“The purpose of human life is to serve,
and to show compassion and the will to help others.”
– Albert Schweitzer
He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8
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Today we had our first day of our clinic at Samayac, Guatemala. We have been looking forward to this day for months. An incredible amount of work of preparation has led up to this day. Registration forms – check! Passports -check! Airline tickets – check! Carry-on luggage – check! Medicine and equipment – check! Itineraries coordinated – check! Transportation – check! Village coordinators and volunteers – check! Devotion and breakfast – check! Crates unloaded – check! Clinics ready – check!
Our buses arrive at the church and we are greeted with a long line of hopeful patients — all carrying their own life experiences and challenges that have led them to our clinic. We exit the buses and our adventure unfolds!
Dr. Chenault has once again assembled a great team of doctors, therapists, translators, volunteers, and very skilled wheelchair makers. Hundreds of hours of preparation and planning come to fruition. It is like preparing for our Super Bowl, but we know it is more than just a game — it’s about life! It’s about people. It’s about children, youth, adults, parents, grandparents, friends and family.
Our playbook has been well-planned and refined over the twenty-nine years Faith in Practice has been in existence with thousands of patients served. Hopefully our patients will find help with the wide variety of medical clinics and specialties: Pediatrics, General, Gynecology, Audiology, Orthopedics, ENT, Mobility, Surgery Referrals, Cervical Cancer Screening and Cryogenic treatment. Patients first meet with triage doctors and staff to determine which clinic would best serve them. Doctors can request various tests from Lab and prescribe medicine at our well-stocked pharmacy.
Doctors listened to people describe pain, symptoms, and they provided care and treatment. At the end of the day, there was no trophy or trip to Disneyland, but the meaningful reward knowing you made a difference in someone’s life.
Life in Guatemala is difficult. One of our doctors saw a fifty-year-old woman who was struck with polio when she was three-years-old. She had flip-flops on her hands because her legs didnt’ work – – so she literally crawled to wherever she needed to go. Getting around Guatemala is difficult enough for physically-abled people. I really don’t want to think about how she has been forced to maneuver life for five decades. But the good news, no the GREAT NEWS, is that she received her very own wheelchair! She hopped right up in the chair. And the impact? No more crawling! That’s not how she rolls! Now that’s something to celebrate!
Prayer:
Gracious God, forgive us for thinking life is about winning when we should be more concerned about helping. Amen.
To support this team and their commitment to our patient’s visit:
