What an Experience!

Written by Morgan V.

To be completely honest, I did not feel confident going into this mission trip. I just didn’t have any experience in the medical field and did not know what I personally could do to help the people here. When we started the first day of the clinic I was given the job of checking people into the clinic, which is what I continued doing today, and I was unsure of my Spanish skills and was really nervous at the start. It took a while to get comfortable with, but once I got the hang of talking to the patients coming in I came to realize they are really kind and respectful people. They each understood that I was not great at speaking and understanding Spanish, and a lot of them thanked me for helping them in the clinic. Today I even got to help a lady up the stairs, and she was so grateful for the help. I have learned that there is no greater feeling than helping another person and making them smile. One of the fun ladies I saw and helped yesterday came in again today to get some help with her forms, and she was so excited to see me again. I liked being the person in the check-in area because I was the face that people saw when they first came in and when they left. I didn’t meet one person who was rude or ungrateful for the help we were giving them.

Morgan and Abby V.

I also cannot thank the group we are with enough. God has blessed us with such a great group of people to work together for a good cause. I have no complaints because everyone takes part in some way to keep the flow going during the clinic. I am not usually good at meeting new people, but this crew made it very easy to become something more than just “some people who got together from church”. We have become a very strong, connected team, and this is only after a couple of days. I cannot wait to see the things this group can do throughout the rest of this week.

Market in Lima

I think the thing that shocked me the most when we first got to Peru, which was when we were in Lima, was how truly poor the whole area is. It’s sad to see the conditions most Peruvians are living in. It was a bit of a culture shock, especially in these hotels we’ve been staying in. I would say these are higher class hotels in this area, but most still don’t even have clean water. It helps me realize why we are here to help these people through the medical mission. I have been thanking God every day for how blessed I am for the life I have, and I can’t wait to learn more lessons in the coming days here in Paita.

Sylvia at Triage