ABC Clinic in Xepocol

We all ended up at Xepocol this morning for the ABC Clinic and as you know, I love to see patients waiting for us as we enter. We had a busy day, so I was only able to get a couple of photos.

This is Martina, Haleigh, Ruben, Meredith, Amber and Abbey before the clinic started.

We saw 28 ABC patients, 27 non-ABC patients and 10 dental patients.

Haleigh and Ruben talk to a patient with the help of a K'iche' translator.

As always, the lunch was wonderful. We had fried chicken, salad, rice and tortillas.

After lunch, we saw a few more patients.

Marcos brought be a Diet Coke that he found in Honduras........ it is in a glass bottle. Someone asked me if I was going to drink it and I said, "No! This is too special to drink!"

Tomorrow is another day, another adventure but only in a different place. I will let you know what happens :)

Sunday in Santa Cruz

This morning I took a van to Santa Cruz for worship. There is a new gentleman that has been preaching and I enjoy him. He is easy to understand, which is important for me and he is easy to follow. He is very calm and I appreciate this style of teaching.

He read from Matthew 14, where Peter walked out on the water to meet Christ. When he took his focus off of Christ, he began to fall. I have often wondered what Peter said or did when he entered the boat. Of course, this is not pertinent to the story or it would have been included but it is just a thought.

Did Peter reenter the boat so thankful that Jesus reached for him that he did not think of anything else? Did he realize his failure, sit with his head in his hands and just cry? Did he feel he had to make excuses to his friends on why he began to sink................just some thoughts.

I went to the hospital to visit Antonia again. She told me that she is going to have surgery on Tuesday and they will remove her gall bladder. She told me that she felt some better but she remained jaundice. I will visit her again when I am able.

Kemmel worked on my computer this afternoon and I really appreciate it! Internet Explorer 9 is not compatible with Facebook and was causing some problems. He also reloaded ITunes so I can have some movies. Thanks, Kemmel! Lisa showed me her garden and herbs. They are growing and she will be able to use them soon :)

Tomorrow, I will work in Lemoa in the pharmacy. It should be a fun day!

Diabetic Class in Chuchipaca

We all planned on meeting at that gas station this morning at 0800. When I arrived at Kemmel and Lisa's, I asked where the projector was for class. Kemmel have me a puzzled look and then thought it might be at the office. When we arrived at the office and were looking, it hit me!! "Kemmel, I have made a big mistake! I bet it is behind the water filters at my house!" So, I ran back to the house and then met up with people at the gas station. Sorry, Kemmel!

Some people went to Lemoa for procedure day and three students went with me to Chuchipaca.

This was our last diabetic class and Gaspar again, would translate into K'iche'.

We only had 13 students but there was good participation. We have learned a lot from the classes and today was the same. There are always areas to improve.

This is Haleigh, Zach and Merideth in Chuchipaca after class.

We returned to Chichi after the class and waited for the group to finish their clinic. We went to the internet for awhile and then tried fruit dipped in chocolate. I had black berries in chocolate and it was good.

Then we met everyone at San Juan's for lunch.

It was a good day and tomorrow will be a day of rest...........................

Ruben stopped in Chichi so Lisa and I could hop in the truck. We stopped for Maury and Gaspar and then we made our way to Paxot II. It was an ABC Clinic so we expected to see a lot of patients.

When we arrived in Paxot II, there were some patients waiting on the porch for us. We only had a few things to set up and then we were ready to begin clinic.

Lisa introduced Ruben since this was his first time to this area. He is giving me one of those, "I will get you, Sheri." looks. I better watch my back :)

The MET Students were with us today. They have had some struggles with not feeling their best but I think they are taking steps in the right direction..........slow and easy.

This is Abbey, taking a patient's blood pressure.

Zach getting the height on a student and her temperature.

Molly helped Gaspar in the pharmacy today with the medicine.

We saw 48 ABC Children and 8 regular patients.

Tomorrow, we will have a pap clinic in Lemoa and a Diabetic Class in Chuchipaca. It should be another adventure!

Psalms 121

Psalms 121 is a well known psalm. It was one of those that people sang as they journeyed to different feasts, as the annual feast. They sang it to the same God that we serve today. Our God has not changed at all........every word that they said can be said today, with the same confidence and trust.

I lift up my eyes to the hills------

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of the heavens and earth.

He will not let your foot slip----

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-----

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day;

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm----

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

In many ways we are like the children of Israel. This world is not our home. We are also on a journey and we need God's comforting hand with us every step of the way. When we have that, what more do we need?

Clinic and MET begins in the highlands!!

This morning, the guys and I headed to Chutzurob. There were patients waiting and I always love to see that. We prayed with the patients and began clinic.

