Thank you again for all your support for our mission organization to work with the people in El Jocotillo village just outside Guatemala City. The mission was a huge success. We saw 1513 medical and dental patients, and multiple patients went to PT. We gave 160 readers, 99 kids prescription glasses and 423 adult prescription glasses (total of 682 glasses. There were many stories during this trip that I could reflect on but I will limit it to my most memorable.

The first reflection began with a conversation with one of the translators. She asked two great questions. In her first question, she posed the question of what I would like to see during my trip. The first thought that came to my head was the opportunity for my wife’s vision and passion to come to life. We pray for this mission trip on a regular occasion and she went by herself last year and I saw the pictures and heard all the stories. It was completely different actually being there and putting faces with the names and the location with the pictures. I enjoyed seeing my wife lead the team as so many lives were impacted through the hard work of my wife and her passion to help the people in El Jocotillo were seen, cared for, and loved in ways they may have never experienced before. It was incredible to see on a daily basis, people’s lives changed. They walk into the clinic with sickness, vision difficulties and muscle injuries and they leave healed of the physical burdens that have plagued their lives. I see the mission team care for these people with the heart of Christ to welcome those that are hurting and care for them. I was amazing, blown away, astounded, and enthralled that this passionate idea from my wife affected so many people. The best way that I could describe it would be a rock that drops in the water and the ripple waves move out from the initial point and change everything in all directions in its path. The second question from the translator focused on what I was going to bring back with me to the US. This question along with the Upward Twist daily devotional allowed me to reflect on the difference between physical, spiritual and emotional poverty. The clinic was in a very poor part of Guatemala where they do not have access to water. This has many complications since paying for bottled water is more expensive than soda or juice, which has major medical complications with all the extra sugar they are consuming. But I noticed that most everyone I encountered was very friendly. I asked my translator about the kindness of all the people around me and she explained that since she was young, her family and most all other Guatemalan families teach their children kindness and to show care and dignity to all people regardless of who they are or what they look like. This creates some extremely beautiful smiles on the faces of the Guatemalan people. I reflect on the spiritual and emotional health of the people in the United States and I see the similar effects of lives without “access to water.” Many people feel very lonely and depressed. This isolation has devastating effects on people's bodies health as I’ve heard that loneliness is like smoking 15 cigarettes a day. I’m going to bring back the “Guatemalan smile” that showers people with kindness and dignity. My hope is that this kindness will begin to impact the people around me, just like the clinic had an incredible impact on the physical health of the people in Guatemala.

On the last day of clinic, there was a quick bit of moving around and shuffling with the personnel. This results in Corrie and I working initial triage with the patients which we were not scheduled to do. I greatly enjoyed working alongside my wife as I would take the initial vital readings (heart rate, blood pressure, O2 stats, and temperature) while Corrie would ask, through the interpreter, for medical history and reasons for coming to the clinic. Many of the people coming with flu like symptoms, issues with TDs, and diabetes. After an hour or so, a mother walked up to us with a 1-month-old baby. My wife reached out to hold the baby with incredible delight and joy. She handed the baby back to the mother and began the questions. Once the translator began telling the story, my mind immediately went to a familiar story that my mom would talk about me as a baby. Both my mom and this mother described the projectile vomiting that the baby was experiencing and seemed that he was always hungry. Both my wife and I knew with very high confidence that the baby had pyloric stenosis and the baby needed to be operated on immediately or there was a very high likelihood that the baby would not survive. After the mother talked with the primary physician, the condition was again confirmed and surgery was needed. The mother said that she had to discuss it with her husband and we still don’t know if she went to the hospital. The surgery would be free and we all offered to pay for follow up medication and treatment but the mother still remained uncommitted to provide the care this baby needed to survive. This caused me to reflect on my own life. I did not choose the mother with whom I would be born to nor the country nor the century that my life would begin to exist. You change any one of those conditions and my life may have ended as soon as it started with my medical condition of pyloric stenosis. In contrast to us trying to convince the mother of this condition, my mother had to continually try and convince the doctors that there was something very unusual and unnerving about my projectile vomiting. She fought so hard for my life and we fought so hard for that baby’s life but I’m not sure what will become of that little one. And here is my final reflection for the mission. As much as we want to help, care and treat individuals, there is an aspect where, after all our hard work, I need to leave the rest of the story in the Lord’s kind and merciful hands. The hand that created the world, created me and created that baby. He loves that baby more than anyone and the Lord is good. So now, in my heart, I worked as hard as I could to save that baby's life and now that we are back home, I place that baby’s care into the hands of the lovingkindness of my Father’s gentle and compassionate hands.

Thank you again for your support. We look forward to talking with you early next year.

Kind Regards,
Tim