Day in Antigua

Sunday morning after worship, I hopped a bus to Antigua. I will be going home at the end of July and it was the only time I had to go and make reservations. I took a small bag to Mary's house and left it with her. Having it already in Antigua will make traveling easier.

I spent the night at my usual place, The Burkhard Hotel. It is not fancy but it is clean, safe and warm. I could not ask for more...........as Edwin McCain once sang :)

The following photo is of The Arch in Antigua. On Sundays it is closed to cars for the tourists.

This photo was taken inside of LaMerced Cathedral. I have often wished these walls could tell the history and some of the events that took place before the earthquakes.

So, I am set with reservations in July with a hotel and a shuttle to the airport at 0400.....I will be asleep on the plane before the door is properly secured.

I had to buy a hair dryer today......not an easy task to do here. The lady that cuts my hair told me of a store that might have them. The store was closed but no one sounded hopefully that another store would have them. I was not sure what I was going to do and then the store owner returned and reopened the store so I could make the purchase :)

Second clinic in Chutzurob......what a blessing to the community!

It is sooooooo exciting to see The Church really want to help their community!

I met Aura in the park this morning and then we proceeded to Chichi to get Gaspar, Maury and Juan. Usually, Aura and Maudy do not work with us on Saturdays but it was nice to have them along with us today. The drive was good and they joked with each other in K'iche' on how different words are pronounced. The girls can come across timid sometimes but they can dish a little teasing too :)

When we arrived in Chutzurob, we were so excited because you could tell they had prepared for us. Now, this is only our second clinic here but they have the routine down! They had strung a tarp to protect the patients from the rain, had put up two drapes for privacy and had made two large signs about the clinic. As soon as we were getting out out the truck, they were helping us unload and carry in the equipment. There were 6 people from the congregation helping us today.

As we were finalizing equipment, Sebastian was already outside praying with the patients. There were 32 medical patients and 7 patients for dental cleaning.......all were on their knees in prayer.

When we were finished inside, we went outside and welcomed everyone. Gaspar talked a little about teeth cleaning and why it is important to good health..........then we began clinic for the day!

This is one of the signs made about Health Talents........with Maury and Aura helping the display

This was a second sign that was hung outside for patients to see.
We were able to follow up with a patient that we visited in his home on May 31st. It was when the MET students were here and we did two house-calls that day. He was unable to walk at that time and had been very sick. Today he looked very good and came to the clinic to thank us.

I really believe that God will use the clinics to help grow The Church in this area. When other congregations have been this involved and proactive with clinics, the results are remarkable. Please keep The Church and Chutzurob in your prayers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!

Today is my brother's birthday..........HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!
You did not know it but dad sent me this photo of you in your boat!

PS Get ready, we will go horseback riding when I get home :)

Students to go Antigua........

We all met this morning in Chichi for one last photo before the students left. Kemmel also gave us quick updates of the group of 50 that will arrive this coming Thursday.

One last photo of the guys. My heart bled for Colin as he told me that he had lost ALL of his photos since he has been here. Man, I hate that for him. He had awesome shots of the zip-line. Sorry, Colin.
One more prayer of thanksgiving as we have been protected these five plus weeks and for this safety to continue. This group has been great.......thanks to all of the parents and friends who have read the blog and have left comments. I appreciate your comments and I have enjoyed doing it! Please continue to read about our clinics and stay in touch :)

We had 20 medical patients in Clinica Caris today and Marcos also stayed busy with the dental patients. After clinic, I drove the group to Chichi and then headed to Santa Cruz. It has been cold and rainy today.........needless to say, my laundry did not dry but at least it is clean :)

Tomorrow should be a calm clinic in Choacaman IV but on Saturday we are expecting a huge crowd again in Chutzurob. This is the clinic that we went to on June 7th with the first group of students......and it was wonderful. Gaspar has confirmed that he will clean teeth this clinic and I will take the guys photos of the clinic with the students that was posted on June 7th.....they will love them :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA!!!

Lisa, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today we were in clinic and we started talking about your birthday!!

