A Community Transformed
“Please come teach at our school,” invited the Director of the public elementary in the small pueblo of Anocaraire, on the outskirts of Cochabamba, Bolivia. From that time on, we were invited to come and teach different health related subjects at the school from hygiene to reproduction! What a privilege it was to share God’s view on that with students in a culture where they don’t talk a lot about some of these topics.
My husband and I were Short Term Coordinators for the medical volunteers serving at Hospitals of Hope at the time. It was such a privilege to serve in this way. I loved the enthusiasm of these pre-med and med student volunteers as they learned to integrate health care and evangelism.
“That’s not enough,” said one volunteer. “The children are learning good hygiene practice, but if their parents don’t learn it, the cycle may never change, or not for 20 years!” So they began planning a community wide event to teach hygiene and introduce them to Christ.
These “crazy” volunteers from the US went door to door inviting families in the community to come to the clinic for a night of education. The community was curious what these crazy “gringos” were up to, …so they came! There were probably 80 in attendance. The volunteers not only presented how to care for oneself physically, but also spiritually. They performed a mime that included the Crucifixion and forgiveness- a difficult topic in a culture that holds grudges and has no words in their Quechua language for “I’m sorry.” The performance was powerful! A team of Bolivian seminary students had been invited and they were there to share more deeply with those in the audience. Many people made a confession of faith that night as they learned to trust Christ for the first time.
Years later, the community was slowly transformed. It didn’t happen all at once, but gradually lives were changed, through opportunities like this (from volunteers who were only there for a matter of days or weeks), to doctors and nurses sharing their reason for hope with their patients on a regular basis. The stronghold of alcoholism and pagan practices began to lift. The church grew. It is not without its struggles, but through the faithfulness of many Christian national health care professionals and many who served in Short Term Medical Missions, lives continue to be changed.
A Testimony of Faithfulness
I was back visiting the community long after this event transpired. Don Jorge came riding up the dusty cobblestone street on his bike wearing a grin and his usual blue soccer jersey. He stopped me as I was walking from the bus. “Do you remember me?” he asked. “Of course I do,” I said, but then confessed that I couldn’t remember his name. I had seen him many times on this familiar road and often at the hospital. He said, “I was hoping to see you again. I wanted to thank you.” “Thank me? For what?” I asked. “You shared the gospel one morning before they began attending patients,” he said, “And I accepted Christ.” Words cannot express what a precious moment that was for me. I asked him if he’s gotten plugged into a local church. He answered smiling, “Yes, and not only that, but my wife and my 3 daughters are all following the Lord now, too!” My heart melted and we both praised God together in that moment.
I share all of this with you not for my credit, but that God can use you any time you’re willing to follow Him and share the words He gives you to share. We often don’t get to see any fruit (He knew I needed some encouragement in that moment). But isn’t it cool, to know that if we are faithful to share Him in the brief moment he gives us with a patient, that He will be faithful to do the rest?
Please come talk with me at the SIM Booth at the GMHC about how you could play a role in transforming lives while serving the Lord through medical missions.
