Tzabalho
I had always heard of Tzabalho, and had even driven by it several times, but this was my first time to visit there. We were on a medical mission trip, with a dentist, 2 physicians, 4 nurses, and several support helpers. We had planned on working there 2 days, but by mid-afternoon of the first day, we had seen most of the people who needed to be seen. So we made plans to finish our work there that day and go to Rancheria Sinai the following day. At 4:00, I told Rafael, who was my interpreter that day, how many more patients I would be able to see before we would stop at the end of the day, around 5:30. This would give us time to pack up all of our equipment and be back at the Bible school in Chenalho before dark.
All was going according to our plans, until about 5:15. Rafael came up to me and said, “Hermano Jim, there’s a lady who just got here after coming from a long ways off. Can you see one more patient?” How could I refuse a request like that? “Sure,” I said. A few minutes later, Rafael introduced me to Appelonia. She looked like she was about 70 years old, but was probably closer to 60. Rafael told me that she had walked 8 hours, up and down mountains, because she had heard that there would be dentist in Tzabalho today, and she wanted to have six teeth pulled. I looked at her feet. Like so many of the Tzotzil ladies, she obviously had never had shoes on her feet her entire life. I couldn’t imagine walking 80 yards on those rocky roads barefoot, let alone 8 hours. As she was seated, and began to show me which teeth she needed to have pulled, I felt tears come to my eyes. It was more than pity; I had an overwhelming sense of being in the presence of greatness. The words came to mind, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” This woman, Appelonia, was not Jesus, but, in some mysterious way, by serving her, I was serving our Lord Himself. Tears flowed more. Later that evening, we drove back to Tzabalho from Chenalho so that one of the nurses could give Appelonia a pair of her tennis shoes, the first shoes this lady had ever worn in her life. She would walk 8 hours back to her home the next day, but with new shoes, and with six fewer teeth and a lot less pain. Tzabalho was a mountaintop experience-one where for a moment we see things as God sees them instead of the way the world sees them. The spiritual vision passes quickly, but the memory stays and stays.
-- jim nichols
All was going according to our plans, until about 5:15. Rafael came up to me and said, “Hermano Jim, there’s a lady who just got here after coming from a long ways off. Can you see one more patient?” How could I refuse a request like that? “Sure,” I said. A few minutes later, Rafael introduced me to Appelonia. She looked like she was about 70 years old, but was probably closer to 60. Rafael told me that she had walked 8 hours, up and down mountains, because she had heard that there would be dentist in Tzabalho today, and she wanted to have six teeth pulled. I looked at her feet. Like so many of the Tzotzil ladies, she obviously had never had shoes on her feet her entire life. I couldn’t imagine walking 80 yards on those rocky roads barefoot, let alone 8 hours. As she was seated, and began to show me which teeth she needed to have pulled, I felt tears come to my eyes. It was more than pity; I had an overwhelming sense of being in the presence of greatness. The words came to mind, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” This woman, Appelonia, was not Jesus, but, in some mysterious way, by serving her, I was serving our Lord Himself. Tears flowed more. Later that evening, we drove back to Tzabalho from Chenalho so that one of the nurses could give Appelonia a pair of her tennis shoes, the first shoes this lady had ever worn in her life. She would walk 8 hours back to her home the next day, but with new shoes, and with six fewer teeth and a lot less pain. Tzabalho was a mountaintop experience-one where for a moment we see things as God sees them instead of the way the world sees them. The spiritual vision passes quickly, but the memory stays and stays.
-- jim nichols
posted by jason at 10:00 AM
2 Comments:
Can you imagine the pain a woman would feel if she walked in shoes for 8 hours after never having worn shoes before. Perhaps barefoot was more comfortable for her?
You never know. Hopefully, it's a case of 1 step back and 3 steps forward. We just couldn't see leaving this lady in her condition, just because she had been like this all her life. It's kind of like seeing her abscessed teeth, and deciding not to extract the decayed root tips because it might cause her more pain for the short term. I think most people would recognize the benefit of trying to achieve the greater good, long-term, even if it involves momentary discomfort. But you're right in that she might have had sore feet that first night. Maybe it took her mind off of the 6 extractions?
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