The End

The old Peruvian man stepped out of the cab. He took a few slow steps down the dirt road, and then turned and addressed the young American, who was still standing next to the car, about to re-enter. “Bendiciones” (blessings), said the Peruvian to the American with a smile and a slight bow of his head. The old man heard the young American respond, “y a usted” (and to you too), and the man saw the boy smile back. What he didn´t see were the tears that began to form in the American´s eyes as he got back in the cab and was whisked away through the small Peruvian town for the last time.

He hadn´t known the man at all, in fact they hadn´t even shared a conversation in the car, but he had wished him blessings, and that´s what got to the American. And as he passed through the town, his eyes rested on the familiar sights of fruit markets, motor cars and small children selling candy, bread, and whatever else they could find to bring in a few cents to their families. He passed the stands of mothers selling drinks made from the exotic jungle fruits, and he passed the tiny restaurant where he had first ordered in broken Spanish almost a year ago. And what made his eyes well up was that he was leaving all of it.

He was leaving the children to whom he had taught English. There were those girls who always had their blue and white uniforms so neatly pressed and their homework always done, and those boys who were only interested in phrases like “I love you” so they could call them out to the Caucasian women they saw in Pucallpa. He was leaving that first grade class that always gave him a group hug so big they would knock him down when he came in for class in the mornings.

He was leaving all those patients who had come to their clinic. There had been thousands of people who had received penicillin shots, parasite meds, wound cleanings, and glasses. There were those surgical patients too; folks with tumors and cysts who had let him operate on them, thinking he was some kind of surgical specialist from the states. If only they had known. If only they had known he was just a kid.

But so were the rest. Those amazing missionaries with whom he had worked were all just students. But they had taught health in the communities, and preached, and constructed churches, and run medical clinics, clinics that were functioning with clock-like precision by the end of the year. But the missionaries were leaving, each to their respective worlds, and they would never serve together again. The team was gone, but what were left, were incredible bonds that can only be formed from working together for such a time in such a place.

But probably what pained him the most, the main reason his eyes were a little moist in the cab, was because he was leaving folks that he would probably never see again. He was leaving all those families who had opened their homes to receive bible studies. Some had received all 20 lessons, but had backed out of a decision for baptism at the last minute, though the young mother who had a baby a few hours before the baptism was certainly understandable. However there were those eight others, Peruvians he had studied with and struggled with, who had given their lives to Christ and had gotten baptized. He knew he would probably never see them again, but they had all promised to meet each other in heaven, and now for sure he had to be there to see if they were there too.

And as he sat there and realized that he couldn´t be apart of these peoples lives any more to help, to encourage, or to learn from, he realized there was only one thing to do. He prayed to the Man who had led him there in the first place. He placed all the people in His hands, and then he thanked Him for all the lessons he had learned.

And he had learned many things, and not just things about teaching, preaching and medical care. He had learned that that the richest experiences in life can only be obtained if you step outside your comfort zone, or in his case, fly out of it. He had found that learning a new language was the gateway to some of the things he valued most on earth: meaningful conversations and deep friendships. But most importantly, he had learned that no matter how inadequate and unqualified you feel, if you step up to the task in faith, God will equip you to do His work. And in the process, He will lead you, not necessarily down the easiest road of your lifetime, but on the adventure of your lifetime. About these things, he prayed he would never forget.

And as the cab continued to whisk him away on the first leg of his journey back home, as it took him away from a country where strangers wished you blessings towards a very different country, the blazing Peruvian sun sank out of the sky and the coconut palms began to sway, as if to wave good bye to the young American as he was taken away into the night.

The End