Be still and know that I am God

Kemmel called me this morning and told me how bad some of the roads were and the destruction that had been done. We are very thankful that the students and the HTI promoters are ok. None of our employees have lost their homes but many around them have.

I met everyone in Chichi this afternoon and was ready to return to Paxot for another week. I hope to continue to learn more K'iche'.

It took a while to make our way out of Chichi due to funerals leaving the cemetery. Later, I heard there had been 30 funerals in Chichi today.

As we are able to get out more into the different communities, we are hearing of more devastation. There have been many deaths and people are missing. Many roads and bridges have been destroyed. The water projects that many communities have been working on have been washed away.

As we left Chichi, we had not gone far before the road was closed. There were close to 40 trucks waiting for the road to reopen. We got out of the trucks and walked down the road to see what was happening. Apparently, there were some people missing and they were searching over the cliff for them in the mud.

This is a photo of the steep embankment.

There were volunteers and firemen looking for those who were missing.

We took the opportunity for a quick photo before the road was reopened......Garrett, Paul, Kate, Andrea, Amy and Michele.

As we finally made our way to Paxot, we were able to see a beautiful sunset.

Psalm 46:10-----Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

There are many questions of why we have these natural disasters. These events are not new but they always hurt and raise questions. God remains in control.............something that we can not forget.

It was after dark when we arrived in Paxot. I walked home in the dark to Gaspar and Martina's. It was so good to get there. When I was near, I started calling their names. They seemed happy to see me and it was good to be there again. I have thought about them alot and they are doing ok with all that has happened. They are lucky to have electricity but do not have water. They have been told it will be 8 months before they have water.

I will keep you posted as I can. We are suppose to go to Patzite tomorrow if the roads are opened. Please pray for those who are hurting.

A break in the rain!

I am laying low today. Not feeling the best but it will pass and I will be fine.

I am catching up on things........reading about the tropical storm Agatha and the mudslides that have happened. I did not know about Agatha. Yesterday, I needed to go to the clinic for a few minutes. There was one small mudslide but when I returned to Chichi, there were 2 more. A lot of damage has been done.

Lisa called me this afternoon and told me about the roads and bridges that have washed away. Many of the roads have been closed and will have to be dug out by hand. They do not have the machines that are needed to do the work.

The interns are fine! Kemmel and Lisa have been in contact with people in Paxot II. Even though we can not get to them due to the road situations, all is fine there and they are with their host families.

My only loss has been my watch. I quickly found out it was not water proof.

I will keep you posted as I find out things.

Xbe Jeb'..........Nim Jeb'.......It is raining......It is raining hard!!

When I came out of my room this morning, the rains were continuing to fall hard as they have all night long. It has been raining since Tuesday when we came back from Xepol. No one was up yet and that is unusual. I went back to my room to get things organized. I will return to Chichi today for the weekend and come back on Tuesday after clinic

Martina was in the kitchen about 0715 and starting to make breakfast. She told me that Gaspar had not gone to Quiche because of the rains. The travel would be difficult nor would there be many people in the market. He has not been able to work in the fields as he usually does so I know he is concerned about the loss of work and also the crops.

When it was time to leave, Angelica told me that she wanted to come with me. I told her that one day I would take her to Chichi. I told Martina that I could make it to the road alone and did not want everyone getting wet. I could tell that she was not sure about it but I assured her I was ok. It was just raining too hard!

Juan and his wife met me with the truck. I offered to take them back home but he said they needed to buy some things at the store and that they would be ok.

When I arrived back to Chichi, it looked like a flooded ghost town! There were very few people in the streets and many stores were closed. I had some photos printed, stopped to get a few things and then I went to park the truck.

I talked to Kemmel and he said there had been 9 inches of rain. I read that the rain is due to tropical storm Agatha.

Since I have been here in Guatemala, I am out of touch with many things. I am not aware of many political activities, I do not know the latest movies, I do not know the top songs anymore, I am not aware of the latest fashions, when many holidays are, I do not know the unemployment rate............I am just out of touch! Being in Paxot for just a few days, I feel even more out of touch............no internet can really change things. It made me think of Tomasita when I told her that Elvis had died and she did not know it.

