this area. The filter teams would go out to individual homes and demonstrate how to work the filters, explaining that they were giving them as gifts because we love them and wanted to show them the love of Jesus Christ. It is quite a powerful ministry that I wish I would have been able to experience more. Nevertheless, the filter teams told me that as they visited the houses, they noticed that the men of the households were actually present with the mom and kids and seemed to be trying to take a leadership role. This is SUCH a change from the norm here where the men just impregnate women around the village and leave them to fend for themselves.
On the last day of my final clinic in Guatemala, I prayed for God to give me a new perspective. This being my 18th clinic in Guatemala and having worked in the same station almost every clinic, I had found myself losing some of the perspective-altering aspects I had experienced so powerfully my first time here in 2008. Therefore, I prayed for God to strike me with a new lesson as I served these people in intake.
As I was listening to my iPod waiting for God to speak, the song “There Will Be a Day” by Jeremy Camp came up. As I sat there in the truck driving through the Guatemalan jungle, seeing the mothers weary from caring for their family in abject poverty, the thought I had prayed for finally struck me. If they hear and accept the Gospel, there will be a day when God will rescue these Guatemalan natives from their destitute huts, their parasite-ridden water, and their fear of a life subjugated under domestic abuse. He will deliver them from this seemingly hopeless life of filth and usher them into a mansion of gold. More so, He will wipe from their eyes the tears they had cried alone in the middle of the jungle and cradle them in the all-encompassing presence of their Creator. And on this day, all of us who have placed our faith in the saving blood of Christ will hold our hands together with them as we worship the God who made us all. Satan’s attempts to segregate us at Tower of Babel will be a
distant memory as we all sing aloud in one tongue, in one voice.
Now for a brief break on the lighter side of life. This past week I did two things I never knew I would do in my life. The first was go to a Guatemalan amusement park. Tito took the whole family to this random amusement park smack dab in the middle of Guatemala City for Alejandro’s birthday. Let me tell you, you have not lived until you get on a Guatemalan roller coaster. Not because of the speed or drops, but simply the heightened thrill of the thought that Guatemala doesn’t have a fraction of the American safety regulations and oversight.
We went on a variety of rides but undoubtedly the most thrilling/horrifying was the ride called “Rasca Cielo” (Skyscraper) which was a tower that launched soiled-underweared riders straight up probably 200 feet, leaving them helpless up top for a tortuous amount of time before plummeting them back to the pavement. Sounds like a great way to spend my last day in Guatemala, right? Well as we are waiting in line, Tito of course is freaking my friend David out since David is afraid that a cable is going to snap and chop his feet off like this random girl on a similar ride in the States. Meanwhile, we see the ride operator people working diligently on this one seat, Seat #14, which clearly looks in bad shape and whose seat belt mechanism seems to be malfunctioning. Of course, we all planned on avoiding that seat like the plague since it clearly had issues. Well, it’s finally our turn to meet our maker, and lo and behold, what seat does this Gringo end up in? Seat #14 of course. While I previously wasn’t very
scared since God and I had already figured out where I was going after death, the fact that sitting in that Devil Seat #14 had dramatically increased my probability of meeting Him much sooner got my heart racing quite a bit faster. To make matters worse, the stupid harness thing was junk and there was a disturbing amount of space between myself and the restraint, which was supposedly there to prevent my body from flying back to the States. While I was somewhat perturbed, as my repeated shouting of “I don’t like this! I really don’t like this!” would attest, regardless of my consternation, we hurdled to the top of the tower, leaving my sanity behind. As the operators left us for dead at the top for probably two minutes, Tito both loved the fact that I was in #14 and continued to torture David saying, “The cable, the cable!” After what felt like an eternity, literally without warning, they shot us down in free-fall back to earth. Thanks to my jerry-rigged seat from Hades, my whole body lifted off the seat as my shoulders shoved against the flimsy, poorly regulated harness. After having 24 short years of life flash before my eyes, we were back on the ground, to a welcoming mob of Guatemalan teenagers giggling and pointing at the frightened Gringoes. The rest of the day consisted of me being forced to sit in the front seat of the Guatemalan log ride, eating half of a greasy pizza, and busting out the worm in a dance off with a giant parrot and a very scandalous rat.
