TWIN FALLS -- Local nurse Angela Parks and respiratory therapist Tracy Hills saw poverty and devastation on their medical mission to help tsunami victims in Sumatra. But they also saw courage and the resilience of the human spirit. They say they even saw a miracle or two.

In mid-July, Parks and Hills traveled to Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and largest city of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, on a two-week medical mission sponsored by the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization. Dawn Edgar, disaster relief director of the Magic Valley Baptist Association, and Merrily Huether, programs coordinator for the Magic Valley Regional Medical Center Foundation, helped put together the medical team that also included two paramedics, one from Arizona and one from Utah, and an accountant from Utah "who became our pharmacist," Parks said. The team was accompanied by an interpreter and a driver.

In December, an 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean struck off Sumatra's western coast, sending tsunamis -- or huge tidal waves -- crashing into ports in south Asia and east Africa. It was one of the most deadly natural disasters in modern history, killing more than 220,000 people around the rim of the Indian Ocean. Banda Aceh, the closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter, was hit hard.

As the plane made its descent, Parks looked out her window to see an island both beautiful and scarred.

"The ocean water is that beautiful blue," Parks said. "There were volcanic mountains, thick jungles. But we could see what appeared to be rubble and an area with no structures and no vegetation."

Parks, an adventurer by nature, had done some traveling in her life. She'd trekked through Asia, Europe and South America, but nothing prepared her for what she saw in Sumatra.

"I had been to countries where there had been poverty, but this was poverty and devastation," said Parks, a Twin Falls native and a graduate of the College of Southern Idaho's registered nursing program. "It was a double whammy. I don't think Hollywood could recreate what I saw."

When it comes to medical missions, Hills is becoming a seasoned veteran, having served on recent Feed the Children missions in Thailand and Africa. She's planning another mission to Africa in the fall.

When it came to Sumatra, the two women didn't know just what to expect. After all, Indonesia had been a hot spot on the globe and Banda Aceh had been closed to outsiders until the tsunami.

"It was a dangerous village," Parks said. "It had a reputation of anti-government activity. It took me a couple of days to feel safe. We could go places, but we would have to be back by dark."

Parks and Hills were careful to respect the island's strict Muslim traditions and donned head scarves with their scrubs when they traveled from village to village in their mobile clinic. And they wore knee-length tunics and loose-fitting pants when they traveled to the marketplace.

"The women would stare at you and want to take your picture," Parks said. And outside the clinics, "the men totally ignored you like you didn't exist. I was intimidated and a little scared."

Still, the people they met treated them with kindness.

"I guess people all over the world are basically the same," Hills said. "I found them to be as open and warm and friendly and grateful as I have found them to be in other parts of the world."

The team stayed in a rented house and traveled to two villages a day, treating wounds that had become infected and other illnesses. They said they'll never forget the "miracle baby."

One day, a young woman brought her baby to the clinic. When she opened the baby's blanket, the two women couldn't believe what they saw. The 18-month old looked as though he was just a year old. He was listless, his skin was ashen and he was covered in sweat.

"I took one look and said, 'Oh my goodness. This kid's got bilateral pneumonia,'" Hill said.

Hill gave the baby an injection of strong antibiotics, but neither Hills nor Parks thought the baby would survive. But the next day, they traveled back to the village and saw the mother and the baby in front of their stick hut. The baby's strength had come back and there was a light in his eyes that hadn't been there the day before.

"I said no. This is not our baby," Hills said. "The mother was shaking her head yes, this is him."

"I asked the interpreter what the word was for 'miracle.'"

The baby survived. He was one of the fortunate ones.

"A woman would say, 'I lost three children and my husband.' What do you say to that?" Parks said.

The people of Sumatra not only buried their dead, but some buried their feelings as well.

Parks and Hills believe many of the people were suffering from post-traumatic stress. They had the classic symptoms -- anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite. The medical team did what it could to help them talk about what happened. One member of the team worked with the children, having them color pictures about their experience.

"One little boy shared his nightmares of churning in the water and the debris hitting him," Parks said.

During their time off, Parks and Hills would go to the marketplace, where shopkeepers sold colorful scarves, shoes and spices and herbs.

They say they'll never forget their mission to Sumatra and the people they met there. Both say they'd go back in a heartbeat.

"A part of my mind is still back there with them," Parks said. "It left a huge imprint on my heart."

Hills was equally inspired.

"It was an absolute honor to be able to help out post-tsunami," Hills said. "Lots of people received medicines and care they might not have had. If everyone would help their own communities or had a desire and passion to go to other countries, it would make a big difference. There's nothing extraordinary about us."

Times-News writer Sandy Miller can be reached at 735-3264 or by e-mail at smiller@magicvalley.com.