I started to call you so we could all talk to you but they told me you were working ................................

Everyone said to tell you hi and that we miss you.........


Many more birthdays..............and many hugs.................from Clinica Caris!

Day in Pana with the students

This morning we headed for Panajachel and the day did not look to be too promising......but as we drove lower to lake-side the weather changed.

The Zip-line was opened so they enjoyed that. It took about 2 hours for them to complete it and then we went to the lake for lunch.
This is Kelsey, Taylor, Michael, Colin and Allison in front of the lake.
After lunch we walked through the market and enjoyed some ice cream.......thanks, Allison!

The drive home was uneventful and tomorrow is their last day of clinic......not something they seemed to excited to talk about. I think they have had a good experience.......with some of the typical ups and downs......but over-all a good experience.

Day in Panajachel

I met Hector this afternoon at Solomon's Porch. I thought he had the lab work of the children but he told me that we needed to go to their homes to get it. We had a good time driving to their homes and seeing them.

Hector's first language is Cakchiquel and Spanish is his second. We compared some words in K'iche and Cakchiquel. He said the language is spoken different between areas, as also is K'iche'. For me, this makes learning it even more difficult.

We stopped by Diego's house first and then Edisons. Both of the boys looked very good, have gained weight and seem very healthy. I think they are ready for surgery in August.

Afternoon in Panajachel

This morning I went to Aura´s home and delivered the medicine that I found for her grandmother. She wanted me to explain it to her aunt so we walked over to their home. Aura translated for me into Kíche´and I felt they understood. They asked me to see her grandmother so I went into her room. It was a dark room with three beds. She seemed very peaceful as she turned over and said hello to me. I remember her coming to our clinics many times with cough and discomfort. I held her hand and told her that my prayers continued for her.

It was a difficult drive home (I am not usually an emotional person). As I held her hand I remembered my grandmother and not being there when she died. My parents and I talked about it and we knew grandma would not want me to cancel clinics to return to The States. She was very happy with the work being done by Health Talents and that I was part of it.....and that is all there is to say. My grandmother lived over 90 years and is now with The Lord.

Tomorrow, I will look at the lab work of two children here in Panajachel and see if they are good surgical canadates. It took me awhile to find Solomon´s Porch where I will meet Hector. Three people led me in different directions. If their lab work is good, they will have surgery in August in Clinica Ezell in Montellano.

Please continue to remember the Sizemore family......their flight yesterday was delayed until today. Hopefully, they will arrive home tonight.

Clinic in Mactzul V

Well, you won't be able to tell by the photos and clip that we actually had clinic today. We only had 4 patients.....but some days just aren't as busy as others :(

We all arrived in Mactzul V and played Frisbee for about an hour as we waited for patients. Finally a patient arrived, followed by 3 more........and that was all.



We finally packed everything up and started driving home. The students all wanted to prepare dinner for their families tonight so we had enough time to drive to Chichi and get their items. When Michael wanted to know where the pizza mixes were, I had no clue.....I didn't think they had them here but we looked anyway.......nope. So he decided to do burgers instead. Someone wanted chocolate chips.........nope, so he decided to break up a few chocolate bars. Someone wanted pickles...........strike three!!

We had a quick lunch and then went to the meat market.........my only suggestion was to cook it very well.

Manuel took the group home to Paxot and I drove the group home to Xepocol.

On my way home I stopped and unloaded the truck and started visiting pharmacies. I had called Lisa to get an idea of some medicine that might help Aura's grandmother. She had a suggestion.......thanks Lisa! :) I finally found it and will take it to her home in the morning before worship.

The following is a clip from this afternoon. Gaspar, Juan, Tomas and Manuel love it when groups are here. These times are a great encouragement to them.

ABC Clinic in Paxot II

What another wonderful, adventure-filled day! I stopped in Chichi to see the Sizemores before they headed to Antigua. We have really enjoyed having them here working with us and they will be missed. We chatted over coffee and they inserviced me on facebook.com.

I then stopped at Pat Hile's clinic real quick to deliver some messages that people had blogged.....then drove on to Paxot II for another ABC clinic.

