SheriinGuate

Clinic in Chutzurob

2012-02-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today, Gaspar, Manuel and I went to Chutzurob for clinic. We had a good clinic of 17 patients. Angelica and her dad, Sebastian, took turns translating for me.

This young man is Byron and he had his lip repaired in 2007 in Clinica Ezell. He is doing great and came to see us today because he has a cough.

What a big difference the surgery has made on this young boy.

I needed a surgeon with me today. There were two patients that needed hernia repairs. One was a baby that is 8 month old and the other was a pregnant lady that has had hers for five years. Another lady had a large cyst on her foot that was causing discomfort. All three patients were given options and will return to the next clinic with their decision.

On the way home, it was time for Gaspar to practice driving again. He is doing better each taime and building his confidence. Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Xepol.

Clinic in Lemoa

2012-02-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Today, we had our clinic in Lemoa. It was a small clinic with only 12 medical patients.

One lady brought her lab work so she can have a cataract removed when the next group arrives in Montellano. She and her family are very excited about this. She had her right eye done last year and has had excellent results.

If you remember, a few weeks ago Ruben had a diabetic patient with a blood sugar of about 540. He returned to clinic today for the third time. His blood sugar is still out of control at 425. When I started talking to him about his diet, he smiled one of those smiles that let you know something is not right. We talked about what he had eaten on Sunday.........16 tortillas, two pieces of sweet bread and 7 tamalitos..........now we know!!! He knows he is maxed out on medication and the next step will be insulin.

Tomorrow, Gaspar, Manuel and I will go to Chutzurob.

Trip to Montellano

2012-02-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

This morning I left Chichi at 0645 to go to Montellano. I wanted to arrive in time for the worship service there. The drive was uneventful and I am always thankful for that. One reason that I went was to take the lab work and papers for the babies who are scheduled for surgery. I also wanted to see everyone. It was a great group of people and it was good to see them!

The babies and their moms are at the clinic and they are doing well. Before I left in the afternoon, we took time to pray with them and encourage them. I wanted to be sure that they did not have any more questions before I left.

As I mentioned, seeing the group was great! Moments like this make me think that this is just a small glimpse of what heaven will be like. To see Christians that you really enjoy spending time with but are unable to due to distance. We participated in worship together and in communion. It was very special. I was gifted Diet Dr. Pepper and candy.......and lots of hugs! Thank you so much!!

I will post photos of Hector and Hefer, the two babies when I recieve the photos.

My drive home also went well. Tomorrow, I will do clinic in Lemoa.

Clinic in Chuchipaca

2012-02-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Today, Gaspar and I had clinic in Chuchipaca.

There were a lot of men gathering as we arrived. Their project for the day was to cut down trees on the side of the hill. They climbed the trees without any problem, cutting the branches with their machetes.

When I asked them why they were cutting down the trees, I received an interesting response. They are doing this because on March 5th, they are having a big celebration. The answer I got was, "We are cutting down the trees because we need more room for the celebration!"

For those of you who have been to Chuchipaca, you know there already is a huge area in front of the building...........now we will have more room!

This is little guy was working as hard as he could. He would split one log and then get another.

We finished with 19 patients for the day. It was a good clinic.

On the way home, I asked Gaspar if he wanted to drive. He drove us to the highway and he did well. He seemed to enjoy doing it more than he has in the past. We just need to work on his confidence, which will just take more practice.

Enrique meets Mactzul III

2012-02-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today Marcos and Enrique came to Chichi to get Martina and me. We then drove on to Mactzul III. I do not think Entgrique had ever been on these roads before. He had a lot of questions about where we were and the names of the areas.

The doors were closed when we arrived but we waited until someone from the congregation came. We entered and set up to receive patients. I talked with the men from the congregation, reminding them that the clinic is their ministry. They need to announce the clinic and then follow-up with patients who are interested in hearing more about the Bible. It is this way, that the congregation grows and influences the community.

This is Enrique and he is doing a great job as he learns more about the clinics. He is very humble and enjoys talking with patients. He is patient with them and interacts well.

Tomas is taking time to teach Enrique the pharmacy. There is a lot to learn but I know he will continue to do well.

We had 8 dental patients and 3 medical patients. There is room for improvement in this clinic.

We have the clinic in the church building after hanging tarps to divide areas. This tarp had a hole in it, so this photo is taken through the hole. Marcos and Martina between their patients.

For lunch we drove to a nearby house. We enjoyed fried chicken, rice and tortillas.

When we finished, we returned to the clinic but there were no more patients. I hope that then congregation will announce the clinic more in the futrure.

Eating and sharing your gift

2012-02-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

Today, we were all at Lemoa in the clinic and a lot of things were going on. There was a lot of different activities. One of the activities was that Kemmel and Lisa were gifted a chicken from Mactzul VI! I asked Kemmel if he was going to take it home and raise it. He said, "No! The brothers told me that it is ready to eat!"

Before I knew it, Juan went and, "did what he needed to do," so they could prepare it for our lunch.

We saw 17 medical patients today and Gaspar had 7 dental cleanings.

I saw several diabetics and most of their blood sugars were under control.

One gentleman always comes with his wife and they live in Chiqua. He has heard of the new clinic there but there are bad feelings between him and that family, so he wanted to explain why he will continue to come to Lemoa and not be at the new clinic.

The exciting part of the story is that he and his wife are constumbre, which is a Mayan religion. He told me that he thinks the Bible is difficult to understand and is confusing. I reminded him about the first time he brought his wife to our clinic. All of the medicine was new, the diet that his wife would need to follow was difficult to understand, everything was confusing to them...........and now, they understand more and she feels so much better.

You can apply understanding the Bible in the same manner. We do not understand it all the first time we hear it. The message is slow for us at times. We need time to think about it and to find ways to apply it to our life. I asked him this week to think about his relationship to God and how he wanted that to be. I also talked to Gaspar about this family and we hope that we will have the opportunity to visit them in their home.

When it was time for lunch, Martina served us our chicken soup. It was wonderful. Our neighbor lady prepared it for us and it was good!

Thank you, Mactzul VI for thinking of Kemmel and Lisa.......and thank you, Kemmel and Lisa for sharing!

Education Day in Lemoa

2012-01-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today, Lisa introduced a new program this year, Leche for Life, and it was received well. We will have a three class series on prenatal care. This will be open to the ladies of the communities, who will be first time mothers.

The first class discuss good health, diet,hygiene and prenatal care. In the second class, we will discuss the warning signs that might happen and what to do if they occur. The third class, we will discuss breastfeeding and answer the questions they might have.

As I mentioned, the information of the class was received well and they thought it is information that the mothers need to know. The mother,the mother of the pregnant lady, the mother-in-law and the mid-wife, comadrona, will also be invited to the classes.

You can also see more on this program at www.Kemmelandlisa.blogspot.com

We are waiting to hear from the communities on who will be interested in beginning the class.

I will keep you posted on what takes place. I think it will be exciting for the communities.

Update from India

2012-01-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

I traveled back from Antigua today and then caught up on different things.

I received a letter from the minster there, R.S. Raju, and he told me that one of the elderly ladies in the congregation had died. He sent me a recent photo of Sister Saramma. He told me that she was a faithful Christian and participated in the congregation there. She died from the cold weather that they are experiencing now.

When I read about her death, I thought of Hebrews, chapter 12. The author of the book is encouraging us, by reminding us of former people who remained faithful. These people who have died, are now cheering for us. They are encouraging us to remain faithful. It is not only the people that we knew in this life, for example our grand-parents or older members of our congregation but people we have never met. The Christian life at times is difficult. We never had a promise that it would be easy........but to think that people we never have met are aware of our daily struggles and they are waiting for us! They are waiting for those who also remain faithful!

Hebrews 12:1-3----Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart.

Let us not grow weary...........

Sunday in Antigua

2012-01-29T14:04:00.000-08:00

Today was a relaxing day.

I worshiped with the congregation in Antigua and realized it had been a year since I had been there. Everyone was very friendly and it was good to see people again. Glen and Neva were there and they are doing well.

The exciting part of the day was then their friend, Alex, came and sat next to Glen. This is a young man that works in the park, shining shoes and Glen and Neva have become friends with him. Everyone was very friendly to him and he seemed to enjoy his time with us. You never know what seeds you plant and who you influence through your day.

The morning class was on prayer....it was very interesting. We read examples from the Bible on the different positions that people have used to pray. Since I have been here in Guatemala, it is almost natural to kneel. To me, it is a humble position. But the significant message is that it does not matter your physical position but the position of the heart.

I spent the afternoon with Mary and we ran around Antigua. Then we spent some time in her new apartment. It is very nice and I am sure that she will enjoy it.

New Clinic in Chiqua

2012-01-28T04:51:00.000-08:00

Today, Lisa, Juan, Gaspar and I went to a new area, Chiqua. Alicia owns this small store and offered to let us hold clinic here. It is in a great location, very close to the highway. Chiqua is a fairly large community and Alicia already had started a patient list for us!

Alicia in her store.

Gaspar and Juan after they set up the pharmacy area. Now, we wait for the patients to arrive.

Patients gathering before starting the consults.

I can see us returning on a regular basis here. There is a need and a great opportunity.

We had 37 patients today. This was accomplished by Alicia talking to her neighbors and spreading the word. It is amazing how one lady, by opening up her store for a few hours, can impact her community. The majority of patients today do not claim to be Christians. Most told me that they have Mayan beliefs or are Costumbre. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to develop a relationship with the community and share Christ with them.

Isaiah 61:1----The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has annointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from the darkness for the prisoners.

There is not a better place to put these words into action.

I will keep you posted on the progress here in Chiqua.

Clinic in La Estancia

2012-01-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

This morning, Martina and I drove to Santa Cruz to meet the guys. Then we rode with Marcos, Ruben and Tomas to La Estancia. It was a cool morning and there was no sunshine.

When we arrived, there were only a few patients waiting and they were dental patients. As we set up the clinic, Ruben gave the owners of the home a 2012 calendar. We went through the schedule for the year, writing down all of the dates for clinic........hoping that this will encourage then to announce the clinic a little more.

Sitting on the corner of the patio was a nesting turkey. After watching her a few minutes, a few chicks popped their heads out to see what was going on.

She decided that she needed to stretch her legs so then we got a better view of her family.

There were 13 babies and one egg left to be hatched.

We ended up with 17 dental patients and 4 medical patients.

This young guy has pneumonia and was feeling much better after a couple of breathing treatments and some Tylenol.

After we saw all of the patients, we enjoyed a lunch of beef soup and tamalitos. It was really good for a cold afternoon.

Tomorrow, we are going to have the new clinic in Chicua. Ruben will pick me up at 0720 and then we will go and get Gaspar and Juan. I think it will be a wonderful day and pray that we will be able to help people both spiritually and physically.

Clinic in Chichi

2012-01-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today, I went with Ruben and Tomas to work in the clinic in Chichi. We had 19 patients and I think 12-13 of them were diabetics. I really hope that in the next few months we can schedule the diabetic classes there.

We had several patients today that had blood sugars over 300. One patient, had not been to the clinc in 3 months and his blood sugar was 540. Ruben wanted him to go to the health department for insulin.

The young man finally agreed to go but then returned two hours later to tell us that they did not have any. I suggested that he go to Santa Elena in Santa Cruz to the hospital there. After we were finished seeing patients, Tomas and Ruben gave him a ride to the hospital. I hope that he can receive the help he needs and also that he sees the need to be more complient. He is too young to be having these types of problems.

One young mother came in with a fever that she has had for one week. She had firm mass in her breast. Ruben gave her some antibiotics and she will follow-up with him on Monday in Lemoa.

Tomorrow, I will go with the guys to La Estancia for clinic. I am sure it will be another great day!

Exciting day..................

2012-01-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day with some exciting things happening.

As I have mentioned before, as well as Lisa and Kemmel, Gaspar will be changing his role at the clinic. He will now be working more in an evangelist role, starting next month. So, Kemmel needed to decide on hiring a new health promoter and I think we all agreed on who would be a great employee.

Today, Kemmel and Lisa talked to Enrique from Panajaxit. I was telling Lisa today about the first time I remember meeting Enrique. It was when Josefina and I started that clinic in 2007. We had been invited to a community meeting to see if there was enough interest for us to return on a regular basis. All of a sudden there was some commotion and we did not undertand all of it because most of it was in K'iche'. It made me a little nervous because the building was packed, with standing room only.

They finally told us that the community really wanted us to have a clinic every week. They took a vote and everyone's hand went up! Then they started applauding.......it was one of those moments that you just don't forget. Since that day, Enrique has been very helpful in the clinics. He prays with all of the patients and is very interested in them. He attends all of the monthly classes that Lisa does in Lemoa and I think he will be a great asset to us.

This afternoon we went to a new community called Chicwa. Kemmel, Lisa, Juan and I went to visit a patient that lives there and she wants to open her home to us to have a clinic. We will go on Saturday and see what happens after that. Her home is right off of the main highway and Chiwa is heavly populated. We are very thankful to Alisa and her family for opening their home to us. We pray that God will bless them and wonderful things will take place because of this new clinic.

Truck........Tow Truck and Tuk-tuks..................

2012-01-24T16:21:00.000-08:00

What a day we have to tell you about. Our guardian angels worked triple time for us today and we are very thankful for that!!

We met in the lobby this morning and then our adventure began! We had no idea what would be in store for us today.

Lisa and Kemmel dropped me off at the US Embassy this morning. I wanted to get more pages added to my passport. I really did not know where to go but once I got into the secured area, they took my phone, x-rayed my things and searched me.......I was fine! They told me that the passport would be ready in the afternoon and that is unbelievable!! If I had done it in The States, it would have taken several weeks to get it back.

I met up with Lisa and Kemmel again. We went to the HTI office, to Office Deposit and then decided to have lunch. We ruled out the places that we did not want to eat and then decided on Chinese. It was wonderful. We shared some egg rolls and then I had shrimp and vegetables.

We returned to the US Embassy, I was searched again and then I obtained my passport. It looks great and there are enough pages to last a few years.

We stopped to fill the Nissan with gas and get a Diet Coke for the ride home. The guys were real nice, while they washed the windows, checked the pressure in the tire and inflated them to the proper pressure. Then we were on our way. Lisa decided to drive a little and let Kemmel rest. He let her know that he had felt a little difference in the brakes and that he would get them checked in Chichi.

After we were on the road just a few minutes, the Nissan did not feel right. It felt out of alignment and had an odd sound. Lisa thought maybe she had a flat tire. She calmly pulled over and then Kemmel got out to look. NO flat tire.
There was an area ahead that was coned off so Kemmel suggested that we push the Nissan to this area to get it in a safer spot.

After pushing just a few short feet, it sounded like the axel had broke.......and the back, left tire was at an odd angle!!

This is the area that we pushed the truck to.

You can see the odd angle of the tire.

There are NO lug nuts or bolts to the tire!!

Someone had stripped the tire!!

The brake fluid drained out on the highway.

It is unbelievable that the tire stayed on as long as it did!! Unbelievable!! The only place that we had been where the truck was not guarded was in front of the HTI Office.