We had a large variety of problems today. One lady's eye was very red and swollen. She said she has had this problem for four months. She has a ulceration on her cornea so we sent her to an eye specialist.

One young boy had pneumonia and he was stuggling to breath. He has had some fever for a few days so we gave him some Tylenol and a few breathing treatments. At first he didn't want to have anything to do with the mask but as it helped him, he fell asleep.

One lady had a huge hernia and we referred her to the hopsital in Santa Cruz.

So, it was a day of many different things and we finished with seeing 18 patients.

After we packed the truck, we drove to Paxot II to meet the MET Students who had traveled up from the coast. They will be with us for about 2.5 weeks.

We enjoyed a lunch of grilled steak, avocado and tamalitos. Did I say avocado????? It was wonderful!

These are the students before they traveled to their new home. They will live with a family and enjoy the Mayan life.

After we finished eating, some of us jumped in the back of a truck to return where we had to leave our truck. There were about 15 us in the truck, mostly children.

I was holding on between Kemmel and Juan and trying to take photos at the same time.

I think I have THE FIRST Mayan smile on camera!! This is Ruben and Manuel's dad. I know that Reuben does not count because he is from Nicaragua but look at Manuel's dad!!

It was a fun day! We had a good clinic and will continue to pray for the patients. The students are safe............what more could one ask for?????

I will continue to keep you posted on their / adventures!

Elmer is healing well...........

This afternoon I went to the Santa Elena Hospital to see how Elmer was doing. He was laying on his stomach and was content. They had taken him to the operating room on Friday evening to clean his burns. His dressings were clean and he looked good. I took him some crayons and some paper to color on.......and some chocolate :)

As I was talking to his mom, another lady came and waited at the foot of the bed. I thought she was part of the family but she was not. She remembered me from when I have worshiped with the Santa Cruz congregation in the afternoon. She asked me to visit her family too.

I said my good-byes to Elmer and his mom and then went next door. These rooms are full during visiting times, which during the week is only 1 hour a day. I tried to gently get to this lady's bed.

This lady introduces me to Antonia, who is her family member. I never heard the exact connection. Anyway, she is needing to go to the city for an exam but does not have the money for it. She thin and jaundice. So, they ask me to pray and we do.

There are so many people in need.....no matter where you turn. The hospitals are full and there are many people who never make it to the hospital. I am so thankful that Elmer's mom was strong enough to let us take them to the hospital on Saturday.

Let's continue to pray for those in need.

Tomorrow, the MET Students will be here! All of us will meet in Paxot II after clinic and then take them to their Mayan homes!!

As usual, we are headed in different directions.

Lisa and Kemmel are headed to the coast to meet with the MET Students. On Tuesday, they will return with 6 of the students and they will live in Paxot II. The students are part of the Medical Evangelism Training Program. Most are students in the medical/ nursing field and are seeing if this is something that they might want to do someday....................they could follow in the footsteps of our Lisa and Kemmel!!

It is an exciting time. They will live with families and work each day with us in clinics. Half-way through the program, these students will return to the coast and the the other half will come up here to the highlands for the remaining time of the program. The families in Paxot also enjoy time with the students and close bonds are formed.

Today, Ruben went with Juan and I to Chuchipaca. We saw 21 patients. While Ruben was seeing patients, I worked with Cesi. This was a good opportunity to teach her how to take temperatures, the weight and pulse of the patients.


Toward the end of clinic, Juan told us about a young boy that had been burned in his home on Monday. The family said they could not bring him to the clinic and asked that we go to the home.

When we arrived, the family greeted us outside and it was obvious that one of the family members was drinking. We were invited inside where the young boy was. His legs and back were totally covered in 2-3 degree burns.

We began talking with the mother and then the man that had been drinking entered the room and did not want to hear any of it. The mother agreed that the boy needs care but she does not have any money. We offered to take her to Santa Elena in Santa Cruz, the National Hospital and this even disturbs the man more. I thought it was best that we went to eat, let them deal with their family issues and we would return if the mother wanted to go.

As we finished lunch, we got the call that they would meet us on the road. Ruben and I took the mother and the child to the hospital and got him admitted. As we were driving, the mother told us that the boy had turned away from a fire, lost his balance and had fallen backwards into a boiling pot of tamalitos...................I can not imagine that pain! They then took him somewhere for some type of injection. I was just praying that the hospital would take good care of him.

When we arrived at the hospital, they placed Elmer on a bed, on his stomach and asked his mother a lot of questions. They got him admitted and he was very calm for all that was happening. Please pray for Elmer, his mom and his family. In just the few minutes we were in the house, I could see a lot of dysfunction and abuse. I will try and visit Elmer on Monday and let you know how things are.

