Day 1: Take the risk.
I originally came on this mission trip to change others lives, but God had a different plan for me and had others change mine. I expected to see God reflected in the operating room, however, I saw Him shining most in the waiting room. When many families of patients were met with uncertainty and fear regarding their loved one’s upcoming surgery, they decided to approach us with kindness and gratitude and focus on the blessings ahead of them rather than their concern.
Their acts of gratitude reminded me that even the smallest acts of love can leave lasting impacts. Their faithfulness reflected how generosity is not controlled by how much someone gives or donates, but with the amount of love they challenge a situation with. After meeting with one patient’s family after a successful surgery, his daughter was overfilled with joy.
She gave us a handwritten letter stating how she was eternally grateful for this opportunity and it will forever change her father’s life. She ended the letter with Bible verse Proverbs 19:17. It stated, “Whoever shows compassion to the needy lends to Jehovah, and He will reward them for it,”. I believe these 16 words are more than a verse and are the perspective that many of the people we came across lived by. As disciples of God, when we choose grace, we become instruments that God works through.
This was reflected not only from our Faith in Practice team, but from the patients, too. Ultimately these small acts of kindness reminded me that God often reveals Himself through the people that we are called to serve.
Samantha and Charlotte Hirshorn/Blogger & Photographer