It is time to get caught up on things and then back to Paxot!

Clinic in Paxot II

As usual, after breakfast the children walked me to the road. It has rained all though the night and has not stopped.

Since we had clinic in Paxot II today, I just walked up to the church. Kate and Garrett were already there. We unloaded the truck as soon as Juan pulled it up. Gaspar walked to clinic today since there were no trucks running from Xepocol.

We had a busy day with 31 medical patients and 4 dental cleaning.

This was one couple that came for a check up. They will have a baby in about a month.

For lunch, we sat inside by the fire and it felt good. It has been cold due to the rain. Juan drove me down to the section where the kids will come and get me.

I stopped by a little store and bought a chocolate bar for hot chocolate. I thought everyone would enjoy it. It was a hit when I got home. Martina had it made in less than 15 minutes. We sat by the fire and listened to the POURING rain.

It is amazing. The children constantly play and take care of each other. The work is never finished. Angelica is always helping make tortillas, salsa or taking care of the two youngest girls. Alejandro is the only boy so he especially enjoys it when Gaspar is home.

There is no refrigerator in the home........all of the food is prepared and then eaten. All the water has to be heated to bathe with. Each night the corn is soaked and then taken to the mill to be ground for tortillas or tamalitos.

This is Martina and Gaspar. We will go back to Quiche at 0500 in the morning to sell in the market. I love to watch them joke around with each other. I do not see that very often here.

Today in clinic we were offering free blood sugar checks but Martina had to take snacks to the school so she would not be able to come to the clinic. Gaspar asked if I could check it at the house.....sure! So I checked Martina's and she was fine. Then she asked Gaspar to let me check his and he acted as if he was scared................she jumped on him and held him down! Then the children got in on the action so everyone was on Gaspar. He did not have a chance!

Franci...................

Alejandro fell asleep at the table again.....................

The smallest girl..................tonight is the first time she has come near me. She has just stared at me since the afternoon I arrived. I should say, she has glared at me. She is not sure of me being here.

Angelica.........

The four girls...........and everyone wanted the cat in the photo.

Everyone was falling asleep after dinner except Martina. Gaspar sat by the fire and his head kept falling over. The two youngest were in their blankets. Alejandro and Angelica were too tired to study English and their heads were on the table. It was 8 PM and everyone went to their rooms to sleep. There is more work to be done tomorrow!

Clinic and then back to Paxot II

We had clinic today in Carris with 21 patients and 3 ladies for pap. We began our clinic with a devotion. Kemmel talked about God having a purpose for us and not being finished with that work yet. After that we went out and prayed with the patients.

For lunch today, Kemmel went and got us chicken..........it was very good. It has continued to rain all morning so we put tables out on the side of the clinic. So beginning on the left......Garrett, Kate, Maury, Lisa, Kemmel, Michelle and Andrea.

After lunch, here was some serious pill bagging going on.........Andrea, Kate and Garrett.

Michelle helped Maury fold sheets. Maury looked taller than usual.

She was standing on one of the stools.

I was sitting next to the fire this morning when Angelica told me that they were getting ready to kill the chicken (mam) and rooster (tuq). She asked me to come and see it. So, as we were standing outside her mother called her. She asked me to hold the chicken so she would see what Martina wanted. Here I am holding a chicken for the first time in m life and knowing it will be my dinner. Here comes Gaspar and he is ready to get started. So, he shows me how to hold the chicken to break the neck. There he went...................snap!! He asked me if I wanted to do the next..........I politely passed.

This morning before I left home, we had pancakes. Wow, they were great. They were small so when Martina asked me if I wanted another one, I took the third because I did not want to be rude. Well, little did I know that that was just the appetizer. Next came the scrambled egg, hot dog, salsa and tortillas. When it was time to leave, the children lined up and walked me to the road.