Juan, Allison, Colin, Michael and I had clinic with 53 patients. One brother from the congregation helped us translate to K'iche'. Maybe in another 18 years, I can be another Patricio and not need a translator...........please, no breath holding :)

It took us a few minutes to get set up and then we we were rolling.........

Paxot II is an area that really likes to feed you! They have a huge kitchen area that has 6 vented wood stoves plus another center area used for cooking. At 10 am they served us atole, a corn base drink and bread. Then for lunch, we were very impressed with the presentation! We marvelled at the colors and portions! We had pollo dorado (spicey fried chicken), frijoles negro (black beans), repollo (cabbage), rabanos (radishes) and tamalitos.
Colin made a new friend today, Hector.
We finished clinic today about 1630. As we were packing up, we were served another portion of
atole and bread.

Since the students live in the area of the clinic, they just stayed after we were done. I returned to Chichi to get Aura and then drove her home. Please pray for her grandmother as she has cancer and is not doing very well. We practiced English and K'iche' on our drive home in the rain.
It was a great day and it is such a blessing to see the ABC Children benefit from people in The States who want to help. For those who sponsor children, many prayers of thanks are sent in your behalf.......due to your love and compassion. Gracias a Dios!

ABC Clinic in Mactzul VI

We had another exciting day of an ABC Clinic and what made this even more special it was the first held in Mactzul VI. We had another 100% participation with 33 students! Dr. Stan and I saw patients in different areas while the 3 MET students collected information and then began the consult. Things went very smoothly and everyone was seen.

We found out about a boy who had received his vaccinations and then was unable to walk. We offered to go and visit him in his house but his mother said he was not at home. I will offer again in the future to visit him. To me these opportunites are very special and appreciated by the families.

Donna sang and colored with the children after their consult. This child was eager to show off his coloring.
Gaspar offers his assistance......or maybe he wishes he had a book :)
These two little boys had a consult.......
These MET students were with us today.....Taylor, Kelsey and Colin. They did a great job getting the patients ready and starting the consult. Please check yesterdays blog for clips of Kelsey and Colin playing with the children.

Tomorrow we have clinic in Caris..........another day of adventure!

Message from Allison

This photo is of the students before they left the "safe haven" of Clinica Ezell. This photo was taken before the students knew what adventures and fun were ahead of them. Allison is kneeling on the front, left side.........the following message is from her.

I am a senior exercise science major at Harding University and my minor is in Spanish. I graduate this coming December and plan to attend Physician Assistant graduate school afterwards.

So far I have loved my time in Guatemala. One of my favorite things about the whole experience is actually getting to live with a family. My first night here my mom invited me to us the tuj. I had heard about it but had never seen one. It is pretty much like a sauna that they use to bathe in. Ours is made of adobe bricks and it is large enough to that you can sit down. It is heated with firewood and then they bring hot water in to bathe. My mom told me they usually have three kids in at a time. I decided that the next time they use the tuj I wanted to give it a try.

When I first entered, the heat kind of shocked me. It was difficult to breathe but I got use to it. It was definitely a nice change from the cold we have here. I think my family was excited that I used it because they kept asking afterwards if I liked the tuj.

The next night was another fun one with my family. No one in my family except for my dad had eaten pancakes before so I decided to give them a try. For me, it is difficult to make pancakes back home so I knew that making them here would be an extra challenge. It actually turned out to be a great experience. I made the first few and before I knew it my oldest two sisters who are 13 and 12 were wanting to give it a try. Their pancakes definitely turned out much better than mine. I was flipping my pancakes with a spatula and spoon while they were managing a clean flip with a spoon.

The whole family ended up loving the pancakes, especially my 4 year old sister who ate 4 mini ones. The only surprising thing about the experience was when my mom got out a type of "salsa" to have with her pancakes. It turned out to be ketchup and it was pretty funny to see some of my family dipping their pancakes in it.

Clips from ABC clinic

The clip below is Kelsey playing with the children after the clinic.

