And the word of the day is...Adjustment

Oops! Rolando’s passport is missing; the trip leader can’t take the trip! He recruits Glenn to pinch hit as second team leader. Glenn no habla espanol; never been to Peru, either. Never been on any mission trip, actually. No problemo. The team is strong. Dr. Eric Bascunon, the other team leader, has lived, trained and worked in Peru; his family is in Lima. Centura’s mission support team has set things up well in advance.

If you get Jennifer McConnell, Porter Emergency Nurse, talking about adjustment, she will tell you something many people have spent a whole life learning: "I've discovered that life works much better since I realized that I'm not in charge here. God is in charge, so I'm much better off when I go along with the program, with what's actually happening, than if I try to be in charge."

On the airplane as the sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico, Dr. Bascunon expresses his concern about several patients he will follow up from prior procedures. Then Pedro gets his attention. “Pedro” is a representative of all the little boys who live in villages along the Amazon and Nampo Rivers. Pedro is bothered by parasites. We will be able to give him some medicine to kill the parasites, but what then? Pedro will, after we leave, drink again from the river. Pedro will eat with dirty hands and grungy fingernails. And he will have parasites again. Another organization will bring medicine, and another, but Pedro will have parasites again. He will almost always have either too much, or not enough medicine, because the medical visits are random. And Pedro will drink again from the river… Dr. Bascunon has a passion to make a difference for Pedro, to work with the government and other agencies to develop an effective public health program for Pedro’s village and the others along the river.

In fishing language, on this trip we will give Pedro a fish; thanks to Dr. Bascunon and his efforts with the Ministry of Health, we may soon help Pedro learn to fish.

Blessings from Porter’s South Campus, Iquitos, Peru,

Glenn