When I came home this evening, they were waiting to walk me back. They told me that the tuk was ready for me. It looks like an igloo and made out of adobe bricks. They add water and it is like a steam bathe.............and I loved it!! Families usually fire up the tuk every 2 or 3 days. I have decided that I am going to hop from one family to another, depending on their tuk schedule :)

I have told you that the children wrap up in their blankets about 8 pm every night..........they lay down and go to sleep.

Alejandro was being funny tonight. There are two small windows in the kitchen. One is used to toss out water or whatever is considered trash. I did not know there was a window there.
I was talking to Angelica and saw some movement out of the corner of my eye.............


He is a jokester.........................

Tonight for dinner, we had that chicken I was holding this morning. We had soup, vegetables and tamalitos. Martina gave me part of a chicken breast but I just could not eat it since there was already a huge leg in the soup. I am afraid that I offended her but I could not hold any more....whew..................................

In bed at 8 pm...........and yes, it is still raining hard................non-stop since Tuesday.

Home in Paxot II

This morning before I left, we had breakfast together. First, I was given a bowl of Corn Flakes with warm milk and some coffee. I was going to go and get ready for clinic and then Martina gave me a boiled egg, salsa, tortillas and mosh to drink.................wow, I was not expecting this.


When it came time to leave for clinic, everyone walked me to the road. Juan drove the truck down to meet me and then we took off for Xepol. Before we left, Martina gave me her phone number to call her when we arrived after clinic. They do not want me walking to the road alone.


After clinic, I was escorted back to the house. Gaspar was at the house and will be here for a few days. This is Gaspar and Maria, who is a sister to Martina. The corn has been planted but now the land needs to be kept up.

Angelica, Alejandro and Franci..............they are all in the ABC Program.

This is Angelica and Franci...............playing around for the camera. Martina is their mom........the lady sitting to the left of the stove.

Alejandro.............


Gaspar and Angelica.....
When I got home, Angelica, Alejandro, Franci and I practiced some English and K'iche'. It was fun. When we came to a word that there was no translation for in K'iche', they just giggled.

I did remember that "Xbe Jab'" means, "It is raning!" We have used that phrase all day since the rain has continued since we left Xepol. "Nim Jab'", is "It is raining hard" and it sure is!!

When I got home they asked me is I wanted to bathe................that sounded good so they heated a tub of water for me. The hot water felt good since it was cold.

Martina had been to market and she showed me the two chickens and rooster that she bought for dinner tomorrow. They almost got away from her in the kitchen! The children thought that was funny.

Again, the two youngest girls laid down on their blanket near the fire around 8pm. The three other children and I studied our words for the evening. It was a much later night then last night. We went to bed around 10 pm.

It is obvious this family does not have a lot of material wealth but they are rich spiritually and enjoy spending time together. The children do not need expensive toys to play with but are content with simple things and just being together.

More on Domingo and Xepol clinic

I mentioned Domingo on another blog before he had surgery. We first met him in September when Ruth, a nurse, brought him to the clinic in Montellano for help. Trips and calls to The City were made to see if there was anything here that could be done. Unfortunately, the surgery could not be done here.

Many more calls were made and eventually Domingo was accepted at Dell's Children's Hospital in Austin. At first his mother, Catrina, was not going to be able to go to travel with him. Eventually, she was granted a VISA to travel with Domingo.

Domingo is very active child and many people wanted to help him get this surgery done............and it was so..............

The surgery lasted around 13 hours and so far, all is well. He was sedated for a few days, remained on the ventilator and was comfortable. His mother was allowed to stay with him but remembering that she only speaks K'iche', makes communication difficult. There are many prayers being sent for this child............God will answer those prayers.

We had our clinic in Xepol today and two of the students went with us. This is Kate and Garrett with some of the children at clinic. Both students are seniors this year and are pre-med. Kate is studying at Abilene Christian University and Garrett is at David Lipscomb University.

We had 16 patients in Xepol. Kate and Garret worked the pharmacy area and also sat in on consults.

