Adventure | My Mission Story: A Feeling of Home

In a previous post, I shared some memories from my adventure in Mexico last summer. Today, I would like to share something with you. Something that, I suppose, encapsulates my experience in Mexico. That something is my mission story. I wrote it a little while after my mission as part of my role as a student volunteer, and it was featured on the Operation Smile Ireland website as well as their Autumn/Winter 2014 newsletter. It even got featured in my church Tidings. I felt rather proud that my story had been shared with others, but I never once thought of sharing it here, on my blog! So I am finally sharing my mission story, A Feeling of Home, with all of you. I could write more about many stories and certain people that I met, but for today, I leave you with a summary of my thoughts on my first ever medical mission with Operation Smile.

Sarah xxx

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This year I got to experience something very different and inspiring. I had the chance to go on a mission in August with Operation Smile to Ecatepec, Mexico. For me, the charity is close to my heart, because I was born with a unilateral cleft lip and a cleft palate. There, in Mexico, I felt at home amongst those with cleft lips and palates. Many of the patients were having revision surgeries done, so it was even more familiar to see their scars, something I see every time I look in the mirror.

I know that if my mother had been there, it would have been an emotional rollercoaster for her. I had expected to cry a lot more, but despite that, it was still very moving and important to me. If my mother had been there, I probably would have ended up crying a lot more! One touching moment was when the mothers cried. The first time I saw them cry, I cried a little myself. Isn’t it funny how we worry as human beings, even though we know that it will all be alright in the end? All these mothers were so worried, so I tried to reassure them that everything would work out just fine, and that it’s normal to be emotional. I showed them a photograph of myself as a baby, which also seemed to help.

Being able to share my experience as someone who grew up going to hospitals and dental appointments my whole life, was great. Years ago, when I was a child, some other kids bullied me about my lip. Now, I am able to tell people about my clefts without being judged. More people listen, and it was especially nice to be able to speak about my life experience with so many people who are going through something similar.

One of the most astonishing things that I saw on my mission, were all the adults that came for surgeries. It’s horrible to think that they have lived with either a badly repaired cleft, or an unrepaired cleft, their whole life. I can’t imagine what sort of life that could have given them, except that if anyone was a cruel as they were to me as a child, it must have been dreadful for them. All I can hope now is that they live the rest of their lives much happier than before.

The children on my mission were so full of life and enthusiasm; it is hard to believe that some of them could be rejected by other children. Just thinking about those kids makes me smile. They were kind, energetic, and above all, beautiful in their own way. I will never forget my adventure in Mexico, from all those smiles, to spending a great time with my team members.  Each moment is precious, and the memories will certainly be carried throughout my life and beyond; through my stories, videos, and photographs. I will never forget that in that brief time, surrounded by all these people, I felt at home.