“In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps,” Proverbs 16:9
When we had to cancel our first campaign due to Covid in April of 2020, we were holding out hope that it would pass quickly and travel could resume that year. It did not. For the previous 15 years, we had never gone an entire year without at least one medical campaign, so in our hearts, we were optimistic that in 2021 we would travel. After all, patients continued reaching out to our medical coordinator in Peru curious as to when we would return. Lockdowns came and went in Peru, but injuries that required surgeries never stopped. Potential surgical patients who eagerly anticipated our arrival in April of 2020 continued to reach out, seeking hope. Our prayers turned from patiently waiting, to exasperation and bewilderment. The spring of 2021 turned into summer, summer turned into fall and our longing continued to grow, bordering on frustration. Why would God prevent us from doing the work He ordained us to do? Despite our great desire, we kept running into roadblocks preventing a medical campaign. In the moment, we couldn’t understand that God’s “no” was a “not-yet”. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, we were able to get an administrative team to Peru in the Fall of 2021. Our administrative leaders walked away from that admin meeting with many questions but some hope. God had been pruning our hearts for nearly two years, to remind us that our dependence was solely on Him. We got the news on that trip that there was a tentative date for a medical campaign early in 2022. The news was met with tears of joy (and truthfully a hint of reserved caution) as we felt God speak clearly. The calling to bring healing through free orthopaedic surgeries to Pucallpa must continue.
Our Mission motto is to be a gift of Hope, Light, and Surgery to the Peruvian Amazon. Throughout this process of eager anticipation God reminded us that we to are in desperate need of that same Hope & Light. Please pray with us as we are a week away from sending our first medical team back to Peru. It is only fitting that God placed these words before us recently, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” Romans 12:12
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