Dr. Carlan Wendler, his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter recently returned to serve with the Burundian people for the next two years. Before they left, Dr. Wendler shared this story that so beautifully illustrates how our love as parents reaches across any cultural or socio-economic divide:
On my last shift in the LA County + USC ER, I got to pray with a 37-yr old woman who was worried about her 20-yr old son, a medical student in Guatemala. She came in with burning, squeezing, left-sided chest pain that occurred after she would go for a walk around her neighborhood. After the resident presented her case I went to see her myself because 37-yr old women don’t tend to have heart attacks and something about the story didn’t add up. The more I spoke with her (in my now French-influenced Spanish), the more I realized that this was less a physical malady and more a psychological one. After concluding my questions, exam, and reviewing her EKG and blood results with her (all reassuring), I asked if she would like me to pray for her. She readily accepted and we shared a moment of prayer, specifically praying for her son who had been in a near-fatal car accident in Guatemala where he was supposed to be attending medical school. When I looked up at her afterwards I could see in her eyes that she was on the road to recovery. I love that look.
As I took leave of this caring mother, I paused to reflect on how similar and different our lives are. She had her first kid at age 17 in her home country of Guatemala. Now, though we are the same age, she is sending her firstborn to medical school. Michelle and I just welcomed our firstborn into our home 3 months ago. She lives thousands of miles away from him and worries about his life and career. We’re about to take Gabrielle thousands of miles away to Burundi where I will continue to worry about her. Yet we both have high hopes for our offspring. And the best thing we can do for our kids is pray for them…
We appreciate Dr. Wendler allowing us to share this story with you. While they were still state-side, Dr. Carlan Wendler was also able to speak for us at the 2019 M3 Conference, and you can click here to listen to his session. As the Wendlers return to their work at Kibuye Hope Hospital and Hope Africa University, please keep them in your prayers.
Also, please join us for the next M3 Conference on February 21-22, 2020, in Houston, Texas. We are very excited to have Dr. Alyssa Pfister, another member from the Kibuye Hope Hospital medical team, speaking at M3! Click here to register and save $5 with code: M3MISSIONS20