From final clinics to hot showers and Halloween crowds
A quiet morning before our last clinic — the mountains wrapped in mist.
We woke a little later today since we were already set up. Breakfast, as usual, was delicious — ham and cheese quesadillas, bacon, and warm cinnamon rolls. Ric made coffee, which felt like such a treat after the long week.
The plan was for me to see about ten patients, but as often happens, I ended up seeing fourteen. The first few were Spanish speakers, which made communication so much easier. When someone spoke Quechua, I needed two translators — one from Quechua to Spanish and another from Spanish to English — and sometimes it felt like a puzzle, but somehow we always got there in the end.
I saw a little baby with bronchiolitis, a young boy with a cold, and several others with aches and minor illnesses. Then an elderly lady came in, and my heart just ached for her. She had no relatives, could barely walk, and had cataracts clouding both eyes. The general coordinator, Roger, had actually brought her in using a wheelbarrow. Later, I learned that someone had shared her story on social media, and enough donations were raised to build her a small house. What a gift — the kindness of strangers reaching across miles.
Brought in by wheelbarrow — a reminder of love and dignity beyond words.
After clinic, Mosheh asked both Ric and me (separately) to share why we keep coming back to Peru. It was touching — he wanted to capture our hearts in words, not just pictures.
Once everything was packed up, we had lunch and then made our way back to Cusco. The sight of the hotel was very welcome after six days without a shower! The first long, hot shower felt like heaven.
That evening we met up with the rest of the team and we went to Chili’s for supper – tacos and a bit of normalcy. The World Series was on — the Blue Jays and the Dodgers . Wilma and Mosheh were leaving to take the bus back to Arequipa, so we said our goodbyes. Afterwards, we stopped by Dollar Tree to buy more rainbow looms, then wandered through the mall, which was absolutely packed with people celebrating Halloween. Then Ric and I went back to Chili’s — had a cup of chamomile tea, and shared a dessert (not great!). We watched the world series for a bit longer. The Blue Jays lost.
Back to the room at last — we scrolled on our phones for a while. It was still such a good, full day. My heart felt both tired and full — a blend of gratitude, sadness, and joy.
Reflection
Today was a reminder of both the fragility and resilience of life — a baby’s cough, an elderly woman’s struggle, a long-awaited shower, a crowd laughing in the mall. It’s the mix of all these things — the holy and the ordinary — that make mission life so rich. Even in exhaustion, there’s joy in knowing we’ve been part of something bigger than ourselves.