The next clip is of Collin playing some form of "monkey in the middle" with the boys after clinic.

ABC Clinic in Mactzul V

This morning I went to Chichi and got the Sizemores and then we drove to Mactzul V for our ABC clinic. We met the 5 students there with Manuel and Tomas. We set up clinic and were ready to start within a few minutes.

It was a great day as 100% of the students showed up. We had two of the brothers from the Church helping Dr. Stan and I with the K'iche'. We had a busy clinic with 72 children. The MET students did very well, pitching in with vital signs and beginning the consults.

Below are a few of the children that came for the clinic.

I had heard that the food was being distributed to the families today so I looked below and a group had gathered around a different building. Sabastian is in the middle of the group with the green HTI shirt on and red ball cap. He helps us a lot in this area and was explaining how the families were to receive their food.
It was a wonderful day as families received the support they need while the children received the medical care that they need. We are happy to be a small part of this process.......and again, it is all for the Glory of God.

Chinique.........conclusion

This was the area set up for the dentists. Stephanie is working as a dental assistant and cleaning instruments for the next patients.

While patients were being treated behind closed doors or behind curtains the children were having fun painting, coloring and singing songs about Jesus and God. Barbara made a new friend for the day!

Later, Barbara and Irene directed a skit about Noah and the ark. They picked volunteers from the audience to help with the roles.....and what a wonderful job they did!

They all passed into the ark when it was time for the heavy rains.

Barbara and Irene were specific when they taught the children the purpose of the rainbow.....the rainbow is a sign of God's promise and that He keeps His promises today.

Later in the afternoon, we had some heavy rain and also some hail ....... and guess what??? There was a rainbow to reinforce the teaching of the day!

Below is a photo of Dr. Richard Rhinebolt and his wife Karen with Dr. Stan and Donna Sizemore. The Rhinebolts were missionaries for many years here in Guatemala as were the Sizemores. I do not want to state the years because I am not sure.....but I know they had a powerful and positive impact for the cause of Christ.

I know that we want to continue to grow this work and help strengthen the Church in any area that we can. Our days are spent out in the communities ministering to the people not only physically but also spiritually........while supporting the local Churches in their ministries.

Monday in Chinique......beginning......

We had our first clinic in Chinique yesterday, which was Monday. I am behind in my blogging due to heavy rains and problems with the internet service. A new church has recently been established in this area and is helped very much by our brothers from Choacaman IV. They offered their support and spent the day with us in Chinique.

We were all ready for a day of adventure as we left Clinica Caris. The Sizemore family, Juan, Gaspar, Maury and I traveled with the group from Texas to Chinique. Pat Hile heads this group and what a group he has! It was good to recognize people from last year. We set up clinic behind a house and they used a loud speaker system to announce the clinic. We had three stations for medical consults, an area for the dentists, a check in area and a pharmacy set up with eye glasses.

This group counted, bag medicines and prepared for the children's program that took place in the afternoon.


Diana is a nurse and she is checking people in before their consult. She checked their blood pressure, pulse, weight, temperature and blood sugar if needed.
This is Marylou who is also checking patients before their consult. These ladies kept the flow of patients moving before they were seen by a physician.
This is the pharmacy area. James, in the back ground, has made many trips to Guatemala and is a pro at keeping the pharmacy organized and preparing medicines for the patients. Laura, Frank Judy, and Juan were also helping out.
Andrea is helping the children as they use water colors to paint pictures.

There are more photos on the next blog. It was a great day with a total of 60 medical patients and 32 dental patients. Most of the time, we are only able to pull teeth out in the field but this group was able to do fillings. What a wonderful opportunity it is to be able to save teeth when there is that possibility. More to follow on this day.............

Day for rest

This morning the sun was bright and the skies were blue......perfect day for laundry!

Last night I received an email from a friend in Antigua. I have mentioned Mary a few times since she fell in Panajachel and broke her back. Please pray for Mary as she is struggling with medicine and getting back to her energetic self.

