As In a Mirror

Yay! The funny thing is, the ideas for this story have been in the developmental stages in my mind for like a YEAR, so now it is just a matter of getting them down in written form when I am too tired to think! So here it is, Chapter 3 of Never Be Lost.

Finally, they were coming close to their destination; a little village, not far from which was their clinic. The group got up at dawn to pray and discuss plans one more time. Afterward, most of the people, who had been on these trips before, set into the routine.

Ben looked out on the scene. Evidence of the flood was unmistakable, even though the waters had receded a few weeks ago. Parts of the high banks were cut off, tree roots lay exposed, while fallen trees lay scattered along the river and the land; everything was covered in mud. When they reached the village, Ben noticed that the huts weren’t all collectivized but rather scattered around the jungle.

The clinic that had been built four years ago had just been repaired by a previous mission, but it was still pretty dirty and unkempt. The mission immediately set to cleaning and organizing, to prepare for the flock of natives soon to be seeking medical attention. This particular village already had its own small church, the fruit of indigenous pastors and missionaries. Mr. Decker had pointed this out to the rest of the group when they set out, but it was different for the kids to see it.

So days became busy with making some repairs, cleaning, and setting up the clinic.

On the third day, Ben and Alex had their hands rather full sorting through the boxes of supplies, and distributing them.

Alex: Here’s some gloves, masks… surgeon’s tools…
Ben: You mean like a chainsaw?
Alex: Not funny. Now here’s some lights, dental tools… what’s this? Spanish for “Day-Quil”?
Ben: OK; three is enough; getting heavy.
Alex: All right, to the dentist’s office.

Ben walked down the whitewashed halls to the dentist’s office. On the west corner of the building, it was airy and sunny. Lanie was working to get the room set up and ready to function. She sighed a little at the arrival of more boxes. On the walls, she had just put up some Spanish posters for the clinic.

Lanie: Hey, this look good?
Ben, feeling slightly awkward at being asked his opinion on an artistic detail, not to mention that wasn’t a fluent reader of Spanish, teasingly remarked, “The middle one’s off center,” and slinked toward the door, not soon enough to dodge the crumpled newspaper packing Lanie threw at him.

The afternoon continued with the flurry of activity, in everyone’s minds the anticipation of Indians needing medical attention.

Alex and Ben had finally got the big equipment set up in the dentist’s room, when Jade came in to announce the long-awaited “Break time!”

Jade: Room looks nice; it’s starting to take shape.
Alex: Yeah, say, we got those posters in Espanol? Cool, about flossing, other clinical services, and the gospel!
Jade: They look really nice, Lanie.
Lanie shoots a reprimanding glare at Ben, who suddenly finds great interest in the corner of the ceiling and whistles a spontaneous tune.
Jade: Well, we do seem to be getting into a schedule.
Alex: Quite a schedule! Boxes, boxes, boxes! I’m gonna be smelling latex and cardboard for weeks after we get home!
Lanie: And whitewash.

Once the place got all set up, the typical busy schedule of a medical missions trip ensued.
The kids learned basic phrases in Spanish and the local tongue from Kip Jones, and even learned to understand and communicate through gestures.
The schedule was busy, but fun. Sometimes, though, it was hard to see the sufferings of the people.

One day, Jade and Lanie were busily preparing a stew in the kitchen, when Arlene poked her head in and said, “Lanie, Dr. Bentley’s asking for you. There are some kids who need attention, and he wants you to hand him tools and keep the kids calm.
Lanie: OK, be right there. Sorry to leave you all alone Jade.
Jade: Oh, don’t worry about it. See ya!

About two hours later, Lanie comes running breathless into the room where the other three happened to be.
Lanie: Guys! There’s an Indian out there speaking English!
The others were a bit perplexed.
Alex: What do you mean?
Lanie: You see, he’s not from around here. Indians pointed to him and said he’s from a totally different tribe, so Dr. Bentley thought he’d be having trouble communicating, but this guy spoke in English when he heard Dr. Bentley, and he says his name’s Juao, and he brought a little boy with an eye problem from all the way down the river! That’s really far, and I heard Mr. Decker saying all this stuff to the doctor afterward about that part of the river not having been reached before or something…
Alex: And English isn’t a common language out here.
Ben: Well, where is this guy now? He still here?

I figured this humorous side of the story would be a nice interval in between very somber and challenging material. You may remember that my intention is to take REAL challenges and struggles for missionaries, Christians, South Americans, and others and put them in story form. So feel free to tell me what you think. And as a sidenote, the title, “Never Be Lost,” has a dual meaning, which will be communicated in later chapters!