As we were getting ready to pack up, it started raining. Juan came to tell me the rain had started. Xepol is not one place I want to be when it starts raining..........it is a difficult road to get through. As soon as the truck was packed..........down it came! I told everyone to hold on that we were going for it! We made it and we are very thankful for that! God always takes care of us!!

Clinic in Chutzurob and move to Paxot

Marcos, Martina, Gaspar, Juan and I left Chichi at 0730 for our clinic in Chutzurob. It was a good clinic with 28 medical patients and 19 for dental. These were some of the children that were playing around the clinic.

About half way into the day,we stopped for lunch. The sisters of the church had prepared soup and tamalitos for us. During lunch, we found out that Sebastian has either 14 or 15 children. Here he is with some of his grandchildren.

After clinic, I went by my house to get my things to move out to Paxot II for 4 days. I stopped and got Juan's sisters to take with me. When we arrived at Manuel's house, everyone was there. The students, Roger, Kemmel and Lisa were all sitting outside and talking. I was greeted with a cup of coffee and a piece of bread.

The students studied Spanish one week in Xela an after that went to the coast for classes with Roger. Now, it was time to use all that they have been learning.

We all walked to our separate homes.............Manuel and Garret walked me to Martina's and Gaspar's. The family was very excited to show me how they had prepared for me! A piece of wood had been placed on some concrete blocks and then a mattress. This will be my bed. They have some nice heavy blankets for me...........and water by the bed.......I am set.

After everyone left, I was invited to sit in the kitchen by the fire. I was offered coffee and bread. I had not planned on eating dinner but it was being prepared. We had grilled steak, beans and tortillas.

By now it was 8pm and the two little girls had opened a blanket near the fire and had fallen asleep. The other 3 children are in the ABC Program and wanted to show me photos and letters they had received from their sponsors.

There was a constant battle of trying to keep the dogs out of the kitchen. The family would yell at them, toss something at them, wave a stick or something but it did not work.......from time to time the dogs must get something that causes them to continue to return. There are two kittens and they are allowed in the kitchen. They sit up on the stove area and then grab pieces of food as it is tossed down form them.

At 8:30 we say our good nights and go into our separate rooms. It will be an interesting 4 nights here. I know the children want to learn some English and they can help me with K'iche.

Tomorrow, the students go to Xepol with us.

My bags are packed....................

Tomorrow after clinic, I will be going to Paxot to spend a few weeks. I will be living with Gaspar, Martina and their children. I think there are 6-7 children................................I should learn a lot of K'iche', right???

Please pray for a 2 year-old boy named Domingo, who has an encephalocele. He was first brought to Montellano in September in hopes of finding someone who could help him. Through much work, he and his mother were able to travel to the Dell Children's Hospital in Austin. He will have surgery tomorrow morning at 0730. Please pray for him, the medical staff and his family. I will update you as soon as I know how he is doing.

Busy Chuchipaca

The photos are from the other day when Tomasa and I walked around the yard together. We were talking and comparing names on diferent flowers. I asked her if she minded if I hung a hummingbird feeder in the yard. She was excited about that so my parents will bring me one in July when the are here.

Today, Juan and Gapar went to Chuchipaca with me. We had a good day with 23 patients. It is always hard to tell how may patients you will have in Chuchipaca since they arrive at different times. You think you are down to the last few patients and the next time you look around the "magic curtain," there are seven more patients! It is magical!

Things were moving along real well and then I heard a child screaming and a dog barking. I thought it was a child not getting what they wanted. Then Juan came to tell me that a dog had bitten a child. I quickly excuse myself from the curent patient and went to see what had hapened. The girl was about 7 years old and crying very hard.

The dog had obviously won that battle! When I was cleaning the wounds, Juan and I were talking about the dog. The owner was there and said the dog had been vacinated. The mother of the child also said the child had been vacinated. I gave the mother some antibiotics and some Tylenol.

After we were fiished with 23 patients, we did a house-call in the area. I was told that a young man had wanted to come to clinic but had a high fever and could not come. We went to see him and I left some medicine for him. I told his family that we would be in the area again on Tuesday and that if he was not better to call us.

