Sports & Medical Clinic

I watched the chaos unfold all around me. I wondered how we would turn this into something productive. I was thinking hard, and I was ready to give up. 

How did it come to this?

It all started about a week before the dental/medical clinic we planned to provide to a Cora village in the Sierras. Our dentists called and apologetically explained that they would be unable to come. We started scrambling. Calling other dentists and asking others to contact any dentists they knew, but to no avail. Our dental clinic was going to be dentist-less. A couple of doctors and nurses were still coming, so we would go forward with the medical clinic, but the people in the village primarily wanted a dentist. Even if they need a doctor’s attention more desperately, they prefer a dentist. 

So, we started brainstorming. What could we offer in place of dental services? The pastor in the village had asked us a few times about bringing in a group to play sports with the youth in the village. We started thinking about that. In the past, we had visualized a sports clinic with a team of 5 to 10 people organizing tournaments and evangelism/devotional times that tie into sports. But with a crew of doctors and missionaries from the U.S., we didn’t have room nor the time to plan and pull it off on that large of a scale. But what if we just brought some younger people out with us and informally played with the youth? A kind of starter clinic or vision trip to test the idea. 

We called the church coming down from the States and explained our thoughts and why. The church was 100% on board and excited. They would provide the equipment necessary. We decided to bring Jasson’s teenage son and Kevin’s teenage daughter, and I invited two young men from our church: David, our pastor’s son, and Christian, a young man who wants to become a missionary pilot. And so, with a church crew from the States, a doctor from northern Mexico, and the youngsters, we set off with 30 soccer balls, 12 waffle ball sets, and 4 volleyballs.

Flying for a clinic is the most hectic time for us. Because all the personnel and cargo require multiple flights, we start when the airport opens at around 6. We load each flight to the maximum allowed weight and make each flight as quick as possible so that everything is delivered before the winds pick up in the afternoon and make landing in the mountains unsafe. For this clinic, I flew two loads of cargo and three men into the village the day before the clinic started. That way, most of the cargo would be delivered, and the men could begin preparing the facilities and equipment we would be using. The next day, we flew three more loads of cargo and passengers and started the work and ministry that week.

Which brings us back to where this story began. The medical part of the trip was going smoothly. The doctors were busy but not overwhelmed. People were receiving medical attention, gospel presentations, and prayer. The chaos was at the “cancha,” a multipurpose soccer/basketball/volleyball court with a concrete floor and a sheet metal roof.

Firstly, I had imagined that we would announce our intention to organize something and call the kids and teenagers together to play, and that would be something out of the ordinary for them. Not so. Every kid in the village, it seemed, converged on the cancha every afternoon. They already had teams, schedules, and rules and were passionate about the games. Especially volleyball. So, instead of calling everyone together, organizing a tournament, and guiding them into spiritual conversations, around 80 kids showed up out of nowhere and began sharing the court to play volleyball, basketball, and soccer simultaneously. It was chaotic.

After a while, I asked Davíd if he thought he could teach a bible story from the pictures we had seen the pastor using that morning. He said he would try. I returned to the pastor’s house and asked to borrow the binder of pictures. I returned to the court and handed the book to David. I don’t know what David thought, but I was reasonably sure this wouldn’t work. There was too much going on, too much chaos. 

David looked over and saw five younger boys sitting together, eating snacks. “We’ll start with these,” he said. Walking over to them, he opened the book to a picture of Noah and asked if he could tell them a story. They enthusiastically said yes. Within two minutes, 90% of the playing and chaos had stopped; about 50 children surrounded David and intently listened as he told the story of Noah, sin, judgment, and God’s provision of a way of salvation. Then, he went through the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, drawing out the repeated themes of sin, judgment, and God’s provision of a way of salvation. David held their attention for 20 minutes without interruption. It was one of the best Gospel presentations I’ve witnessed.

We finished that night and flew the team back to Tepic the next morning. Many great things happened that week, but my favorite was watching as children stood enraptured and David taught the Word of God. 

Written by Nathan White, UIMA field pilot