Then a tow truck pulled ahead of us and offered to help. He told Lisa that he would carry us to Chichi for, "less than $200!!" Kemmel has insurance on the vehicle so that came in very handy today.

As we were getting ready, we did not think that all of us would fit in the cab. I had decided to jump on a bus for the rest of the ride. Then the guys told us that we could ride in the Nissan as they were driving. We can do what????? Is that semi-legal???

We loaded up in the Nissan, put on out seat belts and then we were loaded for the ride.

As you can see from the sign, we were close to Chimaltenango.

Kemmel had fun pretending that he was driving. The habit of holding the wheel, even though it is not necessary while being towed, is hard to break. Once while we were talking, Kemmel turned around and it caught me off guard, since he was not watching the road. "Kemmel, keep your eyes on the road!!"

The guys did a great job in getting us back to Chichi and they made good time. The best part of the trip was that, we still had a full tank of gas!!

When we arrived in Chichi, we flagged down some tuk-tuks. I jumped in the first one and they were to grab the next one. After I got near the house, I thought it was odd that they were not behind me. I decided that I needed a Diet Coke for the night so I walked to the little store and that is when Kemmel called me. GET THIS, their tuk-tuk had run out of gas on their way to the house!!

What a day of adventure with lots of fun memories............and we are thankful to be back in Chichi and safe!!

Trip to Guate City

2012-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

This morning, Lisa, Kemmel and I left early for Guatemala City. Kemmel had another appointment with his physician and I needed to have more pages added to my passport.

We went to IHop for breakfast..........and it was wonderful. I have never seen a IHop so big. It was two levels and had a play ground for the kids. I tried all of the syrups and finally decided that blueberry was my favorite.

After we checked into the hotel, we went for a walk. One of the main streets of the city is closed on Sundays so the dogs can enjoy walking their owners..........and I am not exaggerating. There were big dogs, little dogs and rats on leashes!! Well, they looked like rats and some even had on dresses. It was entertaining to say the least............it is obvious who has money.

The hotel was very nice and it was a good evening to watch three Law and Order SVU back-to-back.

Tomorrow is Kemmel's appointment and they will take me to the US Embassy.

Water filters in Mactzul II

2012-01-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Kemmel asked if I wanted to deliver water filters today and I jumped at the chance.

Today, we delivered nine water filters to ABC Families in Mactzul II. Mactzul II is one of our newest communities in the ABC Program and it is exciting to be able to do this for them.

Marcos and Ruben had clinic in the church building while I went with three of the men to each of the homes. We explained the filters, taught them how to maintain them and then made sure that they did not have any more questions.

This is the first home that we visited. Natalia, 6 years old, is in the pick blouse and Tomasa is to her right side. Tomasa is 8 years old. Even though only two of the children are in the ABC Program, the whole family will benefit from the water filter.

This is the Xirum home. David, 10 years old, is in the red striped shirt. His sister, Juana, was studying in school so she was not at home. Some children go to school in the morning and others attend in the afternoon.

Three children in this family are part of the ABC Program. Celso, 14 years old, is in the light green shirt. Nelson, 7 years old, is in the red and in the blue shirt is Elias. He is 12 years old.

This is the Cuin Gomez family. Rogelio is the only boy in the family and he is 9 years old. His sister, Juana, is behind him and she is 14 years old.

Rosa, is below in the red blouse and she is 7 years old.

Below is Maria and she is 16 years old. She is studying to be a nurse and she was headed out the door to attend her afternoon classes. Her brother, Tomas, is one of the men that went with us from house to house today.

It is always interesting how things develop through the day. When we started out at the first house, I demonstrated how to wash and maintain the filter. By the third house, the guys and I had developed a system and everyone participated.

This is the Pixcar family. Juana, 11 years old, has her left arm around her sister Anastacia, who is 6 years old.

The Canil family also received a filter. Ingrid, 12 years old, is the second girl on the left of the filter. Gagriela, 7 years old, has on the orange blouse.

This was the last family to visit today. Estuardo, 8 years old, has on the Sox t-shirt. His brother, Alexander, 9 years old, has on the blue striped shirt.

When we finished with the filters, we returned to the church building. The guys had about 12 medical patients and 17 dental patients. We enjoyed a lunch together and then headed back to Chichi.

It was an exciting day. It is always good to visit homes and be able to help with their needs. Everyone was so appreciative of the water filters and without the sponsors of the ABC Program, this would not be possible. A special thank you to all of you who participate in the program. You are really making a difference and impacting day-to-day life here in Guatemala.

Clinic in Lemoa

2012-01-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today, we had a very busy day. We began our morning with a devotion together and then prayed with the patients before we started clinic.

We saw 29 medcial patients and Gaspar had 7 dental cleanings. The new addition to the clinic is coming along and this is great. We have overgrown the clinic and need more space to care of all the patients.

These are the latest photos.

We had many diabetics today. All of the ones that I saw were well controlled, except one. One gentleman came to the clinic for the first time with a blood sugar of over 500. Today was his third visit and he was 184. Yes, he has some room for improvement but he is learning.

Another patient came to the clinic two weeks ago with severe headaches. His blood pressure was 198/104 and today he was 130/70. I can see why he feels much better now and I am thankful for that.

After the clinic, everyone met back at Carris for a meeting and to talk about some of the changes that will be taking place this year. We will be adding three more people to the team and Gaspar will be working as our evangelist. I think he will do a great job and be a positive influence for our patients.

Please remember in your prayers a young guy that lives in Xepocol. His name is Oscar. He has been very sick and has gone to Guatemala City for exams but so far they can not determnine what is wrong. I know his family would appreciate your prayers.

Also, there is a surgical that will be return to The United States on Saturday. They have had a busy week in Montellano and soon will be returning home after spending a night in Antigua.

Tomorrow, there will be clinics in Chocaman IV and Mactzul II. I will be going with the group to Mactzul II to deliver more water filters to the ABC families. It will be another good day and I should have some more photos to share.

Update with Karen and Coleen in Chuchipaca

2012-01-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

Today, Karen and Coleen met with the ladies in Chuchipaca. For those of you who have not seen the previous posts, Karen is from Kansas and she works with Fair Trade. She has met with the ladies on two other occasions to see if there was a possibility of working with them and buying their crafts.

I went to see Karen and Coleen last night in Panajachel and we enjoyed dinner on the lake. It was a great evening. Then about 3am, I became very sick. I had to cancel traveling with them to Chuchipaca but the driver knew the way so the meeting would continue.

Later Juan called and told me that the ladies were very pleased with what had happened. Karen also called and is pleased with the efforts of the ladies. There is always room for improvement and the the ladies seem to understand. Now they have a new project to complete before Karen returns again.

I will post some of Karen's photos when I get them. I am very thankful that there are ladies as Karen and Coleen who want to be sure that there is active Fair Trade and that the artisans receive wages by the hour of their work. I am excited that the ladies of Chuchipaca are able to experience this opportunity.

For more of Karen's story, please check out her site at http://www.educationandmore.org/

Clinic in Lemoa

2012-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

Today we had a good clinic in Lemoa with 19 patients. There were many diabetics and two ladies that came for prenatal visits.

The addition to the clinic is coming along good.

This mom came in and her baby was a very content baby.

He was a content child.

Tomorrow I will work at home on the prenatal classes. We hope to have those ready to present soon. On Sunday, I will go to Panajachel and return with Karen and Coleen on Monday when they visit the ladies in Chuchipaca.

Clinic in Xepol

2012-01-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

Last night I enjoyed dinner with Lisa and Kemmel. We caught up on much that has happened in the last month. They enjoyed having the Eastside Church of Christ visit in December and help with the ABC Celebration. What a great time it is to share the work with your sponsoring congregation!

Today, Gaspar and I went to Xepol. As always there are events thought the day that are sad and those that are exciting.

It has been two months since I had been here. Since then, a large mudslide had destroyed the building where they have worship services and now we have clinic outside. You can see where the sheets have been hung to offer a little privacy to the patients during their consult. Gaspar set up the pharmacy, we prayed and then began clinic.

This view is from where the building was and there are still some materials left. The congregation is small and they have very few resources. I know they would appreicate your prayers as they struggle through this and strive to serve God.

Today, I was able to see Victor today and he has really grown since I saw him in September or October. The highlight for my day was when I was able to give him my medicine that I no longer need to take.

When I was home in August, I had the Gamma Knife Procedure for trigeminal neuralgia. I am very thankful for the help that I received. Dr. Branch at Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston Salem arranged everything for me. Thank you, Dr. Branch! Since I no longer need the medicine, I wanted to give it to Victor. I hope that some day, Victor also no longer will need it.

We saw twelve patients in Xepol today.

The sad part of the day was when a young girl came to clinic with her grandmother. Her grandmother is diabetic and needed some more medicine. Then Evelin, 10 years old, started telling me about how she felt. She spoke very good Spanish and is in the 3rd grade. She translated into K'iche' for her grandmother and understood everything we talked about. The sad part is that Evelin thinks that she has headaches because her dad tried to have her aborted before her birth. He had her mother injected with some type of medicine on three different occasions to prevent her birth. Her grandmother confirmed this and I felt so bad for Evelin. How horrible it is that this happened and and even more horrible is that she knows of it.

Evelin loves to study and wants to be an accountant when she finishes school. I hope that she will come back to clinic with her grandmother. She seems extremely intelligent and I know she can do well.

This is the view from Xepol.

Tomorrow we will have clinic in Lemoa at Clinica Carris.

Clinic in Chutzurob

2012-01-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today, Gaspar, Marcos, Martina and I went to Chutzurob. The conference continues in Paxot II so Juan remained there to help. We had a small clinic but it was a good one.

Another verse from Psalms 51. As I mentioned the other day, there are so many good thoughts from this chapter.

verse 12------Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Only through Christ can we be daily renewed. Nothing in this world is eternal......it will all pass and nothing here brings true happiness or contentment. Our sights have to be set on the eternal.
We saw 7 medical patients today and I think there were 6 or 7 dental patients.

This mother brought her new baby for an exam. The baby is seven weeks old and is very healthy. This is her first baby.

When we return in February, I will take her copies of the photos.

These two little girls wanted their photo taken and loved being lifted up into the truck.

When we finished seeing everyone, a lady asked us if we would visit her son in her home. We had plenty of time, so we were glad to do it. She told me that he is eighteen years old, has seizures and is very sick. She said that he has been in bed for three months.

Angelica and Gloria that helped us with the clinic drove with us to the home. We parked the truck and then walked through the corn fields to the house.

When we walked in, the young man had been placed in the court yard in the sun. It was obvious that he has been sick a long time. We found out more of his story when we arrived. When he was two years old, he had a high fever. After this illness, he never walked or talked again. His mother has to totally care for him. It is a very sad situation.

It is situations as this that break your heart because there is nothing you can do. There is nothing to say. We spent some time with the family and then prayed with them. I hope the medicine that we left will decrease his seizures. We will see.

As I said above, nothing in this world is eternal. When you see situations as this, you are thankful for that. Our sights need to be on heaven, the place that Christ is preparing for those that live for Him.. This world is too full of sadness and pain. Our faith in the promises of God is our only hope.

Sunday in Chichi

2012-01-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I worshiped with the congregation in Chichi so today I went to Quiche. There were about 40 people there and that is quite a few for this time of the day.

The lesson was real good and was taken from Psalms, the 51st chapter. So far, I am sure that many people have broken their New Year's Resolution for the year. There are many verses in this chapter that would serve us well if we thought about them on a daily basis. Maybe we could accomplish this.

verses 1 and 2------Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Christians know they need continual cleansing and this is done by the blood of Christ. If we do not have access to that cleansing, we do not have the relationship with Christ that will bring salvation.

verse 10-----Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

As we know, the Trinity is sinless. God can not have any relationship with sin. Christ lived a sinless life on this earth, unlike us. So in order to be pure we need the blood of Christ. Our spirit needs to be steadfast. Our commitment must also be steadfast, not changing on a day-to-day basis.

This chapter is wonderful and full of inspiration and so many concepts to apply. Just something to think about....................

Choacaman in 2012

2012-01-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Today, was our first clinic in Choacaman this year. We use to meet in the home of Enrique but since they have cemented this area and covered it, we have the clinic here. This is where the church meets on Sunday afternoons. There is more light inside so that helps with the consults.

Don't you just love that Carolina Blue sky??

This is Gaspar and me as we are checking in the first patient of the day. Scott, this photo is for you!

We had eleven patients for the day and a couple of them had very sad circumstances.

One was a little girl who had extremely red eyes. They looked so very painful and her dad said that she has had this problem for over a year. She is in school and is doing very well. I am sure that reading and studying is very difficult for her.

Another gentleman returned with some lab work that Lisa had asked him to have done. He looks as if he is having renal problems but his labs were normal. His legs and feet are very swollen, he has high blood pressure, is diabetic and has gained 10 pounds since his last visit. I changed his medicines around and we will see what happens. I hope that both of these patients return to the next clinic.

After all of the patients were seen, we were invited to have lunch in the home of Martin. He is the son-in-law of Enrique and he helps us with the clinic. In the morning his daughter and another young girl will be baptized. Today, they are preparing for the activity and you can feel the excitement in the home.

They set up boards on saw-horses to make tables. We sat outside, while the women sat inside next to the fire. There were about 25 people eating, about 10 dogs, a few roosters and the remains were taken to the pig. Quite a festival of chicken soup and tamalitos!

We know that tomorrow the angels will be rejoicing due to the baptisms. It is a very important moment in a person's life when they make the decision to become a Christian. It is a turning point and a moment of dedication.

Tomorrow the guys and I will go to Chuchipaca.

First Clinic of 2012

2012-01-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today we had our first clinic of 2012.

When we first arrived, we found how dusty and dirty the clinic can be after not being used for three weeks. A construction crew has also been working and some floor molding had been set into place. Both of these activities really increased the amount of cleaning that needed to be done before we could start seeing patients.

We had our devotion together and we are very thankful to be looking at another year together. We have a lot to accomplish but with God's help, we can do it.

A few weeks ago, I posted a few photos of the the guys digging and making adobes. This was today's activity. The adobes have grown and continue to dry. You can see the addition behind the current clinic.
They told me today that it will take about two months to complete..........we shall see.

We had 14 medical patients and one patient for dental cleaning.

We had several diabetics and all of their blood sugars were extremely high. Some have not been coming to clinic and for others it may have been too many parties during the holidays.

After we finished seeing patients, we loaded the truck in preparation for tomorrow. Gaspar, Juan and I will go to Choacaman and see patients there.

Update on the work in India

2012-01-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

I received some more photos from our brethren in India. They continue to persevere through difficult times. Last week they had a cyclone and many of their crops were damaged. The rains and cold continue and they struggle with having clean drinking water. They had to stop the construction on their building last year due to lack of funds so they continue to meet in small houses.

But as I said, they continue to teach and spead the word of Christ. They began the year with the baptism of a young man from their community.

The congregation enjoys some bananas after their worship on Sunday.

I continue to write Raju a few times a week and we share some of our thoughts. This week we discussed how difficult some times can be but Christians know that this world is temporary and so are our struggles. We were not promised that life would be easy. Each culture is different, with it's unique problems. Riches and money do not bring happiness.

