One of the blessings of this trip was the event of having Deborah join the team. She and I met at my daughter's wedding, the groom being her brother. I had told her about the trip I was doing in April, and before the week was over she was considering coming with us! Deborah has this wonderful way with children... and by the end of the week, her communication in Spanish was admirable. As a matter of fact, we had a great time getting to know each other better... I loved it. Every time I turned around it seemed she was with the children. Dr. David caught her unposed with a posse of kids she was talking to outside our hotel!!!
(Children telling Deborah and I their ages... after enjoying ice cream that David and I bought them!)
Babies were babies... cute as in any culture! I haded out "booties" that I had brought from
home, and the mothers were so grateful. We handed out candiesand bracelets to older kids, though we waited to do so at times that we would nothave 50 at once surrounding us for such goodies! They were respectful and all smiles.
As I watched them play, sometimes for hours of waiting, my heart went out to them. They were playing in the dirt of the courtyard of which we knew parasites harbor... the same dirt we were sure to wear shoes to protect ourselves. These moms had no alternative but to let them be children and play, though parasites were a surety. Therefore, every adult and child left the pharmacy having taken the medication, unless they were pregnant, to rid their system of parasites.
A special part of my being with the team was the managing of the lines, calling them into the doctor and assisting him/her with exams if needed. Though I knew none of their language, suffice a few words, it warmed my heart how smiles and laughter transcend language barriers. In fact, those very barriers were often the catalyst of laughing with each other. There was one group of women in particular that had come 4 hours from a small village out of town, and they embraced us in smiles and eyes. I called one in the group my "special friend" as she and I had fun trying to talk together. She was so delightful. She and another friend, in their 60’s, had brought along 5 others much older, for treatment. At one point we realized that we had totally misunderstood what the other was saying when the interpreter had time to help us, and we dissolved in laughter.
You understand then, the delight when on our bus trip through the jungle to Cuenca, several days later, we stopped at a village to use a restroom and as I jumped off the bus, there she was with her bundle of bananas… trying to get to another village to sell them. Ann took our picture (right, the lady I'm hugging in the white hat). It drove home that God has made us in His image, and there is no better example of how we care and communicate beyond our language barriers. Emotions are understood… no matter what one’s language is stated to be. He made us relational.
There were things that stretched me…toilets where no paper could be put into them, so it was thrown in cans next to the stool, dirty public areas with children playing in the parasite laden dirt , and seeing babies crying in card board boxes next to their dad as he earned a living shining shoes at the airport entrance. I saw people with money, who also came to us for the desire to see an American doctor, but the constant poverty and extreme suffering of the working class was indescribable…and I never heard them complain. They just wanted to have some help to feel better while they did their work. Hoping against hope that there was some magic cure and provision for them from America. They sacrificed health and comfort to send their children to the local Catholic schools, getting for them a good education and maybe a way out of their own plight.
No comments:
Post a Comment