Today was our last surgery day….we had 21 patients
scheduled, about 9 cleft lips, some frenulectomies (tongue tied) and some ear
tubes- a new procedure for me on a mission but there is some research on the
hearing/speech difficulties in children with cleft palates so they have started
this in Mexico. It was a more rapid pace than any other day but also fairly
simple surgeries. None less important today than any of the other days and just
as many darling children. We were done by 2:30 & back at the hotel. Brittany
was resting since she worked last night so I took an hour nap & then we
both got up & visited – really, we had not had much time together being on
opposite shifts & it was so wonderful to have that hour or so to just talk.
She is such an amazing Christian young woman with the best heart. I am so glad
we had this time together again! By 4:30 we were starving so we went to the
hotel restaurant (which everyone has eaten at & is “safe”) and I had
chicken fajitas – the BEST meal I have had all week!!! Kristina the PC came
& joined us & the 3 of us talked there until 6. I love meeting these
young women who teach me so much & always feel like “extra daughters”. The “Team
Fiesta” was to start at 8 so we all then needed to get ready.
The fiesta was walking distance away which was nice & they
had a social hour, showed the slide & video show & then had tacos. I
thought that Jen & Georgia Salke had already left today & then they
came up to me at the party & said “we’ve been looking for you”. We talked
about the mission, the children, the wonderful work they do as advocates &
I said it was so lovely to have met them & had that day with them. Jennifer
said “well we WILL see you in Park City – it is a very chill 2 days – we can
watch the races in the tent, have a lovely lunch – you will love it & we
will get you all set up”. I really didn’t expect #1 for them to seek me out
& #2 for her to talk again about me coming to the event in Park City…was
this another “mission Connection” I was intended to have here in Chiapas? I talked
to Georgia a bit & said by the time I see you again you will almost be done
with your freshman year at Brown & I want to hear about that. She said I
would meet her twin in Park City. They were just genuinely nice people who I am
sure make a difference in many circles but here my little world intersected with
their world – that would have never happened anywhere else… They too have a early
private flight to LA in the morning so they left right after we talked & I
said my goodbyes to others & left shortly thereafter taking in the cobbled
walkway & people & sounds of Chiapas as I walked back to the hotel.
My week in Chiapas is coming to an end – literally in 5
hours (3:30 am) I will be on a shuttle to the Tuxtla airport to catch my 6:15
flight to Mexico City & then my flight from Mexico City to LAX. I truly
have been “Off the Grid” this week and been so blessed to have this time here.
Something that 3 weeks ago was not “in my plan”; and I am typically all about plans
& calendars and schedules. This reminded me I need to be open to the
unplanned & unexpected. I need to take more cues from the opportunities
that show up that take me to places and people like this, that remind me we are
all God’s Children all over the world & we need to reach out in love &
service, put aside differences of opinions, politics, ethnicity, religious
beliefs, and pre-conceived ideas about others and look for all the ways we are
alike and lift & love others. It reminded me also to be gentler and patient
with myself and how very blessed I am with a wonderful family and friends who
support me in my desire to serve in this capacity. These are not all new lessons,
but they were ones that perhaps had gotten misplaced in schedules & agendas
& meetings at work, family responsibilities, day to day life and a million other
little things. Chiapas & this mission did for me exactly what I needed –
flipped my brain, gave me an opportunity for OSI mission experiences, meeting new
people, loving strangers, being a cog in Heavenly Fathers plan for some of His
children’s needs here – Andrea, Carlos, the grandma & her grandson, Omar,
Domy, the missionaries here in this area and the 109 families whose lives this
team changed and most importantly changes in me. Life is about constantly
changing & refining yourself & being a better version of who you are
meant to be & I have a lot more changing to do….I leave with a full &
humble heart there were 109 new smiles made by the team +1 (mine) so 110 lives
changed.
I am ready for my soft bed, clean water from the tap, a
warmer shower, not worrying if there is toilet paper in the bathroom & eating
a salad & fresh vegetables without worrying about getting sick. I am
appreciative of all medical care & technology we have in the USA where
these cleft lips are corrected in the first weeks of life & children are
not teased or shunned because of them. I recognize the innumerable blessings
& resources I enjoy every day & don’t always recognize….I am SO BLESSED
Good Night for the last time from Chiapas. Until my next OSi
mission 😊 
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