Marisol Cortez came to Nicaragua to serve alongside us for 2 months. Below, we share with you some of her thoughts about serving with AMOS in rural and urban Nicaragua.
Marisol is 21 years old and a senior majoring in Biochemistry and Medical Studies at Bates College. She is with International Ministries and is pursuing her dream of missionary work and becoming a physician. During her volunteer time with us, she worked in one of our urban clinics taking patients’ vitals and visited many rural communities to help our WASH Coordinator install water filters and helped at Health Fairs.
“Volunteering here has been amazing. Before coming I prayed a lot and I think about the way God has used people here working in AMOS’ office, the clinics, and also visiting the communities. It is a very different experience when you’re reading about the work that AMOS does than actually going to these communities and having conversations with folks.
One trip to Chinandega was eye opening for me. I remember we were setting up some water filters and a young pregnant woman came up to me and said “Oh my God, thank you so much for the water filter, now I can use it in my house”. She was so happy and I thought about having access to clean water is one of the things we take for granted.”
“One of the things I learned here was when a person mentioned in a devotional that Dr. Gustavo Parajón had once said that caring for a patient was 80% listening to the patient and 20% prescribing the medicine and explaining it to them. I think that is something that should not only be applied in the medical world but also in everyday life; I realized how self-centered the world is and how important it is to listen.”
~Marisol Cortez.
We are so grateful for Marisol and her decision to come and serve alongside us! Thank you for sharing your time, talents, and heart with the people we serve in Nicaragua.