I awake to a lower energy day and to combat this, I wash our three pairs of scrubs in the sink, ringing them in a towel, and hanging them every which way to dry. I eat my instant oatmeal while sitting by the hotel window looking out at the bright day and I explore my Input strength.
“Those with strong input talents are inquisitive. They love to provide relevant and tangible help to others.”
I smile at this. I stayed up late writing last night. I’ve found that I have a need to process my day through words as I seek relevant and tangible help for myself from above and then seek to pass on what I discover.
It may be a low energy day but it was for a satisfying reason and this will ultimately fuel my new day.
We are going to a different church. It is by a river in the lush countryside. Joe is staying back at the hotel so it is Ari, the team, and I, who head out for our 2 hour drive.
The countryside is a kaleidoscope of tropical yellow and green. The tall grasses wave gently in the wind. It is a cross between watery Bangladesh and the savannahs of Africa, only with better roads. It is perhaps just as narrow, however, as I am startled out of my revelry by the occasional crash on the bus roof as we snap off an overhanging tree branch.
Our church is in a remote, rural town on the western river bank of the second largest river in Mexico. We walk a leisurely dirt path past a mud pond of ducks and chickens. The birds are singing in the trees that canopy our way and we enter the church from behind. The ‘front’ of the church faces the river.
We set up clinic in a partially finished cement building with uneven, loose dirt floors. I am in charge of Joe’s station today and so I set up the height and weight. When I step on the scale, I am pleased to see that I have lost 50 pounds in the last two days! Wow! I must have really been sweating. After a few failed tricks, I move my station to the cement floored church buildings farther away so that I can gain my 50 pounds back😉.
My first patient, 80 yo Susanna, sees that I am heat challenged, already, and offers me her spare hand fan. We bat our eyes at each other over our fans and laugh. Just two little maids from school, I sing.
Magania is my line helper and though we do not share common words we do share a common language of service. Her broad smile melts me each time I look up.
In between my patients, I feel like I’ve entered a zone of invisibility. It’s as if I am transported back in time. The church people are greeting each other warmly. Smiles and laughter float above the conversations. It feels like Old Timers day in rural New Mexico and Philip is everywhere. These are his favorite people, speaking his beloved language,making his best loved foods, and wearing his cherished white straw cowboy hats. Over by the kitchen, I see Philip’s Uncle Pat with his thin, long face and big, bullshit protected ears that peek out from under his 10 gallon. Grandpa Sam with his round face and beautiful bald head comes walking in unsteadily, with his love in one hand and a cane in the other. Philip’s friend Rosario’s twin is here with his contagious smile and laugh. It is a bittersweet zone and I am partially grateful for the quick escape back into work.
Each time I weigh a young man, an older man peeks over my shoulder to see how much the scales says and then makes a few comments in Spanish. I wonder at this but with no interpreter I am left to my own musings. I try to relate that the scale is in pounds and not kilograms but I don’t think I am successful. Later, I suspect that he might have been converting pounds to kg for them and I marvel at his mental math skills. In this heat, my math skills are not at their finest.
In the afternoon, I find myself surrounded by my four amigos: Susanna, Ingrid, Santiago, Issac. They swarm to my side between patients and are shooed away by my math wizard when a new one comes. They teach me Spanish numbers and ABC’s in between.
I begin to flip my water bottle to make it stand and they watch tentatively from the sidelines until my nefarious plan works and they swoop in to join me. The laughter and competition heats up and I make a few furtive glances at the adults to see if we are getting too loud but find instead that not one adult is looking our way. To me, it sounds like a riot in the making but no one seems to even notice.
I love greeting every patient, shaking the hands of the elderly, holding the babies, wooing the under five crowd, playing with the olders. This is my favorite kind of day.
BHWB,
MexicAnne
Tripping with God: Stories of Faith and Inspiration 