Ready with 15 minutes to spare. 10:45 “or a little earlier,” he’d said. Then we’d make our way to the airport. I spent the time spared writing encouraging and sweet sticky notes for Jared and the kids and sticking them all over the house, smiling to myself at the thought of the kids running around “I found another one!” they’d say giggling “daddy, what’s this one say?!” “Here!” The text came across at exactly 10:45 and I laughed out loud at knowing the massive accomplishment he probably felt at that. I took one last look around at the evidence I left behind and cringed a little at the unintentional morbidity it gave but left it as it was anyway. I rounded the bed of his truck and found Dr. McCall frantically packing his bag out of his back seat. Any anxious thoughts of being 2,100mi away from my family dissipated as I laughed at how “McCall” that was. Here’s the thing, he doesn’t even mean to be funny (don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times he means to be funny and runs better than any fine tuned engine off of the laughs he gets) but he has this way of easing the hearts and minds of people. Ask any patient, friend, coworker, family member. He has these quirks about him that just facilitate joy and laughter. He’s genuinely himself to every single person. We have a joke about “all the different versions of McCall” -hunting McCall, Fishing McCall, golfing McCall, doctor mccall, surgeon McCall, no adderall McCall (my personal favorite), even toothless McCall- but truthfully, in every version of himself he is just authentically him- kind, funny, and caring. We get to the airport and he is officially -mostly- packed. He pats his pockets for his phone and comes up empty. He’s sure he has it somewhere and wastes no time looking any longer despite a less than subtle prompting from yours truly. We get to security and guess who is missing their phone and subsequently their boarding passes. I’m convinced there is a purposeful art to how he operates and his subconscious inevitably creates scenarios to add adventure and the thrill of high stakes to his life. He returns sweaty but, by God’s grace, with phone in hand. No sooner than we make it to our gate he is off to his truck again- something about toothpaste. 17 minutes until boarding. See what I mean? He comes back sweatier- if that’s possible- and we get a quick team picture before boarding. To Dallas, a sprint to our connecting flight, and on to Guatemala City. Both flights filled with shared testimonies and a steady drove of people on their way to the bathroom. Our team: Pastor Keith- missions pastor/leader Terra- NP/coordinator Dr. McCall- doctor/OB Kevin Eastep- PA Dr. Rekkes- doctor Dr. Ty- chiropractor Dane- pharmacist Rebecca-translator/triage Chelsea-translator Kristen- nurse/triage Cindy- nurse/triage Kelly- nurse/triage Me- nurse/triage “Mama” Iris- translator/triage Allene- kids ministry Tatum- kids ministry/everywhere Claire- kids ministry/everywhere Alejandro-translator/checkin Andy-translator/“guatemalan Sydney” Gabby-translator Gabe-translator Kiersten- behind the scenes but the only reason there are any scenes. Our team was essentially a team of strangers but 10 minutes in to the first plane ride Dr. McCall made a new best friend with Dr. Ty - “the chiropractor” as we referred to him before learning names- through tall hunting tales. Kristen and I connected through books and life struggles and mom moments as I think most women do. By the end of our trip our team of strangers become a team of friends- all of us very different despite a common professional field but all united with one purpose, one mission- to be bringers of light and healing to every story, to every person we encountered. Mud slides and missed turns had us to our villa by 11pm or so. Had it been light outside, I think the drive would have been beautiful but all that was visible once the sun had gone away was the chaotic, but somehow organized, traffic. Frequent, melodic honking (occasionally you’d here the chicken dance) that I’m still unsure whether it was intended to be friendly or a warning; motorcyles weaving in and out of all other traffic including the traffic on the opposite side of the road; men in the back of trucks donning assault rifles; men in the back of pickup trucks going down the highway holding ladders in place; food trucks loaded in the back of pickup trucks; semi truck drivers holding their phones up in the windshield playing candycrush as they drive down the highway; men pulling over to relieve themselves on the shoulder; men staggering through traffic seemingly having already relieved themselves in their pants. Clinic Day 1 It starts off strong and slows down pretty early on. We saw a total of 83 patients. Truthfully, I felt more in the way than of any value to the team. I was pretty disheartened and frustrated at my inability to speak to or connect with the people of Villa Canales. We walked through the village and handed out flyers, spreading the news about the clinic. The translators are amazing and I’m so incredibly thankful for them, I just wish I could communicate and connect with them myself. I spend my evening sulking some and praying for miracles more. “God, I want to see you. Let them see you. Teach me. What am I here for? Why did you need me to say ‘yes’?” Clinic Day 2 120 patients seen. One little boy without the ability to walk. I felt the tug. Did I? Then a shove. Yes I did. I took Mama Iris with me and we prayed. I prayed and she translated. Then she prayed and I agreed with whatever she was saying. Mama is a prayer warrior. It would be dumb not to agree with her in prayer. We poured our mama hearts (and tears) into those prayers and into every prayer since. May Luis gain strength in his legs to walk and run and play. A mom with a daughter and a son and a palpable (but quiet) sadness. They see McCall by divine intervention, not chance as many might argue. He has a way of drawing out someone’s story, he has the Spirit, and he has the ultrasound. What he finds: a woman who has been abused and broken in more ways than one- who is in desperate need of feeling seen and valued- and a large