Hands, Hearts, and Healing: Showing God's Love In Guatemala
March 26, 2026
Spring Break is, for many, a time of rest and relaxation from busy class schedules. Especially as upperclassmen, rest in the last days of undergrad are especially important to savor. We think of “rest” in a physical sense, but this mission team excitedly opted for spiritual reset instead.
During the 2026 Spring Break, a team of 21 Lipscomb students and staff embarked on a mission to serve the people of Guatemala in an Eye, Orthopedic, and Dental Surgery Clinic. Our team worked closely with the Health Talents International (HTI) organization, where we served at Clinica Ezell Hospital for the week. In total, our collective team of 47 nurses, surgeons, translators, and staff were able to aid in 103 surgical procedures with 37 dental patients. It can be easy to simply view the trip through numbers, but our heartfelt encounters and experiences are what made the biggest impact on the team during the week.
The love of Christ is evident through the HTI staff and volunteers. Fast friends were made with the teams of nurses, translators, surgeons, and clinic maintenance staff. The surgeons and their families were insistent on every team member observing their work and offering opportunities to assist in tool handling, preparing post-op materials, and documenting procedure information. Oftentimes they would take time to visit their patients, and were met with immense gratitude from the patients and their families alike.
The team of nurses and translators were always cheerful, despite working long hours and tolling night shifts. Many offered prayers to the patients in Spanish before their procedures. Their consistent strength and passion to serve others moved the rest of the team to do the same. The Guatemalan hospital staff shared extra enthusiasm towards working with our Lipscomb team, and at the end of the week played us in a competitive soccer tournament. While our skills were quickly outclassed, our fellowship created bonds that we will take home long after this one week.
Connecting with the people of Guatemala was an incredible aspect of the trip in and of itself. While our surgical patients were entering a hospital full of strangers from another country, each one displayed a bravery and miraculous faith that amazed everyone in the clinic. Family members came to support their recovering relatives, and some stayed to wait overnight.
On one occasion, HTI volunteers and Lipscomb students brought acapella worship to the recovery room of overnight patients to boost their spirits. Watching the patients joyfully praise and clap with the Spanish hymns was a profound moment that will stay with us forever.
A frequent destination during downtime was a Chicacao residential area, where children gathered to play and were familiar with HTI mission visitors. Not only do their lives shift our perspectives in self reflection, but it creates a newfound awe in our Creator for the shared humanity across all ages, nationalities, and languages. Playing with the children fulfilled an inner childlike wonder in us all, and our glee surpassed the extensive language barrier.
Additionally, a group of 14 students volunteered their time in Antigua at Campos de Sueños, which was a feeding and ministry center for the impoverished. Little hands touched our hands and our hearts as we played games, prayed over the food, fed the children their lunch, and led VBS-style worship songs in their assembly room. Hearing the children’s stories of hardships brought out powerful emotions, yet their faith and resilience will continue to inspire our own faith journeys.
Vina Winn, a junior pre-med major, emphasized the importance of this trip to her career path decision. “Before this trip, my two [path preferences] were dental and medical, and I had been going back and forth on which one was for me and which one fit the gifts that God has given me. In the search for my vocation and during this trip, I’m so thankful to have gotten the opportunity to be in an OR for the first time and to see what it's like in a surgical environment. I was inspired by the doctor’s work and how they cared for the patients so well. [...] HTI also had a dental clinic that allowed me to watch oral surgeries happening, where they took teeth extractions and [administered] stitches. It was such a good opportunity to be able to see the two fields that I was most interested in come together in one week. [Reflecting on] that opportunity now, I’m for sure dental, but I’m so thankful to have experienced everything that I did.”
Abbie Marshall, a 4-year returning Guatemala Med Mission student, reflected on her experiences and takeaways from this particular mission. “I think that each year, I’ve learned a different part of Christ’s character. This year, especially, was more of gratitude through everything. A theme song for me throughout the week is ‘It Is Well With My Soul’. Just thinking about my conversation that I had with Rigo, the [handyman] employee, and how thankful he was and how he helped to remind me how to be grateful. We talked a lot about how [God] gives us everything we need. Asking him for things isn’t necessary, because He’s going to give us the things we need.”
In reflecting on her translating role, Abbie had this to say: “Language doesn’t matter when it comes to God’s love. He transcends everything. As much as I want to say that my translating is the biggest help of the trip, I don’t think it is. It’s always God’s strength and love that made this trip happen and made everything as successful as it was. I’m just thankful that I got to be used and got to use the talents that He has blessed me with.”
Not a Trip
Category: Student Life