As for the other thing I can now cross off my bucket list, for the sake of the length of this post, I will just tease you by saying that I never thought I would sing Karaoke to Enrique Iglesias‘ “Hero” to random women around a Guatemalan Applebee’s. And yes, there is video. Now back to the serious stuff...
As I said earlier, leaving Guatemala this time for me is mixed with many emotions. While I am so excited to see my family and friends in the States again and begin my new journey through medical school, it is also very sad because I will probably not be returning to Guatemala for a very long time. Because the medical school schedule is so rigorous, after the first summer, you do not have any more vacations until you are pretty much done with residency. While I have a summer next year, I still have to do a research project for 10 weeks, which I am hoping to do internationally, possibly in Uganda or Peru. This means that I will probably not be able to return to Guatemala for at least 7 years, possibly 10 if I choose to specialize.
The prospect of not seeing my Guatemalan family for such a long period has stung my heart in a very unique way. Of course, no one can replace my phenomenal parents, sisters, and friends in the States--you all are a support system for whom I could never thank God enough. But this trip has made me realize how strong God has forged my relationships to my brothers and sisters in Guatemala. It is a connection God has undoubtedly fashioned and it will never be broken. While this may be my last trip to Guatemala for a longer period of time, it will certainly not be my last.
Nevertheless, thinking about this being my last time eating black beans and plantains at the Palacios dinner table, the last time dancing to Michael Jackson songs with Pablo and Alejandro before they grow up to be teenagers, and the last time serving the Guatemalan people through clinics, I can’t help but feel sad. Even this past year before coming down here, I realized that God has carved out a part of my heart and left it in Guatemala.
Although I am momentarily resting in a period of lament, God also has brought to my eyes the brilliant light upon the horizon. I am so incredibly blessed that I am returning to the States to embark upon the greatest adventure of my life. If it were not for God, I would not have such a bright future to look forward to. I am utterly speechless living in this state of grace as God has opened the door to my dream of becoming a Christian physician. And not only am I becoming a doctor, but He has gotten me accepted to one of the best medical schools in the country, UW, while staying close to my family. As I sit in this plane and recount His provisions in my life (whether I have consistently sought Him or not), I have been ushered again to the top of the mountain where He took me after I first got accepted into medical school. From atop this mountain I can once again see all the times He has carried me in His loving Hand, whether there have been deep valleys or soaring peaks. All the while He has been beneath, above, beside and within me, just as He will be the rest of my life and into eternity.
So while I may be downcast at the prospect of my not returning to Guatemala for awhile, God has reminded me that this is not the end. One of my favorite songs that God has brought to my mind recently is called “God of this City” by Chris Tomlin. My favorite line says, “For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.” While this season in my life as an intern in Guatemala has come to a close, I KNOW that God has so many greater things yet to be done through my life. He has been there since my birth and will be there until my last breath. There are so many awesome things to come and I cannot wait to return to serve the people of Guatemala with the knowledge and compassion of a Christian physician who knows His place before an Omnipotent and gracious God.
While the flame from this mission trip is currently burning bright, I know that as time goes on and the exams pile up, my confidence in God’s working in my life may dim as I foolishly begin to rely on my abilities instead of Him. This is where I pray that you all who have been reading my blog will continue to hold me accountable. Please remind me of my current passion and the importance of clinging to God through prayer as I jump into the trenches of medical school.
Well, I thank all of you so much for supporting, praying, and joining me in my journey over these past 7 weeks and probably longer. I am so unspeakably grateful for the supportive people God has placed in my life whether you be family, friends, co-workers, or fellow believers. God bless you all and let us look forward together to the “greater things still to be done” by our Creator through each one of us.
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