The plans are made for tomorrow....and what a day it will be!! Usually, Monday is our day off but we wanted the opportunity to work with Pat Hile and the group he has down here for a week. We will all meet at Clinica Carris at 0730 and plan on leaving at 0745. We will be having a new clinic in Chinique where a new Church was recently started! When I spoke to Pat, he was very pleased that the Sizemores will be able to help in this clinic also! Nothing can be more exciting than this!

Good night! I will keep you posted.............

Gaspar has patients in Chuchipaca!!!

Today was an exciting day for many different reasons!

First, I could not wait to tell everyone that someone has already volunteered to help with Baby Rosa Carina's surgery. What a blessing that is!

I started my morning by having breakfast with the Sizemores, which I enjoyed. We had coffee and banana pancakes. Thank you :)

Then we all headed out of Chichi to Chuchipaca........we arrived without any problems and there were patients waiting for Gaspar! I was so excited for him and he was ready! We had carried the equipment for months with no one having the interest in having their teeth cleaned. Then, in one day, he had 14 patients! He worked very hard all day and Kelsey assisted him the whole time. Thank you, Kelsey!

Today Allison and Collin got to try their skill at weighing a baby. As you can tell, the mother is really enjoying the process.
Allison gets more practice with blood pressures as Taylor volunteers his arm.
We had 19 medical patients and during the day, Donna and Josua read with the kids a book about health practices. Then the children were able to color their book and take it home with them. We had some good readers today.
I really believe that Michael is creating his second career as a marble shooter. You guys better watch him when he returns to The States.

We finished clinic about 3pm and then headed back home. The Sizemores headed to Panajachel to enjoy the lake. We pray that they have safe travels and their plan is to return to Chichi sometime tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a day to sleep a little and do laundry........I will look for those blue skies in the morning!

Clinic in Choacaman IV

We set out this morning for Choacaman IV and arrived with no problems. The weather was good and the skies were blue. There is a seminar taking place for two days in Paxot II so our numbers were down in the clinics. The plan was for us to see our patients and then go to Paxot for lunch.

We had nine patients today. Dr. Stan did all of the work while the rest of us provided the support that he needed :) This photo is of Joshua weighing a small baby with Donna, Sarah and Juan making sure it is being done correctly. The baby had gained a little weight and is doing well.
We took two students, Michael and Taylor with us today. This photo is of Michael and Joshua playing marbles with the guys. It went something like, if you hit another marble you get two points, if you hit the cat you get five...........just joking. The cat should be smart enough not to walk across the playing field :)
On a very serious note, I finally had a chance to find out more about Marta. Her grandfather brought her to the clinic several months ago and we referred her to the hospital. I have always been concerned about her but could never get any information when I asked. Today when I asked again, her grandfather told me that she has cancer and is very sick. I asked him to please bring me the information they received from the hospital because we may be able to help them. He said that he will, so I hope he does.

We eventually made it to Paxot II. We were served a late lunch of pepian chicken, rice, tamalitos and Coke.

Here Sarah tries her hand at making tortillas. Kelsey and Michael are in the back also helping out.
Kemmel introduced us to these girls today. He said last year they both had appendicitis' just a few weeks apart. They both had surgery and did very well.
We have already had some response for helping babies with cleft lips and palates. I will need to be getting more baskets to be ready when another child is brought to clinic. If you are interested in helping with the cost of these, please email Jane. Her photo and email is on the right side of the blog. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and comments. We really appreciate them!

Blog from Taylor

This is a photo of Taylor with Rosa Carina, who has a cleft palate.
I spent the day at Clinica Caris. We did not have too many patients but I had a pretty special patient. Rosa Carina is a 5-month old with a cleft palate. Her father had heard yesterday that Health Talents offers plastic surgeries of this kind. Although they live far away from Lemoa, they really wanted their baby to be seen. Rosa was a happy baby, until Sheri wanted to look in her mouth. Sheri had some special bottles that had been donated but they were at her house. We ran to her house and brought them back to the family. They were really grateful. Hopefully, Rosa will be scheduled for surgery in August. The family is to return on Monday for a consult with Josefina and more tests to confirm surgery.

