Missions have always appealed to me, and since I started in the medical field, I have wanted to do medical missions. Yet, I always had ten excuses why anything that came up never worked. I couldn’t get time off of work, couldn’t afford time off of work, had kids to take care of, couldn’t afford the extra money to go, etc. It was beginning to feel like though I always had this desire that it was never going to happen. A couple of years ago, that all changed. I heard about a medical mission trip from a friend. Several people from work expressed interest, as did I. I decided that if my friend ended up leading the trip I would probably go along. My wife finally said, just sign up for the trip and go. I wasn’t sure, but I eventually let her convince me and I signed up. Four other people from work joined me on the trip, but my friend didn’t get to lead it. Of course, we don’t know for sure what would have happened if I hadn’t listened to my wife, but I can tell you what happened after I did.
Our team traveled to Peru to set up a medical clinic in a small village in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, and at the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest. We worked with a Peruvian church from the capital. They had been traveling to this village several times a year for a couple of years by then, and had started to build a mission base in the village. It was a great week of serving the native villagers in the clinic during the day, and holding church services with the missionaries at night. By Thursday, the pastor asked if I had ever considered being a missionary. I said that I had. He then asked if I might consider joining them there. I found myself surprisingly ready to say yes. However, moving my family to a remote jungle village with extremely limited access to healthcare that she had never been to was not as appealing to my wife. I initially thought that she would come around and we would be going at some point. I eventually realized that this was a planted seed, and while we probably wouldn’t be moving there, it would be the beginning of a long-term partnership.
I found myself often thinking of the village, the people there, and the missionaries I had worked with on that first trip, and praying for them. I realized that it fulfilled a longing that I had been unable to fill my entire life. I was hooked and couldn’t wait to do it again! Soon I’ll share about the return trip where the next steps were revealed.
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