A Thanksgiving lesson from Bolivia

Being a nonprofit ministry, Thanksgiving has an even more special meaning than it does for most. For us, Thanksgiving is not just a time of being around family, eating lots of food, or a time of rest, but it’s a humbling time of being reminded how blessed we are.

All month we have been doing 30 Days of Thanks where we reflect on what we at Hospitals of Hope are grateful for. The more we got into it, the more we were reminded that this ministry just isn’t a job, but an opportunity for us and all you who support us to touch lives.

There are two recent stories from Bolivia that beautifully display so many things that Hospitals of Hope is thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Earlier in the summer, a little girl admitted to our hospital in Bolivia after a traffic accident. She was in a car driven by one of her teachers, along with several other students. Unfortunately, the teacher lost control of the car, and it went over a cliff. Most of the students were admitted to our hospital with relatively minor injuries. Lucia, however, was injured more severely and had to stay at the hospital for over 2 weeks, receiving 2 surgeries.

Hospitals of Hope aims to provide affordable care while still being sustainable. Lucia comes from a very poor family and did not have the financial means to pay the unexpected expense. In this case, our hospital administrator went through her bill line by line and removed every fee that he could, but there were still direct costs to the hospital for her care, for things like medications, anesthesia, etc. The remaining amount was over $1000, which her family did not have. We had some volunteers who had raised money over what was needed to cover their trip donate to help pay the bill.

Another story comes not from a patient at the hospital, but from those who work at the hospital. Leta teaches English classes at the hospital. She has had several opportunities to touch lives through this ministry. She shares:

I’ve been struck over the last couple of months by how easy it is to share my faith here. Although evangelism is not my gift, just the fact that I am here causes people to ask questions.

The interns who come to do rotations at the hospital are especially curious. We’re reading excerpts from The Purpose-Driven Life in English class, and, on Friday, one of the interns asked me, “What is the purpose of your life?”

Another of the interns, who just completed his 4-month rotation here, is hungry to learn. He has been coming to church with us the last couple of weeks, and, although he is off to work at another hospital now, he has promised to come back to visit. In a note he wrote me before leaving, he said, “I have spent a wonderful 4 months here. I have learned about medicine, and about God and his love.” He doesn’t call himself a Christian yet, but we are praying that God will continue to pursue him as he leaves here.

These two stories show us why we are so grateful this Thanksgiving season. First we are thankful to God for salvation and a hope that we can share. We are grateful for our founder Mike and his passion to see life change through the power of Christ’s love. We quickly realize, however, that we can’t just do this ministry on our own. With out the support of individuals, churches, family, friends and so many more, we would not have the financial means or encouragement to continue improve healthcare around the world while sharing the Gospel. Both the story of Lucia and the medical interns is a reminder of how grateful we are that we’ve had the opportunity to saves lives and share the saving news of Jesus Christ.

Thank you to all our friends and family for your continued support and helping us in another year of ministry. This Thanksgiving, we are humble and grateful for all everything God has blessed us with.