Back and regrouping.......Church in India

It is good to be back in Chichi and be able to get a few things done.

I want to give you an update concerning one of the churches in India. The minister from this Church of Christ continues to keep me posted on their progress. They are continuing to grow and baptize people who have received the word. The place that they worship is very small..

All of the people are not able to fit into the building so they patiently wait outside.

So, the members decided to build a thatched roof to provide some shade.

Looking good!!!

There have been more people who want Christ in their life and the church is continuing to grow. It is a great example for us that we need to continue to teach people. Christ can change lives.

They decided to build a small building that will fit all of the members. Here, they have built the corner stone. I think that God will continue to bless this group of people who strive to follow Him and the Bibical example of what He wants.

If anyone would like to contribute to this congregation in India and their building needs, please let me know.

Back to Guatemala........inch by inch

Rebecca left the room very early this morning to catch her flight with the others. As always, we pray for their safety on the road and as they fly.

Gaspar and I had a shuttle for 0600 and the driver was very prompt. We checked in at the Sheraton Presedente Hotel. They checked my passport once there and I was cleared without any problem.......whew!

When we entered the bus, there were no seats together so we had so sit seperate. I thought Gaspar would rater sit next to a gentleman than 3 ladies so he sat near the middle and I was in the front seat. I remember Kemmel warning me about this seat but it was all that was left. Later, Gaspar told me he had wanted to sit in the front. I felt bad that I made the wrong decision :(

As we approached the border, they came and checked our passports for the second time!

We stopped just in front of the Guatemalan sign......and the came for our passports again. At this time I continuing to pray there were no problems. Then slowly, slowly, the bus started moving. I just wanted to get past that sign!

Finally..................yes!!! We were back in Guate and I had my passport back in my hand!

Kemmel picked us up at the hotel. He had Manuel and Ruben with him. We made our way back to Chichi and it was good...........gracias a dios!!

Clinic in El Reugio, El Salvador

This morning things were a little hurried but everything was accomplished. We went to two different places for clinic. The group I was with, went to El Refugio and we had clinic in a home where they also have their worship service.

Rick and Gaspar are setting up the pharmacy area.

Our group was small but we functioned well. Rick and Gaspar took care of the medicine. Raquel took admitted the patients as they arrived. Dr Jenny and I saw patients and helped with labs or other things that needed to be done.

The other group was about 10-15 minutes away so if we had patients that specifically needed a dermatologist, Rick drove them in the van to see Dr. Allen.

Raquel seeing some more patients when they arrived.

The people were just hanging around for the fun. I think it was their home or the home of family.

This guy had this t-shirt on and I love it!

I did not get many photos today. I was just busy doing other things and that is ok. Our clinic saw 36 patients! We stayed busy and I think everyone enjoyed it.

After clinic, we drove to San Salvador. We had a wonderful dinner together and then it was time to go to our rooms. The group returning to the states has a very, very early flight. Gaspar and I have a shuttle to meet our bus at 0600. It has been a great trip and I think that Gaspar has also enjoyed it. But when it is time to get back, it is time to get back.

Monday clinic in Turin, El Salvador

Every day is so different and yet there are some things that do not change. God does not change and we have that promise from Him. We should want to continue to serve Him.......and remember that one day, we will be with Him.

After breakfast, we drove to Turin and set up clinic. Marlene checks in the first patient.

This is the pharmacy area. Cecilia, Conrad and Gaspar mostly worked in the pharmacy. The others came and helped as time allowed.

This is a group shot in the clinic area.

Rebecca and Jennifer checking the blood pressure on one patient.

Racquel checking the pulse on another patient that is being checked in for a consult.

Awwwwww.............that is all that can be said..............awwwwwww.................

Charles making a glove into a balloon after a consult as Roger continues to talk to the mother.

Dr. Darrah and Stephanie listen to a patients concern.

Dr. Jenny talks with a patient. I really enjoyed working with Jenny. She is a medical examiner and shared some of her experiences.

Charles looks though his bag of toys as it looks like Roger is going slap him up for taking so long :)
I think this was the sweetest patient of the day.

She did not even fuss or cry during her consult. I had the opportunity to help Dr. Charles.

After the consult, Walter prayed with the patient. It is important to get the members of the congregations involved.

Today we saw 61patients!

One patient that was special was a lady that Dr. Allen saw. She needs a ultrasound and was tearful when we talked about it. We talked to a gentleman from the congregation and he offered to visit her tomorrow and take her for the exam.

