Nunca en mi Vida!

Nunca en mi Vida!

Nunca en mi vida (never in my life)…
There are many many things that I have NEVER done, seen, or experienced in my life. But this past week I definitely made a dent in that list.

Nunca en mi vida had I participated in a medical missions brigade, but last week I did! The Fundacion Hogar del Ecaudor (the medical foundation run by the church here in Cuenca) hosts medical missions teams from the states several times a year. Most of the teams are made up of a number of doctors, nurses, and logistics personnel, and sometimes there is certain specialty represented. The team that was here last week was made up of about 4 ob/gyn docs, 2 family physicians, 4 nurses, 5 logistics workers, and one very lucky high school student who was chosen by his school to come along to observe the doctors. So everyday last week (except Wednesday because we had culture class) we went to the Foundation right after physiology class and hung around there until we had to go the Spanish class in the afternoon. I did different things every day, which was nice to switch it up. One day I spent with one of the ob/gyn’s in an examination room seeing patients. I didn’t see anything too stirring, if you will, mostly complaints of aches and pains and irregular menstrual cycles. One thing I appreciated was that, because it is a Christian institution, we were able to pray with every patient that came in. Actually, the way these medical brigades are set up are very “whole-person” focused. When patients come and check-in (they do not need prior appointments), they are taken to a waiting area where there is a pastor who offers prayer, worship music, and short devotionals. As earlier patients move through the triage area, more are brought up to see the nurses, get vitals taken, and explain their reasons for coming. During last week’s brigade, the team brought a ton of bead bracelets to give to every patient seen, prayer was offered, and (usually through interpreters) they let every patient know that we’re there to serve them. Those patients were then taken to see the doctors where, if needed, a diagnosis and the occasional prescription were given. To every patient, a complimentary supply of vitamins and calcium were given, and the other prescriptions were offered at an extremely affordable rate. And like I said, prayer was also always offered by the doctor.

Never in my life, did I really appreciate having even a general knowledge of medicine and such, but after a week of seeing so many Ecuadorian patients, native and not, who had such limited understanding of basic physiological functioning of their own bodies, I give thanks for what I know. I saw multiple middle aged women who complained of ordinary menopausal symptoms not knowing if there was something seriously wrong with them. I saw the grave seriousness taken with every instruction accompanying the small package of multivitamins given to each patient. I also saw eyes light up when the doctor prescribed medications such as Ibuprofen, as if they had been given a magical answer to all their life’s problems. How wonderful to provide for these people, even in the slightest of ways, but it saddens me to see them so earnestly seeking something bigger in such a small place.
I have had an affinity towards medicine way before I even understood what it entailed. Many of my motives behind that fascination have been reshaped and altered as I have grown, but one thing remains. I want to help people. Now, at 20 years old, in the middle of my college career, I know that I do want to help people and provide for their physical needs (whether in medicine as doctor, or a nurse, or not), but I also know that that desire comes from One much bigger than myself. In whatever manner I end up “helping people” it will not be the magical answer to anything, it will simply be an expression of the love I have built up inside of me for the people I’m serving from the Lord my God, who is LOVE in and of Himself. I don’t know how exactly to communicate that, but I don’t know that it is my responsibility either. God is the one who works through our actions, and we are but jars of clay that He uses for His purposes. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” I know that whatever service I will be able to provide after I’m through with my education, I will not be offering anything of significance unless I make clear the “treasure” that I have, which comes from a God of “all-surpassing power.” And honestly, that is not the challenge since I am but a “jar of clay,” nothing spectacular in appearance, nothing especially proficient, full of cracks and faults, but still useful to the skilled Creator and Lover of all of our hearts.
Medicine is not the answer to life’s problems. The vitamins can only do so much, and the pain killers will soon run out. The hormone replacement medications won’t solve every symptom, and surgeries can present more complications than bargained for. These are only manners of offering assistance towards something better. The answer is neither held by doctors, nurses, translators, pastors, or teachers. Whatever service had been offered to the people I saw this week, I hope that they see past the surface of what they received. With pills in hand, or despite the relief of any symptoms, it is my prayer that they take away something much bigger. LOVE.
I take back what I said earlier, about being sad that I saw people seeking answers in small places, such as a bottle of medication or a certain operation. Seeking is all they need to do, and God will meet them. I know for certain there were patients welcomed to the kingdom of God for the first time last week, and it came from them searching in places ever-so-small. The world of medicine has such big opportunities to share the love of Christ with people, and it is because medicine is not the answer. When we let God work through our services to people, he opens doors to THE answer (which is Himself) even when they do not realize it.
Never in my life could I have put those ideas to words before now…


Nunca en mi vida, had I seen a hysterectomy. Again, I won’t go into details, but it was pretty darn cool.
Nunca en mi vida, had I touched a human uterus. Maybe I’m biased, being female and all, but the uterus is quite an awesome organ. It’s too bad though that some get such giant tumors inside them…I touched that tooJ.
Nunca en mi vida had I seen a sling put under a bladder to prevent loss of urinary control. You’d be surprised how fast of a procedure that is. You’d also be surprised to see the kind of tools involved…think captain hook with a twist…
Nunca en mi vida, had I been so blatantly jealous of a 17 year old boy…That high schooler that got to come be part of the team, actually got to SCRUB IN TO ALL THE SURGERIES. Not only that, but he got to hold some tools and stick his hand in the incisions! And if that weren’t enough, on the last day, the one doctor let him SUTURE a real live person after a real live abdominal hysterectomy!!! Yeah, we were just the Taylor students…who wanted to watch…from the back of the O.R…. I still can’t believe it…

