i purchased my ticket last night. its acquisition was not without a few complications, but with the help my mother and a lovely indian man, i'm officially going to guatemala.
recently a good friend asked me an extremely relevant question and i thought it would be good to address it here as i include you guys in my preparation for this adventure.
he asked me, "why go to guatemala to help people when there are so many people in need here?"
as a pre-med student wanting to do medical missions abroad i get this question a lot. but this time i felt like i actually had something worthwhile to say.
first of all, i absolutely acknowledge the need for healthcare and general aid in the US. the recent tornado in alabama makes it impossible to forget that. seeing the importance of meeting that need, i do serve in the US as well as often as i can. service is not an event isolated to foreign countries in my life. but i do feel a particular call to serve abroad.
i think there's a standing misconception that tons of people are going abroad to serve because it's somehow a more glamorous life and they leave all of the under-served people of the united states in a lurch. in my experience, this is absolutely not true. for example, when i checked last week, manna was still accepting applications on a rolling basis. meaning they still have spots. meaning not everyone is leaping at the chance to help others in a foreign country. and it is by no means the more glamorous option. when you work abroad, you typically live in community either with the people you're serving or others you serve with. you don't have much free time and, if you're living with those you serve, you may not even have running water. it's a hard life. and a lot of people talk about doing it, but i think many people would be surprised by how few people actually dedicate their lives to service abroad.
helping others in a different country also requires a specific skill set. obviously being a doctor requires typical doctor skills but serving people who don't speak your language or who come from a completely different cultural background is a different story. the language barrier is what kills it for many people. if you don't already speak the language, you have to work with an interpreter (if there's one available). and even then it's difficult to get used to working with someone else in the room, translating everything that's being said. and supplies are often few and far between so this work demands ingenuity, flexibility, and patience from everyone involved.
we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. if your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
romans 12:6-8
we have all been endowed with a specific set of gifts. and the Bible calls us to use them to their fullest. and so i feel like not using my ability to speak spanish and my heart to provide healing to others would be squandering the gift.
finally, there exists the simple fact that we have more than they do. in the US, we have a much more established community of service organizations and far more resources to help our needy than developing countries do. because of this disparity, i feel led to help even the score.
i fear i've painted a bleak picture of what medical missions looks like. it's not bleak; it's beautiful. it can be discouraging and heartbreaking, but the success stories illuminate out the darkness. it's ridiculously rewarding work and i can't wait to be involved.
and so this is why i want to serve abroad, starting in guatemala and wherever else the Lord will take me. i can't wait to begin this part of the journey He has prepared for me.
if anyone has any questions about anything i've said, feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment. i think this is an incredibly important thing to discuss and would hate to leave anyone feeling unsettled by anything i've said or haven't said.
thanks for all of your support. i'm so excited to continue to share this adventure with all of you. and to actually begin in 35 days. =)
then i heard the voice of the Lord saying, "whom shall i send? and who will go for us?"
and i said, "here i am. send me!"
isaiah 6:8
No comments:
Post a Comment