This closes out our week of clinics. We saw some interesting patients and had some exciting events. I hope to get some calls this weekend conerning classes. I know it is slow getting them startd but I think once we get started........................away we will go!

Kemmel and Lisa are down a th e coast with the MET students. They spent last week studying Spanish in Xela. They will live with families in Paxot for about the next month. I will also live with a family in hopes of learing more Kiche'. We will see what happens.

Meet Joel!

This morning Maury, Juan with his wife Aury and I went to Choacaman. We had an unusual clinic today for the area. Usually, half of the patients are diabetics but we only had one diabetic patient come today. If I thought it was because they were so well maintained, I would not feel bad but I am sure it is not for that reason :(

You have met these parents before in two different blogs.......................today, you meet their son, Joel. He is precious and right at two months old. They seem to be a great couple and I think they will make great parents.

After clinic, we stopped by the clinic to load the truck for tomorrow.......................we are ready to hit the road in the morning for Chuchipaca.

Clinic in Lemoa

Lisa and Josefina are at a conference today so I did the clinic in Lemoa. We had 17 patients which makes for a good day.

Marvin Winfredo returned with some labs. His parents want his lip redone. Right now his labs are a little low but we will see what they look like next month.

This is Izabella Maria. She had her lip and palate repaired in 2007 but still has difficulty eating. We will see if anything can be done to help her out. Yes, her mom did want the photo but she gave me that "look"..............oh, well..........

Izabella does not speak very much and I am sure that is for a few different reasons. I finally did get her to smile a little for me.

The week is going quickly...............tomorrow Juan, Maury and I will go to Choacaman.

Holiday, holiday...........always a holiday!!

Manuel and Juan picked me up on their way to get Josefina and Tomas. We made our way to Zacualpa for clinic. We knew that it was a holiday so we probably would not have many patients................but we had to go and see for sure :) If we cancelled clinics on days that had fairs, baptisms, weddings or deaths.........we would almost never leave the house :)

Juan hung out of the truck and got this photo for me. Great shot, Juan!! Welcome to Zacualpa..............Welcome to the fair

We unloaded everything from the truck and carried it in. The building that we have clinic in is large and is in a great location. This photo is taken from the deck. Can you see the Ferris Wheels?? There are two of them. I asked the guys several times if they wanted to go and ride them with me and none of them were interested.

We had a total of seven patients. After all of the patients were seen, we sat and talked for about another hour or maybe two hours and then decided it was time for lunch. The guys were nice and offered to go and buy it for us. One thing about a fair is, there is always a lot of food!! We enjoyed fried chicken, french fries and diet coke.

Josefina and her new friends.

OK............another adventure.........................

Class on water and blood

Today's class was on clean water and information on giving blood. First, we began with a skit about having clean water. It was something that everyone could relate to. There is a lot of illness this time of year when the rain starts. With better education, we will be able to curve the process but it takes time to change things.

Lisa listing the sources of water that we have here in Guatemala. All of them were named. Can you list them? The answers are listed at the bottom.

After the list was made, people ranked them on cleanliness with the pros and cons of each. Students look on and are trying to decide which method is the best for obtaining clean water.

The second class was on giving blood. In the Quiche area, you need to have blood donated for you before you can have an elective surgery. If it is an emergency surgery, they will either charge you for the blood or will pressure you to find people to donate.

Proverbs 3:27, was used when discussing blood donation------"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in our power to act." I think that after the class, people will be more willing to donate blood.

After lunch, Kemmel wanted to demonstrate the smokeless stove. It is amazing how little wood is needed to use this stove and as the name states, there is no smoke. Smoke in many, many kitchens as led to people having chronic lung problems. Within a year, the stove will easily pay for itself. Gaspar cutting wood for the demonstration.

Kemmel looking in as they get the fire started.

When we all went to the stove area, this guy saw us and jumped on the opportunity to make a sale. He had been out in the road selling to cars of people as the traffic had to stop for the road construction. He sold several bags of candy and then wanted to learn more about what we had at the clinic. Gaspar is showing him the posters of the stoves and of the water filters.