Blog from Kelsey

This photo is of Kelsey with the patient Carlos and his dad.
The first patient we saw today was a wee-little-fellow--Carlos, 5 years old--who had come in with his dad for a check-up. Apparently, he had pneumonia pretty bad not too long ago. Sheri told me that she was thrilled to see him as she had gone to visit Carlos two times but to no avail. It seems like sending/ referring patients to the hospital here is about like sending them to LBJ. You hope that they can help but the odds are fairly good that perhaps they can't. One problem for the people here (I've noticed), is that they are so far from the hospital and care. The roads are nuts and no one has a car. This morning for instance we gave a guy a ride to Chichi from our village; he's going grocery shopping for my "mom" who is still recovering from a miscarriage. We gave him a ride down but I'll bet anything he'll be walking back up those crazy-roller-coaster roads with the groceries on his back, tied to his head. What an ordeal for groceries! Much less for Advil or a full day in a waiting room. I am always amazed here! And Gracias a Dios Carlitos esta' mejor! :)

Blessings and new opportunities

We all met at Clinica Caris this morning before separating into different groups. We had a small clinic today at Caris.......but small does not mean it was without blessings and opportunities!

Maudy came to tell me right away that Carlos and his dad were waiting out front. I was so excited! If you have had the opportunity to follow Carlos, he is the young boy that we sent to the hospital and he had over 1000cc drained from his left lung! This is a photo of Carlos when he was in the hospital and in the next blog written by Kelsey, I will post a new photo of him and his dad.

What a blessing it was to see him walking and breathing without any problems. He had been in the hospital for almost a month before he was able to go home. He was one very sick child and I am so glad he did well. Gracias a Dios!

Our new opportunity to serve came when a mother and father brought their 5 month daughter, Rosa Carina, for a consult. I will also show this story on another blog written by Taylor. Rosa has a cleft palate and her family some how heard about Health Talents while they were walking around Chichi yesterday. Yes, God moves in mysterious ways :)

On the side of my blog, you will see a photo of Jane and a small message about Evelyn's Baskets of Love and Life. I had a basket in my house, so Taylor and I drove back to Santa Cruz to get it. I presented the basket to this family, showed them the bottles and other things in the basket and asked them to return to the clinic on Monday to see Josefina. We will try and get everything done so this baby can have surgery in August when the team comes down. This baby is so beautiful and precious and now she has the possibility of having surgery!

Many events are taking place in the next few days. The students headed to Chichi to meet with Rick, who is down for a few days. The Sizemores will have clinic with us tomorrow again and tomorrow the meeting starts with Pat Hile in Paxot II. We continue to pray for more opportunities and again............all for the Glory of God!

Post from Taylor

This was a post written for yesterday, Wednesday.

Today was our first day here in the Quiche area. The climate here is a pleasant change from the heat of the coast. I worked with Marcos Lux, the dentist here, today. I pulled a total of 7 teeth, one of which was a wisdom tooth. Marcos is a good teacher and explained every step. The only problem I had today was not being able to speak K'iche'. I need to get started on learning that.........

Clinic in Chuguexa

We all met at Clinica Caris this morning and then went to two different areas. Josefina and her group, the Sizemores and two students headed to La Palma. I went to Chuguexa with Marcos, our guys, Sarah and three students. We had a good clinic of 13 medical patients and 8 dental patients.

We stopped on the way to buy our lunch which consisted of bean and cheese sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches. This group had never had them before so as always, there is a new adventure every day! I also bought a new phone since mine fell in a mud puddle the other day.....just a phone, nothing spectacular. I do not need any more toys right now.

Today the three students with us were Collin from Oklahoma Christian University, Michael from Harding University and Taylor also from Harding University. Collin and Taylor are majoring in BioChem and Michael's major is Biology.

This photo is of Sarah and a family of seven, of which six had a consult. They came to the clinic last month and are doing better.

When we returned to Lemoa we could see a lot of lightening in the distance. I do not see a lot of lightening like we saw today. This was unusual.