It was a good day but it was also a hot day. When we returned to the hotel, I thought about visiting Mr. Doughnut again. The other day Adrian, Marlene and I did and I enjoyed it. But once we got to the hotel, we decided it was too close to dinner.

Tomorrow is the last clinic! I was thinking that we still had one more day but I was wrong. In the morning, we will pack everything into the trucks, split into two groups and do two clinics. After the clinics, we will regroup and drive to San Salvador.

We had our final devotional together. Roger offered us a few things to think about. We continue to remember Jose, who needs eye surgery. We are thankful that Roger's mom and Charle's wife are doing better. We will also continue to pray for the work in El Salvador and that the church will continue to grow.

Please continue to pray for the patients and for us as we travel.

Sunday in Santa Ana, El Salvador

We had breakfast this morning before worshiping with the local congregation. It was a very uplifting time together. The congregation was very appreciative of our visiting. After the sermon, Adrian spoke for a few minutes about Health Talents and the work that it does. Health Talents wants to help the ministry of the local churches.

For lunch we all went to Pizza Hut and I think there was 29 of us in our group........you can always gain more people when you mention food. That is international!

Rick wanted Gaspar and Walter, the minister, to have the opportunity to talk more. I asked Gaspar if he would talk to Walter about how HTI has helped their ministry in Xepocol and he was excited to do that.

We went back to the hotel for part of the afternoon and then went to the mall to buy things we would need for the clinic tomorrow. Some of us bought other things as ice cream from Sarita's McFlurries from McDonalds and a phone from TIGO. So the question is, who do you think bought the Sarita's mango ice cream?

When we returned there was a short time to relax so we went by the pool with Raquel and Jennifer..........and their little friend. This grasshopper was huge!

I asked Raquel and Jennifer to swim out to the Mayan so I could get their photo but they kept telling they would later.............yeah, right!

Having the restaurant at the hotel is a great resource. It is convenient and the food was ok.....................but the wait was sometimes seemed a little longer than necessary. On Sunday night people were bored and giggly. I think Gaspar was extremely bored and started folding his napkin in the styles on different tables.

Other people started following suit for entertainment............Marlene and her captain cap.

Jennifer used the sugar packets for this creature's eyes.

Roger, knocked his over, punched it and then claimed it was a dead dog. If we would have had some ketchup, we could have added some color :)

Gaspar started this so we have him to blame. Conrad, in the background did not want any part of this nonsense :)

We had a short devotional time together. We prayed for all of the patients that we have seen and remembered Jorge Alberto from yesterday that needs cataract surgery.

We will be up ready in the morning and will visit Turin, I think.

Clinic in Grecia, El Salvador

This morning we had a quick breakfast together together and then drove out to clinic.

As we were waiting for everyone, I grabbed a few photos.

This is Marlene and Adrian who are the connections here in El Salvador. They are really nice and are wanting to help the people with medical needs but also with connecting with the local congregations to help them with their ministries.

Here, Marlene is standing with Raquel and Jennifer. Raquel is a nursing student and Jennifer is a medical student. They will be working with us this week in the clinics.

Gaspar found a place to sit in front of the Hotel Tolteka.

We drove for about 20 minutes until we came to a community called Grecia. We had clinic in a house with a garage. They were a very welcoming family that allowed us to totally redecorate their garage and living area outside of the house.

We set set up tables for a registration area, four consult areas, pharmacy and a area for prayer after the patients were finished with everything. It always takes a while to get organized and set up........but once it is done, the flow begins!!

We were able to get a few ore photos before the patients arrived.

Rebecca found a friend and she was very friendly! She posed for several photos!

Marlene and Rebecca wait for patients to arrive.

Allen checking out his camera before his patients arrive. Does he looked confused??

The patients arrive but it is a slow process.

Dr. Darrah and his translator sit and chat between patients.

Dr. Alan and Rick discussing important issues.

Several people participated in praying with the patients after the consult. Here, Jennifer prays with a patient before she leaves the clinic.

Dr. Charles sees a patient and Roger translates for him.

Rick, continues to discuss important issues with Roger.

Dr. Charles and Roger with a different patient.

We saw 36 patients for the day.

One patient was an older gentleman that has very poor vision due to cataracts. We gave him the information to go to Clinica Ezull during the July trip. We hope that he will go and get the help that he needs. We realize how far the clinic is for him but also understand the benefit of the surgery.

I had the opportunity to try a new fruit today. It is called pitajaya. It is very bright red inside the shell. The red color will stain anything in touches....fingers, lips, teeth.......anything. It was sweet and good. Jennifer, Randy and Raquel show you their pitajaya.

It was a good day. It was good to get back to the hotel and shower after dinner. Tomorrow we will worship with the local congregations.