Emily Guimaraes led today’s morning devotional with a focus on gratitude. “One of the most helpful spiritual disciplines that I have ever undertaken comes from that admonition of Fred Rogers,” Guimaraes says to the group, “look for the helpers.”
In 1999, the world’s neighbor, Fred Rogers, sat for a marathon four-hour interview with the Television Academy. Amidst the history and the memories, he shared a piece of wisdom his mother gave him as a boy—a mantra that has since become a global lifeline: ‘Look for the helpers.’ It was her way of teaching him that even in the deepest shadows, the light is always there if you know where to look.
“In a situation where things are going wrong, look for the people who are trying to make a difference,” Guimaraes says, “once we begin to open our eyes to the things that are right, we can’t stop seeing them. And this is not an exhausting habit of mind. This is a restorative habit of mind, to shift our mindset, to look around for all the ways that we are provided for.”
Adopt this practice, and the world opens up. We notice the staggering abundance all around us in Antigua: the ring of the church bells, the morning calls of two hundred species of birds, the beautiful weather and mountain air, the awesome power and restless energy of the Volcan de Fuego. Light it everywhere.
“One of the things that I encourage our patients,” Guimaraes continues, “is to experience the miracles of healing that happen in their bodies after surgery. Our bodies naturally move themselves back towards health. All the time.
All those surgical incisions close. All of these are gifts.”
Over the course of the day, we see another forty patients. It’s a wonder to witness our team collaborate with the team at Las Obras—working together in such harmony. Some of our nurses greet the Las Obras team with hugs, we share meals together at lunch, and thanks to founding Faith In Practice Board Member Ivonne Anzueto, have a basket of fresh cookies waiting for us at break time.
Back at the hotel, Guimaraes asks the group to share their reflections on this trip, what we are grateful for, what we experience as abundance. “There’s an abundance of joy,” says nurse Jessie Schray, who works alongside a team of post-anesthesia care unit nurses that gently guide patients through the process of recovery. “Everyone is so relieved and so grateful,” she continues, “and have a really beautiful way of waking up. I definitely see this joy in my colleagues as well.”
Scrub tech Talana Westrum speaks to the gratitude she has for the level of professionalism and skill present in this team and the Las Obras nurses she works with. “The abundance of skill that we are bringing with us,” Westrum says, “and the skill of the Las Obras staff is just, truly, amazing.”
Westrum pauses to honor the levity that sustains the team. “I want to speak to the abundance of laughter we share,” she says, taking a moment, and adds, “sometimes I don’t get an abundance of laughter, so this is a gift.”
The room sits quietly in collective recognition: we all know the feeling when life feels like a whirlwind and work feels like a weight. This mission exists in part to pull us back, to remind us that this work is important, our purpose is vital, and that service, at its heart, is a joyful calling.
Anesthesiologist Hamish Rickett, opening his heart, says that along with the laughter there’s an abundance of love. “From each and every one of you,” he says, looking out to the group, “and from our patients.”
Emily Guimaeres Prayer Bulletin reminds us all to “take note of everyday gifts you didn’t fully appreciate. The bird and plant life. The profusion of knowledge, and language. The gifts of both sunshine and rain. The gift we have in one another.”
