For my medical elective I spent 8 weeks at Hospital Diospi Suyana, a mission hospital based in a small town in the Andes mountains of Peru. I went out on my elective with the hope of expanding my medical knowledge, improving my spanish-speaking abilities and understanding better what medicine can look like in a missional context and I can confidently say that I had the opportunity to do all of the above.

It was quite a journey to get to the hospital and after many hours of flying and a short stay with a wonderful missionary family in Lima I had my final leg of the journey to the town of Curahuasi where the hospital is based. This felt like my first introduction to real Peru when I was squeezed in the back of a taxi and in the dark made the 3 hour journey on very windy roads to arrive at the hospital, feeling slightly nauseous and unable to really see where I was but very glad to have finally made it! It was a special moment to wake up in the morning and see the incredible view from my window at the hospital residence which I had been completely oblivious to the night before. I was also very excited to find that there were alpacas grazing right on the hospital grounds!

My days at the hospital started at 8am with the doctors' daily meeting where we would pray for the day, discuss the patients seen overnight, the surgeries for the day and the CT and MRI scan results from the day before. This was always a nice way to touch base with everyone and helped me to get to know the team which was made up of around 15 doctors covering a range of specialties. This was followed by a devotional at 8.30 in the chapel and all the patients attending the hospital that day were encouraged to come along. One of the primary aims of the hospital is that every patient who comes would hear the gospel and as well as the devotional there are screens in the waiting room showing films about Jesus or worship music. I really enjoyed getting involved with the Wednesday worship team and playing the piano at the devotional each week.

It was initially a significant challenge to get my Spanish up to speed as it is one thing to have studied a language in school and another to spend every minute of the day communicating in that language! Thankfully people were very patient with me and I found that my understanding was pretty good so it was just gaining confidence in speaking that took more time. There was also the additional challenge that for many of the patients Spanish was not their first language, as instead they spoke Quechua (the indigenous language) and so I relied on speaking Spanish to relatives or nurses who then translated into Quechua! One of the highlights of my time at Diospi was getting to learn more about the Quechua people, who are the descendants of the Incas. For centuries there has been severe discrimination towards the Quechua people in Peru and this is one of the reasons for the hospital’s position in the Andes as the founders had a real heart for this people group who previously had little to no access to high quality healthcare. The hospital has enabled many people to receive care and treatment for the first time in their lives and people will travel many miles to come to Diospi Suyana.

I loved getting to interact more with the patients as my Spanish improved and it was often moving to see the patients’ gratitude towards the doctors and other healthcare practitioners for the care they received. I was struck by the resilience of patients and the suffering some had endured for years before coming to receive medical care. There is a strong belief in herbal remedies and natural remedies in Peru so often patients would have tried many of these alternative remedies before finally seeking medical help. The treatment of chronic rheumatoid conditions in Peru is very limited and so I saw a lot of advanced joint deformities which are rarely seen in the UK. It is very difficult to treat any chronic conditions effectively as patients often have travelled a very long way and so returning for regular follow-up is not an option. It was also really sad to see patients who had advanced cancer which was basically untreatable due to the cost of chemotherapy and limited other options. This has made me very grateful for the accessibility of treatments for these conditions in the UK which we often take for granted.

Working with children made up a large part of my time in Peru. Part of the Diospi Suyana mission was running several kids clubs in Curahuasi and the surrounding area and so I had the privilege of being involved in 2 of these clubs over the 8 weeks. I also helped out with a camp held over one of the weekends while I was there. This was a real joy to be a part of as it was the first time for many of the kids staying away from home or in a tent! They were so excited and loved all the different activities we ran from sports to baking to bracelet-making! All of the children got to engage with the theme of God’s treasure as we followed the story of the kingdom of God being like treasure in a field. I loved getting to know the kids and particularly enjoyed learning some kids action songs which we would do every week at the clubs with the kids.

Outside of the hospital and kids clubs, getting involved with bible study groups, playing volleyball and frisbee and going for hikes and exploring the beautiful mountains in the area around the hospital made my time in Peru really special. I was so blessed by the people that I met and really inspired by all their different stories of how God brought them to Diospi Suyana and I’ve come home with a new perspective on mission work and encouraged to explore what God might be calling me to in the future.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn so much in many different ways and so I’ll finish with a big thank you to Medical Mission Network for helping to make this incredible experience possible.