Paul understood struggles and hardships. He prayed that he would be made well but it was not granted.

II Corinthians 12: 8-10-----Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I continue to pray for our brothers in India.......that they will have relief from the rain, be warmed and have clean water. Their faith and perseverance, with the grace from God will make them strong. They also ask for your prayers.

Back in Chichicastenango..........Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

This morning I brought a shuttle back to Chichi from Antigua. Last night was kind of crazy in Antigua. There were a lot of people celebrating but things settled down at 12:01! Whew!!

I arrived in Chichi about 0930 and came to the house. Tomasita and Jaime were here and they are doing well. They had painted my house while I was gone and washed the curtains. The house looks very nice and I appreciate their work.

Tomasita had a tamale for me to eat and she also brought me some poinsettias. I brought her a robe for Christmas since she is always telling me how much she likes mine. Here she poses with her new robe and my flowers.

It is odd trying to get use to the sounds again.........the birds sliding down the tin roof, the roosters, chickens and other animals. I know those roosters will be awake at o430.

Fast three weeks................

2011-12-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Where did that three weeks go and in such a hurry? It seems as if I just left Guatemala for a few weeks home to visit my family and friends........and now I am back.

As always, I neglected the blog. I only took one photo the whole time I was in North Carolina and here it is. This is Christmas Eve and my parents were watching some ball game. Well, dad was watching and mom went to say hello.

While I was there we celebrated my dad's birthday, I spent time with friends, had a few doctor's appointments and also met with the mission committee from my sponsoring congregation, The South Fork Church of Christ. It was a busy time but I accomplished everything I needed to do.

We took dad out a few times to celebrate his birthday. My doctor's appointments and exams went well and I am very thankful for that. South Fork will continue to sponsor me and are looking for others who might also be interested in helping. If you are, please let me know and I will send you the contact information.

And yes, my parents did spoil me when I was with them :)

It is now time to get back to work. We have a lot of different events scheduled this year and it will be a busy year. We will have our clinics and will continue with the previous classes but will also have some new ones. Spring break teams will soon visit and then later we will have the MET Program.

We pray that our work will bring our patients and their families closer to Christ. While many people do not think of their relationship to Christ. While many may think of it, they may not act on it. Others may be confused and not sure what to do. I want our teaching to be only that of the Bible for it remains forever.

Peter thought it was important that the Christians in the New Testament times remembered this as he quotes from Isaiah 40-6-8.

I Peter 1:23-25----For you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Let us continue to persevere with only His teaching.

Clinic in Lemoa

2011-12-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Today we had clinic in Lemoa. We had a busy clinic with 22 medical patients and 4 patients for dental cleanings.

When we arrived there was activity in the clinic area. We are in the early stages of building on to the clinic. Today, the guys were digging and adding water to make the adobes for the addition. The guys were playing in the mud that was up to their knees.

After they formed the adobe bricks, they placed them in the sun to dry.

On the other side of the clinic, guys were making some adjustments to prevent pooling of water that we have during the heavy rains.

A father brought in his child that had stepped on a nail 6 months ago. He states there was no infection after the incident but that it has not healed well. They will go for an xray to see if there is a foreign body inside the foot. If there is something there, they will return to see Lisa in another week.

After clinic we counted more vitamins to be distributed to the ABC Clinics. Then we met for awhile to discuss the 2012 calander. The new year will be here shortly and it will be an exciting one!

Clinic in Chutzurob

2011-12-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

Today, Juan, Gaspar and I went to Chutzurob. We had a good clinic with 17 patients. Most of the patients had problems with colds and upper respiratory problems.

This little guys was the excitement of the clinic today. When I pulled out the camera, he got real serious on us.

Sebastian tried to get him loosen up again but it didn't work.

Please remember Sebastian in your prayers. His son was in an auto accident in Guatemala City and has some broken bones. Sebastian would appreciate your prayers.

This young lady always comes and talks as I start to pack up. I take her photos and she enjoys them. She always laughs and then wants another one taken.

We will be back in Chutzurob on January 10th. That sounds like a long way away but I know the time will pass quickly.

Happy December!

2011-12-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I apologize since it has been so long since I have blogged. Things have been moving right along and we are already in December!

This morning I went to Santa Cruz for worship. There were many people there and we had a good lesson. He talked about how soon this year will come to a close and then we will begin 2012. He talked about goals and plans that we need to make so that we will accomplish things. If we do not set goals or have dreams, there is little chance that we will do or be any different in the year to come.

Many people make New Year's resolutions and do not keep them. If resolutions are only made once a year, they usually do fail. Maybe our focus and goals should be made more frequently. I think this way they have a better chance of success.

Of all goals that could be set, what is better than to focus our life on Christ? The Bible is full of examples of people who wandered away, lost faith or lost their first love. Without a strong relationship with God, what else matters in life? As we know, this life is temporary.

We know how the Israelites constantly shifted in their faithfulness to God. We are warned in Revelations about people losing their first love. Even today, we need to listen to these warnings. They are as relevent as the day they were written.

Satan will take any foothold on us he can get. We need to stay active and alert to prevent him from getting an advantage. If we do not, he will strengthen his grip and weaken our relationship with God.

We have been planing our education for 2012 and I think it is exciting. Lisa has been working on prenatal classes and some sex education classes that she was asked to prepare. We will continue with the diabetes class and will also be offering a gastritis class.

So, there are a lot of good things going on. Please continue to pray for the work here. The ABC program is continuing to grow and remains active. The children are doing well and now are enjoying their vacation before classes start again.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

2011-11-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess you can tell it is my mom's birthday! I hope that it is a great day for her as dad has the opportunity to spoil her. I will be home in a couple of weeks and be able to do my share.

I love you mom and dad and I will see you soon!

Clinic and trip to Montellano

2011-11-24T14:07:00.000-08:00

We had our clinic in Lemoa today. We had about 14 patients so it was not a real busy clinic.

Kemmel was kind and ordered us pizza from Domino's in Quiche. It was very good.

After we cleaned up everything, we started our drive to Montellano, to our Clinica Ezell. It will be our Thanksgiving dinner with the group down there and the time that we share together before the end of the year.

When we arrived, everyone was working and preparing for the dinner. Carlos asked Lisa to give a little background of Thanksgiving so she shared that with us before we ate.

Table clothes were placed for dinner and flower arrangements had been made.

Everyone listening to Carlos as he explained dinner tonight and the meeting time for the morning.

Preparing to pray before we ate.

We get together with the coastal group only once during the year. There is also Alex, Violeta and Carolina that work in Guatemala City. Tonight there are about 40-45 of us together.

I am very thankful to be working with Health Talents. The leaders are always concerned with how we can reach more people, not only physically but spiritually. There are so many opportunities to help people. Many people have great needs. We have the daily clinics, monthly surgical groups, the ABC Program, health outreach into the communities, educational programs and also Bible seminars through the year. God has blessed Health Talents and the organization has been in Guatemala about 30 years.

A wonderful dinner was prepared for us. We enjoyed a meal with turkey, ham and all of the trimmings. The ladies, as always, worked very hard for us.

When we finished dinner, we had the evening to participate in different activities. Some of us just chatted while others went out to play soccer.

I have a special prayer request. Nydia, who works as a dental assistant has been having a lot of pain for the last year in her head and neck area. Her exams have been negative but she continues with the pain. I am going to talk to the neurologist in Quiche about seeing her so please remember her in your prayers. Chronic pain can be very difficult to deal with but not knowing the cause can be even more difficult. Thank you for remembering her.

Return to Santa Cruz and Chichi

2011-11-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

We started preparing to leave early this morning. Erv was kind enough to set up the stove for our last cup of coffee before we hit the road.

The cloud coverage was thick this morning.

This is "tent city" where most of the guys slept. They had set up ten tents. The ladies slept down near the kitchen.

The people who owned land around us wanted to sell their goods to us. We walked down the road to find some oranges. They washed and bagged them for us. These trees are full of oranges. They sold 4 oranges for 13 cents.

Some children walking down the road in front of the clinic.

Getting in the last photos before we left.

Children playing with the balls that are being left for them.

This is the home from across the street where we had clinic.

Then we began our return. It was a great day for a long drive. Erv, Sally and I left first since we knew we would need to make the trip slowly.

This is the first river that we crossed.

Then we began the climb up.......

The day and weather could not have been any better.

We stopped for dinner when we arrived in Sacapulas.

My first experience in Zona Reyna could not have been any better. I really appreciate being asked to join the group. I hope that I will be able to go again next year.

Monday in Zona Reyna

2011-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

The morning was beautiful. We got up about 0530 and made a trip to another part of the river. The cloud coverage was beautiful and felt so fresh.

We have been told that this typical for this area. It is not dry as other parts of Guatemala are but is alwasys lush and green.

We climbed up the road and then hiked back down to the river bed. This was the first site we had of it.

Some people had never seen a river this big. It was interesting to hear their thoughts. Some of the guys took turns throwing stones, trying to reach the other side. I think that Erv was the closest.

People talking about their experiences this weekend. It has been a fantastic trip, so far.

This canoest made it up stream and then ferried across the river. When he reached the other side, he tied his canoe to a tree and climbed to the top of the road.

These were two of the translators that we used. The gentleman in the blue striped shirt lives 4 hours away.

Erv and some children wait outside as we are almost ready to finish clinic for the day.

One lady came today with a skin issue. I listened to her problem, waiting for her to tell me about the problem that her child had. When she never did, I finally said, "So, please tell me how long your child's foot haas been like this." The poor child's foot and ankle were infected and draining terribly. The mother seemed to have very little interest in her child. The translator could also see this and began talking to her about the seriousness of this illness. How very sad but no matter where you are, you see situations as this. It reminded me of the family at we saw a few days ago in Choacaman IV.

Erv and Sally with a family that they know from the previous clinic here. How good it is to see people return that are doing well.

Since this is the coastal area it is hot. Since there is no running water in the area, there are no showers. Through the day I kept remembering how good that river felt yesterday. It was so cool and refreshing.

We finished clinic about 4:30 pm. From the count of medicine that we used, Sally thinks we saw 200 adults and 150 children during the two days. I think that is great. I hope that what we have done has been a blessing to the community. There is so much need here.

When we finished, I could not wait to see if we were going to go to the river. Some of the guys were down the road playing soccer. Sure! Let's pass by there, say our hellos and then make our way to the river!!

Erv and Sally were ahead of me as we walked. Erv, as you can tell by his shirt, has been trying to fix the shock for our ride home tomorrow.

We met some friendly girls from the community who also had been to the river to collect water.

ahhhhhhhh, the river was as refreshing as I remembered it!! Simply amazing after a HOT day.

When we climbed back up to the road, the rainbow was waiting for us.

We walked back to the tents and spent time together until dinner. The community was very kind and prepared a soup dinner for us. It was chicken soup with tortillas.

We will leave in the morning and begin winding our way back to Quiche. We pray for safe travels without any problems.

Sunday in Zona Reyna

2011-11-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Last night we had some rain. Since the living conditions here as so basic, there is no water source within the community. When the rain started, we collected it off the roof of the building. Sally and Erv brought a water filter with them so we had clean water this morning.

The sky was very pretty this morning and it was cool. We had breakfast and then started clinic.

Erv hooked up things to the battery of the truck so we had lights and could charge our phones. Even though I could not make a phone call, I use the alarm on my phone. He even connected a hot plate to the battery so we could have coffee in the morning.

This is the tent that was our home for three nights. The building in the background is the place that we set up clinic.

The children wanted to see their photo. I think this a universal enjoyment of children. Sally is showing the children their photo.

This is the main road of this community. The houses are simple with dirt floors and thatched roofs.

It was a busy clinic and that is the way I like it. We needed to use translators since the languages here are Q'eqchi' and Mam. We had one translator that was great. You can tell when someone has worked in this capacity and enjoys helping others. About noon, Erv mentioned that it was time for a break and that sounded good to us. We were in need of a Coke!!

We stopped around 1 pm when they told us it was lunch time. We finished seeing all of the patients about 5:30 pm.......................................and it was hot! We decided that we needed to head to the river to bath and it was so refreshing! Our group walking to the river.

We could hear the laughing before we could see the others. The guys went downstream and the ladies went upstream. The water was cool and it felt good!

We all went back to the tents feeling much better.

After dinner we sat outside and listened to the singing.

We are not sure how many patients we saw but it was over 75 patients. Most of them came with stomach problems which is not unusual for a community that does not have regular clinics. Many people do not boil their water or if they do, it is not long enough. Many children have worms with distended abdomens. We saw several families that have scabies. Many children are underweight for their age. Most of the children and women do not wear shoes. One child in the community does not wear clothes. We were told that usually the children do not wear clothes because it is so hot but since we are in the community, the children are clothed.

As we were sitting outside and enjoying the cool weather, Erv came up to us and was excited since he had received a signal on his phone!! If he held his phone up in the air, inside the tent, near the tent pole, he had two bars! He let me call home but since he could not move the phone, I had to yell up to the phone. My parents appreciated hearing from us and knowing we were doing well.

Right before we went to bed, it started raining again and we able to refill the filter. What a great day it was!

New Adventure in Zona Reyna

2011-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

This morning we left dark and early. Sally, Erv and I met everyone and we were suppose to leave 0530 We left around 0630, which is not bad when you consider there are about 25 people going and vans from several hours away came to provide some of the transportation.

This is Erv and Sally..........they will be my main side kicks for the trip. They have been here in Guatemala a few years now and have worked for different missionary groups. The balls inside the truck will be left for the children in the community we will visit.

When the vans arrived, people quickly loaded the stuff on top. They carried most of the food we would be eating, clothing for the children in Unilla Pacala and who knows what else!?!? I have packed like I will be gone a month but when you have no idea where you will be, what the weather will be like and knowing there are no stores, it is difficult........so the motto is, "Be prepared!"

How tight can you tie down the van??

We had been on the road for about two hours when the group stopped for breakfast. This area is named Sacapulas. This is the restaurant that they have used in the past and believe me, the food was great!!

This is the river below the restaurant.

We filled two tables and the lady quickly started taking our order. I was shocked when we received something of what we ordered. There was a lot of noise and confusion but eventually everyone ate. I had grilled steak, black beans, chili, tortillas and coffee.

After breakfast, we hit the road again. I had heard that it would be 4 hours of driving on the highway and then 6 hours on dirt road. It was going to be a long day. The view was beautiful and I enjoyed the ride.

The only problem came when the shock absorber broke. It started banging and felt like the floor of the truck was going to open up. There was fear that the muffler would break off. Erv just took it slow and easy, knowing there was nothing more that he could do.

Of course, after about another hour, the group wanted to stop for a bathroom break. This took another hour. We looked around the town as we waited for the group to reload.

We crossed either three or four rivers. They were not high but the water was moving.

This is the back of the one of the vans that they hired. Once we would get to Parroquia, we would have to regroup. Only trucks could make the trip from there.

Then it was time to stop for lunch. We had a great soup and more tortillas. This was the view from the restaurant. Yes, those are outhouses you pay to use.

