We went to a school down the street from the clinic and had VBS. We talked about the fruits of the spirit...amor, alegría, paz, paciencia, amabilidad, bondad, fidelidad, humildad, y dominio propio. 400 children went to this school that looked like it should hold 100.
Look at her beautiful face!
The kids only go to school for a half day, so they would walk back with us.
We went to a cacao farm, cacao beans are where we get chocolate. These weird pods on the tree hold the cacao beans in a strange white goo. We tasted this goo, and it was delicious. It was tart and kind of sweet. It was definitely one of the most adventurous things I have ever eaten.
Here we are at the base of one of the biggest trees I have ever seen. Photos can't capture the magnitude of this amazing tree.
At the cacao farm, there was a man who was 86, who was the patriarch of his family and the farm. Four months ago, he broke his hip. He is confined to his bed, and his hip remains broken. He can barely hear and his memory is fading. But his family takes such good care of him. He smells like baby powder in the midst of dirty mountain home. He has bedsores, but each has a clean bandage and is taken care of. The nurses on our trip were amazed by his quality of life, and they made sure to tell his daughter who was taking care of him what a wonderful job she was doing. We prayed with him before we left. There wasn't a dry eye in the room when we were leaving.
We also visited a coffee farm - these are the little sprouts. They pick these and graft them with other kinds to create stronger, better coffee. So amazing!
On a hike through the coffee farm!
Here we are scrubbed in, assisting Dr. Coleman in surgery. I got to pretend to be a nurse this week! I was loving every minute of it. My favorite part was working in the recovery room, prepping patients for surgery and receiving them when they came out.
My action shot! Here I am keeping the eye moist by spraying it with salt solution, because the patient can't blink because their eye is being held open.
This is Damian (dah-me-uhn) and he was a patient that was close to my heart. His story is below.
Damian, like all the other Guatemalan and Mayan patients, was so stoic and calm before surgery. I was working in the recovery room, administering rounds of different eye drops to prepare the eye for cataract surgery. I had a few minutes to walk around and take a break. There have been times where I hear the Spirit speaking to me, and there have been fewer times where I have actually listened and obeyed. On this walk, I heard the Spirit urging me to bring my Spanish bible back with me to the recovery room. So I did, not knowing what I was going to do with it. (I don't speak much Spanish, but I can read it at a decent level.) I asked Nicky, a guy on our trip who spoke great Spanish, if he would ask Damian if I could read to him. Damian said yes, and I flipped open to the Psalms. I read some of my favorites, starting with Psalm 121 and 61. When I would finish one, Damian would say the number in Spanish, but I hadn't told him which one I was reading (because I couldn't think of the words for numbers higher than 100). He knew his stuff.
Damian was very patient with my Spanish, and he would help me pronounce words. He would also say "perfecto" if I read a line well. He was very kind to compliment my poor accent and pronunciation.
It was time for him to go to the prep room, and he was the last patient of the day. So I put on a mask and cap and went with him. I asked Nicky to ask him if he wanted me to read any certain Psalm. He requested Psalm 91. I started reading it, and because I don't speak Spanish well, I would pause before lines and recite them in my head before saying them aloud. Damian started reciting the lines before I could read them aloud. I got choked up as he recited them, and then I found myself with tears rolling down my face. I had to let Will read the last few lines so I could pull it together. What a picture of our unity in Christ, a Guatemalan man in his seventies, me in my twenties, reading and reciting the same words, knowing different languages, but loving and worshipping the same sovereign God.
When Will finished reading, Damian requested that I keep reading :) So I read Psalm 100 at his request. I will never read those psalms the same way again.
The next morning I made the rounds with Dr. Coleman. He removed eye patches and examined the eye. It was so humbling to be there as people saw for the first time in years. I was there when Damian's patch was removed and there as he saw for the first time again. I got to see him (and he saw me) before he was discharged. Praise God for his healing, grace, and love that he bestows on each of us.
My hardened heart was softened and filled with mercy, compassion, and love this past week. I was reminded of what a loving and powerful God we serve. Reminded that His ways are not my ways, and I understand so little of who He is, but that He reveals Himself day by day. He is alive, moving, working, and strong. He is true, he is here, he is now.
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Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you
from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, "The Lord is my refuge,"
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation."
Psalm 91
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
Tears. That is so beautiful. God is so good.
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