Clinic in Mactzul VI

We were up early this morning but not as early as Alejandro. With Gaspar in Quiche, he is now the "man" of the house at eleven years old. He and one other person walked to a stream to collect water for the day.

Today we had clinic in Mactzul VI. We had 17 medical patients and 15 dental patients.

Some of the students stayed in clinic with us and some went with Kemmel for the day. The day passed quickly and then it was time to return to Paxot. The last couple of days have been nice but cool. There has been no rain and the land is starting to dry.

Since I have been here in Paxot, I have thought a lot of hospitality. Well, really I have thought about it a lot since I have been here in Guatemala. The families here are always opening their homes to have lunch for people that come and do clinics. As we have groups of people come to visit, they are constantly surprised by the hospitality displayed.

It is so foreign to what we are use to in The States. At home we want things to be in perfect order, we want time to prepare and everything has to match. It is not that way here and people seem to enjoy having other people in their home more.

I Peter 4:9----Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

I did not know Martina or Gaspar before I moved in for almost 5 weeks. They have changed one room for me to live in and have made me a bed. They have changed their regular routine for me and have welcomed me. The children walk me to the road every morning, Angelica offers me a warm bowl of water to wash my hands before every meal and I am always served first. They have trusted me to be in their home.

The kitchen it the gathering place of the house. As soon as I come home in the afternoon, I am offered bread with coffee and a chair by the fire. We sit here until it is time for bed. Sometimes the radio is on and they also have a small tv that may get one channel........with lots of snow :)

One of the cats is usually close to the fire also. The chair to the left is the one that Martina cooks from. The yellow strip attracts flies. Sometimes a cat will climb up the pole in the back and sit in the attic while watching the events in the kitchen. The dogs are not allowed in the kitchen but that does not mean that they do not try.

I will be the first to say that the animals are not treated well but they usually do not retaliate. They may be pushed off a chair, kicked out of a bed or who knows what................but they do not bite or claw back.

This is the storage area of the kitchen. There are no built in cabinets or refrigerator. There is no sink or dishwasher. There is one small window that garbage is tossed out of and it lands behind the house.

Alejandro practicing some of his K'iche' with me.

Martina preparing dinner for us. She always seems very content but works hard. She is patient with the children and does not yell at them. They listen to her and the older ones help care for the younger ones.

Gasper came home early from Quiche because he heard there was going to be a protest there tomorrow. There has been a few in the last month so we will see what happens.