Once we were in Parroquia, we waited for the trucks to arrive. Everything was removed from the vans and loaded in trucks. Many had to ride in the back for the last two hours of the trip. We were thankful that the weather was good and there was no rain.

Parroquia had an odd feel to it. Many people were already drinking alcohol in the streets and empty bottles were all over the place. Many young people were smoking and that is not something I am use to seeing here in Guatemala.

The truck and the group crossing a river. This one gave a little trouble when we came out due to it being slippery, steep and having to drive slow due to the shocks. We were carrying a lot of equipment, medicines and you can not forget those balls!!

We finally arrived in Unilla Pacala and it was getting dusk. The truck ahead of us unloaded their cargo and then drove back to Parroquia to bring back the rest of the group. Maybe next year they will consider to hire two vehicles instead of having to make the trip twice.

The children and neighbors gathered around as we arrived. You could tell that they were very excited to see us.

The community seemed small but I knew there were a lot of houses that you could not see from the road. The area is very beautiful and it is surrounded by mountains.

People gathered around to discuss where to put up tents and who would be where. The truck returned well over dark with the rest of the group.

This is the building that will be getting a cement floor.

Yes, it is beautiful and lush. It is deep in the mountain area and there is nothing here. Absolutely nothing! There ins minimal, minimal phone service. There is no running water. There is no electricity. This will be our home for the next three nights.

Clinic in choacaman

2011-11-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Today Juan, Gaspar and I went to Choacaman. We had a good clinic but one that just left a sadness in me today.

We had a lady come for a consult that has been sick for a very long time. She had a neighor come with her since she does not speak any Spanish. The neighbor told me about her long history of drinking and not caring for her children. She is in her 40's, weighs 77 lbs. and has three young children. I examined her and we talked a long time about her physical condition. She has hepatitis and is very ill.

When I asked about her children, they told me that they were outside. I asked about their health and the man that was with her told me that they are very sick. I asked to see them and they were brought in. These children were very, very sick and malnourished. They were small for their age, dirty and covered with bug bites and infection. The mother told me that she did not have any money for their consult or medicine. We did see all children and sent them home with medicine that will help.

We talked for a few more minutes and then I asked Enrique to talk with them before they left. I am hoping that something was said that will change the situation. Maybe something was said that will cause the mother to rethink how she is living her life and how much her children need her. These children did not ask to be placed in this sad situation. Only Christ can change situations as this and give hope to this family.

In the morning I will be leaving for Zona Reyna. I will spend the night in Santa Cruz with Sally and Erv. We will meet the group that we are traveling with at 0530 and then be traveling for about 10 hours on the back roads of Guatemala. It will be an adventure and I hope that some good will come from it.

We may or may not have phone or internet acess but I will post photos and stories as soon as possible.

Catching up...............

2011-11-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

This week has been a busy one with many different things. Mary and Andrew have continued to do clinics, we have had a diabetic class in Lemoa and as alwasys there are just the basic day-to-day events.

Mary and Andrew will be completing their time here soon. They have enjoyed their time here in Chichi. They have had several meals with Tomasita and Jaime while staying in the apartment in front of my house. Tomasita is a great cook and looks after people very well.

Mary and Andrew after their last meal with Tomasita and Jaime, who I rent from.

Tomasita and Jaime began decorating for Christmas early. The lights and tree are up and the festivities will continue until the end of the year.

Andrew and Mary will leave for the airport early in the morning with Lisa and Kemmel. We pray that they will have safe travels on the highway and also a safe flight. I think they will return next year and spend some extra time with us again. The patients and promoters have enjoyed having them with us, as we all have.

Only in Guatemala

2011-11-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to Santa Cruz for worship. The lesson was really good on the significance of blood. He talked about the event in Exodus when the blood was put on the door posts so the death angel would pass by. Bringing that over to the New Testament, our salvation is only found in the blood of Christ.

When I returned to Chichi, I started my list of things to do............I love to accomplish things that sometimes have to be put on hold. I cleaned and cleaned. Then I was able to look at a new camera that Julie was kind to bring me. My current one is getting ready to die so I want to be prepared when that happens.

OK, so now for the story of the day.....................As I was doing my blog this evening, I heard a lot of noise in the yard and it sounded like a chicken. Within a few seconds, Nakko was barking and causing a lot of commotion in the yard. Now, Tomasita has chickens and some roosters but they are in a pen and never have escaped.

Nakko, trapped it is near my door but I could not see it due to the flowers and it also being dark outside. Besides, I do not want to see blood shed. So, I come back to the table, continue to work and try to ignore the noise.

Then, someone begins knocking on my door and I want to ignore it. Whoever it is, is persistent. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap..........it goes on and on. I finally get up and go out to see Lucita with her flashlight in hand. She is the lady that kindly keeps me stocked in Diet Coke.

She tells me that her chicken jumped off her roof and now is in our yard. She thinks that Nakko is killing it. I go to get my flashlight and we begin to search the yard for Nakko and her chicken. We find them, with the chicken in Nakko's mouth. He drops it for a second and we can see it is still alive but he quickly snatches it up again and runs. Lucita screams for him to drop it but he keeps running. She continues to go after him and he just bounds in the opposite direction.

I come in the house to get a broom. I find Nakko and the chicken close to the apartment behind my house. We eventually get Nakko to drop it so Lucita and her chicken can be on their way.

So, I am sure by now that the chicken has been plucked, cooked and eaten..............and it is just another interesting story of living here in Guatemala.

Procedure day in Caris

2011-11-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

Today was our procedure day in Caris. Lisa, Mary and Andrew saw a group of patients and we had two babies come from near Lake Atitlan. Hector, who works for Salomon's porch is always good about getting the babies down with their lab work and post-surgical consults.

This is Amarilis. We first met her in August. At birth she weighed 3 pounds and has really grown. Today, her blood level was a little low so we sent her home with some vitamins. Hector will bring her back in December and we will see how she is doing. She looks great and is growing well so I have a lot of confidence in her.

This is Hector. He was brough to us in September but I did not have my camera that day. Today, his lab work was ok but he has a loud murmor. I did not hear it in September so was a little suprized when it was so loud.

Hector said that he would take him for an exam in Guatemala City and then return in December with the results.

After all of the patients were seen, we went for lunch to a new/ old restaurant, Casa San Juan. It is new because it has changed locations and I really like how they have it set up. Casa San Juan burgers and fries are always good!

OK, it is time for the weekend. I am going to stay in Chichi and chill for the weekend.

Mary, Andrew and Manuel in Paxot II

2011-11-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

This morning, Mary, Andrew and I drove through Chichi to pick up Manuel. He is the Spanish/ K'iche' translator that we use from time to time when we have people with us. He is an easy going guy and good to work with.

We had clinic today in Paxot and even though we were here last week, we had a good number of patients.

We were able to let Juana hear the heartbeat of her unborn baby and that was exciting for her.
Here Juana is with Manuel, Mary and Andrew.

For lunch we walked to Juan's house. They had prepared a special meal for us and it was great. We had beef soup, tamalitos, fresh chili and coffee.

Here Juan is with Levi. I think he is about 18 months now.

Here we are having a wonderful lunch. As you can see in the back ground, all photos are appreciated. I rememer taking many of them over the almost five years that I have been here. They bring back a lot of good memories and show how well Juan has done during these years.

Juan bought a new bull about two weeks ago. At first the bull would not stand up or walk which really upset Aura, his wife.

Well, we found out that the bull could stand and walk and it was obvious that he did not enjoy having his photo taken!!

Yes, I stepped back quickly.

We finished with 23 medical patients and 3 dental cleanings.

I received a call this afternoon from Hector. He will bring two babies to clinic tomorrow with their lab work. If all goes well, they will have cleft-lip surgery in February at Clinica Ezell.

Update on patient from Chutzurob

2011-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that a patient went to Santa Cruz with us after clinic on Tuesday. Mary and Andrew told me today that she has had her baby and is doing well. She had a C-Section done on Tueday evening at Santa Elena Hospital. I am so thankful and just wanted to share this news.............

Clinic in Chutzurob

2011-11-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

Today, Juan, JoLee, Mary, Andrew and I went to Chutzurob for clinic. I really was hoping that the lady that we visited last week would be there but she was not. She is suffering from postpartum depression and struggling. We will continue to pray for her.

One lady did come to clinic today that is about eight months pregnant. She went to a hospital on Sunday because she began to bleed. She and her husband said the hospital sent her home after just a couple of hours. The husband said that they gave his wife some injection but does not know what it was. They did not do any exams, was sent home and has continued to bleed.

We encouraged the lady to let us take her to the hospital in Santa Cruz to be examined. With very little hesitation, they agreed to go with us and I was very thankful. Sebastian wanted to be part of the process so he rode with us. This is an example of how the church can impact people's lives.

When we arrived at the hospital, we prayed and then went into the emergency entrance. I talked to one of the doctors and they took her right back. There was nothing more for us to do........just to continue to pray for her and hope that she gets good care.

This is the last photo of the group on Sunday.

Tonight, Rick was in Chichi and we all had dinner with him. All of the promoters were there with their families. It was good to have everyone together for the evening.

Tomorrow, I will go with JoLee to Antigua. She will return to the states on Thursday. It has been good to have her stay a few more days with us.

Day in Pana and Santiago

2011-11-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

This morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Rancho Grande. Our waitress was very good to us and kept us going with hot coffee, pancakes and the trimmings.

We headed down to the lake for our ride across to Santiago. The lake was calm and beautiful. There were not many boats on the lake and the ride was smooth.

JoLee, Mary and Andrew are seated for the ride. It was not originally a private boat but since we did not want to waste the morning waiting for more passangers, we opted go right away and make it our private boat.

Mary and Andrew chilling as we cross the lake.

It was a beautiful morning and the weather could not have been better.

When we arrived to Santiago, everyone wanted to take us places. We decided to walk through town and see what we could see. One young guy asked if we wanted to go and see Maximón, one of the Mayan saints. I find it interesting but also very evil. You can find a lot of intersesting stories about him and how the Cathlolic Church identifies him with Judias Iscariot. People gather around him, pray and offer tobacco products, alcohol, Coke and tropical plants. They find a way to actually have him smoking as someone taps the ashes from the cigarrette.

One legend about him is that when all of the men in one community were out working in the fields, he slept with most of their wives. When the men returned, they cut off his arms and legs and that is why he is often seen without arms or legs.

This is the large Catholic church in Santiago.

There were many people inside and different things to look at.

The walls were lined with statues.

Off to one side, was the designated area for the Mayans to pray. They are not allowed to pray in the main area of the Catholic Church. We could hear their prayers and they were very fervent.

The water level of the lake is very high. As we left, we could see parts of houses and docks that are submerged. Our guide said that the lake is 6 meters above the normal level. It has been high since Agatha hit last year and we also had a lot of rain in October.

OK, it is time to head back to Chichi and do clinic tomorrow in Chutzurob. I am hoping that the lady will be there that we visited in her home last week.

Sunday.......trip to Panajachel

2011-11-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

This morning the group had their breakfast and then our worship time. It also gave people an opportunity to talk about how this trip has impacted them, what they have learned and what they are leaving with.

After our time together, it was time to hit the market.

Santo Tomas is known for their court yard and parrots.

They are pretty but they also can be very noisy.

Before we all went out into the market, we took a few photos..........JoLee, Debra, Mary and Andrew. JoLee will stay with us for four more days. Mary and Andrew will be with us for two more weeks. I think that next year, Debra will also stay a little longer with us :)

After lunch, the team loaded up and headed for Guatemala City.

Mary, Andrew, JoLee and I headed to Lake Atitlan to spend a night at Rancho Grande. It is my favorite place to stay at the lake. They have great rooms, a nice location and wonderful pancakes for breakfast.

Mary and Andrew at Lake Atitlan.

We went out on the lake for dinner. We watched the sun go down and the lights come on around the lake.

These were some of the clouds as we had dinner on the lake. Mary gave us some interesting information about cloud formations. When a cloud becomes flattened on the top, as this one is, it is at about 70,000 feet. Pretty cool, huh??

After dinner, we walked up town to have a cup of coffee.........it was delicious and a perfect way to end the evening.

I am sure that tomorrow we will have another fun adventure!

HTI Team meets Xejox

2011-11-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today, a group of us went to Xejox. It took us about 2.5 hours to get there but we arrived without any problems.

It took awhile to set up clinic. We had a dentists, a dental hygienist and doctors with us. We set up in the building that the congregation uses for worship. Here, Andrew, Brandon and Dustin hang the privacy curtain around the exam table.

Kristi is ready for her first dental cleaning patient of the day.

Gary, Linda and Vicki wait for clinic to start. Gary worked with the dental area while Linda and Vicki did the vital signs and labs on the patients as they arrived.

While we set up inside, Kemmel was doing a dental program outside with the ABC children. He talked to them about brushing their teeth and gave them all new tooth brushes. He told them that they needed to sing a song twice through and then they would know they had brushed enough. In this photo, I caught most of them spitting :)

Four more ladies demonstrating how to brush their teeth properly.

Dental is ready to roll..........Kristi, Marcos, Jessica, Gary and Todd.

Andrew and Mary seeing a patient with their translator.

It was then time to walk down the hill to a house for lunch. The weather and colors were beautiful.

For lunch we were served a fantastic soup and tortillas. This rooster was just elated since he was not selected for our lunch!!

After lunch, we walked back to finish clinic. This lady and son were walking their sheep along the road.
This is the one that I wanted to bring home but I know Nakko would not like to share his yard with a furry creature.

We had a great clinic. We saw about 15 patients and all of the ABC children.

When we arrived back in Lemoa, we dropped all of the equipment off at Clinica Carris. The group will leave tomorrow and we need to use the trucks for other things. We made it back to Santo Tomas about 8:30 for dinner.

It was a good day but a long day...............Days like this just cause you to be thankful for medical and dental care. The people in Xejox have to travel almost two hours to get basic medicine. I think my new goal will be to move to one of these areas and open a small clinic and pharmacy. So many goals......................and only one life to accomplish them in.

Tomorrow, we will have our worship together, the group will enjoy the market and then they will leave for Guatemala City. These three days of clinic have gone quickly but have been fantastic.

HTI Team meets Paxot II

2011-11-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

This morning, one part of the team traveled with us to Paxot II. Paxot is a welconing community and we had a great clinic.

Since the road to Paxot is not that bad, we had a van go with us. This way, no one had to walk to clinic as some had to do yesterday in Chutzurob. I went ahead in the Suk with Debra, Ashton and Landon. When we arrived we went up on the roof to enjoy the view.

I told them about my parents visiting with me last year and them learning how to say, "Paxot Segundo." It is one of those stories that you have to hear in person to understand but here they are practicing the pronunciation. We had fun with it and this photo is for my parents.

We did not have a dentist today so setting up clinic was quick. Before we prayed, Katie started playing with the children. They were jumping off the steps to see who could jump the farthest. John marked their accomplishments. I think the little guys tired before Katie and she wanted to continue jumping!!

Katie, did finally get serious and begin working..........just kidding of course!!! She taught Dustin how to do different things and they both were a big help!

This is the group before we left.

I think the final count was about 30 patients. It was a great day and we have tomorrow to look forward to!!

