I confess that I should have written more recently than 4+ months after this trip. The trip was amazing. Over 1400 patients served in 4 1/2 days. Really, really great team. Great leader. I’ve highlighted below some things I recall about the trip. They’re mostly just pondering & musings, and anything critical is simply my own thoughts as I ruminate & reflect. I’m always looking to improve, and I think i’ve concluded that there are some areas where I can help and step up in future trips.
This video gives a glimpse of the clinic–it was spread over a couple blocks.
Students
Students are often the best part of any trip. It’s that way for many people, whether they go for that reason or not. I have said that I’ll only go on a trip if there is a contingent of students (particularly from the West), but I realize that can be limiting to a degree. I do think there’s a principle of bringing others with you, though, that I should be more intentional about.
The dental students from Creighton were beasts who had genuine hearts for the Lord, for dentistry, and for the poor. I loved seeing them share the gospel through teaching how to brush teeth.
Colleagues who do it all
Working alongside people who are in healthcare but also leaders within an organization is a joy. Most people in healthcare are leaders wherever they serve, whether coaches, on the board of an organization, within their clinics, etc. As a result, partnering with them administratively is a joy & it’s impressive to learn from them and marvel at their capacity. But they are typically healthcare professionals, first.
To see people work in their element was a true gift this trip. Observing Dave Simon, my roommate, a campus advisor, a discipler, a friend, and an 83 year-old man was a marvel. What commitment, dedication, perseverance, and model. I want to be like him when I grow up. The whole team rallied around Dave at times, and he was truly a warrior for Jesus in his gentle, joyous way.
Jonathan Spenn is probably the most traveled, networked guy I have ever worked with. He’s amazing. But he’s actually a dentist, too! I jested with colleagues back in the states, “Did you know Jon is actually a dentist, too?” What is more, he was an amazing mentor and leader coming alongside students, working with them and including them, and teaching in ways that were more empowering than I’ve observed most people. What a gift!
Kid translators
This was a surprise and taken with mixed reactions. We did the clinic at a private dual-language school in the town of Santa Cruz de la Yoja. It was an impressive school. Many of the 6th-12th graders served that week as translators. Some were better than others, both as tranlators and maturity. And there were so. many. of. them.
Day one was just getting footing & figuring out the flow. Identifying which kids could actually translate or not was a challenge–one some people never could identify. Each translator was paired with (at least) one “Jr. Translator.” The team of doctors and other healthcare professionals were so patient–way more than I was! In fact, to one of the only other healthcare professionals & I, it was a concern. But others were willing to work with the kids & grateful for them.
One “kid” was a fourth grader who was smaller than most 1st graders–and she was actually one of the best of the translators! Very cool. And cute. But I remained concerned about the notion of a patient wanting to share something private with a physician only to have to tell a child who may or may not relay the right message–or worse, not being comfortable to even share with a kid because they are just that, a kid. My guess is that talking about vaginal secretions or bumps in a pubic area would not be comfortable to share with children. But maybe I am just too western. I just think there’s a decency that there is necessary.
But the question is, “What do you do if that is all you have in terms of translators?” You don’t keep patients from doctors willing to help. My main goal when I was a roamer was to ensure the doctors were busy & being used–sometimes even more important than patients being seen.
Obviously there were many places where kids were helpful: dental, eye, pharmacy, and escorts, but when it came to translating for physicians, I just wasn’t comfortable. Moreover, there were so. many. of. them!
Crowd control is a thing
On Day 4 or 5 I decided to pull out half the “translators” into a(n air conditioned) classroom and both play games with them & share Jesus with them. (A quick search of “Family Fued” helped with the former.) It was a “Christian school.” But they didn’t know Jesus. Man, I wish I took them out from the first day. It was putting my old youth pastor hat on. And God even used this old dude!
So what does that have to do with crowd control? At times it felt the crowd was more kids than patients. And the kids were “in charge” of crowd control. I think we assumed the teachers were the ones who would direct the kids how it would work. But flow is a thing. And unless kids know clearly what it is, there will be chaos. And staying on top of the kids to ensure they did what they were supposed to do was a full-time job.
