Home coming

 June 13 2015

The harsh marble walkways and walls were a jarring contrast this early morning to the soft dirt on which the brightly colored cement structures with pink tile floors and tin roofs stood which insulated us from the brutal Nicaraguan sun this past week. My make shift exam room walled off with sheets that flowed with the transient breeze are but a memory that is mine to cherish.

After the Thursday evening rainfall during which I wondered if an ark like Noah's would be available or even just a life raft, Friday greeted us with sunshine and humidity; the green of the country palm trees glistened in the early morning hours then seemed to wilt under the strain of the hot day. One final time we loaded our school bus, soaked in Deet, bags now packed, peanut butter and jelly for lunch stowed in the cooler.

The rhythm of the clinic established during the prior four days continued. The hum from each clinic treating men, women, and children was as melodic as the hymn we had sung just an hour prior, though the disease burden no less severe. Dentistry continued to with difficult extractions; years of debilitating mouth pain wrenched out with a pair of well wielded extractors. Medicine treated a woman crippled with a 35 year history of a onchocerciasis, a parasitic infection. Gynecology continued to see women, pregnant or not, and rid them of probable and potential cervical cancer. Pharmacy, in its controlled chaos, carried out medicinal requests of each of these departments. And just as fast as it was set up last Sunday eve, we folded and categorized back into the trunks from whence it came; awaiting the arrival of the next team in a few months. We likewise packed away the stories disclosed to us- some in whispers, some with tears, some with fear - through our incredible team of translators. Hearts were laid bare while bodies were mended. Final photographs of smiles, hugs, and gifts exchanged captured the moments where cultures collided. We stood in the gap. Jesus wins. Love wins.

As we recounted the week, thoughts and emotions bridged the range of responses to the experience. We had come to be a blessing and discovered, almost as if tripping over a stone in the path, we had been blessed. We had encountered the attack of Satan in subtle and dramatic ways as if we had provoked the dragon with our fierce pursuit of hearts in need of living water that never runs dry. As the stories of intense destruction and pain were told over and again, we had mourned with those who mourned and rejoiced with those whose rejoiced. We also found God still seated on the throne - unwavering, unshaken. Jesus wins. Love wins.

Some of us have already left Managua, some will board their planes tomorrow. By Sunday eve we will be tucked away at home with family and friends; likely thankful for the shower, the incredible plumbing and sewer capacity of the U.S. to handle toilet paper IN the toilet bowl, drinking water from the faucet, and vegetables. However, I'll wager that as the memories from this past week tumble spontaneously, perhaps unbidden, from the deep recesses of our minds, while we sit in an office or at a computer, these minor inconveniences were well worth the sacrifice. Perhaps we will smile more at the grocery clerk or the coffee barista. Perhaps we will let others go before us in line or give up our seat on the public transportation. Perhaps we will be excited rather than despair at the patient load for the day. Perhaps we will give thanks more, Israelite complains less, and in so doing be the face of God and encounter Him simultaneously.

If you spend yourself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:10-11

Those who were ill recovered and no one required hospitalization. No one was lost, no one required sutures or a cast. As noted we battled The Enemy in all different disguises, and by the grace of our dear Lord we remained humble, united, and energized for the work that was accomplished. Thanks in advance for listening to our stories that we carry with us. Thanks for letting us go and do this thing. Thanks for welcoming us home.