HTI Team visits Chutzurob

2011-11-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

The group arrived yesterday afternoon and now we are ready for some big clinics. The challenge of the day will be getting to to the clinics. We heard that the roads would be closed to traffic at 0300! It all has to do with taxes on manners transportation and so therefore, the buses and vans want the public to buy tickets before they begin their travels.

We were lucky on our way to Chutzurob and did not have any problems arriving at the clinic. There were 21 of us and we were in two trucks and a van. The van was not able to make it down the hill so those people had the opportunity for a short hike.

We quickly set up clinic. Everyone pitched in and then we were ready to roll. We gathered outside and welcomed everyone. We asked everyone to be patient and explained that there would be activities for the children. We prayed, thanking God for the clinic and the medicine. We saw 17 medical patients and 25 dental patients.

The group brought different activities for the children and they learned about the fruits of the Spirit. It was a good opportunity for the young people to interact with the children of the community.

Some of the children making bracelets.

Linda helping the children with the bracelets.

These children wanted their photo with Katy.

Abby also helped with the children's activities and translated.

John pitched in helping with the children.

Sebastian always helps us with the clinics in Chutzurob. Here he is with Michaela, Halston, a patient and JoLee. JoLee has been working with HTI for several years and this week translated for the patients.

Sebastian approached me when we arrived about doing a home visit for a lady who is unable to walk. She gave birth several weeks ago and since then has been weak and has needed to stay in bed.

We drove as far as we could and then walked the remainder of the way. The lady had given birth about five weeks ago and he was their eleventh child. Her physical exam was normal but she was severely depressed. We talked with her and her husband for quite a while. Sebastian offered his thoughts since a few years ago one of his daughters had experienced the same situation. We invited her to come to the next clinic and then we prayed with her. We will see what happens.

This is the group as we were packing up the truck.

It was a good day, a good clinic and we had safe travels. We pray for the same tomorrow.

Zacualpa Celebrates All Saint's Day!

2011-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today, Zacualpa was continuing to celebrate All Saint's Day. Tomas, Manuel and I arrived and quickly set up clinic..........as one patient was there. Oh well......everything can not be perfect, right???

Well, during that consult, Tomas drove through Zacualpa announcing the clinic. There were hundreds of people walking right past us to go to the cementary. I kept thinking that as they returned, they might stop in and see what we had but I was wrong.

We did end up with eleven patients for the day.

After we had seen all of the patients, we took turns walking up to see what was going on. The cemetery is huge but you can not see if from where we have clinic. There are two sections to it.

One section is obviously for those who have some money and can afford more.

This section is for those who can not afford more than just a plot. Most were decorated with flowers, food and drinks.

This apparently was a family with white bows joining them.

We returned to Chichi about 3:00. The group has landed safe and Kemmel called to say they have not had any problems. We will meet for dinner tonight and then begin our clinics in the morning. It will be a busy but a good three days of clinic!!

All Saint's Day in Guatemala

2011-11-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today is a holiday, here in Guatemala. It is called All Saint's Day and there are a lot of different activities. I went to Chichi this afternoon to see what what was happening. There has been some drizzle through the morning so no kites have been flying but the music was loud and there was a lot of food being served.

One band was so loud that the buildings were shaking!

This is the decorated front of the large Catholic Church.

It was hard to get through the streets. There were lots of flowers being sold and a steady stream of people going to the cemetery.

Harriet, was down here a few weeks ago and took this photo of Panajachel. I love this photo and wanted to share it with you.

Sometimes we just don't understand why things happen. Through our life, we have sadness, disappointment, instability and feelings of helplessness. During these times, intellectually, we know that life will continue but there are hard times to get through. During these times, we need to cling closer to God. His Being does not have any of the above. In Him, we can be content. He is our stability. He does not turn, change or disappoint us in any way. His grace was sufficient for Paul and it is the same for us today.

I was talking to my friend in India today. He and his family continue to struggle with food, money and the rain. He ended our conversation today with Psalm 121:7-8.

The Lord will keep you from all harm---
He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming ad going
both now and forevermore.

Tomorrow, a group from the states will be here. We pray for their safe arrival and that we will have a good week of clinics together.

ABC Nutrition Class in Mactzul II

2011-10-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, Tomas and I went to Mactzul II to do a nutrition class. We did these classes last year for the ABC Communities but since that time have added two more communities. We are now catching them up.

Today, we talked about basic nutrition and how to increase protein in the diet. As in many areas, people are continuing to eat a lot of carbohydrates. Many carbohydrates do not have vitamins or are very healthy so we are focusing on a better diet.

The first part of the class, we study what food groups are. For the second part of the class, the children are given photos and then they classify the group that their food belongs to. It is a lot of fun but we also see how much they learn in a short amount of time.

This was a very quiet group and I had to work hard to get them to participate but eventually, they loosened up a little. There are 24 ABC children in this community. Everyone was there but one family.

Tomas helping some of the children classify their photo. This young girl had a photo of black beans.

The next young lady had a photo of cauliflower but I missed what she said. Apparently, it was funny and it is good to see the promoters enjoy the classes.

The mothers listening to their children during the class.

We had 30 people for the class and it was good.

Tomorrow, the guys and I will head to Mactzul V for clinic.

Diabetes and Hygiene classes in Lemoa

2011-10-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today, we had the second diabetic class scheduled and we had a good class. There were 17 students and the participation was good. Our time together lasted almost 2.5 hours. Most everyone said that they will be able to return for the third class in November.

Tomas translated today and he did a wonderful job. He is very patient when he explains things and he also encourages questions. Although the class is over diabetes, a physical problem, we also talked about spiritual illness as well. We encouraged people to return with more questions next month.

A group from Las Cuevas was in the clinic this morning and Kemmel asked if we would do a hygiene class for the group. No problem........let's go for it!! The problem came when I forgot that we had already been in this community in early August. So, Maury and I did a spontaneous class and we think it was received well.

We discussed hygiene again but also used the dental model we have in the clinic. The children enjoyed the huge toothbrush and laughed at Maury as she demonstrated. They did remember some of the previous material and this is always an encouragement.

When we were in Las Cuevas, we did not have any water to demonstrate good hand washing technique so we went to the pila behind the clinic and practiced. I wanted the parents to look at their children's hands to see if they thought they were clean. A big problem for me would be if I thought a child's hands were dirty but the parent thought they were clean. I was not ready for that :)

This young man was the first to demonstrate for us. When he was finished, his mom was not happy and sent him back for another washing. Go mom!!

Some of the children had long nails. We offered the parents clippers to help clip their children's nails and talked about why this is important.

These twin girls wanted their photo taken. This was their pose. I did not ask to see their hands. They were very pleased with how clean they were and wanted to show the camera.

This young lady scrubbed and scrubbed her hands. She has beautiful white teeth and I am sure that she brushes them equally, as well.

This toddler was unable to reach the pila so we put the basin on the ground for her. Her father jumped right in there to help her.

After about 1.5 hours, it was time for the long ride home. Everyone jumped up in the back of the truck and it was standing room only! Can you imagine standing for about a two-hour ride home on the Guatemalan roads??? The poor guy in the very back is standing on the bumper.

It was a full day but it was a good day.

Classes in Sepela

2011-10-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today, Maury, Juan and I went to Sepela to teach another hygiene class. I think this will be the last one since the schools are getting ready to close for the year. I have enjoyed doing them and it has been fun taking different people to each school. All of the promoters have added something different. I think the students have learned a lot from the classes and I also think the guys have enjoyed participating.

We had six classes today. This was the first class we visited and it was the youngest class.

Juan volunteered to be "Dirty Juan" today. He did a much better job than I did. I have tried but I, I just can't pull it off :(

Here, Maury is telling the class about Dirty Juan. He does not bath, brush his teeth and his personal hygiene leaves a lot to be desired.

This was the last class of the day. As you can see, there are always some class clowns that keep things interesting.

Before we left the school, we were invited to stay for mosh and Corn Flakes. It was one of those times that you smile and say, "Thank you." Then you just hope for the best as you eat it :)

We went to Clinic Caris to work on a few things before we were done for the day.

After we, finished the sun was out!! Wow! It has been almost three weeks since we have had any significant sun. When I got home, I opened the windows and washed clothes. I swept, mopped and waxed the floor.......and when it was drying, I sat in the sun and read. What a fun day!

Please be praying for Kemmel and Lisa as they travel to Guatemala City this weekend. Kemmel slid and hurt his arm. They will be going to get an MRI on his arm. Please pray for healing and good results on the MRI. Thank you.

Clinic in Lemoa

2011-10-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

I do not think I have mentioned it this week but Paxot II is having a seminar on I and II Timothy. The classes are being taught by Goyo, who is also from Winston Salem, NC. I was able to have dinner with him the other night and it was good to see him. I have heard good things about the seminar and that the men have enjoyed it. It is exciting to have Goyo here and to be part of the work.

We had 31 patients in Lemoa today.

This little girl was the highlight of the day. Her parents brought her last week because she has not been eating well. I gave her some medicine, one of them being a "worm pill." Let's just say that the parents SAW positive results from the medicine and a few of her "little friends" decided to give up their living space :) I am sure that she will start eating better.

After clinic tonight, we had dinner again with Goyo and he told us how the day went. I think that the guys have enjoyed the class and that he has left them with many things to think about.

Goyo will fly home tomorrow afternoon. We pray that he will have safe travels, find his family well and that he will be able to visit with us again.

Clinic in Mactzul VI

2011-10-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

It continues to rain and be cold. I almost froze in Mactzul VI today, but I survived :)

We were almost to clinic when Lisa went around a curve........and there, mid-road, sunk in mud was a truck! We sat for a minute to see what he was going to do but he just sat there. We put on our rain jackets and walked down the road to the truck. A young boy, about 13 years old, jumped out from the driver's seat. He knew he was literally sunk! He was in the process of driving his brothers and sisters to school when the truck got stuck.

We stood in the rain and talked with some people about how bad the roads are. What else is there to do in the rain? When two other guys arrived, we were able to rock the truck out of the mud. These guys were nice enough to tell us about another road to use to get to clinic......so, off we all went.

The clinic was small but we had a few patients. The best part of the day was when Juan walked to the store and brought back hot coffee for us. Thank you, Juan.

The up-side of the rain is the pretty flowers that we are able to enjoy now.

The hot shower and electric blanket could not happen fast enough tonight. Finally, warmth!

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Lemoa.

Clinic in Xepocol

2011-10-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

I will begin by telling you how cold it was in Xepocol today. It was cold in Xepocol! Juan kept telling me how cold he was and that made me even colder! Then when they asked us if we wanted a Coke or coffee, I voted for coffee. So anyway, just so you know......it was cold in Xepocol.

Gaspar's son was at clinic today and he told us that we would have some sun tomorrow. I sure hope that he is correct in his forecast! There was no sun today and we could see the clouds and rain coming across the mountains.

This multi-legged friend was also trying to find some sun to bask in. He will also have to wait until tomorrow.
We had a clinic with 19 patients. The last two patients were the babies of the group. This little guy is only one month old and has pneumonia. His mom had taken him to the health department and was not improving. Lisa changed his antibiotics. Hopefully, he will now start to sound better.

This little guy was only 15 days old and he was the last patient of the day.

The members of the congregation gave us a lunch today of black beans, boiled egg, tortillas and a hot orange drink. It was good.......especially the chili.

Tomorrow, we will go to Mactzul VI and we will hope for patients.

Lemoa Clinic.......

2011-10-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today we had clinic in Lemoa. It was a small clinic of 13 patients but considering the weather, we were fortunate to have that many. There has only been a few minutes of sun in the last week. The rains have slowed some but it is still cold and damp.

Allison was in clinic today. We had a slow morning but were able to see some patients. Here, one little boy is giving us the "Guatemalan look."

Of the patients that we saw today, one young man has struggled with depression for several years. His first wife left him for another man and it was a tragic experience for him. He waited for her to return for three years and then he said it was time to move on and, "to find another wife." He may have moved on but I do not think he has completely healed.

Depression is not a new emotion in our lifetime. There are many examples of people in Bible times that suffered through periods of depression. Sadness in a normal emotion but we have to find a way to prevent it from overwhelming us. Sometimes that is easier said than accomplished.

When depressed or sad, sometimes we do not feel like praying. We may feel guilty for our sadness. Maybe we do not have the energy, do not know what to say to God or feel inadequate. We have to remember that for Christians, the Holy Spirit will help us through these times.

Romans 8:26,27: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

So, even when we don't know what to pray for or the words are too difficult to articulate, the Spirit helps us. The most important part is that we do not give up on praying. That we don't stop meditating on The Word. God hears us in silence. He wants us to silent and to know that He is God.

I often think of Elijah in I Kings 19, where he is in the side of the mountain waiting for God. He expected God in the great and powerful wind, in the earthquake and in the fire. But after all of this, God was in the gentle whisper. God wants us to be at peace.

In our time of depression, we need to draw ourselves nearer to God and He will provide. This takes a lot of faith and sometimes is very difficult.

I hope that this man continues to heal from his past experiences. There are some things in life that only God can heal.

Classes and ABC Meeting....still rainy and cold

2011-10-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful that last night we did not have as much rain as the last 2 nights. Guatemala is practically under water with 42,000 people affected by the rains, 1,500 people evacuated from their homes, 21 deaths and the search for others who are missing continues.

Yesterday, we were not able to have the hygiene classes in Sepela but today in Lemoa, there were some students. With about half of the students were present, we had seven sessions and they were received well by the students and the teachers.

For the first few sessions, Ruben became, "Succio Rubin" and he was a great example of what we do not want the children to do. Later, we changed roles so everyone was able to participate.

Here, Tomas is talking to one class about dental hygiene.

Tomas and Ruben with one of the classes.

After we finished the classes, we went to Clinica Caris to see how the ABC meeting was going. Also, we went because Kemmel was kind and invited us to lunch :)

Today, Kemmel met with all of the ABC coordinators of the communities.

Violeta and Alex from Guatemala City also came for the meeting.

It was a good day. We had minimal rain and were able to accomplish a few important things today.

No school due to the rains and mudslides

2011-10-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

This morning our Juan, another Juan from Paxot II and I went to Sepela to do a school program. We talked yesterday about school being cancelled today due to the rains but did not know for sure.

We all gathered at clinic this morning for a time of prayer. We are excited that Martina completed her classes and will continue to the next grade. Maury will have to wait a few more weeks and then she will know. My thought is that she also will do well on her exams.

We prayed for people who have loss their homes for family members due to the rains. It is very sad. The rains slowed through the night and this morning but have started again this evening

When we arrived at the school, there were no students but a few of the teachers were meeting. We rescheduled the hygiene class in hopes that the weather will improve. They had to cancel classes today because everyone is afraid that the hill behind the school will fall in. You can see the area of concern in the photo below, which was a previous mud slide.

Tomorrow, we will try another school and hope for the best. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Many areas are damaged, there has been loss of life, bridges have been washed away and if it continues the corn crops will suffer again.

Chutzurob and mud!

2011-10-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Juan, Gaspar, Allison and I went to Chutzurob today for clinic. Allison is a PA intern that will be with us for a few weeks. She was a MET Student a few years ago and decided that she wanted to come back for some more of Guatemala.

