One might think that only a certain type of person commits to this experience, especially when Fr. Damian Zuerlein, one of our founders, starts telling stories of Ixim’s early days. It might seem that this mission trip is mostly for the adventurous, or the well-traveled, or the very experienced. Yet every year a wide range of men and women with different personalities and varied backgrounds finds themselves far from their homes, in a previously unknown culture, working to making an impact on the lives of others through service.
One of your youngest missionaries, Jessica Kozol, from St. James parish in Omaha, is a recent college graduate. She has experience as an EMT and working in a clinic, but she’s just at the start of her career. A 91 year-old woman was one of the 83 patients who were seen on Monday during the first day of our medical clinic. This matriarch was accompanied by a few family members who were very concerned about a rapid decilne in her hearing. One of our clinicians asked that an ear irrigation be performed. Upon hearing this, Jessica got up from her station where she was checking vitals for incoming patients and volunteered to assist. While she’d rarely performed the procedure, she felt confident she could find a way to treat the patient successfully with the limited supplies in our clinic. With a team of a Guatemalan nurse, another one of our nurses, and herself, Jessica was beaming with pride having been part of this successful procedure. They were so successful that the family members accompanying their mother and great grandmother asked if they might also get their ears cleaned. This led to a quick ear check around the room to ensure their ear canals were clear, much to the relief of all present.
When Gail Klimek, a St. Frances Cabrini parishioner in his sixties, first traveled with Ixim to Guatemala a few years ago, he had never before left the United States. Originally planning to be accompanied by his well-traveled wife, Gail was told by her that she felt it might be good for him to have this adventure on his own. Initially quite scared about what he might encounter, Gail has since returned several times to Huehuetenango, joining this year’s trip as a leader on our education team. On Monday, Gail, a retired educator, helped lead our missionaries into unfamiliar classrooms where they didn’t speak the same language as the students. While our missionaries might have felt trepidatious about this challenge, Gail’s reassurance, as someone who also doesn’t speak the children’s language and for whom these classrooms were once equally novel, inspired confidence for those missionaries who were just like him not too long ago. Classrooms at John Paul II School were filled with many smiles, lots of laughs, and even some learning in our first day of work in the school.
Sometimes it feels like it can only be the transformative power of the Spirit that allows those for whom all this is so new to settle into their surroundings so quickly and touch the lives of those we serve. Long days of travel, new environments, distance from the comforts of home—all these factors fall away when a missionary is presented with an opportunity to love in a new way. It’s this love that’s the only common qualification among all those who’ve taken part in this experience.
