The alarm goes off. It’s 3:30am on the Eastern coast of the U.S. and the Sun has only just risen over Iceland. Five minutes later the back-up alarm goes off, and I agree to hop down off the bed and slide into the clothes set out the night before. As I call for an Uber and sip a glass of water at the kitchen sink, I notice my neighbor through the window who’s either still holding onto his Friday night or jumping early into his Saturday morning.
I try to distinguish if my Uber driver’s name is Kia or Stephanie but soon realize that her last name probably shouldn’t be displayed and is most likely not ‘Forte.’ Jazz is playing. Stephanie asks me which terminal to go to. I’ve been in the air heading Southwest from D.C. to Houston for over an hour before the Sun catches my plane, and morning declares itself with a golden light. After a crowded and elbow-restrictive flight, I descend once again to a welcoming runway. Most of the team is Houston-based and is breakfasting at the food court when I arrive. Although I don’t really know any of the faces on the team, I know which shirts to look for and quickly find Sam McClanahan – a veteran of FIP and one of this week’s circulating nurses. He quickly introduces me to the rest of McClanahan-Clan and then points me in a Huebner direction. I join the team’s namesakes over a breakfast of tacos, beans, and rice then hurry to E1 to catch our Guatemala City bound flight. United flight UA1751 noses into the sky on schedule and due south. Guatemala, here we come.
This week’s team is comprised of plumbers (urologists & gynecologists), anesthesiologists (these guys are sleep-inducing), Manish (an ear, nose, and throat guy), nurses (they do all sorts of stuff), a pharmacist (total pill-pusher), el pastor, translators (traductores), administration (shipping and processing), and the real stars of the trip: the cooks. Everyone is prepped and ready to serve the people of Guatemala. Each member of this year’s team, like every FIP team, brings a unique set of skills and experiences. This is the first trip for many and the 20th trip for a few, but what binds us together in service is not experiences or skills or specialties – it is each person’s willingness to follow the example of Christ to care for the poor, the sick, the weak, and the needy of Guatemala. This week’s team seeks to follow the admonition of Jesus to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
As our flight made its final descent into Guatemala everyone on the team was given a piece of paper for our immigration processing. Among other things, this document asked us to identify ourselves, to tell how we were entering the country, and to list things to declare. As banal things normally do, this form intrigued me for reasons it certainly was not intended to. I thought about whom I was going to Guatemala as: was I going as Joel Bacon or as Christ follower? I thought about how I was entering the country: was it on a plane or on the prayer and support of friends, family, and fellow believers? I thought about what I had to declare: was it $10,000 (definitely not) or that Jesus sacrificed himself to offer salvation to all who believe and call on his name? I hope it’s the latter in all three questions.
Please join us this week in prayer and support for safety during surgeries and clarity when working with the patients and their families.
-Joel Bacon 4/1/2017