Lasting Effects

Now, a couple weeks after my first trip with MDP in Chiapas, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the experience and ask myself, “What was the lasting effect?”

One of my biggest takeaways from the trip is that service work is incredibly important to me. When you consider the odds of a 20-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa sitting across from a man in a remote town in the rolling hills of southern Mexico—talking about life, family, religion, and hard work—the truth is that without the medium of service work, there’s nearly a 0% chance that opportunity ever exists. Though on paper the volunteers with MDP are the ones providing the service, the truth is that it was just as much an honor—and a service to me—to connect with the people I met.

Without the initial “yes” to serve, I would have never met the man who told me how he had been bedridden for months due to severe knee pain, yet held no worry that the problem would remain unresolved because, as he said, “Our God is a great God, and it is through Him that all things are given.” This was a powerful witness of Christ, and a gift that no amount of medical service could ever equate. I also would have never seen the look on the face of the woman who heard her baby’s heartbeat for the first time after miscarrying her last two pregnancies. Her awe for life and the gift of family was a beautiful witness to the incredible life that we are privileged to live.

So, as I settle back into due dates, exams, and college life, I see the faces of the people I met in the clinic—people who taught me what it truly means to approach life with determination and gratitude. I experienced beauty firsthand, and it would take a fool to ever see the world the same after witnessing such things. 

Finally, I want to thank MDP for the opportunity to be placed in such unique and meaningful moments. And to anyone who feels the urge to go out and do service work, take this blog post as your sign. Giving yourself for another is a true gift, and the reward is multiplied far beyond what you could ever expect.

Adrian Brown