As has been famously stated, "all good things must come to an end." Tomorrow is our last day in the clinic treating patients with MMI for this two week project. We have treated countless people, given just about all of the available donated materials and additional materials, and shared invaluable prayers with those that we have been blessed to be here with. It will be a difficult time leaving Arequipa. We have had such amazing experiences and shared such invaluable joys.
But just what did our typical "day in the life" look like here in Arequipa? I apologize for not having done this sooner for those who are interested in the specifics. Most of our days begin early with hotel breakfast at 6:30am. Arequipa has some great fruits, juices, and teas that are very typical for breakfast at our hotel. After breakfast we all share time together as one of our members leads a devotional on a verse/topic of their choosing. Then off to the clinic. There are 16 total in our team and we only have one van. This leaves some of us left to take a taxi. Peruvian traffic is ludacris, at best. Taxis and buses zip by the busy city streets, pedestrians and stray dogs are common, and stop signs are a mere suggestion. Fortunately enough, Jodee and Erin, our MMI leaders, are fluent in Spanish and have lived here for years. They are well aware of what is best here and are excellent at seeing that we are safe and taken care off with such amazing love and hospitality. Once we arrive at the clinic around 8am we begin treating patients. The patients we treat range for pediatric to geriatric with countless different conditions, many uncommon to the states. Many of the patients have come far to be treated here by the "gringo" doctors. Unfortunately, because of the many short comings of the Peruvian healthcare, there is little trust (and some for very good reason) of the local systems. Many of the people here also have minimal resources for medical equipment and come knowing well about the grace shown by MMI in their offering of medical equipment. MMI also focuses on training local health professionals to hopefully make this project self sustaining so it has been excellent to work along side Peruvian PTs to see how they approach things. The day also requires translators for the non-Spanish speaking students and PTs because few of the locals speak much English. After a long and relentless days work, we return to the hotel around 530pm. Both dinner and lunch are cooked by a local woman who has felt called to help us. It's given us an excellent opportunity to try many local dishes, most consistently made with potatoes (Arequipa has over 200 different types of potatoes). Today, we had our send off dinner at a Brazilian restaurant. We were able to try so many different things, from grilled pineapple to cow heart, both of which were excellent! After dinner we usually unwind and spend time with the fellow students. Chess, cards, conversations, or just trying To talk to love ones back home to no avail with the spotty wifi. And afterwards we rest and repeat!
With all that being said, that routine will shortly be no longer. There is no doubt we gathered cool souvenirs and even more importantly great memories, but is that all? Our Canadian friend here, Lester, lead an excellent devotional where he spoke about how something as simple as a game of monopoly can serve as an excellent analogy. Just as in a game of monopoly, no matter how many things you accumulate, at the end of the game, everything goes back into the box. Just so, in life, you cannot take much of what is in this world with you, leaving you to think....is there anything that doesn't come to and end? In Matthew 5:12, a beautiful message is told about what is to come after the "box is put away." As great times and great memories come to a close and as we begin new adventures, we must remember that our reward is in heaven. Although the message in Matthew more attests to persecution, the message still applies to what you put your value in. We must value God because he is what will last forever. Although God has given us amazing things to enjoy on earth, they must ultimately be instruments used for the love and glory of his name. We pray that our trip here was just that. We turn our focus in our journeys and our works to glorify God and to spread his love to other people.
May God continue to work through us, and through you wherever you are, to serve others as we are always mindful that our reward for what we do here, through his grace and our faith, will not come to and end, but rests in heaven with Christ.
Tomorrow (Friday) we have a half day of work with patients and the other half is dedicated too cleanup. Many of us are traveling out at night to head off to a weekend retreat to Machu Picchu, as where others are returning home Saturday. We pray for a successful day and safe travels to follow.
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