Beloved feet in Ecuador

Being my first ever medical mission, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to Ecuador to serve with GHO. God graciously guided our team through the week and used our hands to minister to over a thousand patients, seeing many receive Christ and become connected with a local church. Personal moments with patients reminded me of God’s character and awesomeness, as I stood face to face with people, made in his likeness, whose lives were so diversely different from my own. On a particular encounter I was assisting in home visits to geriatric patients who could not get to clinic. The patient was 97 years, with advanced dementia, well cared for by her daughter but no longer able to get out of bed. While checking pulses I was privileged to hold their feet, which were quite cold, while the daughter explained that nobody else was helping to care for the patient, and that others had told her to stop unnecessarily prolonging life. Then the patient began looked me in the eyes, clearly displaying the dignity and value of their life by simply showing their face. It made me almost cry in front of everyone. “Made in the image of God” is all I could think. It struck me that if I could just rub their feet for the whole afternoon that it would be a wonderful use of my time. And I realized in that room that whatever love and care I had for this patient, God had not only put it on my heart, but he himself tremendously loved and cared for this person beyond what I could understand or experience. A heightened awareness of God’s deep care for each person persisted after my return from Ecuador and God has prepared more encounters with my neighbors than I have had for months prior. Past Sunday, I saw my neighbor replacing a speaker on his car door and I stopped to say hi. As we spoke, I found myself deeply interested in his life and eager to listen to his interests and ask how his family was doing. He began to share about his faith as a catholic, that many people who are in church all the time don’t seem very good, and that when he does go to church, he really means it. He asked me what I thought, and I shared that because God is real, I want to know who he is and what he wants for my life. We talked about Jesus, and the good news that God can do everything we can’t do on our own, including right the wrongs we have done. My time on mission with GHO continues to encourage me in conversations like the one I had with my neighbor. Humbled and awestruck by God’s love for patients in Ecuador, I am continually impressed by his love for each person around me who bears his image.