Nursing students from Maranatha Baptist Bible College traveled to Peru in June of 2009 to participate in a medical missions trip organized by Operation Renewed Hope. Because there was no Internet access at the site, the entire blog was filed after they returned. We hope you will enjoy what has been posted here, and we plan to add photos and more information as it is submitted. The team was led by former Nursing Department instructor Heather Erickson, who compiled this blog.
I really can’t pinpoint an exact part of the trip I didn’t like. Being the only guy from Maranatha, I was designated as the ‘Grunt Man;’ however, the tradeoff was getting to work alongside the physicians. Assisting Dr. Waller with a minor surgery was pretty exciting, even though I just held the flashlight as I listened to him explain everything.:)
I believe that the spirituality level of this trip was amazing. From listening to the Peruvians sing familiar worship songs in Spanish to watching the beautiful sunrise over the Amazon River, one could not help but marvel at Christ’s handiwork.
Through our medical mission’s trip to Peru, the Lord revealed the next part of His will for my life. While on the boat back to Iquitos, Peru, I began to talk with Dr. Milton about working with ORH every year, and then working with them as a physician. He said, “Greg, you give me 4-5 weeks every year and God will bless your life. We need more physicians.” I made a commitment that day to Dr. Milton to work with ORH every year before and after medical school. I knew that the Lord was not calling me to full-time missions, but I still felt like he was calling me to the mission field. ORH and Team Peru were not only an answer to my seeking the Lord’s will, but truly a blessing.
Thanks again everybody for an amazing trip. The Peruvian people were in desperate medical need, the possibilities were endless, and the rewards will truly last a lifetime. Bring on summer of 2010.
One thing that really stuck me during the trip is how awesome God is. Just the vastness of the Amazon and the jungle, the sunrises and sunsets, and the huge star filled sky at night-Our God is an AMAZING God!!!!
I think a big part of what makes missions trips so great is working alongside other Christians, even if you don’t know them that well. Our translators were great to work and have fun with, and I really feel like I can respect Bro. Gallardo and his wife.
I got quite a kick out of trading my earrings (that weren’t an actual pair to start with, but you couldn’t tell—I wore them because I didn’t care if I lost them) for a couple bracelets. Had an offer made on my shoes, but I need my shoes!
Group devotions in the morning in both Spanish and English – a time of sweet fellowship. It was at this point that we actually were able to meet the missionary couple we came to serve alongside of. We hit the town for some shopping and by 1 p.m. were preparing to leave. There was a sense of sorrow when leaving because of the sheer joy of serving Christ that we had experienced on this trip! After flying from Iquitos back to Lima – it was time to say our goodbyes to our once again dividing group (Dallas and Newark). Our Amazon adventure was over! We grew together as a group and are eager to see how God leads us all in the future!
We arrived back in Iquitos at 4 p.m. (24 hours and 15 minutes – thanks for monitoring the time Erica) after we left. Praise the Lord that only one of the engines failed and that, after several hours of cooling and the hard work of the guys on the houseboat, they were able to get running again. We experienced “close fellowship” as there were approximately 60 people on the houseboat! Creativity was definitely at its finest to beat the monotony (as long has you have someone holding the UNO discard and draw piles because wind is not the ideal environment!) and a guitar provided opportunity for song! When we did arrive we realized it had been over 72 hours since we had been on “dry land” – a record for the majority. After showers (a blessing we now count repeatedly), we enjoyed a pizza dinner – all sitting and talking without the roar of boat engines.
One last memory out of the many I had was singing with our translators on the boat while we headed back to Iquitos. We didn’t even know these people before we came to Peru but our faith in Christ is something that was common between us and the Peruvian translators. Singing songs of worship to our God and praising His name for all He has done brought tears to my eyes. I mean all the songs we sang I have sung before without tearing up, but just seeing these translators singing from their heart and enjoying being with us made me realize I need to be more sincere in my walk with the Lord.
I think my favorite part of the trip was the ride back when we sang with the interpreters for a couple of hours! It was awesome to hear some Spanish songs too. Before we embarked on this journey, I was looking forward to singing in Peru as the sun rose; to think that even though I was more than 3,000 miles away from home, God still hears my worship! What an amazing thought! Singing with the interpreters, though in the black of night, and waking up in time to see the sun rise on the Amazon River fulfilled that dream perfectly. Thank you Lord!!
Well, the all-nighter we had on the boat last night was definitely an experience! It started around 11 when I began looking for a place to crash. I found that all the good spots were already claimed. So I began on the side of the boat, which I thought would be a nice place. Wrong! I lay down on my stomach with my puffy lifejacket on and rested my head on my arms. After what I thought had been at least a couple of hours, I woke up. My hands and arms were asleep, I was freezing, and when I looked at my watch, I’d only been sleeping 45 minutes! I went inside to try to find just a warm place to sit, but there were bodies everywhere! I finally found a small place, but I had to scrunch up my knees and I got a steady fume of gas odors. (I found out this morning that was because the gas tank was directly under me!) I was just getting settled when I heard someone rummaging around looking for something, and then a backpack dropped on my head! And then, they shone their flashlight right in my eyes! (I found out today that someone was Jeanine!) After that, I began realizing why no one had claimed that spot! I moved to the back deck and finally found a bench where I got almost 2 straight hours of sleep. Praise the Lord!
The blessings included making new friends–for example,one of the translators, Joe, taught Katie, Sarah, and I, ‘Lord I Lift Your Name on High’ in Spanish 
or playing tons of games of UNO with Alex, Jimmy, and Adimir, LOL.