Sources of water: wells, ponds, springs, rain and rivers

How long should we be thankful?

This morning I went to worship in Quiche at the early morning service. It had been several weeks since I was there so it was time I went to visit again.

The gentleman bringing the lesson talked from Luke, chapter 15, about the parable of the lost son. Eventually, the son realized what he had done and returned home to his father. Points were made that the boy was young and probably not very experienced with worldly matters. His father had given him everything and he was not very thankful.

Of course, I always have my own thoughts and for some reason they never stop the sermon and ask me what my thoughts are :)

How many times are we thankful for something if we have never had to go without it? If the father always gave his son what he wanted and never had to go without, how likely is it that he would be thankful?

Is a healthy person truly thankful for his health? After he or she is stricken with an illness, do they then value health differently?

Who appreciates their job more? Someone who has always had their job or someone who has struggled with unemployment, unsure of how they were going to feed their family and now has received the first pay check? Will this same person be as thankful in a year or will they grow accustom to having it? After we are blessed with something...........for how long should we continue to be thankful for it?

When areas go through a drought and crops are damaged, people pray fervently for rain. Then the rain comes and we are very, very thankful..........then as time goes on, we grow accustom to it and forget to be thankful again.

I think the young son had to find out what life was like without the blessings before he really appreciated what he had. He had grown accustomed to what had been given to him.

At any moment, our blessings can be removed. We can purposefully walk away from our blessings as this son did in Luke or life events may cause the lost. We could easily lose a family member or close friend. A phone call could bring the news of a company closing or other tragic news. Maybe we should be more thankful for our blessings than we ever have been...........we may not have them tomorrow.

Let it rain..................

Today, Kemmel was kind enough to let me take the day off. I had worked a few Mondays so this will give me a day to get some things done.

I went to have some routine labs drawn today....................in and out of the office in 15 minutes, with NO appointment! Can you believe that? No messing with insurance, paper work or HIPPA. I even received a discount because they know Lisa! I paid in cash for simplicity.........something good can be said about this system. The other day when I went for my second vaccine, I was finished in 10 minutes! The visit to the health dept. is free :)

I went and had a salad for lunch. I will be living with a family in a few weeks during the MET program and hopefully, will be getting a jump on my K'iche'. I took a book with me to lunch and studied. The guys in the restaurant are nice and do not mind me hanging out for awhile.

Finally, I have a savings account with one of the local banks here. I am excited because there is no service charge here for using the ATM. Can you believe that? No charge to get your own money?? Now, that is a new idea!

Gaspar told me a few days ago that it would rain today....................and it sure is raining. But I am not complaining! It drowns out the dogs, firecrackers, the local high school band and the guys next door playing music......................let it rain!!

Clinic in Chuchuca

Yesterday, Maury teased me about needing to be ready at 0500 to leave for Chuchuca. We are having a little competition going to see who can catch each other off guard......we are tied right now, but I will get ahead :)

Manuel, Gaspar and Maury picked me up on the road at 0700 and then we stopped to get Josefina in Quiche. As we passed through Lemoa, the trees serving as speed bumps were tore out of the blocks of cement holding them down. I think Lemoa and the bus drivers are also playing a little game as Maury and I are. Right now, the bus drivers are up by one :(

This photo was taken in Chuchuca, one of the last times we were there. The rainy season has not started strong yet so the land is very dry there. But in time, it will be this green again.

We saw 15 medical patients and Gaspar had 9 dental cleaning.

We will return again next month and hopefully see even more patients.

As we were packing the truck this afternoon, Agostin was telling us about some baptisms in the area. There was a small church that was started with only two members and recently some people were baptized at 1:00 in the morning. Agostin said, "Remember the jailer that was baptized?" Yes, that is a great event in The Bible. It was so important that they did not want to wait. Anyway...........now this congregation has over 20 members! I look forward to hearing more about it when we return next month.

How do you answer the questions?

Today was our regular clinic in Lemoa. We had 25 medical patients and 7 for dental cleaning.

