Cosmetic Surgery in the Corner of a Civic Center

Most of the medical brigade was vitamins, pain killers, and parasite medicines. And that’s great. They live hard lives hiking up and down the mountains from the time they can walk until the time they are wrinkled and leathery and would have been long put away in a lazy chair somewhere were they in the states. They eat basically the same thing all their life. And they have parasites. People here need vitamins, pain killers, and parasite medicines.

But there was one day at the brigade where I felt God really brought a patient and care giver together. A twenty-year old girl came into the clinic and got directed to the doctor I was translating for. She sat down and complained of basic problems. She wanted some antacid for heartburn and parasite medicine for stomach pain. What she didn’t ask for treatment for was the very large mole on her face.

And of course she wouldn’t. I mean, here, if it’s not life-threatening, you’re not going to have a minor or even major surgery for cosmetic reasons. And this case could have been considered a health risk. The mole did look like it could be pre-cancerous. But she was not complaining of it. So the doctor looked her over and listened to her heart and lungs and prescribed the medicine of her chief complaints.

As she was heading through the curtains that made up our make-shift office, the doctor turned and asked me, “Do you think she’d like that removed?” Neither of us had mentioned the mole and as I stated, she hadn’t said anything either. I told him, “I’m a twenty-one year old girl, and I can tell you for sure that I would much rather prefer a scar on my face than a mole”. We talked for a little bit and the doctor became a little unsure. We were at the end of the day and the procedure to take it off would take about 45 minutes or so. He didn’t know how deep it was or whether or not she would be able to keep it clean until the stitches came off. But I assured him that it would mean so much to here if he took the time to take off the mole. So I stopped the girl and asked her if she would like the mole removed. She said yes and we were in business.


As we prepped the area and the doctor got his tools together and gloves on, the doctor leaned over to me and said, “You know, I had begun to think that I wasn’t really going to do anything special this week, that I wasn’t going to make a difference. But I’d like to think that God brought this girl in here to me to help.” It was great to hear him say that, because this was his first mission trip and first time to work with Mission Lazarus.

All said and done, the mole came off fine. The doctor did a great job and the scar was minor. She walked away smiling and said, “No one will recognize me”. The doctor walked away smiling knowing he had used his talents to help someone else. And I am smiling still because I am amazed at the way Mission Lazarus is serving and connecting people and showing both the “giver” and “receiver” the glory of God.


- Rebekah