We were a little concerned with the road as we approached Chutzurob due to the rain. Sebastian met us early in the road and showed us where we could park the truck. It was a hike down to the church but not too bad at all.

We had 14 patients and a good clinic.

One lady had lost her baby 3 days ago. She said that he had not been sick but was afraid that her cough had killed her baby. Well, the last thing I would ever want to do is cause a mother, who is already grieving, to feel guilty over her baby's death. We talked for quite a while and her cough had nothing to do with what unfortuately had happened. I think that she may return to visit the congregation in Chutzurob. She was clarifiying their worship times so maybe she will do that. The members of the congregation will be able to offer her the support she needs at this time.

We saw one lady who has developed a small bump on her forehead. It is about the size of an egg and is right between her eyes. It is not the place you would want a bump to form. I hope that she will go to the hospital in Solola, due where it is and at the rate that it is growing.

I introduced you to Sebastian Elias last month. Here he is now, one month old with his mom and aunt. Gloria and Angelica are always at the clinic to help us, as well as their father, Sebastian.

We arrived home without any problems...............and we are always thankful for that.

It has been raining all day and looks as if it will continue into the night.

Tomorrow, Juan and I will go to Xepol for clinic.

Busy, busy clinic........

2011-10-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today we had clinic in Lemoa. The patients were lined up as we reached the clinic this morning. I did not think we would have many due to the heavy rains.........but I was wrong. As Gasper pointed out, we ran out of chairs and had to use the stools for the patients!

We had 34 patients signed in when we started clinic. We informed the patients that there was clinic in Chichi that they could be seen in that clinic without having to wait........ but they decided to stay with us :)

Juan had been sick for a few days but today he felt better. Gaspar has had a bad cold for a few days and still did not feel well. He had 3 patients for dental cleanings and hung in there.

This little girl, Silvia, was a patient today. She has not been eating and not feeling good. I hope that she soon feels better.

As I write it, it is storming bad with lots of thunder. I hope that we get some sun tomorrow to help dry up the fields.

Classes in Lemoa and dinner with friends

2011-10-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

This morning, Gaspar and I went to the school in Lemoa to talk to about 200 students about hygiene. Until now, the classes have been received well by students as well as the teachers but today........for some reason, that was not our experience.

There were only two classes of students and two teachers that were interested. Two teachers just left the room and one would not talk at all with us. Gaspar and I took turns trying to find some way to grab their attention but we failed. In one class, the teacher just watched as two of the students continued to play until they fell out of their seats, knocking the desks totally over! At one time while Gaspar was talking, I could tell the teacher was approaching me. I thought she might be going to tell me that she did not approve or something..........but what she did was interrupt the class, wanting to discuss her own health issues!! As Lisa would say, "Good night, nurse!!"

So, the highlight of the day was when I was invited to dinner! I was able to see some friends that I had not seen for quite awhile and it was an enjoyable evening. This group is here in Chichi, interviewing students for possible scholarships.

I had a sandwich and some fruit and it was very good! A kind man from Israel offered to take our photo.

(L to R) Danny, me, Cynthia, Harriet, Lisa, Kemmel and Judy

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Lemoa.

Class on the eyes in Lemoa

2011-10-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today, we had class in Lemoa with all of the promoters. With everyone, we had 22 people in the class. Lisa prepared a class on the eyes and people showed an interest. We often see people in the clinics with multiple eye problems including allergies, cataracts and ptergions.

Lisa talked about basic anatomy of the eye. She emphasized that the eye, being so complicated could not have happened just by chance. That only God could have created something so amazing that functions so perfectly.

We divided into three groups and worked on different topics and then met together again. Because of the heavy rains, we repositioned the chairs so everyone could stay dry.

One group studied ptergions. One of the students explained this disease as one of the other girls and Manuel holds the information.

It was pointed out that for cataracts and ptergions, the only cure is a surgical process. Many people continue to want to take vitamins or buy creams sold in the park, believing that these will eliminate the problem.

Tomas, has a ptergion and he was kind enough to let the others examine his eye as Lisa explained.

The more education that we all have, we can better care for ourselves and for others. The classes continue to go well and the students enjoy them.

Did anyone lose their laundry?????

2011-10-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, we see things here in Guatemala that causes us just to shake our heads.........they were just hung on the barb-wire.

On Sunday when went up to Quiche, I spotted some laundry that someone accidently left behind........and now someone's behind is bare!!

That is all I have to say on that......

Nutrition Class and Marleny

2011-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last year we did nutrition classes in each of the ABC Communities. We talked about the differences between fruits/ vegetables, carbohydrates and proteins. Unfortunately, people do not know basic food groups so we started doing these classes. Malnutrition is a chronic problem here so we talk about ways to increase protein in the diet.

Now, two more areas have the ABC Program so we are catching these areas up on classes. Today, Juan, Gaspar and I visited Mactzul III. All of the 13 children attended the class with their parents.

Juan started the class with some songs and prayer. I could tell they were going to be a quiet group but the parents asked questions so that was great! Before the class, I asked for an example of a protein. There was not even a guess.

Juan took some photos as Gaspar translated into K'iche'.

After looking at all the photos and practicing, the students would come forward with a photo. They would tell the parents which class of food the photo was. They did a great job with 75-80% being correct.

I want to introduce you to Marleny. She is in the pink sweater and she is my ABC daughter. She is 7 years old and is in the second grade. The baby and girl are her brother and sister.

Now, it is time for the weekend................

Another great day!!

2011-09-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great clinic in Lemoa today. If you get a chance, please read Lisa's blog at www.kemmelandlisa.blogspot.com She has great comments and talks about different patients.

Today, we had 35 medical patients, 5 patients for physical therapy and 7 patients for dental cleaning.

Lisa and Elaine saw patients for consult. Juan learned more from Jennifer, a physical therapist Jennifer works with ASELSI, a clinic that is in Chichi but has been working a few days with us.

Here, Jennifer and Juan work with one of our regular patients.

The dental cleanings kept Gaspar busy. I worked in the pharmacy and played with pills and money. I do not mind the pills but the money makes me nervous. As many have heard me say, "I do not like a lot of responsibility." But the count was correct at the end of the day...........whew..................

A young girl returned today that was burned as a very young child. Dr. Dwayne has agreed to see her in February, during the plastic surgery. I hope that that something can be done to help her. We will get her lab work completed so she will be ready for surgery, if accepted.

Pat Hile and his group are in Chichi from San Antonio. It is always good to see them. We enjoyed dinner and then Voces Acapella sang for us. As people know, I am a groupie! They sang three songs.....one in Spanish, one in K'iche' and one in English. They are a very talented family.

Catchin' Up

2011-09-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of photos to share for the last few days. We have been busy but not "photo busy."

Sometimes, photos are not very appropriate or welcomed! For example, today was our ladies pap day at Clinica Caris. Not many women would welcome the words, "Relax, it will be cold, smile!"

But anyway, we had 4 ladies spend part of their morning with Elanie and the rest of us. After we finished the clinic, we cleaned. I mean clean! The clinic was washed head to toe.......

Yesterday, we started another round of diabetic classes at Caris. We only had 5 patients but all were diabetics I am very thankful that the patients seem interested and always participate in the class. Everyone asked questions and commented on the questions of others. Tomas translated today for me while Manuel spent time with Kemmel.

We are looking at different options to building on the the clinic in Lemoa. We have really outgrown it.........and that is good! Clinics, dental, education, services to ladies, ABC Program......it is good!

I Peter 4:10,11
Each should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully, administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it with strength speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Church growth in India

2011-09-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we only think of what is taking place around us in our small circle. It is easy to do because we are so busy with our daily activities......jobs, family, school and many other things. We have many responsibilities and do not want to fall short.

It has been over a year since I have been talking to the minister from the Kamepalli Church of Christ in India. I talk with him on AOL and it has been a wonderful correspondence. He and his family struggle in India but continue to share their faith in different areas and the congregation is growing.

This is the first photo that he sent me of the congregation.

His father and grandfather were also ministers. He has sent me many photos of his grandfather and father before they died, preaching at different gospel meetings.

Sometimes we talk about what his sermon will be on and he asks my opinion. He is very interesting to talk to and knows the Bible well. I can tell he is very strong in the faith.

This is the congregation sharing lunch together.

As you can tell by the notes on the photo, this is their communion time. Again, it is very interesting how different cultures do different things. This thatched roof is new. They recently built this because not everyone could fit into the room that they were meeting in.

Because of the growth, they have started building a new place to meet. They have had to postpone the construction a few times due to finances and the weather. They have had heavy rains than have ruined some of their building material. It has been difficult for them but they continue......they have not given up.

One day the children gathered to work. They moved stones and kept count of sand piles as they were moved.

The children will remember this time together and how they served.

The class of Sunday School Children.

How great it is to hear of church growth. It is not easy. As more people accept the gospel and are baptized there is comfort and strength. We need to rejoice as the angels do when the body of Christ grows.

Luke 15:10
There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

We need to share the gospel and the joy that it brings to others. Many people on earth do not have much hope. How sad this is.

Please pray for this congregation in India. That they may continue in faith.......never ceasing.

Clinic in Lemoa and staff meeting

2011-09-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a busy clinic in Lemoa with 27 patients and Gaspar had 2 dental cleanings.

The majority of patients that I saw today were diabetics and they were controlling their blood sugars.

After the clinic, we had a staff meeting. We talked about possibly building an addition on to Caris. This is a great idea since we really need more room. Sometimes, Gaspar and Tomas have to do their dental cleanings outside. It is not too bad unless it is raining and then it is very difficult. Storage is also a problem so we will see what happens.

We also talked about different clinics and how we can improve them. There are communities that want clinics so we also talked about new ones that might be established. We will also be having more classes on diabetes and other issues. We are continuing to visit schools and talk about hygiene. It is very exciting. Everyone participated in the meeting and it is good to have Kemmel and Lisa working in this area with us.

Clinic en LaPalma

2011-09-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

This morning we had to change trucks before we started out for clinic. This is one of the specialties that Kemmel has. He knows who needs to drive what truck each day, who has the truck and how they are packed. So, Juan and Maury brought me a truck but then Juan jumped in a truck with Lisa and Elaine. They headed to Xepocol for clinic as we headed to LaPalma.

During the changing, Juan told me that Nakko had left the house and was in the street. I did not see him leave. Grrrrr........Nakko has not left the house for quite awhile but I did not have time to go and get him today. I really do not care but he has been hit before and I would hate to be responsible for that. He is also strong enough to kill other dogs. What a dense dog!! I just had to hope for the best.

Tomas, Maury and I drove to LaPalma. I think that it is one of the prettiest drives that we have. It is beautiful.

When we arrive there are tons of people at the school, where we do clinic. Apparently, the government is giving out cooking oil, beans, rice and corn. It is amazing how much people can carry! Each family is getting 4 gallons of oil and 30-40 lbs of the other things. There are only two trucks but the rest is being carried on their backs. All of the family members help.......even the young children.

We had eight patients come to the clinic.

The first patient was, Noe. His grandmother brought him since his dad, Agostin, is helping distribute the food. Noe is the ABC Child of my parents. They had sent back some balloons and a photo for Noe for his birthday. Here, Noe is blowing up his first balloon with his grandmother nearby.

My parents have sponsored Noe for 3 years. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, knowing they are studying in school, receive medical and dental care and also receiving some clothing, let us know. Lisa and Kemmel recently blogged about children needing sponsors. The cost is $30 a month. Please see their blog at http://kemmelandlisa.blogspot.com/

When I get home, I open the gate and there sits Nakko on my porch like, all is well........little does he know, no bread for Nakko this afternoon.

Clinic in Patzite

2011-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Manuel drove by the house to get me this morning. Usually, I meet him at the road but standing in the rain did not excite me. Maybe I am getting weak!

So, he drove by the house and we went on to Patzite since Tomas would meet us there. Tomas had called Manuel to tell his that we needed to take the long way around since one of the roads had been washed away. While we drove, we listened to the noticias on the radio. There have been 15 deaths due to the earthquakes yesterday and still, people are missing.

When we arrived, we carried everything up to where we would have the clinic. Tomas and one man from the congregation helped us. It is not a long walk but it is steep.

We had a total of nine patients. We were told that with the rains, not many people would come.
After the last patient, the sun peeked out a little. I sat on the steps as we waited until lunch.

This bull was tied near the house where we ate. He was not happy and through the morning let us know about it!! How can one bull make so much noise?

This is the beautiful view from Patzite.

We were offered lunch and it was fantastic. There is special recipe here where they take a vegetable, dip it in egg and cook it. Today we had green beans cooked with egg, cold beets, tamalitos, chili and coffee. It was sooooo good!!

The rains started as we were packing up the truck.

Tomorrow, we have clinic in LaPalma............now, that may be an adventure!!

Lemoa Clinic

2011-09-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today I worked in Lemoa with Elaine and the promoters. We had a good clinic with 28 patients.

Usually this is Ruben's clinic but he went home to Nicaragua to visit his family and friends. It was also time for him to renew his Visa We hope that he has a great time with safe travels and I am happy to help!

Elaine saw all of the diabetic patients and we announced the new set of Diabetic Classes. We had a great response to the last three classes that we want to do another run of them. They will be held in Lemoa again and it is central place for people to meet.

This is Elaine with some patients. She consulted the young girl next to her. The other little girl was severely burned when she was younger. She was set to have a consult last year with Dr. Dwyane but her dad fell off a roof and had to have surgery in Guatemala City. The mother said he is doing well and they will go to Clinica Ezell in February with us.

We have continued to have TONS of rains......most evenings and through the nights.

Many have asked about the earthquakes. Last I heard, there were three of them. Have heard of one death but some people are still missing.

It has been over a year since we had our storm, Agatha. I continue to think of that time often because it impacted this area so much. I remember living in Paxot II with a family and being scared through the night. They had already placed poles up to support a dirt wall but the hard rains continued!! They family was also scared and wanted to sleep in my room with me. I was so thankful to see light crack though the adobe in the morning and to know that we were ok.

I will go to Patzite tomorrow and see what we can see!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2011-09-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversay, Mom and Dad!!

Thank you so much for everything that you have given Mike and I. I hope today was very special for you and that you will have many, many more happy years together!

Happy Birthday, Sally!!

2011-09-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Today is the birthday of my dearest friend. I hope that you have a special day. Please take care and thank you for all of the ways that you help me!

I look forward to the adventures that we will have in December!!!

Happy Independence Day, Guatemala!!

2011-09-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Today, is the official Guatemalan Independence Day! Congratulations, Guatemala!

Elaine and I met near the soccer field this morning to watch the parade. There were bands and students marching from different grades and different schools.

I was wondering if this is the band that use to play so early in the morning and so late at night. I decided that it could not be them because this band was half decent.

The other band was hopeless.......totally hopeless. I do not hear them as I use to and I am not complaining. Maybe, they have given up or maybe their parents took the instruments away.

These girls were cute. Their leader was strutting along with the girls.

This group of students wore masks.

