There and Back Again

A couple weeks ago I got the chance to be home again - the first time in almost 6 months! I felt like I had a well of waiting built up inside of me that just about exploded when I got home. I did lots of shopping, ate pizza as often as possible, went for bike rides, visited my home church, saw lots of friends, and the best part was that I got to go camping with my family for three days. Even my brother who lives in China and his family was there! It was amazing and just filled me up to the brim.

Since I've been back, I jumped right back into a couple of things I had been doing before - helping with the kids' ministry and worship out in various neighborhoods (colonias) - but then also getting ready for the interns to come! Just this Monday, four of the 20ish year old interns came in and it's been so great getting to know them. One of the girls is my roommate now. Her boyfriend is here, as well as her best guy friend and his wife who are staying in a separate house. Two of them have been coming here the past 7 summers. My roommate, AJ, speaks amazing Spanish and is planning on moving here as soon as she finishes her degree in Social Work and Spanish. Anyway, It's just really refreshing to have some more peers here. It makes everything just so much more fun and uplifting.

Yesterday we had a team of doctors come in to provide medical treatment for people out in the colonias. I've been helping translate for one of the doctors, and I've really enjoyed listening to all his stories, especially some of his experiences doing medicine in Africa. There's such a stark contrast between the way Africans receive health care and us Americans. The hospitals in Africa don't have nearly as many resources, which means that they only have a certain capacity to take care of everyone and the waiting time for medical care is often much longer. But, they wait so patiently, sometimes a whole day and are just as appreciative of the care they receive even if the results are bad because it took so long. He told me a story about this family who had brought in their daughter who was dying. The doctor knew of a breathing apparatus that was unoccupied and that this could save her life. So, he told the family about it and they agreed to give her the treatment even knowing it would cost a lot of money. However, when the doctor went to get the breathing apparatus, he found that it was being used by someone else. So, he had to go back and tell the family about the situation and that this meant there was nothing he could do and she was going to die. The family thought for about a minute and then just looked at him and said, "Thank you so much for everything you have tried to do for us. We appreciate your help so much". The strange thing about this is, this is how most Africans normally respond. They don't get upset when they have to wait all day to be seen, or if a loved one who's dying just can't be saved. They just seem to have a greater grasp on the frailty of life. One doctor who went to serve in Africa actually became a Christian after seeing how the African people are. I was just really blessed hearing these stories and challenged to be more patient and grateful for what I have.