Oh, and the crowd. Both trips I’ve been on have had moments where something needed to be done for crowd control. Once a couple of us decided to take it upon ourselves to “get control” or “provide order,” things were so much more peaceful, predictable, and understood by everyone.
It goes to my “thing” in organizations that I develop systems until they change. So many things are in disarray in orgs, not to anyone’s fault, but no one has said how things will be … until they change. Operating systems on phones, databases, adolescents all change! Nothing stays the same. Adapting to that is important, but context matters & often so many changes happen that there’s no clarity on how to accomplish certain tasks. People just need direction–with the understanding that that direction will change.
It’s a tangent, but it’s me & how I find we should function in many areas better.
Theology Matters
Do you share the gospel before a patient sees the healthcare professional? Or wait until their physical need is met? If your understanding that women can not be in the role of pastor & there is someone willing to train pastors & women show up, are you condoning women in ministry by attending that training? Those were the two big questions that I left asking. I have my answers, but I can certainly be swayed away from them.
The host church rightfully wanted every person who came to the clinic to hear the gospel–the good news about God’s love through Jesus the Christ. That was awesome! I watched the crowd of what seemed like hundreds of people sweating in chairs waiting to get into the clinic. But before they could head that direction, they needed to meet with someone from the church. There were about a dozen people inside the sanctuary talking with patients–sometimes for over 15 minutes. I’m a big fan of caring for people and counseling folks. So awesome. And as I mentioned above, making healthcare workers wait to see patients when there are plenty to see was a priority to me.
The fear was that folks would see the doctors and then not listen to the gospel once they were cared for. And especially when you have English speaking clinicians who are being translated by children, I get the hesitancy to want “your people” to share Jesus with the patients without them bypassing the people from the church who would be there in the community for the people long-term. A tough quandary for sure …
One of the highlights in Nicaragua was being able to train pastors & their spouses. It was a joy, delight, and I think impactful for them. I expected something similar in Honduras. While helpful to some, I think, it was a major disappointment because of a few things:
- Some churches did not attend because other churches sent women
- Some churches who did not send pastors because there was women sent women instead
- Some pastors attended and had much different needs than the others sent from complementarian churches
- The host church pastor didn’t attend
The theological question about condoning women in ministry mentioned earlier in this section remains. I guess I think it’s important for churches to agree and support others in the essentials and not look for reasons why they cannot associate with other churches. Maybe that’s not why they attended, but that was the scuttlebutt.
I need to be more clear on my own expectations & intentions. I think God used the time & I hope (I’ll probably never know), but expectations are a big deal!
Partners on the Ground
I love GHO because we work with people on the ground. Those people are obviously key people[le for both use in the states & those on the ground. To what degree they can help provide connection to the local county and set forth the expectations of the outreach team is vital.
I worked with a guy years ago who said of himself, “I need to be operating a three-ring circus.” He was a high-capacity guy who was a mover and shaker. But he had to juggle. He couldn’t just do one thing. And each thing had to be big.
I have learned that people in healthcare have exponentially more capacity than I do. I’m fairly competent & can handle a bit, but I’m not in the same league as the members in CMDA who I serve. And yet, we all need to know what our capacity is. This is not just for our own sanity, our family, or our ability to do the best, but for those who depend on us.
I remain impressed with some people–and yet I think sometimes we need to let things go & delegate/empower others to do things and let go ourselves (see my comments about Dr. Spenn above).
Degrees of development
I was taken back by the development of Honduras. There were many things that were certainly poor and sad to see–maddening, in fact. But I wouldn’t call it as poor of a country than others I’ve visited Maybe my exposure to other countries or the areas I did not go into in Honduras was the reason for this statement, but that was my general impression. Mexico, Nicaragua, Maddagascar, and Thailand were much more poor, imho.
It really was a great trip! Would I go back? Yes. If students were going. Would I be hesitant? Maybe. I don’t know. But I think I’d have certain expectations expressed before some of what I would do. I’m pretty chill and can go with the flow, but I’m learning where needs are based on the trends I’ve seen in various areas, and I think I know where I can help. It’s probably growing in confidence and experience, but I guess I’m not as much, “Whatever, man!” For better or worse …