When we arrived at Clinica Carris, Gaspar had talked to his his wife and she was being discharged from the hospital. He asked me if I would mind driving them home........I would love to! So we drove to a hospital in Santa Cruz and as we entered the hospital, the sidewalk was covered in hail!! I have only seen it once before here and it was just a few pieces but this had accumulated on the sidewalk! I thought maybe the lightening and hail were related.......

It was good to see Juana, Gaspar's wife and I could tell she was really hurting. I tried to drive as careful as I could but a comfortable ride here in Guatemala is almost impossible. I got them home safe and then helped her walk the rest of the way to her house. She is a very sweet lady and very kind.

It has been a long day but a good one. Tomorrow we will have two clinics.....another day and another adventure!

Clinic in Xepocol with the Sizemore family

Today was a great day in Xepocol! We had clinic for the ABC children and were also able to see a few other patients. There were 34 medical patients and 26 dental patients for Marcos and Aura.

This is the Sizemore family from Kentucky..........Donna is a nurse, Dr. Stan is a family practice physician, Sarah will complete her nursing studies soon and Joshua is finishing high school and has sooooo many opportunities before him!

If you ever get a chance to meet Donna and Stan, please ask them to sing in K'iche'!

After some of the patients watched me take a photo of the Sizemores, they also wanted theirs taken so we borrowed the photo bench! :)
Dr. Stan and I both saw patients to move things along smoothly. Gaspar was not able to help us today but his uncle helped us translate. Please remember Gaspar and his family in your prayers.
These clinics are specifically for the ABC Children that are sponsored by volunteers in the States. For $30 a month the child receives dental and medical care, clothing for school, food and other opportunities that most children here do not have. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please let me know.

Joshua shot a few photos for me and I appreciate it.

After clinic, I took everyone home and then returned to Chichi. I stopped and grabbed the Sizemores and we went grocery shopping and driving around Chichi a little. They are settling in and doing well.

We saw the students in the road briefly this morning as they were headed out of town. Tomorrow the new group of five will meet us at Clinica Carris and we will all be on the road for another adventure! Please continue your thoughts and prayers that we have safe travels and that we will have many opportunities to share the love of Jesus.

The Sizemores have arrived!

This morning I went to the clinic real fast and saw the students one more time. Then I was on the road headed for The City. The drive was good without any problems. I stopped by the office and met Kemmel.

Kemmel and I went to get my passport. He was kind enough to take it the other day for a stamp and I just needed to to pick it up today. We then enjoyed a burger at Wendy's before we headed to the airport.

The Sizemores arrived without any problems! Gracias a Dios! They will be here for about 2 weeks with us and we will enjoy having them.......and to make things even better, they brought me some DDP (diet dr. pepper).......you know that scored some points with me!! Thank you!!

Tomorrow is an early morning................I will keep you posted.......

Day of Catch Up

Today was a day to get caught up on things. I went early this morning to the clinic to do laundry. I was excited to see blue in the skies and not heavy rains. While I did laundry, I also unloaded and cleaned the truck and studied some K'iche'. Before too long, the children in the neighborhood spotted me and my day of peacefulness had come to an end :) Then the rains began.........but at least I had clean/ damp laundry.

I got photos made for Aaron to share with the family he has lived with. I hope he does not mind me sharing two of these. The photo below is the typical Guatemalan photo. Usually, even when people ask for their photo to be taken, as soon as the camera is pointed the smiles and laughing abruptly stop. I am not sure what happens mentally, other than thinking, "Why should I smile at that box?" This is a photo of Aaron, Manuel and Juana.....the family he lived with while he was in the highlands.

Now.......Aaron brings out the best in Juana! He had told me that he had been practicing karate moves with her...............and I have never seen this grin before! Way to go Aaron!
Home to clean a little and then walk to worship.........we did not have any electricity for several hours but finally it returned.

In the morning I will go to the clinic to drop these photos off and then I will drive to The City and meet Kemmel at the office. We will get my passport and then meet the Sizemores at the airport. They will return with me to Chichi and help with our clinics for the next few weeks. I look forward to meeting them..............more later.