Sweating with Jesus

And just like that we reached our final clinic day. I ended my trip by working in the dental clinic. I had helped plan the entire dental clinic process so watching it finish out was exciting. After 40 minutes of driving, we realized our clinic spot was deep in the mountains. Our view was absolutely amazing as we climbed higher and higher along the dirt road. Eventually, we were surrounded by a little community. I quickly realized this was the poorest community we had seen. Very few children where wearing shoes and they were all covered in dirt from head to toe. Dust covered their hair in a ragged nest upon their head. Still, the second our bus stopped they surrounded us with smiles and asked for our hands. We set up our clinic in the community church. Although I haven’t talked much about this, I feel it is important to point out that Guatemala is HOT. I’m not talking Pennsylvania in the summer hot... I’m talking sweat dripping down your back the second you wake up kinda hot. We all pushed through this barrier with minimal complaints... until today. The church was beyond hot and stuffy with dust filling the air. When looking around, it looked like we had all had a bucket of water dumped on us. I could feel myself melting in my shoes by the minute. As we tried to rehydrate and fan ourselves, I realized this was all temporary for us. We would soon go home and jump in the pool and shower. We had access to more than enough water to prevent dehydration and plenty of food waiting to refuel our bodies. But these people... they only had this heat. There was no water constantly available to them and, (by the bones of the children), food was clearly sparse. This was their reality. Day in and day out they walked the dirt roads and lived in their stick made houses. I starred at these dusty, smiling children and realized a little heat wouldn’t hurt. We persisted on and got through family after family. I smiled at each child as they headed over to the dental clinic and I gave them stickers with funny animals on it solely to see their 3 tooth smile. We saw more disease in this group of people than I’ve ever seen. Lice, scabies, heart murmurs, GI bleeding, alopecia... the list goes on. As we finished up our day in the church clinic, I starred at the dust floating in the light of the door. For a moment, I actually felt the Lord with me. I don’t know if He was proud or appreciative or just happy to see his children together. After all, we are all His children and equal in his heart. The community leader thanked us dearly for helping her people, but honestly?... I have even more to thank of them. They have opened my eyes to the value of gratitude, compassion, and happiness even in the worst of times. I have realized how much I take for granted and how fortunate I truly am. The key to a happy life does not depend on what life gives you, but rather what you do with it. If these children can live out these values every day, I surely can. I reflected on this with the dust in my lungs and God in the presence of the people. My goal on this trip was to do good, not only in the eyes of the families of Guatemala, but in the eyes of God.... and in my own eyes (the hardest eyes of all). I felt the sweat roll down my face, but I pushed it away and smiled... I’d sweat with Jesus any day.