“Codo” in is the word for “elbow” in English. In Guatemala, touching your elbow is a way to say someone is overly thrifty. They are as “tight as the skin of their elbow” would be a literal translation. So, it was a bit odd when I extended my elbow to touch the elbow of my first patient, a gesture common in Covid times to replace a handshake. Touching elbows is safe.
So when we talked about “touch’ as a love language today in our devotion, there is an added meaning. We use our hands to serve. Jesus used touch to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and in one account in the Bible, an unclean woman with bleeding was cured by touching Jesus’ garment. Much as the face mask, Plexiglass, face shield, and a tropical rain made us strain to listen yesterday, social distancing and gloves have made us more intentional about our “touch.”
Dr. Jordan Buckley, , our dermatologist, uses her hands to examine her patient’s hands to discover if scabies is the cause of their rash, remarked Linda Johnson, our Team Administrator and Dr. Buckley’s translator. Hands prepare the corn tortillas we eat at lunch. Touch translates to service. Occasionally an older patient will slip and touch us lightly on the arm, a common Guatemalan embrace of goodbye and thanks.
This morning walking to the clinic from the bus, Dr. Deborah Caspers passed an older woman with a worried face. She said, “Good morning, I hope you have a wonderful day.” Later in the morning the same woman was Deborah’s patient. Diagnosed with a gynecological cancer in the last year, she was referred to the Guatemala Cancer Center, INCAN, but lacked money for the necessary tests. So, she never went. Dr. Caspers examined her today and referred her to Dr. Patty Baiza, who manages these referrals for Faith in Practice. Afterwards, Rev. Cheryl Gans and Dr. Caspers sat with the patient and her daughter to pray. Asked what the patient would like them to pray for, she started praying herself. She and her daughter prayed together through their tears. Dr. Caspers and Rev. Gans prayed that Jesus would walk with her on her journey. In the end, Dr. Caspers said the woman left with her steps lightened. On the bus back to the hotel, Dr. Caspers was looking at her pictures from the day and she realized the lady she greeted this morning was the same person she prayed with later.
This week we are reminded there are many ways we are “touched” by God’s love, even in the time of Covid.