Nunca en mi vida had I been given the job of translator. I don’t want to build up my Spanish skills to something they’re not, because there were plenty of times I had to seek out fluent Spanish/English speakers for help. Nevertheless, I did spend a day in triage translating for a nurse, taking down main complaints of patients and such. Much of this was made easier with hand motions, and the fact that the most common complaint was pain in general areas which is like the one “medical term” I know.

Nunca en mi vida, had I heard such awful Spanish accents. Maybe that’s a little harsh, because I know they were trying. But a lot of the people on the medical team were from Oklahoma, and with their southern accents they just butcher the Spanish language. Speaking Spanish with a southern accent is now my new favorite hobby. Anyways, they were a great group of people, and it was quite fun to spend the week with them. I’m looking forward to this week, to do it again. A new team arrived Sunday, so we will be spending our days at the foundation again!


Nunca en mi vida had I been so uncomfortably cold and wet as I was this Saturday. Why you may ask? Well, we wanted to have a REAL adventure hiking in the Cajas Mountains, and when a couple of the host dads (including Morris) offered to take us we jumped for the opportunity. So, Saturday morning we saddled up with some sack lunches, sweatshirts, and minds set on having an adventure. Now, plenty of jokes were made (some half serious) about not getting lost and such, and I’m happy to say that we all made it back quite safely. However, we had an experience of a different kind…From the moment we stepped off the bus there was a nip in the air and rain pouring from the sky. There’s nothing unexpected about rain in Ecuador, because it’s unusual to go a day without it, but it IS uncommon to have it rain ALL DAY LONG. We hiked along for about an hour or so and stopped at a lagoon to fish, explore, and enjoy the scenery. After that stop, we hiked for another good chunk of time to a different lagoon. By they we had all developed our own “baditudes” about being out there shivering, freezing, and wet. I will be the first to admit, I was not happy about being there. After a while, one of the dads set up a little 1 person tent, and told us we should stay here for lunch.
Nunca en mi vida had I eaten lunch in a 1 person tent with 6 other people!! You may question our abilities to scrunch up and cuddle with each other, but man we are a tight-knit group of kids. So happily, we enjoyed our lunch still wet, but semi-warm, accompanied by many laughs. We also savored the last box of Girl Scout cookies brought to me my dearest mommy, which I had been saving for a special occasion such as that. After lunch, we all decided we just wanted to get to the end of the trail as soon as we could. Once we got moving again, I grew a little less uncomfortable, and sort of forgot how I could acutally feel my hands or feet. By then, I had also stopped paying attention to how muddy I was getting and blazed right through the trails no matter how deep in muck I was.
Nunca en mi vida had I slid so many times (on accident) through mud! The one dad with us told me I was the Mother of falling; I’ll just take that as a compliament...The last couple of hours (we hiked a pretty good amount after lunch to get to the end of the trail) were actually really fun. The rain died down a bit, and we forgot how cold we were. Even so, it was so wonderful to see the road below us getting closer and closer. At the very end of the trail there was a small river that we crossed, I actually waded through it to try and get some of the mud off, but it really didn’t matter. I was DIRTY to say the least.
There was also a restaurant at the end of the trail they we decided to go in to warm up and have something to eat.
Nunca en mi vida had I been told liquor helps one to warm up. Anyhow, the dads ordered this sugary shot drink and told us it was great for warming your body…So, we all passed around these hot little shots of liquor, sugar, and cinnamon. I don’t particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol, but I didn’t care because it was something warm.
As I continued to warm up, the fact that I really couldn’t move or feel my hands was becoming more and more obvious. The culmination of this was when I tried to use the restroom. It wasn’t an emergency or anything, but I really just wanted to pull my jean up a bit because they had been falling down inch by inch with all the weight of water and mud on them. Anyways, I closed the door, undid my belt (with a little difficulty), and proceeded to undo the button to my jeans. Nunca en mi vida, had I not been able to go to the bathroom because my hands were too cold! I tried and tried, winced and forced my fingers to grasp the fabric around my button, but I just could not find the strength to get it undone!
Upon arriving home, I was EXTREMLY (as you could imagine) EXTREMLY excited to get into a hot shower asap. Seeing that Maria’s car was gone, I got out my keys to the gate so we could get in. Once in the driveway, we realized that the door that I have keys to was locked from the inside and therefore, we could not get in. After trying BOTH of Maria’s cell phones, and getting no answer, we went for the extreme. Sebas ended up climbing up onto the roof, and opened Maria and Morris' bedroom window. So, eventually, we did get in, and eventually I did get a hot shower. But man, what an adventure.

That's all for now, I hope y'all have great week!
In Christ,
Lindsay