Just stuff to think about

For the last two days, the guys and I have had good clinics.

Yesterday, we were in La Palma. It was a good drive and when we arrived closer to La Palma, we exited the truck to see if the road was passable. Tomas and I decided that Manuel could do it! It is always easier to decide if someone else can do it when you are not driving :)

The road was slick due to previous rain with areas of deep mud. There was a deep ditch on one side and the cliff on the other. Manuel managed the technical maneuver very well! I gave him a "10!!" We had an excellent clinic of 11 patients and then enjoyed lunch together. We visited one patient in his home and I always enjoy that.

Today, we had clinic in Chichi. We had 13 patients and 6-7 were diabetics. I hope that in the future we can have the series of diabetic classes in Chichi.

For lunch, we walked to a close restaurant for lunch. Luis, one of the ministers from Chichi went with us. I always enjoy talking to Luis. He speaks slowly, clearly and is an exellent teacher.

He started asking me about diabetics, how they need to change their diets and why it is difficult for them. I did not have any idea that he was leading into a sermon that he is working on. So, eventually, he says that we have difficulty when we do not practice what we know that we need to do. Bam! His sermon is on target but it is not always that easy.

I told him about different conversations I have had with patients. Sure, everyone tells you that they know that they need a relationship with God but do they actually take steps to have it? Everyone tells you that they know they should pray more.......but do they do it? Do we always practice what we know that we should do? Of course, the answer to that is no.

We all can make improvements in our lives. The key or question is, "Are we doing it?" Small steps are better than no steps. I would rather have a diabetic patient refraining from eating some sweets than not changing their diet at all. I would rather have a Christian reading their Bible some days instead of not studying at all. As they say here in Guatemala, "Poco a poco." Little by little. Maybe those small changes will cause us to want to make bigger ones in our life. Just something to think about...................