Today is a holiday in Guatemala. It's also the first day of May which is when we all start anticipating the rainy season! The ground is so dry and the air just heavy with heat and dust. But last night we were blessed with one of the first good rains of the season! What relief, and everyone was buzzing about how they heard the rain during the night. This year we decided to work the holiday and stagger our staff's days off to have long weekends. Thanks to Sheri's timely return we got this all planned out and were able to keep the clinic open today. We are all so glad to have Sheri back with us! There were lots of patients happy to be able to come without taking a day off from work.
We saw quite the variety of interesting cases--a possible case of malaria in an older gentleman who still travels back and forth to the coast, a diabetic with a recent toe amputation, a teenager with vertigo, a young man with respiratory problems probably stemming from his welding job, a midwife with a mass in her liver or pancreas, and a first-time pregnant mama with transverse presentation of the baby and onset of labor pains today.
But the one who really touched me was an older Christian lady with some generalized aches and pains but also a fear of death that is always on her mind. We talked together with her family about what it might be like after we die and are waiting for Christ's return, about whether we would feel pain or discomfort in death. We talked about how Christ has taken the sting death away and how Paul talks about those who have gone before as being asleep. That we especially as Christians don't even have to worry about anticipating the judgement that will come when Jesus returns. We talked about God's love for us and how he gives us good gifts. She was even anxious about dying and leaving the home she loves so much so we talked about what our place prepared by Jesus might be like (maybe a cozy adobe home for her!). She affectionately patted me on the chest and left with a smile on her face. May the peace that passes understanding continue to wash away the fears and doubts we all have.
