On Friday morning, May 16, I rose from bed early as I had a lot to do, a long way to travel and an early meeting time at the Montrose airport for our weekend trip to Mexico with Samaritan Aviation Fellowship.I got Tim up and we got ourselves ready, then got the girls ready, and lastly got Josiah up, who was none too happy about being hauled out of his cozy crib before dark.We got into our van and headed down to town to arrive by 7:15am, an hour away.We were some of the first to arrive.
There was a little delay in getting the third airplane to our airport so that everyone could leave, and since I was in the plane being piloted by the organizer of the outreach, we didn’t get to leave until 10 am.We had a wonderful tailwind, however, and made up for part of the delay in the air by arriving in 3 hours instead of 4 to the Mexicali airport at the Mexican border.We connected with one more private plane out of California and flew on to San Quitin arriving sometime after lunch.The airport looked interesting as we flew in because it had tall dust devils formed on either side of the landing strip as we landed.The area is in severe drought.It was a dirt landing strip, and the pilots just parked the planes over to one side.I don’t think it even had a wind sock visible to the pilots from the air, and I heard a lot of discussion prior to our landing about wind direction and so forth.It was a wonderfully clear day, and was actually cold most of the time until we were flying over Mexico.I loved the scenery from the smaller plane – the highest we flew was like 14,500 feet, I think.You could see many unique land formations, and we even saw an edge of the Grand Canyon.
I think we finally got to eat lunch around 2:30.Then we headed over to the clinic where we had a waiting room full of patients expecting us.I was the only physician assistant, then there was two family practice doctors from my area, an optometrist, and an EMT.We saw the patients quickly and were done by 6pm or so.We had a late supper on the coast, but it was too dark to see the water.
We stayed in a little “resort” made for volunteers to the mission where we worked.It wasn’t bad.The rooms were like dorms with about 12 bunk beds, but I was the only “single” lady, and I slept there with the wife of the Samaritan Aviation organizer.We weren’t there much.Fruit trees abounded – lemon, orange, grapefruit, etc.
Saturday we went to the mission/orphanage again and ate breakfast and had a short devotional.It was about being culturally sensitive to the people we served.I took it to heart and felt it was very appropriate.We then went back to the mission clinic, and we again were met by a room full of people waiting for us.This time our numbers were added by a Mexican dentist and another physician (also Mexican).I stayed up front seeing the general medicine patients – a long of gyne issues, stomache problems, etc.The other three physicians went to a surgical suite and worked on removing lumps and moles, etc.The eye doctor had another area, as well as the dentist.I think the final count including everyone for both days was 79 total patients and about 25 of them were lesion removals.At the end of the day people kept slipping in, and we kept thinking we were done, then we had two more, one more, two more…We finally got done around 5 pm.I think for me the highlight was seeing a Norplant removed.I heard that they were discontinued in the US about 7 years ago!I also enjoyed working with a translator again, and finding that I remember some of my Spanish from when I was in Guatemala 2 years ago.
The construction crew was still working, and so we went back to our sleeping quarters to wait for them to get back so we could eat supper.We had eaten lunch at the clinic as we could get away.They brought the food over to us there.We had tacos for supper at a neat little stand on the main street of the village we were in, then we drove back to the beach in the dark again and had a campfire and talked for a couple of hours.It was really foggy and cool there.
One of the doctors brought his family on this trip, and I saw how nicely that worked.They had two young daughters, ages 6 and 8.Their mother worked with the children in a room at the back of the clinic doing crafts and fun activities with the children who waited with their families to be seen at the clinic, and with some of the orphanage children.I think the two girls had a good time working there too.It was their first experience in another culture outside of their country.I hope in the future I can bring my kids too.I will probably take them one at a time though, as I will be working in the clinic and won’t be able to devote as much time to them.They can be my helpers.They’ve had some experience doing this while we were in Guatemala, and my two oldest daughters do very well at this.Who knows, maybe we can all go as a family some day too, but not until our two youngest are a lot older.
Sunday we went to breakfast at the mission, had a tour of the mission and orphanage, and then we went back to the airport.On our way out, our four planes “dive bombed” the little mission church (with prior approval) as a way to say goodbye.It was really fun, and definitely a great way to end the weekend.We had to stop at the border on both sides on our way back, and didn’t arrive back to Montrose until 7:30 pm.
This is our entire group standing in front of the mission sign.
This is the group of medical providers, plus one of the nurses who worked there full time (the man on the right).
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
This is part of Show and Tell with Canadagirl. Go to her blog to see more.
What a fantastic testimony! We have friends who for many years worked at Rancho de sus Ninos in Techate ( Sp). My son is headed to Guatemala for his second missions trip. Keep up the awesome work!
One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty, the beauty of the Lord. To inquire in His temple, the temple of the Lord.
This is my everyday thoughts about being a mother to three little ladies (10, 9 and 4) and a toddler son. We serve God full-time, and I am a physician assistant. I have the most awesome husband in the world. I am trying to seek God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength.
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