It was a fun morning. Elaine and I walked around the field and talked to people. We walked back up to town, went through the Catholic Church and had lunch.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning and washing clothes. I thought a few minutes about getting a maid but I do not want someone in the house when I am not here. Yes, I only thought about it a few minutes. Hopefully, I will get the bugs under control again.

Tomorrow, I will work on a new project. There are many patients that have problems with gastritis or heart burn that we will offer a class on this. I am working on a power point presentation and also a teaching sheet to use in the clinics for education. We will see how it goes....................

Guatemala, celebrates for two days!!

2011-09-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today, Guatemala began celebrating their Independence Day! They have enjoyed this liberty since September 15, 1821 from Spain.

Through the day there have been parades and celebrations. Runners went through the streets carring torches and people threw water balloons at them. It started raining during the late afternoon and it changed the number of torches that were burning but it did not deter people from still throwing water balloons........go figure!! :)

The market was staying busy until the heavy rain started. The lady steaming the corn gave up! You can see the water pouring off the canvas roof to the left of the corn.

The runners continued but without torches.

Lisa, Kemmel, Elaine and I had dinner this evening. It was goood to spend time together again and catch up on different stuff.

Tomorrow, there will be more parades and activities. To see more of the events, check out the Dunham's blog at http://www.kemmelandlisa.blogspot.com/ They have some great photos.

Rain.....Rain.....Rain.........Cold and Wet!!!

2011-09-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

33We had clinic today and our travels started early. There will be a lot of parades and activities in the streets and if we do not leave before they start, we will get blocked in town without an escape!

I met Maury, Gaspar, Juan, Marcos and Elaine outside of Chichi. Elaine is a PA Student from TX and she will be doing an internship with us for a few weeks.

As soon as we left Chichi, the mist started. When we got closer to Chutzurob, it was more of a rain and it did not stop. Juan and I were thinking the same thing........that we might have trouble getting down to the clinic. I don't fear getting to clinic, my fear is climbing back up to the road if the rains continue through the day.

When we arrived, Marcos had already pulled over at the top of the hill. We put our rain jackets on and walked down to see how many patients we had waiting and what the brothers thought. There were patients waiting and we decided to leave the trucks parked and carry the equipment down.

We had a great clinic of 19 medical patients and 10 dental patients.

Sebastian wanted a photo with his wife and Elaine. Does this photo look like it was his request??

These three little girls are usually at the clinic.

As soon as we were finished, Sebastian's daughter came to "present" her baby to us. His name is Sebastian Elias. He is 5 weeks old and very precious. Elaine jumped up on a bench to take our photo.

The rains stopped right before we finished clinic. We carried everything to the top of the hill without any problems. The owner of the store, where we parked the trucks had left but told the promoters he did not want us turning around at his store. Well, there is no other place to turn around.......and he was gone. So, we got the trucks turned around after making 8-point turns and we made runs for the top.......we had a lot of fish-tailing going on but we made it.

It was a good day and as always, we are thankful for safe travels.

Yahooooo......another election!

2011-09-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well, hot off the news is that no candidate for the presidency won. As I had mentioned, one person had to win by 50% and that is almost impossible. So yes!! We get to live through another election!

In November, Otto Perez and Manuel Molina will go at it again. Perez, a former army general had 36% of the votes, while Manuel Baldizon a businessman had 23% of the votes.

There were some other races that involved some types of confusion or political scandals.........however you want to term them. We will see you it all washes out!

Voting Day in Guatemala

2011-09-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today, is the day for Guatemalans to select or most likely narrow down the possibilities for the next president. There are so many people in the running and if no one wins it by 50% of the votes, there will be a second round in November.

The voting places were packed and the lines were long. There were at least two places to vote in Chichi alone.

The skies were dark and the rain would come and go.

Even though the streets were filled with people, the market was empty. There were less than 25% than the usual crowds.

It was a great time to look around and see what was available. I bought a bunch of vegetables and then forgot to pick up the cabbage. The man followed me around with the cabbage until I noticed him. How kind of him!

This afternoon I went to Xepocol for their worship. I saw Sandra and her family. It was good to see them. Afterward, the truck started filling quickly with people wanting a ride closer to their home especially since it was cold and raining.

I dropped everyone off and then went down the road until I found a place to turn the truck around. When I passed Sandra's house, they had all stayed outside to make sure I returned safely.

The voting places have closed for the day but the streets are still packed with people. I know people are wanting to know what the outcome is. Maybe they will know tomorrow or at least have a better idea. With all of the corruption, violence and poverty here, I hope they will have a president that will minimize the problems of Guatemala.

Clinica and Checkers in Choacaman IV

2011-09-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

When we arrived in Choacaman IV, there were 11 patients waiting for us. I was excited and even more excited when the group increased to eighteen!

We saw many types of patients. Many had respiratory problems, a few diabetics, several with arthritis and two pregnant ladies. One lady said that she had an insect in her ear. I could not see it but I always try to be a good listener. Thankfully, we were in a clinic where we could get some warm water. Gaspar did flush out a small insect! Whew............I felt better and so did the patient.

During the last five patients, the skies began to rumble and I mean rumble hard! I thought, we are going to get drenched hiking back to the truck. When I stepped out after the last patient, Gaspar and the children were playing checkers.

It did not matter that it was a home-made board...........with bottle tops. They were very much "into" the game. I think that Gaspar, with his Indian Quiche tops, won.

Jesus, the lady of the home, rushed us to get ready for lunch. She was also concerned with the coming rain. We had delicious black beans, rice, fresh chili, tortillas and juice.

We packed up everything quickly and hit the trail.........and we made it. After we were in the truck for about 10 minutes, the skies dropped buckets!

We stopped by the clinic to pick up a few things and then returned to Chichi. Another good day..........and as always, we are thankful for the safe travels.

Tomorrow morning, Manuel and I will go to the city. We will meet Elaine, who will be with us for a few weeks.

Clinic in Lemoa

2011-09-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today, we had clinic in Lemoa and the rains fell.......................

We had a busy day and that is good. There were 28 medical patients and 8 patients for dental cleaning.

After we got started, the first time I looked at my watch was 12:30 pm. I thought it was odd that no one had mentioned lunch. So, when I asked if we were going to eat, I found out that Maury and the guys had already ordered for me and I truly appreciated it.

We had a wide variety of patients. Some were diabetics, some were pregnant ladies and others with cough and respiratory problems.

One of my favorite diabetic patients visited today. When he first came to the clinic, his blood sugar was over 560. For the last several months, he has been 95-116. He feels so much better and is full of energy.

This mother brought her baby in and he was the last patient of the day. He has had diarrhea for several days so hopefully, we can get that under control.

We had rain all day and they skies were dark and gloomy. We waited until the rain slowed down enough to load the truck. Now we are ready for the next week.

Tomorrow, we head to Choacoman IV. I hope that the rains are kind enough to stop while we carry our equipment to clinic. Yeah.........that is a nice thought.

Class in the heart and the beatitudes

2011-09-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Today, was our education day in Lemoa and we had 15 people participate in the class. Ruben taught the class on the cardiac system. We talked about the circulation of the blood through the heart and the lungs. We talked about oxygenated blood and how it maintains life. It was a very good class and the health promoters enjoyed it.

As always, we started the class with prayer, songs of praise and reading some verses from the Bible that might pertain to the class.

The reading was from Matthew 5, where Jesus spoke to the crowds of people. He usually had many people following him and for different reasons. Sometimes they wanted to learn. Other times it was because they were hungry and wanted food, healing and other times they wanted to only criticize or condemn.

The question for us today is, "How do we apply the lessons of Christ to our lives?" The power of His words are the same today as when He spoke them. Application is the key. If we only read the Bible without application, it is nothing more than book of stories for us.

So, how can I show more compassion, show more mercy, be more pure? There are so many attitudes in these few verses that it can be overwhelming. Maybe, if I focused on one for a week. Just one. Really focused on it and repeated the verse several times a day.........maybe that would be a good reminder of how my heart should be. If the heart is right, so will be the actions and attitudes.

At the end of the day, I can say, "Yes, I am a good Christian." Maybe that is too general of a statement. Maybe it causes us to be too comfortable. Maybe we should me more specific in how we think.

Just a thought...............

Back in Guatemala!

2011-09-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I returned to Chichi. The three weeks in NC went very quickly. It is always good to spend time with family and friends. I always intend to blog more when I am in NC but it seems that time just goes so fast...........so, I will give you a quick review of the highlights.

1. Time with family and friends always ranks first.

2. I have never talked about it on the blog but I have had trigeminal neuralgia for about 3-4 years. Dr. Charlie, arranged for me to be seen at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Thank you, Charlie!! After two consults, I had the Gamma Knife procedure done. Thanks to everyone..........Sally, Mary, Jim and Trish who sat with my parents and helped pass the time. Everything went well and I expect great results.

3. My brother Mike and Angie took me out for a birthday lunch!

4. We had a wonderful dinner at the South Fork Church of Christ. Members of my sponsoring congregation were there and also people that I use to work with. If I begin to name different people, I will forget some and I do not want to do that. Thanks to everyone that attended. It was a fun evening!

5. Thanks to the Morganton Church of Christ for their "going away" gifts. I really appreciate the thought and support.

So, now it is time to get back to work.

More adventures in North Carolina

2011-09-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have been able to spend almost three weeks in North Carolina. It has been a wonderful time with family and friends. I was able to zip line with my mom and Tom. That was an adventure. Today I was able to play in cement with my dad. He needed to do some work around the driveway and I wanted to help.

Me driving the tractor and getting the cement ready. After doing this, I am now ready to drive a Guatemalan chicken bus!

I showed dad how they mix cement in Guatemala. It makes sense and it works well.

Dad cleaning up after we had finished.

It was fun. I always have enjoyed working outside and it gave us something different to do.

Dinner in Winston

2011-08-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we had a dinner at the South Fork Church of Christ. We try to do this once a year so people will be able to share some time together and also hear a little of what is taking place in Guatemala. We had a group of about 35 people and enjoyed the evening together.

Here, are the ladies who prepared the evening........Jo, Anne and Lesa. They even included a special cake. Thank you!

There were so many photos of the evening, it is hard to share them all.

Here, are some of the nurses that I use to work with in ICU........Deborah, Kelly, Lisa and Sally.

Nadia came with her parents from Durham. Nadia spent a few weeks with us in Guatemala and her family is very involved in missions in Honduras.

Mary and I before the dinner started.

Sue Ann and Lesa.................

Anita and Ben from Virginia.

Mary and Jim.

Rodney and Rhonda, with the children from Pilot Mountain.

It was a enjoyable evening and good to see many people again. A special thank you to South Fork Church of Christ for continuing to sponsor me in Guatemala. Thank you to the ladies who prepared the meal for the evening. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the evening special.

Climbing the Beanstalk.......

2011-08-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today, we met Tom for a Beanstalk Journey and what a journey it was.....................

Tom, my mom and I took the Beanstalk Journey and dad was our photographer. We climbed through ropes and then swung from the zip lines to complete the challenge.

This is a place in Morganton, NC and I was impressed on how safety conscience they are.

Before we started out on the adventure.

We were joined by a family of four from Georgia. The mother did real well until it came to the zip part and then she had to return to the ground. She just could not continue.

Tom starting out on the ropes. He accepted the challenge to climb high.........he did a great job!

Mom as she was almost finished. They both made it look very simple.

There were five lines to complete. The last being the longest. Tom, almost reaching his landing.

Mom, holding on and zipping along.............

After the afternoon of fun, we went home for dinner. Sally came from Winston and spent the night with us. Dad grilled burgers and what fun time it was.

Mom, dad and I with my pudding cake.................

Things continue to be exciting!

Home in North Carolina..............

2011-08-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

The flight home was as exciting one yesterday.

We left the hotel very, very early. Rick made sure that we were ready to load and go. It was more than nice of him to do this since their flight left much later in the morning. When we arrived, we hit the coffee area. We were still paying when they started to load the plane.

The flight to Houston was fine........unremarkable. Now, the flight to NC was a little exciting. The pilot had warned us, "There is bad weather in Charlotte but we are going anyway."

The landing in Charlotte could have been worse, obviously since I am writing this but could have been much, smoother............... :) I am not complaining. If I were the pilot, I would have said the same thing. I wanted to get to NC.......

Mom and dad met me at the airport............yes, with a Diet Dr. Pepper! Thank you!

It is a great beginning for a great three weeks!

Thursday in Clinica Ezell

2011-08-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

The babies left this morning to return to their homes. All of them looked good and were doing well.

Bartolo left with his dad and brother. I know that his mom will be glad to see them.

Anastacia went home with her mom and dad. Her fever came down and continues to take antibiotics. She will return for the clinic in February and we will also look at her father having his palate repaired.

Wendy, talking with one of the patients.

Some of the clinical staff resting after the day of work.

Monica cares for one of the patients in the recovery area.

It was a busy week. Our patient number hit 70 and everyone did well.

Tonight we had a special dinner of grilled steak. Neva and I wandered around to where we smelled the grilling taking place. They marinated the steak in garlic, mustard and oil and then grilled it on top of a wheel barrow.

Tomorrow, we will head to Antigua. We will have a relaxing day and then fly back to the states.

Wednesday----The surgeries continue

2011-08-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Another day.........many more surgeries!

This afternoon I was asked to translate in surgery. It is not my favorite place to be so it is good that everyone enjoys working in different areas. But I was happy to help and to see what was needed.

This case was a 17 years old male with a small mass in his back. He was as scared as he could be. His blood pressure and pulse had been sky high. When I went back and started talking to him, he opened his hand and said, "Please hold my hand." He came through surgery fine and went home that afternoon.

Marvin's mom walked Marvin around during the morning.

As you can tell from earlier posts, Marvin has grown a lot. He has learned to enjoy being around people and he loves to have his photo taken.

This is Bartolo's brother. He has been very helpful to his dad and brother this week.
This is Antonio before his surgery. His parents have been very patient in waiting for this day.

Antonio sleeping after his surgery. It was hoped that he would not need to lose a finger but it worked better to removed the index finger. His index finger was very deformed and now he will have better mobility of his hand.

Anastacia with her parents. I know her parents were very disappointed when she was not able to have surgery but they have been so helpful to other parents. The mother has sat with other parents during their children's surgery.

This Carlos and Dante. Dante is really growing and is a very happy child. He seems to enjoy having many visitors here at the clinic.

We enjoyed another devotional time together this evening. We continue to pray for each patient by name.

Tomorrow, there will be a few surgeries but several will have the opportunity to visit Lake Atitlan or a waterfall. Please stay tuned and I will have more stories for you.

Tuesday in Clinica Ezell

2011-08-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

Bring out the patients!!!

The hall filled quickly with patients this morning.

Lana, PA Student taking a child from the operating room to recovery. The transition can be very over-whelming for the family. The nursing staff help buffer the transition and explain things to the family.

Leslie takes care of a patient as she comes out of the operating room.

Jane, Jason and Marta meet with a patient before surgery. Marta places the IVs in the patients before surgery and then they wait until their turn.

Jennifer measuring out some medicine. Jennifer has been great in teaching the nursing students during the week.

Bartolo enjoys his lunch. He played more with his hand in the cup than he drank it.

