In 2021, I started seeing my dream of combining my love for nursing, education, and Guatemala come to fruition. I would lead my first study abroad trip for nurse practitioner students to Guatemala in February of 2022. I remember prior to the trip being anxious and thinking “Will they love Guatemala and the people the way I do? What will they think of GRACE, SLAM, and Colegio Jet?” You see, I wasn’t just leading a group of students on a trip, I was introducing them to my family. The family that consisted of not only my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces, but also teachers, translators, drivers, and so many more who had loved us and accepted us into their country and lives.
That first trip taught me so many things and had a huge impact on not only my life, but the 9 people who joined me. Soy and Deidra were two of the main reasons the trip was such a success. Deidra kept us all in line and on time (aka she was bossy), while Soy was our entertainment for the week. He was our driver, pharmacist, bag holder, referee, selfie taker, phone stealer (to take selfies), and uno card dealer. The next year, we took a whole new group of students and two new instructors. Soy was once again in every picture and Facebook friends with each person before the end of the week!
One day in October, I looked at Deidra and said, “I am going to cancel the medical trip for February.” When she asked me why, I responded with “It will be too painful.” I did not want to grieve with people I did not know, and who I thought would not understand the pain and void the entire mountain was feeling. Without hesitation, Deidra looked at me and said, “You will not cancel because that trip changes lives. Your students’ lives were changed. They have texted you, called you, and showed up at the funeral to cry with you. While the new students will not know Soy, it does not change the fact that the people of Guatemala need them. So, we will cry, and we will miss him, but we will continue with the calling.” As for the past 40 years, I did not argue because we all knew who was going to win!
So, we pressed on with the trip. We had 16 students (the most we have taken) and 4 instructors. The first night in Guatemala, I briefly explained the trip history, the impact Soy had, and the void that was felt. I watched as students who didn’t even know me cried with me. I sat next to 3 other instructors who I proudly call friends as they cried because they have walked the road with me and my family the past 5 months and are hurting too.
Over the course of 5 days, we saw 800 patients, conducted a food distribution, served lunch at the dump, taught health education courses, and provided a women’s health clinic. We laughed and we cried as we would share memories with them about Soy. I listened as my sister shared her story with the group and how God had been faithful and was still good. There was pain, yet there was peace. I watched as 16 people loved on my sister and my nieces. I watched as they built relationships with the Guatemalan family I love so dearly. On Tuesday night, we had a big party. We invited 50 Guatemalans to join us as we ate pupusas, listened to the music being played, danced, and laughed for hours. We ended with just our group sitting in Deidra’s living room sharing about the week. There were tears and laughter, but most of all stories of how lives have been forever changed.
Was this week hard? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes. Is God still good? Yes. Is he faithful? Yes.
A student emailed me today and her signature line simply said: Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1
Daphne Turrentine Hutto
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 