Sharing a Gift that Sustains

Dr. Phil Hawley, a veteran Mission Doctor has traveled several times to serve in the Peten in Guatemala. When there he is working with Dr. Linda Novak’s project to provide a service learning program for medical students and residents from Loyola Stritch in Chicago.

Springtime in northern Guatemala — blistering heat, burning fields, and warm hearts. The Mayan men leave their villages each day with machete in hand to clear jungle for next year’s planting, cut lumber to repair a neighbor’s hut, or haul water from a distant river.

Women gather in groups each morning to mend and wash clothing, and then spend each afternoon shucking, striping, grinding, kneading, shaping and baking corn into tortillas. What’s left of each day is used to cook simple meals over open fires. Mayans appreciate life and accept its challenges.

That’s the lesson I relearn with each visit to Peten, Guatemala. And the countless warm smiles — that’s the gift that sustains me until my next visit.

The community living in the Peten and it's peoples' spirits encourage Dr. Hawley. What gives you the energy and enthusiasm to serve?