My Experience in Mexico with Mercy and Truth

 

I couldn't believe it when I stepped outside the airport - I was in Mexico!  Really this was no big deal because I'd already been on the other side of the world twice, to the Philippines.  But this was different.  This was Mexico.  A Spanish-speaking country.  Besides that, this was a bonafied medical missions trip.  I've been studying Spanish since I was 13, and I had been on several (non-medical) missions trips already, but now I was in my element - medical missions to a Spanish-speaking country.  God had granted me the desire of my heart.  I was so excited and couldn't wait to get started. 

 

Of course, there usually ends up being a little more to a trip than just the work you went there to do.  I was going with a group of total strangers.  I met up with them in Dallas, and instantly there was a connection.  There was a warmth and love between us, and a sense that we were all there for the same purpose - to help needy people physically, and to proclaim to each one the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

So there we were outside the airport in Mexico City - Gene, LeAnne, Mark, Camille, Tim, Chris, Beth, "Buffalo Tim", and me.  It was 11:30 at night, and we were going to have to drive through the night to get to where we needed to be on Sunday morning (which was Veracruz City, Veracruz).  Hey, no problem.  I was up for some adventure.  Uh-huh.

 

 Less than an hour after we landed, I felt my nose stuff up immediately.  The chances of me getting any sleep on that van instantly vanished.  But that was OK.  "I am going to have a good attitude about this," I thought.  "This is not going to affect my work in any way...never mind the fact that I can't breathe."  Due to the fact that I couldn't breathe through my nose during the entire trip (we tried it all...Claritin, Sudafed, you name it, nothing worked), and that it cleared up exactly half-an-hour after we landed back in the states, I've pretty much determined that I am basically allergic to the entire country of Mexico.  But I was still so thankful to God because it didn't stop me at all from doing what I had gone on this trip to do.

 

"All these people..." I thought. "They desperately need our help...
and they desperately need to hear the Gospel."

 

The trip itself was incredible.  Sunday after church, we spent the evening blowing up animal balloons for little kids on the streets of Veracruz City by the beach.  It was so much fun just to make them smile.  It was also at that point that I decided to delve into practicing my Spanish.  I got some pretty funny looks from some kids, but hey, it was something to laugh about.  Monday was a day off, but we actually ended up spending more than half the day sorting out suitcases full of medications in our room.  Droves and droves of Cefit, Claritin, Allegra, Amoxicillin, and much more covered our entire room.  Tuesday was pretty much spent in travel.  We went way up into the mountains.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  On the way, Gene, our team leader, helped me translate my testimony into Spanish (they wanted each one of us to give our testimony at one of the clinics during spiritual counseling).  Tuesday night was spent at a youth center spending time with a lot of young people who came in and out.  It was a privilege just to be able to talk with them, and share a little about Christ. 

Wednesday, the real work started.  We had our first clinic.  We got there at 8:00am to set up...and didn't leave until after 11:00pm.  It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen.  Droves of people lined up outside the gate waiting to get in.  The line was never ending.  "All these people..." I thought. "They desperately need our help...and they desperately need to hear the Gospel."  That was what kept me going.  I had a short break from my little "nurses station" to share my testimony with a group of the patients, which was a real privilege.  At the end of the day I was exhausted, but I felt really satisfied - that was, until I heard that we had to turn away over 200 people.  That broke my heart.  I felt so frustrated.  Of course I knew in my head that we couldn't help everyone, but the reality of it hit hard.  That night as I lay in my bed, I was almost in tears, knowing that so many people had needed our help who never get medical care and who had never heard the Gospel, and we couldn't give it to them.  But then I reminded myself that God is sovereign, and He knew exactly who would be there and exactly who needed us the most. 

 

The next days were spent in clinics as well.  One clinic we did in the pouring rain (under a piece of ripped up tarp) next to a barn with horses in it!!  By the end of the week, I felt tired but I was so thankful for what God had allowed us to do there.  We had gelled together as a team so well, and we were able to help a lot of people.  Better yet, many people who had never heard the Gospel before had it presented to them.  I continue to pray that there is lasting fruit from that.  I was also thankful for the opportunity to really put my Spanish into practice.  Of course, there were a lot more funny looks, but hey, you have to start somewhere.  Our team leader, Gene, was great and really helped each one of us with our Spanish.  I'm so thankful to God for the opportunity to go on this trip and would encourage people to seriously consider doing something similar.  You will be greatly blessed by it.