All is well......

We spent two days on Lake Atitlan preparing for 2008. I found it very interesting and challenging as the report from last year revealed much had been accomplished. In fact, in some areas the goals were surpassed. I will soon be sending a report of my first 6 months here in Guatemala and will share some of that information. Let me know if you do not receive it and would like it.

The first photo is taken in the early morning as we were leaving. The place we stayed can only be reached by boat and this photo was taken about 0530. You can see the volcanoes to the right in the photo.

Today we had clinic in Paxot II. This is typically Dr. Lisa's clinic and we had 19 patients today.
The second photo is of Juan, one of the health promoters, his mother and one of his little brothers. His mom cooked lunch for us which was wonderful. We had beef, rice, tamalitos and atolol.

It started raining as we were loading the truck and getting ready to leave. The last photo is of Edgar who is a son of Manuel. Manuel dressed him appropriately for the rain as he walked home with his mother.

Tomorrow I begin my Spanish/ K'iche' classes in Panajachal. I hope my teacher will be ready for all of my questions :)

Day in Panajachal

Charley and I had a free day so we went to Panajachal. We first stopped in Chichicastenango at the bank to deposit the clinic money. We hopped a "chicken bus" to Panachal, changing buses twice.

We walked through the streets looking at the goods being sold. I registered for Spanish/ K'iche' classes at one of the schools. I will study four hours on Saturday mornings. We then walked to the lake and beach area. The clouds prevented us from seeing the tops of the three volcanoes but it was still very pretty. We walked farther through the streets and ate lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the lake.

When we returned to Chichi, we called Lisa and Kemmel to see if we could meet them for coffee. We enjoyed coffee in Hotel Santo Tomas as we waited for them and then went shopping through the streets.

The photo, right to left:
Linda Henry/ taught the two day seminar for the ladies
Evelyn/ difficult to see between Linda and Rosario. She is getting married soon and will serve as a missionary in Latin America
Rosario/ is a nurse and translated the lesson from Spanish into K'iche'
Kemmel and Lisa Dunham/ serving in Guatemala for 5+???? years :):)
myself
Charley Belch/ friend and elder from the South Fork Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, NC

Bible class in Paxot II

Today there was a ladie's Bible seminar in Paxot II which was taught by Linda Henry. Linda and her husband Calvin are active in training missionaries for Latin America. There were 50-60 ladies in attendance and the lesson was very good. Rosario, who is a nurse in Montellano translated for the K'iche' speaking ladies.

The first photo is of Josefina's mom and Linda. Josefina's brother, Juan Diego studied in Honduras and the Baxter Institute. During his studies, Juan took some classes that Linda taught. Today was as special reunion for Juan Diego's mom and Linda.

Charley in Panajxit

Today was a wonderful day. I met Charley near his hotel and then we met Josefina, Tomas and Gaspar. We drove to Panajxit which is about a 20 minute drive.

Enrique helped us with our clinic today. He always prays with the patients and talks to them about the Bible after they see Josefina. We had 16 patients today. I am continuing to work with Josefina. I enjoy learning from her as she is very patient when she explains things to me.

The photo is of Charley playing around with the guys IN the tree. Yes, he climbed up in the tree and as you can see the little guy to the left finds Charley entertaining.

For lunch we drove cross-county to Enrique's house and had a very good lunch.

After clinic, Charley and I found a bank and then later met for dinner. We were invited to have dinner with Josefina's family. We had tamales, tortillas and coffee. Josefina's mom asked Charley to pray before the meal. Charley led the prayer and paused so Josefina could translate.

We had a enjoyable dinner and conversation. Charley has been able to meet three of Josefina's four brothers. Tomorrow he will spend the day with Juan Diego and then we will all meet for dinner.

Charley and Josefina in Las Trampas

Today we had clinic in Las Trampas. We picked Gaspar and Juan up in Chichi and traveled down the road. It was a small clinic with only 4 patients.

Before the patients arrived, Josefina sat on the step and then Charley sat down beside her. Josefina looked at Charley and said, "OK Charlie, let's talk the Bible." Well, those were welcomed words to Charley and as you can see, there was good discussion.

It was a slower day than I like but it gave us opportunity to discuss plans for when the group travels down in October.

We headed back to Lemoa, where our permanent clinic is. Charley saw that clinic for the first time and also met Manuel and Tomas. It was the first time I had seen the guys since I returned and that was nice.

Tomorrow we will drive to Panajxit. This clinic is one that our group had the opportunity to get started and it has continued to grow.

Charley and I arrived in Guatemala!

Charley and I arrived in Guatemala yesterday without any problems. Juan Diego, Josefina's brother, met us at the airport and drove us to Santa Cruz. Charley checked into his hotel and got a short in-service on how to operate the shower in hopes of hot water :) His hotel is about 6 blocks from my house and is in a good location.

Today we had clinic in Chuchipaca. Gaspar and Juan worked with us and we had 13 patients. The photo is of Charley, Juan and 2 patients.

One of our patients had trouble walking so we offered to drive her home. On the way back, Juan wanted to practice driving. I said, "Sure, go for it!" Charley sat in the back with his eyes closed.....just kidding.

P.S. Charley said he did have hot water last night :)

Grandma's Birthday Celebration!

Before I returned to Guatemala, we celebrated my grandma's 95th birthday!

The first photo is of Sally who has helped me more than I can say. We have been friends for more years than we would like to admit......we just can't count that high. She helped me with my house before it sold, during the sale and continues with issues as they arise. She will make her first trip to Guatemala with the South Fork Church of Christ in October and I am looking forward to that.

We had lunch with my Grandma to celebrate her birthday! My brother, Mike was not able to join us since he is in Fayetteville, NC. He works for the NC Forest Service and the fires are keeping him busy. Please pray for his safety. Angie, my sister-in-law and Paige, my niece were able to eat with us. The photo is of Paige, my mom, me and my grandmother.