Clinic in La Estancia.........eventually!

This morning, I started out going to La Estancia with Maury and Tomas. Manuel, Kemmel and several other guys were going to a community about 4 hours away......and Lisa headed to Paxot II with her group.

Maury and I stopped at the clinic to get some papers that Josefina needed. It starts out to be an easy story and then gets more involved. We needed to wait at the clinic until the office opened in The City. Maury eventually talked to three different people to get the information that she needed.

We go to the hospital to just turn in the papers but are told we need to wait in a line........a very long line. So we wait and then realize she needs some photo copies. The hospital does not have a photocopier so we need to walk about 5 blocks to a store that is opened.

The exciting part about the walk is that it is through what is now the fair grounds of Santa Cruz. It is a shortcut through a field. Yesterday this place was crowded and the noise was deafening. Now it is just us, the workers of the carnival, children looking for money that people lost while on the rides and the large amount of trash that has no yet been collected. With copies in hand, we return to the hospital.

Maury has no idea how much longer she will have to wait so I go on to La Estancia with Tomas.

I ask Tomas how his son is that is studying Bible in The City. He tells me, with a enormous grin, that he is doing well and that he is currently in San Salvador working on a project. I remembered when everyone was a little nervous because his son did not want to go to school nor did he know what he wanted to do. Tomas said to me today, "I was so afraid of losing my son......not studying or having a purpose.......not going to church anymore.......but he made the right decisions......thanks to God." What a thankful parent he is!

We eventually had 8 patients in La Estancia. One mother brought her child back. I thought maybe the medicine had not helped but she assured it had. This time the child was covered with an "allergy".....and it looks suspicious. It takes a while to get all of the information but I find that the father had it first, now the child has it and the grandparents had it last month. I tell her about the treatment and I can tell she is not excited. I realize it is a lot of work but the family will not get well if it is not done.

Back home for the evening..........clinic tomorrow in Lemoa with Lisa........