I have been home for a couple weeks now and am settled in from my chiropractic service trip to Peru. I have done my best to explain the experience in words as people have asked, however I think pictures tell the best stories. I have put together a slideshow with a little bit from each day of the trip. Just wanted to be able to share in this format so far.
I have spent the past few weeks digesting the trip and some of the life lessons that are involved in serving others in this capacity. I will be sharing more and more as the weeks go on.
The entire trip was filled with beautiful moments, scenery and connections…for now, please enjoy these pictures.
I was on my way up to the top of a mountain with 2 other doctors when I was pulled from the car
to go serve in a school with 720 children. I am here to serve and will go where I am needed and
WOW!!! what awesome opportunities!!! Can you imagine a well adjusted school, much less a well
adjusted elementary school? What a concept, huh?
When the children see us with our tables, they do not know exactly what is going to happen,
but they can tell they are in for a treat. We were given the room above and the children
piled in and filled up the seats and each took their turn.
I adjust a lot of children at the Cafe of LIFE and one of the things it really helps
with is when children are stuck on the “gas pedal” in their bodies. They run and
run and run and run, and are just being children. Some can become sometimes
difficult to manage and often times that is when they are stuck in “gas pedal” mode.
Chiropractic care helps get off the “gas pedal” and apply some brakes. Getting adjustments helps them to find a better balance in their entire body thus improving their quality of life, as well as those around them.
This morning at the school, Dr. Austin and I were going to go it together. We adjusted non-stop for a couple hours and then as Dr. Haley was finishing with her community in the upper elevations, the driver dropped her off with us. I have to say we were relieved to have another set of hands willing to serve.
I would be interested to know how the afternoon at the school went after everyone got checked this morning…including the teachers!!! The concept of a well adjusted school seems like it would be a dream come true for the education system. Anywhere.
As I laid “boca abajo” or face down on the table to get my own spine checked this afternoon, my heart, which had swelled to triple its normal size today, burst wide open. My teammate noticed my tears and asked “are you alright?” The best I could describe to him was “I am just raw”.
I am not sure which was more significant to me today:
1) Being invited to set up an “office” on someone’s lawn and share space with their chickens.
2) The little boy who was being dragged by the arm to get adjusted, who refused but hung out for 3 hours and watched, and then finally got on the table completely open and ready to have his spine checked.
3) The Quechua village women who all got adjusted and then sat as the rest of the village showed up and helped them understand how to go about the process of getting their spines checked.
4) Checking and adjusting an infant dressed in layers of beautiful wool as he breastfed in his mother’s lap. 5) Serving side by side with one of the most incredible women I know. 6) Being stopped on the road and invited right into someone’s dirt floor home to set up our tables and serve their community because they caught wind that there were chiropractors in our car as we drove by.
7) The intense dirt road drive up this mountain along side 500 foot drop offs and not guard rails.
8) The beautiful travel nurse that understands chiropractic care and educates these communities when we show up. A special shout out to our driver that chose to carry our tables for us, take pictures and help the people understand what we were doing and how to participate.
9) The huge language barrier we were dealing with as neither of us speak Quechuan, but realizing a smile and laughter is a universal language.
10) The roaring laughter as these communities were lit up and a chance to be a small part of their lives.
We have documented our day well and without these pictures, you would never truly be able to grasp the extent of it all. Truly a blessing.
When serving like this, all the “stuff” is stripped away. The documentation, monetary exchange, health insurance coverage, the bills to run an office, the layers and layers of things that are required to run a successful office in the country where we live. And then when you no longer have language to communicate…it becomes raw. It is a deep look into beautiful stranger”s eyes, a soul to soul connection, a smile and the purest intention to give, love and serve from a deep, abundant well inside of me. It is the most beautiful thing I know of in this entire world.
I am not sure I have been more excited about a trip in years and years. You all know me, I travel a lot, so that is a pretty bold statement. Yes, I have been to some really incredible places in my life, some of those very recently, but when I tap into this place inside I have for this trip coming up, it bubbles over. I cannot wait to get to Peru.
The Sacred Valley
A friend of mine called a few months back. She has been to Peru for the past few years and goes back every year to deliver chiropractic care, love and serve the people in the Sacred Valley. She says, “You know, you should come with my team this year.” I am beyond honored to even get an invite.
If you have followed this blog or know me at all, you know my core is absolutely driven by the desire to have “rich, rewarding experiences” in my lifetime. My answer was “Yes!”…and I began to work on making that happen.
Thursday this week marks the beginning of what I anticipate being an adventure of a lifetime!
I fly Detroit to Atlanta to Lima to Cuzco in a 19 hour travel day. I am chalking that up as part of the actual adventure, and truthfully that is probably the only way to get through it.
My Friend Adjusting a Child in a Past Year
We will be staying at high altitudes and serving at even higher, so the first few days will be time to acclimate and get situated as a team. We will be serving Monday-Friday next week. I will take a couple extra days to see Machu Picchu since it is quite close to there and then head back with another 20+ hour travel adventure to return to my home on the 12th.
As I stated before, I have done a tremendous amount of traveling, however, going some place to just be a tourist and visitor is completely different than integrating yourself into service mode in a community. Don’t get me wrong, on every trip I have been on since getting my license almost 10 years ago, I have done some adjusting. I even got paid in habanero hot sauce while helping some in Belize!!!
But this is different, very different. My friend refers to this trip as “dropping love bombs” (www.lovebombthemovie.com). I so look forward to being part of that.
I couldn’t do this without all the great people back here taking care of my practice and my home and making sure the gears keep turning while I am away. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I am grateful for my life. I am grateful for the opportunities that come my way and I am grateful for the support that gives me the confidence to seize such opportunities.