We started out the day with our usual devotional. Marcos talked about the account in Mark when Jesus asked the disciples who people thought he was. Then Christ made the question more personal and asked, "But what about you?" "Who do you say I am?"

We may answer a question one way but when a question is asked in a direct manner, we usually respond differently. I was reminded of the book that we studied for a few weeks. I referenced it a few times in other blogs about the questions it asks and sometimes those questions can be hard to answer.......but I think they are good questions. If we do not take actions to strengthen our faith, it will not grow. How can we continue to live, thinking that Christianity is accomplished by attending worship one hour a week?

The New Testament Christians seemed to think there was more to it than that. Yes, the Church did meet on "the first day of the week" but they also met daily. Christ and his teachings changed their life dramatically. Some gave up everything, not turning back. The Church in Laodicea was warned about being lukewarm. Is this something that we can fall into and yet not know it?

So, who do we say Christ is? Is your walk with Christ stronger each day or has it become lukewarm? Is your life different than others in the world? I don't mean only believing in God because even Satan believes in God. What if Christ returned before tomorrow? Would you be ready? Again, not easy questions to answer but we were never promised that being a Christian would be easy.

One dental patient brought her baby to clinic today. Everyone was given a turn to spend time the baby and she did not mind. From arm to arm she went, without crying. Juan and his new friend in the pharmacy.

I think that Kemmel made her a computer-techie! She will apply for a job with us one day :)

Was that Chuguexa???

Today the guys and I went to Chuguexa. We were excited to see patients waiting! This is one of the clinics that fluctuate in patient numbers. We are trying to grow this clinic and there are many patients in this area that are diabetic.

We are wanting to start some diabetic classes. I gave them some dates that they can chose from and I look forward to hearing from them.

The first three patients took quite a while. Their bloodsugars were elevated and I was showing them the new diabetic teaching sheet. After the third patient, Gaspar said, "Sheri, we have 22 patients." "Great!!!" was my response. We finished with 23 or 25 patients and all went well.

After the consult, one of the church members prayed with each patient. That helped us move things along and kept everyone involved.

It was a great day and as I said, I look forward to hearing from them on the diabetic classes.

Meet my new friend Marta

We had a small clinic today. When we arrived there were no patients waiting. We hoisted up the speaker and announced the clinic. We were talking about mounting the speaker on the truck and driving through the community and then we were told it would not do any good. There was a commnity meeting and that is where everyone was. We were not excited about that :(

This is Tomas who helps us with the clinic in Mactzul I. He asked if I would take a photo of him in his HTI shirt. I asked him if he wanted the photo taken outside and he quickly turned that down. He told me he wanted it next to this blanket that was hanging.

I want to introduce you to Marta. She is a young girl that lives near Mactzul I and we had a lot of fun today. She can hear but she can not talk very well. Juan, Maury and I were talking with her and helping her say some words. She is very bright and caught on quick but needs someone to spend a lot of time with her. Within a few minutes, she was counting to 10 but had a hard time with pronunciation..................................kind of like my K'iche'!

I wanted to give you an update on the Lemoa tumulos...................the tree that was placed near the lake to slow down the buses and then was removed......well, it has been placed back in the road with several pieces and concrete around them. I guess they feel that this may prevent the bus drivers from moving them again...........I think not!

Meet Sergio and Marvin

Yesterday, I was invited to Xepocol to a special program they were having for Mother's Day. Now, I am not a mother but I have three ABC children.

This is Sandra, as she pins a heart on my blouse. I have heard that she is a great student and wants to continue her education. That's my girl!!! I will get photos of Emilo and Estaban so you will know them too.

Today we had clinic in Lemoa and two babies came that need surgery.

This is Sergio who needs his lip and palate repaired. He is old enough but needs to weigh a few more pounds and his blood counts are too low. We will see what happens between now and August.

This is Marvin, who had his lip repaired. We think that a smoother job can be done so we will see what the answer is on that. If not, then he will wait for the clinic in February to have his palate repaired.

Tomorrow we are headed to Mactzul I. Hopefully, we will have a ton of patients!! I am ready!