Hospitals Of Hope

by Phil Song

The past three months have certainly been an adventure, whether at the clinic, at the guest house, or in the city. All of my journaling and writing can only capture and record a fraction of the things that I have seen, done, and learned in my time here. Lest I commit the futile error of trying to convey a few months’ experience in its entirety to you, here’s a snapshot summary of some salient experiences which come to mind. Although by no means complete, I hope that this can give you an idea of the things which impacted and changed me the most here.

Medical cases: Each “case” has a human story behind it, and patients are people, never mere medical cases. I’ve seen dermal fungi, huge abscesses, tumors, wounds, and internal ailments on many parts of the body in the clinic. Two instances that come to mind are a ten-year old girl with third-degree oil burns all over her body who only came in for treatment once and never came back and a 40-year old woman with metastasized breast cancer and a tumor the size of a grapefruit (she had thought it was just an abscess and would go away soon, and so hadn’t obtained any medical consultations until she came to HOH). In my time in the clinic, I’ve learned much about how to interact with patients, how to respond to requests and crying children, how to try to address a medical problem while keeping the dignity and humanity of the person in mind.

Guest-house life: I experienced firsthand that sometimes the greatest ministry might not be in the clinic or an organization – but in the patient caring for people who need it most. I see much need for flexibility and endurance in a missionary’s life.

Patients: During my first few days at the clinic, I was clumsy and somewhat embarrassed in front of the patients, for what could a college-kid from Boston ever know or understand about their needs and backgrounds? However, I’ve become comfortable greeting others, approaching them and talking about the Bible or anything else [in Spanish], speaking pidgin Quechua, and basically not being timid – and this has carried over into other areas…

This entire autumn in Bolivia has been a story of restoration in my life – through humbling experiences, I’ve been renewed with a thankfulness for my opportunities and with a desire to jump back into school.

Being brought out of the bustling Cambridge atmosphere I’d been steeped in for a few years into a place of peace where God could really reveal areas where I needed reflection and improvement has been one of the things to be most thankful for here.

The more I have been shown how much I have been given in the States, the more I perceive my requisite responsibility to use what I’ve been given towards the good of others. (One of my favorite quotes says, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”)

Tolstoy wrote in one of his stories that true happiness can only be found in serving and living for others; in a sense, this is what I have found after being in Bolivia. I see now that losing myself in a greater purpose, that of serving God and others, is what I was truly made for.