Hope and Love

Sunday, July 13

Today we all got up early to a pancake breakfast! After breakfast, we recommenced our work of sorting pills. We were all determined to finish with the promise of the World Cup final looming in the afternoon! We finished sorting and bagging pills and then helped Pedro pack up the bus full with all the supplies we will need for tomorrow’s work. Once we finished our work, Nury took us on a tour of the Friends of Barnabas compound. Listening to her stories about the extended care program was both moving and informative. We all loved the murals on the walls of the rooms for the extended care patients, especially the Noah’s ark mural!

After finishing our tour we had a little down time before we all piled into one of the vans and Nury’s truck and went to the grocery store to get a couple snacks. After the grocery store, we went to a restaurant to eat lunch and watch the World Cup final. The game was particularly exciting because there was a group of rambunctious Germans in the restaurant watching the game with us. Seeing their enthusiasm for the game and their country was both exciting and inspiring! Following the game (YAY, Germany) we went back to Alfredo house. Before dinner we entertained ourselves with reading, napping, and some particularly competitive card game playing!

Right before dinner our translators for the week, Gabriel and Selim, came to eat with us. It was fun to talk with them, especially because last year they had worked with others from our church. After dinner, one of our team members Anne Marie led us in a devotional. She encouraged us all to think on the absolute power of hope and love. She said, “I encourage us all to let God speak through our words, our actions, and our sincere care. For it will be in those moments that we will truly observe and feel the love God has for each of us.” This devotional expressed the importance of our work and reminded us of what to keep in mind for our first day of work tomorrow. We’re all excited for our first clinic tomorrow and cannot wait to see where God will lead us.

The Reveille UMC Mountain Medical Team