Faith in Practice is a Texas based non-profit that has been organizing mission trips for the last 30 years. They work in partnership with local Guatemalan hospitals and organizations, more than 1,100 U.S. and 300 Guatemalan volunteers work together to serve and provide healthcare to more than 17,000 Guatemalans annually.
Saturday, July 27th, the Anderson team arrived safely in Guatemala ready to serve the local people. This was Dr. Anderson’s 6th time organizing his surgical team but was invited to trips before that by his in-laws. As an orthopedic pediatric surgeon, Dr. Anderson was able to care for many young patients this week with hip dysplasia. He is very passionate about this mission and loves the sense of community that his team brings each year. He organized a group of 34 skilled medical professionals to join him for this week. I spoke with Elizabeth, one of our OR nurses, about her experience. Elizabeth has been on 15 trips with faith in practice and is one of our most experienced volunteers. Oftentimes, groups come to Guatemala with the same team members but in our case, almost half of us were new. She was very impressed by our team and how everyone was able to come together and see as many patients as we did. We only had 3 circulating nurses but had 5 operating rooms running everyday. She spoke to the caliber of our nurses and scrub technicians and was in awe with how smoothly everything ran while not having enough nurses to cover each room. Everyone on the team was willing and excited to help wherever they were needed and constantly demonstrated their dedication to serving this mission.
When walking through the hallways of Las Obras hospital, you could see the hope and excitement of the families ready to undergo their procedures. Some families traveled over 8 hours to be seen by our doctors, others traveled even longer and could stay at Casa de Fe, a 100 bed safe haven for surgical patients and their families to recover from their procedures. In the Obras courtyard and waiting rooms you would find children playing with their siblings or new found friends, families praying under the beautiful stained glass windows and mothers supporting each other while their babies were in our doctors hands.
This year, we were able to provide 82 life changing procedures. One of our PACU nurses, Brandi, shared with me how impactful this trip has been on her. Brandi had joined Faith in Practice before 2020 and this was her first time back since then. She talked about the shift she’s seen in nursing since the Covid pandemic. She said that she has seen a lot of bad in the world since working in the hospitals during Covid. Patients during this time were not given adequate care, there was never enough hospital staff, it has been a very challenging few years. While reflecting on her experience this week she said she didn’t realize how much she needed to be here. This trip helped to remind her that there is still good in this world. The strength, gratitude, and faith of our patients and team reinstilled hope into our hearts.
Another of our PACU nurses, Reina, shared her experience with one of our patients who had an above the knee amputation to clear a chronic infection. The patient was young and full of life. She talked about how grateful and happy he was to have been cared for by our team. The patient even requested to have his photo taken with his surgeon and was so thankful to have been able to come to Las Obras Hospital. Reina said she witnesses a lot of life altering injuries,
but seeing how this patient was so positive and grateful and able to look on the bright side was very moving for her. While large surgeries such as these that will change a patient’s day to day life, smaller ones also can be just as impactful.
Dr. Kuhn, Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon, operated on a young female patient to remove a plate from her leg and revise her old scar. After visiting her in recovery, she expressed that she had been bullied for years for her scar and that it had such a negative effect on her mental health. After their interaction, Dr. Kuhn told me, “even the smallest surgeries can have a great impact.” He was very happy to hear that he could give her some of her confidence back and he wishes her a speedy recovery.
Our spiritual leader, Page, guided the team in prayer each morning before heading to the hospital. This was his 19th trip, however, it was his first trip as the spiritual leader. In previous years, he was the team chef which allowed him to learn the best local spots for meat and produce to fill the stomachs of our volunteers each day. Page stated, “I always feel one step closer to God in Guatemala”. He sat and prayed with the patients and families before surgery alongside our interpreter Pam who helped ease the fears and anxieties of each patient by reminding them of the power of God’s plan. Page spoke to the strong faith of the Guatemalan people and their trust in our doctors. “The people here are so close to God, there are a lot of believers and it gives them a lot of faith to come see us and do something so brave.” Handing over your child to a foreign doctor, who may not speak your language, takes a lot of courage and trust. Their faith gives them the ability to not only cope with this difficult journey, but to also be so gracious for our work. He also talked about the faith of our team. Having people on a team that are like minded, even when they have different religions or beliefs, is so powerful. Our team had a desire to give. “When you pull over 30 people together that are like minded to do something like this, it becomes something more powerful than just the work of the group.”
On the topic of faith and thankfulness, one of our Pediatric Anesthesiologists, Korie, spoke to the incredible gratitude of the Guatemalan people. On triage day, the first day of our trip, patients meet with the doctors and anesthesiologists to go over their procedures and care. Korrie had multiple young patients that stuck out to her, but one young child, unprompted, went up and hugged and thanked her after their meeting. This moment perfectly encompassed the culture that Guatemala embodies. They have so much faith, love, and gratitude in their hearts. It is easy to see this when you walk through the hospital halls or out in town. The anesthesia team collectively expressed how much they enjoyed meeting each patient during triage. Theresa, anesthesiologist, mentioned one story that really stuck with her. Our patient who needed an above the knee amputation came into triage in a wheelchair. He told her of his many unsuccessful surgeries and infections that had caused him to be in the state he was in now and that he was confined to his wheelchair. He talked about the stress and difficulty his condition placed on his family and that he has faith that this surgery will help him to get his life back and have the opportunity to walk again. We are sending our love to him and his family and hope that this is the next step to get his life back again.
One of our interpreters, Susan, joined us on her 12th mission trip. Our interpreters carried the weight of conveying the doctors’ and patients’ conversations to each other. They spent a lot of time in Pre-Op where they talked with each patient and helped them through their anxieties about their surgeries, calm their fears, and make sure that the patients were comfortable and ready for their surgery. Susan expressed that it was important for her to help explain the doctors’ messages at a level that the patients could understand and that providing reassurance and comfort was central to her work here.
I want to end this blog by giving a huge thank you to our friend Jay Cohen. Jay embarked on his final mission trip after serving over 20 years with Faith in Practice and also served as a volunteer teacher in Poland for many years. After dedicating so many years of his life to serve God’s people, Jay expressed that his new calling is to take care of himself and his wife. He stated, “After traveling all over the world, we now must take care of one another. There are certain people who embody the spirit of God’s love in a palpable way. When near them, we know we are in the presence of something not quite of this world. If fortunate, we might encounter one or two of these individuals in our lifetime. All the volunteers are rare individuals.“
Thank you Jay for your years of service, the children of Guatemala will miss you and we will miss seeing your smiling face in Antigua! We are praying for love and happiness in your next chapter with your family.
This was my first mission trip, and the people I met this week have left a strong impact on my life. After speaking with each of our team members, I understand that this organization attracts a very specific person. One that is brave, kind, and dedicated to serving others. Majed, our surgical first assist, perfectly stated, “every day was filled with excitement… I’m filled with gratitude and a new sense of purpose. This trip has been a powerful reminder of the difference we can make when we work together.”
I am so thankful for our wonderful team this year and for the opportunity to carry on the amazing work that Faith in Practice continues to do. I am wishing the best for the rest of the teams this year and keeping Las Obras Hospital and Antigua in my thoughts and prayers. Until next year!
With Love, Magdaline Kuhn