ovarian tumor, the source of much pain among other symptoms. He shared later his humble and desperate prayer for her and the helplessness he felt when he had nothing more to offer her. Word of the ultrasound made its way through the village. Another mother- more accurately, a mother to be- wants to see her baby on the ultrasound and so she made her way to the school, or rather to the “clinic” for all intents and purposes of this day. Before the knowledge of her story I would have described her as young and glowing and excited. A value we hold dearly at APC is to “walk beside every story”. There is so much value in the story one carries and the story is often never what you would expect. Every person has a story and hers- she was a 22 year old widow, her husband murdered, nearing the end of pregnancy and left to face motherhood in a 3rd world country alone. The objective findings? She was 36 weeks and breech with a plan to deliver at home, the baby with a head measuring larger than what would be expected. Prognosis- severe brain injury at best or death for one or even both at worst. Again, McCall described a hopelessness that threatened its way into his heart. 2 days had passed and we had seen and helped over 200 patients- yet as we walked into our new hotel, we felt restless in our souls believing God had more than this- more than to come and see a bunch of sad things and leave without hope for them. Calling on His name, His character, we prayed for him to show up in a big way. We prayed for miracles. I feel it’s important to note that we had to change hotels because the rest of the weekend at our current villa was reserved for a wedding. The hotel we were moved to was less than ideal and not the first pick being so far from the village we were serving, but alas, it was the only available. It was beautiful and far grander than anything I ever expected to stay in on a mission trip. But, don’t you know, God’s plans are always higher, and this was without a doubt His plan. Clinic Day 3 We saw 164 patients but that wasn’t where we saw God show up the biggest- Breakfast first. Wouldn’t you know it- a GYN surgical team there on a medical mission trip (also not supposed to have stayed at this hotel but their normal hotel was booked out as well) eating breakfast at the next table over. Our team connected with their team. Would you believe it if I told you that their surgeries had been cancelled and they had an open OR schedule? I had a hard time wrapping my head around it too. By the end of breakfast, the mother suffering from an ovarian tumor had a surgery scheduled for the very next morning. By the end of the day, the mother-to-be was scheduled for a cesarean section, giving her baby a real chance at life. Both surgeries would be completely paid for by the mission’s organization. The bus ride to the village was overwhelming. Our hearts full of worship and praise and humility and gratitude and just complete awe and reverence for who God is and what all He has done and is doing. We reflected on all we’ve walked through together and individually that has led to this moment. All of the events that had to be perfectly lined up- every “yes”, every “no”, every “not yet”- all to show two women that He sees them and values them and cares for them. All to provide hope and healing and a future for two women on the side of a mountain in a remote village in Guatemala. I’m an ugly crier… and I know the cry I cried all the way to Villa Canales was likely the ugliest cry I’ve ever cried. I won’t ever be able to put into words the way God spoke to each of us on that bus ride, but I won’t ever forget it. And I won’t ever forget Lorena, Luisa, or Luis. I won’t ever forget the way God used them and their stories to impact our faith or the way God used us and our stories to impact their faith. I never needed to be able to speak to them on my own for my story to impact them. They never needed to be able to speak to me in a common language for their story to speak to me. With God at the center of it all, He translates it to be exactly what he knows each person needs to hear. Two different people groups from two different countries who speak two completely different languages- in reality aren’t so different at all. We all want to be seen and heard and valued. And we are. All by the same One who pursues our hearts relentlessly (praise God for that). We are all deeply loved and valued by our Father who sees and hears us. Whose ear is inclined to each of us. I’m telling you, if God heard the cry of these women, if He saw their oppression and brokenness and sent two separate teams of medical missionaries from opposite ends of the country to meet for breakfast in one hotel for these two women on the side of a mountain in a little village in Guatemala without adequate shelter from the elements or even safe drinking water, he sees you. He hears you. He values you. He has a plan for you and your life. He loves YOU. Exhausted but full, we found ourselves in the lobby of our grand hotel for the last time. Before things could get too sentimental (because I also lack some impulse control) I suggested that I might should go do one last sweep of McCall’s room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything given earlier history. He assured me that was unnecessary but I think even he recognized the irony to that statement and we compromised on a quick checklist “phone?” Check. “Passport?” Check. By God’s grace, he still had both his phone and passport once we got to the airport and we found ourselves on the way home. A family of once strangers walking in unity and stronger together now than we were at the start. That’s the power and heart of God. To unify. To bring unity through His love. For those that He loves to share that love by serving and loving others. It’s love that unites and heals and restores and redeems. It’s His love that endures through all things. It’s His love that I will live for and that I will walk in all the days of my life. It’s His love that will save and change the world. It’s His love that prompts my heart to say “here I am! Send me!” Praise God that we can rest in that love.