The photo was taken on July 9th; we were at a dinner/ice cream social that was hosted for the students and translators. As I was chatting with some of the translators I saw Dr. Leibert and flagged him down. I shared with him a story that began a work in my heart; it was the story of a little girl named Mayra.We had one more house to see before our vans were leaving the Texas colonia. I prayed for our group as we walked up to the beautiful pink stucco home—it stood out against the stark backdrop of trailers and shacks. The inside was equally beautiful: clean tile floor, elegant furniture, and fine furnishings. We were warmly welcomed but within minutes our translator was occupied with one of the older girls and I was without proper communication with mother. When I asked to see if there was someone who could translate for me that’s when Mayra came out of a room in the back of the house. I asked mom a few health related questions and took her blood pressure. Thankfully our translator came back and started talking to mom. I was left with a little 11 y/o Mayra and struck up a conversation. As I struggled to find the words to say to bring this girl the gospel I got a Bible and began to read key passages. Her response: “I want Jesus to be my Savior.”
The photo was taking immediately after I shared this story with Dr. Leibert, he prayed right then that God would continue to develop this vision of bringing the gospel through medicine. God certainly did what he asked. Three days later I spent the day seeing patients with a doctor and translator at a fishing village. We prayed with every patient and brought each one the good news of Jesus.
That’s when 6 years of experience being part of a fast paced medical team in the ER became meaningless. All those cardiac arrests, aortic dissections, traumas, CVAs, and heroin overdoses faded out of my mind. I stopped thinking about the next best case to see, the next exciting drama-queen patient, or the once-in-a-lifetime condition…because medicine finally became satisfying that day.
We go through life chasing after the next best object, person, or experience, perhaps the summer medical institute was one of those experiences I chased after. But what God taught me wasn’t through a grandiose experience; it was a small flicker that few noticed, a slight shift in my life goals and direction, it was by living out the gospel through an activity that any medical person could perform. Medicine alone will be ultimately dissatisfying but medicine with a purpose—to give people as much Jesus as they will take—is eternally gratifying.
Will there be any lasting impact? Only God knows if this will be the end of a journey, but oh, how I hope that this is just a glimpse of the beginning!
“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 4:13-14
2 comments:
Hey =) I'm glad to hear that SMI had such an impact on you and your perspective on medicine. It's interesting because we often talk about how unbelievers are always living for the next best thing and yet as believers, we often have the same mentality. Praise God that you're able to find purpose and joy for what God has called you to in the moment and maintain an eternal perspective.
Amen to that, brother! Awesome to hear how the Lord has used you, and that your heart is open to see it. I pray that he continue to use you powerfully in days to come.
- Alex
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