Cachora, Peru: A place of rest and solace, a refuge from the world; a whiff of Eden.
This month my team served at an orphanage in a small village nestled in a valley among the Andes Mountains in Peru. In fact, it’s about a 40 minute hike straight uphill to actually get to the town of Cachora. But this little piece of heaven is absolutely beautiful. We had a perfect view of a snow-capped glacier.
View from our room in Cachora.
So why was it here in my little corner of Eden that I felt like I experienced an Old Testament plague? I didn’t even last an entire day before I started to feel sick. We arrived on a Monday, and by Tuesday I was extremely tired and nauseas. I woke frequently throughout the night to vomit. The orphanage director gave me some medication that allowed me to manage the next few days. For 3 days, all I ate was bread. And by Friday, I started to feel a bit better and had regained a partial appetite.
Friday night, it all took a turn for the worse. At around 11pm, I was wide awake due to stomach pain that had me making frequent visits to the bathroom. When I was not needing the bathroom, I was curled up in bed, trying to focus on my breathing. My stomach was convulsing with pain and I was having extreme difficulty breathing. I’ve been sick before, but nothing like this—this was an assault. My internal being ravaged beyond recognition.
One of my sweet teammates (Kaitlyn) who I was rooming with went and got our squad leader (Teagan) and my team leader (Kirsten). They all took turns praying over me. Kaitlyn and Teagan made the trek down the hill to the orphanage director’s home to get help while Kirsten remained by my side and continued to pray. Kaitlyn and Teagan returned with a pill in hand that to this day, none of us know what it is. But, from 11pm until 3am, I lied in bed in agonizing pain until the medication kicked in enough for my breathing to slow so I could sleep.
No one on my team speaks fluent Spanish, and no one at the orphanage spoke English. After what seemed like a smooth conversation in broken Spanish—we were under the impression that we would be driven to a German hospital about an hour and a half away in the morning. The next morning, Kirsten, Teagan and myself piled in a truck with all the children at the orphanage for a free ride into town. We were taken to the top of the hill, where the truck pulled over at a run down building. I was told to get out, that there was a doctor inside. This was definitely not the German hospital we thought we were getting a ride to.
It was in the small village of Cachora, that I had my first examination. I was poked and prodded and asked where it hurt. Then I was told I had kidney stones and needed to go to the hospital. In order for me to make it to the hospital comfortably, they wanted to give me some pain medication. We were taken around the corner to what appeared to be an old dentist facility, I took a seat in the dental chair, and was given an IV. Then, we were sent to the German hospital in Curahuasi an hour and a half away.
This is the dental office that I received my first IV in.
We began our ascent up the mountain, taking curve after curve, hoping that the medication I was given would last until we arrived at the hospital. As we turned onto the street that the hospital was located on, the orphanage director turns to me and tells me that the hospital is closed on Saturdays. I am in utter shock and honestly pretty confused that we drove all this way when he knew they were closed. He continued on, stating that if I wanted to get in, I was really going to have to fake it and act like I was in immense pain. I assured him that I wouldn’t have to fake it. So we got out of the truck, walked to the front gate, and were let inside the facility. When we got in, I was admitted right away and a nurse began an IV. The nurse told us that because they were technically closed, they needed to call a doctor. We waited for a doctor to arrive. After the doctor arrived and did a quick assessment, she told me that she too believed I had kidney stones. She then proceeded to tell me that because they are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, they did not have the personnel there to run the tests that needed to be ran. She urged we go to Cusco right away and go to the hospital there. Cusco was another three and a half hours away. It was in Curahuasi that we parted ways. Kirsten got back in the truck with the orphanage director and returned to our team in Cachora. Teagan and I packed in a taxi with two other random people and began the drive to Cusco.
Our ministry host was waiting for us when we got to Cusco and he took us to the hospital. I was admitted there right away.
Might we all just stop for a few moments of praise: I didn’t have to wait at all in any facility that I was taken to in order to be admitted and start receiving care!
The doctor in Cusco assured me there was no way I had kidney stones. Praise. But he followed it quickly by stating I had gallbladder stones and that the only way to remove them was by surgery. I was immediately taken to the 4th floor, the surgical floor, and placed in a room there. And for the third time in one day, I was given another IV. I was told that someone would be in shortly to administer an ultrasound.
As I lay in the hospital bed in Cusco, I turned in my thoughts to Eve. Thinking back to the events that took place in Eden—who does Satan go after? He chose Eve. He set his sights on her. Satan most especially hates Eve. Why? Because she is uniquely glorious and he cannot be. Eve embodies the glory of God and she allures the world to God. Satan hates her with a jealousy that you and I can only imagine. Eve is Satan’s greatest human threat.
So where is the connection here? I am a woman, and thus, created in the image of God. God specifically called me to this mission. I abandoned fish for people just as Simon and Andrew (Mark 1:16-17). And just like Eve, Satan used my physical illness as an open door for spiritual attack—or so he tried. This calling has nothing to do with my qualifications. Jesus didn’t choose me to be a messenger of truth because I was polished and professional. He chose me because He wanted to. He saw my willingness, and that was enough. Sure, I’ve had moments of doubt, but they are quickly overshadowed by the confidence that comes when you know your calling is from God. And it was in that moment that I felt a sense of peace wash over me.
This moment. This is the one I was anticipating. At training camp, when I was placed on an all female team—I was dreading it. However, I knew God was going to use this time to shape me into exactly who he created me to be. He was going to open the door to my true identity in Him. And it took my team being sent to the small village of Cachora for that to happen.
I ended up having two separate ultrasounds and a few other tests. My doctor wanted to call a general surgeon and get a second opinion. But before he could do that, he entered my room and told me that he received the results from my blood test. He was certain I had a severe case of salmonella poisoning. The reason my stomach was convulsing and I was in so much pain was because the salmonella poisoning was concentrated in my gallbladder, causing it to swell. He began administering antibiotics and pain medication specific to salmonella poisoning and within hours, I was feeling much better.
In the Cusco hospital after I was told I could go home!
I was in the hospital for two nights. And by 8am the second morning, I was told that I would be able to leave. Teagan asked me what I wanted to do and assured me that I could stay in Cusco for another day to rest up before heading back to Cachora. But the Lord had ignited my heart in Cusco, and nothing was going to keep me from heading back to Cachora. I had been healed, and there was no reason I needed to wait.
The Lord shifted my perspective on why I was placed on my specific team and why we were sent to Cachora. Cachora was a healing place for my entire team.
So my advice to all the women out there, hold your head high. And know that you, as a woman, you are the incarnation of the Beauty of God. Woman are life givers—they bring life into the world soulfully, relationally, and spiritually. Know that you are wanted, loved, and play a very important role in His Kingdom.
Up next: More of my time in Cachora
Friends and Family: I am still short of my financial goal. I am currently at $13,264. I need to have another $3,753 raised by November 30th. I need your help. If you feel called to partner with God in what He has called me to by giving financially, I would greatly appreciate it. You can donate by going to the link at the top of my blog. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