Sylvia and Nydia work with a patients in the dental clinic.

In April, I came to Clinica Ezell with Lisa and Kemmel. We did the follow up visit for the medical patients. At that time, Lisa and I met this young lady, Elena. She remembered me and is just very thankful that she had met Lisa and could have surgery here. A.C. sits and talks with Elana after surgery.

Antonio and his parents continue to patiently wait for his surgery on Wednesday.

Anastacia was suppose to have surgery today but when they got her back to the operating room, her temperature was 105.0 degrees. Rosario called a laboratory in Chicacao and asked them stay open for an extra 30 minutes. She got a blood specimen and we took it to the lab. Her WBCs were elevated so she will be started on antibiotics.

Tonight we had a devotional time together. We prayed for each patient by name and know that our God will answer that prayer.

Monday in Clinica Ezell

2011-08-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

It will be another exciting day here in Clinica Ezell. Many patients are waiting for surgery.

Claudia and her son, Bryan, are ready to go home. Both have done well and we are thankful for that!

Bryan and his parents will go home and return later to see us in Lemoa.

It is time for Marvin's surgery. Carrie comes to get Marvin and his mom will wait for him. As you can tell from the previous post, Marvin has grown!

Marvin finished his surgery without any problem. Here, his aunt spends some time with him.

Julie Ann spending time with one of the patients and his mom. He previously had 6 toes so that was done last clinic and this time he had surgery on his arm.

Bartolo and his dad before surgery today.

Bartolo with his dad after his surgery.

Bartolo also did well and will go home on Thursday.

This is Antonio and his mom. Antonio will have surgery on his hand on Wednesday.

It was a busy day but it was a god day. We had a special devotional time together tonight and prayed for the patients. We are thankful for the surgeons and nurses who have come down and who are serving this week.

Let the surgeries begin!!

2011-08-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to worship with the Montellano Church of Christ this morning. I walked over about 0950 with some of the babies and their parents. After lunch, the surgeries began.

This Claudia and her son, Bryan, waiting for their surgeries. Both need hernia repairs.

This is Bryan after he came out of surgery. He did very well. His mom and his dad sat with me during the surgery to help pass the time. They live in the area of Xepocol and know our Gaspar. Gaspar has been talking to them about the Bible and this gave us a chance to talk to a little. No matter which country you live it, if you wait until your child is older to teach them of Jesus and how they should live their life, you will meet more resistance.

Jodi, working with one of the patients after her surgery.

Kathleen and John Mark praying with patients before they go back for surgery.

Today, 13 surgeries were done. The patients did well and went through recovery without any problems. We are thankful for that and pray that the surgeries will go as well tomorrow.

Ready for the week in Montellano

2011-08-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

This morning, I met Cathy, Carol, the babies and their parents at ASELSI. We chatted a few minutes as we waited for Victor to arrive with his van.

Everyone arrived except Amelia. Her father came to the clinic to tell us that they would not be going. Amelia's grandmother suffered from a bad stroke so the family did not feel comfortable going to Montellano. Hopefully, all will go well with the family and Amelia can go with us in February 2012.

This is Marvin, with his mom. His aunt is on the right side. He had his lip repaired last August and is returning today to have his palate repaired. His surgery is being sponsored by Frank and Evelyn in Morganton, NC.

This photo was taken in February 2010, when Marvin was too small for surgery.

Unbelievable how he has changed. This is him today as he goes to have his palate repaired.

This is Claudia and Bryan, mother and son who both need hernia repairs. Claudia's surgery will be sponsored by the Morganton Church of Christ. Bryan's surgery will be sponsored by Terry Kile.
This is Antonio. His finger and thumb on his right hand are fused together.

This is Anastacia and her parents. She had her lip repaired in February and has returned to have her palate repaired.

Her mom grabbed Cathey for a photo. Cathy works at ASELSI and helps us find children that need surgery. ASELSI has a great milk program and also pays to have the children transported in a van to Montellano.

Anastacia is a pretty little girl. Her surgery is being sponsored by Tom and Freda from Morganton, NC.
When everyone arrived, we jumped into the van and left for Montellano. It will be a great week with a lot of blessings in store for the families. We pray for safety in the roads, every one's well being during surgery and healing of Amelia's grandmother.

Karen and Jenny in Chuchipaca

2011-08-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have been preparing to go to the coast next week. Yesterday, I prepared most of my things and then went to Panajachel in the afternoon. Karen is here again to talk with the ladies in Chuchipaca about the hand-crafts that they do and to see if they will be able to make some other things that will sell in the states.

Karen, Jenny and I left Pana this morning to meet with the ladies. Karen spoke to the ladies a few months ago so this is the second visit that she is making to the highlands. She has been working with Fair Trade here in Guatemala for many years and hopefully, will be able to help the ladies of Chuchipaca.

Many of the ladies do not speak Spanish, so Juan and Aura are helping with the translation. Karen is explaining to them how she would like the ladies to make this pattern. She leaves with them the materials to complete the projects, gives them the instructions, tells them how many she needs made and will return in a few months to collect the order.

Karen calculating the order as Juan and Aura look to see if they understand the instructions.

When Karen was here the first time, this lady had made a beautiful piece of material. Karen used her idea for another project. These ladies are very talented with the way they put colors together.

Karen asked them to return with some of the projects so she might buy them. She pays them according to the hours it takes to create the piece and also calculates the cost of the material. As you can see, the colors are beautiful.

It was a great meeting. The ladies were excited when six of their pieces were sold and they received the money right then. They did not have to barter back and forth on a price.

Karen and Jenny with the ladies.

It was a good morning. The ladies of Chuchipaca are very content with the price they are receiving. Karen has a great beginning with the ladies here and I hope that their relationship continues to grow.

Tomorrow morning, I will head to Montellano with seven babies for surgery. It will be a great week so please stay tuned.......................

What a day in La Hacienda and Las Cuevas

2011-08-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Manuel, Juan and Gaspar drove by the house at 0700 and we headed to La Hacienda and Las Cuevas. What a day it was!! I wish I could share all of the photos and events but that is not possible.

We had heard that the road might cause us some problems but we went on..........

When we reached the problem area, we met a truck that had just made the pass. He stopped and we talked for a few minutes. He said that he had only made it, "because God is good." We got out and looked at what would lie ahead.

It was decided that the truck could do it. Juan was in the middle of the road cheering Manuel on. "Come on, come on Manuel, more to the left, that's it!!!" When Manuel finally got a good run, Juan decided that the truck was coming too fast and made a quick dive into the corn field! We all laughed at Juan. When we got back in the truck, we realized we had forgot to put up the windows. There was mud all over...........

Then the next hurdle to jump were the "bridges." We stopped in front of the first one and just moaned. The drop was only about 5 feet but there would be no way to get the truck out.

They were all in a bend of the road or the path we were on. They were not straight so that made the passage more technical. We looked at the tires at each one to be sure........and then prayed. Manuel did a great job on all four of them!

When we arrived at the school, we quickly in-serviced Santos, Sebastian and Felipe. They are the leaders in the community that connected us with the schools. Sebastian offered to dirty-up a little and help with the class. I changed the class some to fit the community. All of the guys pitched in and the students and teachers seemed to enjoy it.

Students practicing to cover their nose and mouth when they cough.

We only had three classes at this school. On the second class, I asked Juan if he wanted to do it. "Sure!" was his response. Juan introducing, "Dirty Sebastian."

The MET students made us some posters for our classes and we enjoy using them. Gasper and Manuel are teaching that bacteria is not our friend.

Juan teaching as Gaspar and Felipe hold a poster that teaches to wash your hands many times a day with soap.

When we finished with the schools, we drove to La Hacienda which is only over a few mountains. I visited here for the first time in 2005, with a group from Health Talents. Looking back, this trip may be one of the reasons I am here today.

This area is extremely poor, economically. In 2005, there was a drought and the crops suffered. A neighboring community, in which we were planning a clinic, asked us not to visit their area but to help La Hacienda because they were dying. I will never forget some things from that day.

This is the new "house of prayer" for La Hacienda. They have been building it for five months. The congregation has about 45 people attending. There are 12 boys who have all been baptized. Gaspar talked to them for a few minutes about them preparing to be ministers, song leaders and leaders in the congregation.

This is the view and it is in the mountains of no-where. It is very peaceful. I wish I could show you all of the view. It would be very easy for me to live here. The guys were loving it too. A small house on the side of a mountain, with a small stream, little store near by.........it only lacked electricity and Diet Dr. Pepper :)

The congregation prepared a delicious meal for us. It was fried chicken, rice, beans, tortillas and horchata. After lunch we bought an ear of corn that had been steamed and ate it before class started.

This was the ABC Class that we did for the families of the ABC Program. As I mentioned, there is no electricity, so we used the computer. Manuel started with a few songs and prayer while Juan translated the class into K'iche'.

We had one water filter to give to this family. Now, I think that all of the families have a water filter. They said that the water is so dirty that they have to clean the filter every two days.

We made our drive home ok. I told Kemmel that we never really got stuck but there were places were had to make several attempts before we made it through. At one time, I told the guys we needed more weight in the back so we hopped out and jumped up in the bed of the truck and it worked!!

That was our day! We spent about 4.5 hours in the truck, had classes in two schools, enjoyed time with the church..............all for the glory of God! I look forward to another day as this.

Diabetic Class in Lemoa

2011-08-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today, the guys and I had Diabetic Class III in Lemoa. We had a good response with 16 patients.
We set up the tarps before class began. Without the tarps, they are unable to see the photos due to the light. It was a dark, gloomy morning with the threat of rain but the tarps help a lot.

One of our regular patients jumped up on the ladder and helped the guys.

Manuel completes the final touches.

Since this was the third class, we discussed medications and exercise. We encourage a lot of questions. Repetition is very important for different reasons. Most people can not read and many do not speak Spanish, only K'iche'. Some have gone to different clinics, received information on the streets or from their neighbors. They have a lot of questions and want clarification. In most of the classes, there is a lot of participation. Ruben is good at asking questions and keeping the conversation going. I want the class to be able to answer Ruben's questions.

Many were not able to attend the second class, so they wanted to review the diet sheet. When we finished today's material, we reviewed parts of the information from last month.

Manuel translated today. The guys are really enjoying the classes and the information. As you have heard me say, they will one day be presenting the classes. They will know the information and be able to share it within their community.

After we cleaned up everything, we went inside to count and prepare bags of vitamins. We each found our spot in the pharmacy and got to work. No one was talking, we were focused and finished as much as we could. It is interesting how work can be enjoyable when you are accomplishing what needs to be done and enjoying your time together.

Tomorrow, the guys and I will head to Las Cuevas and La Hacienda.

Happy August!!

2011-08-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to Lemoa to visit with a family that lives near Solola. They came today with Hector, a guy who helps chauffeur for Solomon's Porch in Panajachel.

Hector brought Amarilis Alison and her family for a consult. Amarilis is 5 months old and was born with a cleft lip and palate. Hector had told me that it was a difficult situation and it is.

Amarilis is not a common name and I had a lot of difficulty pronouncing it. After a few times of really blowing it, I told the mother I was going to call her Amar. They laughed at me and told me that it was fine and now I will not have to struggle with her name.

So, when Amar was born, the great-grandmother wanted the parents to let Amar die. She said they would spend too much money on powdered milk and it was not worth it. She told them that they could use that money for a bag of corn instead of milk. The grandmother has 11 children. She is emotionally supportive but not able to help financially. So, Amar was only able to have sugar water for her first two months since the family could not buy milk. Now, they have a specialty bottle for Amar and have received help to buy milk. The bottle is donated by Evelyn's Baskets of Love and Life.

This is Juana and Amar.

This is Amar with her family.....her grandmother, Juana and Wendy, her sister.

Amar was very alert and content. She smiled and allowed me to exam her without any problem. She is sweet.

They will return to the clinic in November for another consult. If Amar continues to grow and do well, we will look at surgery in February 2012.

Day to catch up..........

2011-07-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today, was a day to catch up on things. It is hard to understand how fast the day passes when you are getting things done.

Anyway, I walked up to Chichi and they were painting the famous arch. Many of you will remember it from your visit. They had blocked the road from traffic and the guys were working.

I had never thought that it needed to be painted until I saw how much better it looked afterward.

So, it is the weekend........time to get ready for next week. It will be a busy one. We will have some classes and Karen will be here to speak to the ladies in Chuchipaca. On Saturday, we will go to Montellano for the surgical clinic and then I will visit North Carolina! Mom and Dad, are you excited??

Clinic in Lemoa

2011-07-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today, we had clinic in Lemoa. We had 27 medical patients to see.

We began praying with the patients outside the clinic. I could see that it was going to be a busy day and I enjoy that.

We had one patient who had suffered from a stoke and was unable to move the right side of his body. This is always a very difficult situation for the patient and also the family. He is also a diabetic and from listening to the family, he did not try to control it. Today, his blood sugar was so high that the meter could not read it.

On the other side of the diabetic story, we had a lady who now is controlling her blood sugar. She has been coming to the diabetic classes with some of her family. When she first came to the clinic, her blood sugar was 354. Today it was 172. We still have room for improvement but it is a start.

Two patients came for surgery. They are a mother and a son, who both have inguinal hernias. They will go to Montellano with us on August 6th and have surgery during that week.

Tomorrow, the guys and I will go to Choacoman IV for clinic.

Day of clinic and classes in La Palma

2011-07-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Today, we had clinic and classes in La Palma. Maury, Manuel, Ruben and I traveled together and we are always thankful for safe travels. The rain had washed parts of the road away but Manuel had spoke with Agostin so he knew which roads were safe.

This is the view from the school.

This was the school before all of the action started.

We set up clinic and prayed with everyone. Ruben had a few patients waiting so that was good.

Maury, Agostin and I went to do classes at the school. I talked to Agostin about the class we do and asked if he would mind getting a little dirty for us. He was not sure at first but once he did, I think he had more fun than the students! Every time I introduced him as "Sucio Agostin," he started laughing so hard, we had to pause before we could continue. Every time! I even called his name a few times just to see if he would laugh again.........and he did!

We were only able to complete 4 of the 7 classes so we will return another day. As we were packing up the truck, some children were over by the water faucets and yelled, "We are washing our hands!"

Rueben found the whip that they use to penalize people in the community who have committed different crimes. The people are walked up to the school area, with a mob of people following and this whip is used on them, publicly. Ruben is acing for the camera but when Agostin told us of different stories and how it is used, we were very solemn.

When the truck was loaded we continued to the "House of prayer" for lunch and the ABC Health Class. We walked through the pine trees and then rested as lunch was brought in. We had fried chicken, beans, tortillas and orange drink.

Maury translated for me as we had the class. The class was a little difficult since there is no electricity here. We placed the benches as close to my computer as we could and made the best of it.

The class covered much of the same material as the classes in the school but with a few added touches for the parents. We talked about brushing teeth, bathing, washing hands, preparing food, maintaining the water filter, covering food and just general hygiene. Everyone seemed to enjoy our time together. They asked when we would return with another class...........I told them we would get back when we had another one.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Lemoa. I hope that we have a busy day!