I spent a few days in Gillette, Wyoming last week. Hadn’t really planned it that way, but sometimes life takes detours.
Getting there is not easy. Three flights over eleven hours landed me in a different world. I made a few snap judgments about Gillette when I found stuffed buffalo and elk in the small airport terminal. But as I waited for my ride into town I realized I might have underestimated this “hay-seed” city.
L&H Industrial advertised their world-wide dominance in oil and gas machinery. NASA approached them recently to rebuild one of the massive crawlers that carry rockets to launch pads. L&H is headquartered in Gillette. I read on and learned that Gillette, along with many of their sister Wyoming cities, powers much of America. The Black Thunder Coal Mine just south of Gillette is the largest coal mine in America.
But I snapped back to reality when I opened the door of the ancient, smoke-filled mini-van that doubled as a taxi. My friendly driver did not frequent Men’s Wearhouse. Once again I knew I had this place pegged.
As we pulled up to my destination, I was chagrined to learn my driver could not make change for the bills I was carrying. A quick look around told me that this was not a Uber — no credit cards accepted. Visions of washing, waxing and vacuuming his old van flashed through my mind. Then he said something I didn’t see coming. “No problem,” my jovial driver said. “I’ll come back later when you get the change.” Say What? I thought to myself. People still do that kind of thing? This is amazing!
As I walked through the doors of Campbell County Memorial Hospital I learned more about the amazing people and spirit of this Western town dubbed the Energy Capital of the Nation. You see, a family member had unexpectedly been admitted while driving through town. My big-hearted taxi driver (who was later paid), was just the tip of an iceberg that warmed my heart.
Inside the walls of that beautiful hospital I learned that angels wear jeans and boots and masquerade as hospitalists. A nurse who lives on a 17,000 acre ranch dispensed care with the warmth of her country roots and the expertise of Mayo’s finest. There were many more nurses and allied health professionals just like her. The local pastor who had been a volunteer chaplain at the hospital for 30 years wore, you guessed it, jeans! A beautiful hospitality suite next to the hospital became our home for several days. We were pampered and protected. Medicine, smiles, X-rays, and compassion came together until we saw the Hand of God at work miles from home.
One day a lawyer tested Jesus by asking Him “which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Matthew 22:36. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” vs. 37-40
I didn’t talk religion with the smiling environmental service workers who rode elevators with me. I didn’t debate theology with the security guard that retrieved my lost keys. I didn’t bother to ask the faith background of the physician who told us his number one goal was to get us home to Arkansas as soon as possible. What I saw was people from Wyoming willing to love their neighbors from Arkansas as themselves.
While I was in Gillette a friend told me that Laramie, WY was 1,000 times more beautiful than Gillette. Perhaps, but would they love their neighbors from Arkansas like our friends at Campbell County Health?