Eastside meets La Cama'

As yesterday, several of us headed out to a school.  This school is out toward Chuchipaca and is called La Cama'.  There were some changes made from yesterday but basically it included the same activities from yesterday.

This is the group getting ready as we started.

Benita shows the students where the United States is and were Colorado is.

One very important aspect from these three days of classes is having the Guatemalan staff helping.  Yesterday, Matt told the story from the perspective of the fish and today, Noe did it! Noe is the son of Gaspar and is currently studying physical therapy in Xela.  When he is finished, he will be working with us!  How exciting is that???

A parrot, gave his perspective on the transfiguration. Debbie and Janelle were behind the scenes again, keeping the story moving!

Maury led an activity something like, "Simon Says" but using, "Jesus Says."  The students really got into it but I think Cesar liked it more than anyone!!

The students had wrote their name on a yellow sticker-note and then covered their name with a picture of Jesus.  The students stuck their name and the photo of Jesus to the cross to represent that Jesus took our place.

To finish the day, the students went back to their class for another activity. 

We folded and tore a sheet of paper and when you opened it up, each part represented something. Noe taped his paper to the white board to explain it........you can see the cross, the name that they put over the cross, the tomb, the spear that pierced Jesus and the dice that the solders used.

Special thanks to Debbie for taking photos for me today.  I had a group of students so it was hard to get around and take photos. Thank you!

Tomorrow, another school............we will be in Mactzul I.   Back to the hotel for a quick lunch and to prepare.

I think that everyone enjoyed today.  We also hope that the children and teachers learned something.

Eastside Church of Christ in Mactzul V

Today, several of us headed to Mactzul V to do a Bible class for the school.  NOT something that you could do in the US of A. It was very obvious that Eastside had planned, prepared, spent a lot of money and were really focused on serving the students and also the teachers.

The students gathered and were given a bag of several supplies that they would use through the day.  They sat and began by putting their name on the bag and applying stickers to decorate it.

Lisa asked a few students to come to the front and read for the rest of the school.

Donna talked about prayer and Jesus being our mediator.  She had a demonstration, using balloons. 

Matt talked about being a disciple of Christ.  Manuel, translated into Spanish and also into K'iche'.

The students were divided into four groups and had a ball to toss back-and-forth.  When they hit the ball, they would rotate between, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" to represent the Trinity. Cesar, working with this group of students.

Every production has some "behind the scenes" workers.  Debbie and Janelle were responsible for all of this!

Matt, talking about Jesus from the perspective of a fish.  He talked about what he saw when the fishermen were with Jesus, how the crowds followed Him and how they were healed.

An egg was used to help explain the trinity------ 3 in 1.  An egg needs a shell and an yoke to be a complete egg.  Without one of the three parts, it is not complete. One part is not more important than the other two.  Benita explains this, as Benicia helps.

The students were able to make a prayer journal.  Benicia talked about the four aspects of prayer and how they are used.........to praise God, acknowledge His power, to ask of things we need and to confess our sins or faults to Him.

It was a great day!  The teachers enjoyed the day, as well the students.  The principal remembered another class that we did two years ago in the school.  She invited us back for more classes!  How exciting is that???

When we finished, we went back to Santo Tomas for a quick sandwich and prepared for tomorrow in La Cama...........another day, another school and another adventure!

Hennessey heads to Antigua

We all headed this morning to Antigua but there was some last minute shopping that needed to be done.  there is a place on the highway that you can find some fun things. You can also get a good view of Lake Atitlan.

Here, part of the group is bartering for last minute purchases.

Taylor, with Lake Atitlan in the background.

The Hennessey group.

We had great travels to Antigua and we are always thankful for that!

Hennessey meets Patzibal

Several of us traveled to a community, not too far from Chichi this morning.  It is called, Patzibal and this is the first time we have had clinic here.  I was really excited to participate in the clinic and we had a great day!

Gaspar knew several of the church members from past studies that he has had with them.  It was exciting to see how they welcomed him.  Gaspar, with some of the members of the congregation.

After we had seen the patients in the morning, we were asked if we would walk to a church members home and do a home visit.  Vanessa, Charlie, Gaspar and I packed our bags and started walking.  This was the view!

There are just not many places that are this pretty!

We arrived at the man's home and Charlie thought he had pneumonia.  We told them that we would return later with some different medicine.

When we arrived back clinic, it was time to enjoy lunch.  We had fried chicken, rice, tamalitos and fresh chili.  They packed up the rest of the chili and we took it back to the hotel for dinner.

Vanessa played around with the children between patients.

When Anna was seeing the last of the dental patients, we were asked to visit a home of a lady that had fallen.  We were told that she was on her way to come for a dental visit but had fallen in the road.  When we arrived, her leg was scrapped and she had applied some type of mentholated rub.  All I could think of was, "Ouch!" 

Her feet were real puffy and we suspected some heart involvement.  She said that she will follow-up with out clinic in Chichi. 

We then headed back to the man that had pneumonia. We found out that he is 98 years old.  Vanessa told him that he had to get better so she could return in two years and help him celebrate his 100th birthday!

We saw a total of 22 medical patients and 10 dental patients.  The most exciting part is that we have been invited back.  Before we left, we had a date for the next clinic. 

Tomorrow, the group will head to Antigua to enjoy the day before they return to The United States.  It has been great to have them visit. 

I want to say a special, "Thank you!" to Hennessy for helping me remain here in Guatemala.  They have helped me financially and it was been wonderful to have them work side-by-side with us this week.  I look forward to their visit next year!!

Hennessee meets Mactzul VI

Today, several of us when to Mactzul VI for an ABC clinic.  The group had a lot of experience from Mactzul V on Monday, so they were ready to roll. 

This is Megan and Becky checking in one of the first children.

Maury wanted a photo with Anna.......................Maury helped translate for Anna this week. I think that they made a pretty good team!

Then, Maria wanted her photo taken with Anna..........I will make copies of these photos and take then to Maury and Maria.

Cesar, Manuel and Paul wait for the action to start. Cesar, worked with the children to evaluate their dental care.  Manuel, translated for Charlie.  Paul, applied the colored dye before they went to see Cesar.

It was a busy day and we saw all of the ABC children.

We had one lady who told me that she had an ultrasound done three years ago.  She was told that she has an abdominal mass and cyst.  She will get a new ultrsound and then we can evaluate what needs to be done.  She is a Christian but not longer attends anywhere.  We talked for a few minutes about her relationship with God.  She asked me to continue to pray for her after the clinic today.  This may be the time that she decides it is time to make some changes in her life.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in a new community for us.........another adventure!!

Hennessey meets Chutzurob

This morning a small group of us went to Chuturob.  We had Paul and Taylor with us and they had activities for the children.

This is Paul and Taylor outside in the sun, waiting for more children. When the children came, they talked to them about the story of the prodigal son.  They also practiced their K'iche', while the children learned some new English words.

We saw 10 medical patients and 5 dental patients.  We were told there was a wedding above the church building so that is why we did not have many patients......but we did ok. 

When we finished with everyone, we made sandwiches for lunch.  We invited the members of the church to eat with us.

Tomorrow, we will have another ABC clinic in Mactzul VI.  We should have a lot of patients tomorrow.

ABC Clinic in Mactzul V

After breakfast this morning, we headed out in three different directions.......Lemoa, Panajxit and Mactzul V.  Yesterday, Vanessa let us practice with her as we learned to measure the children.  Today, she is working with dental!

Anna is evaluating an ABC child as Vanessa records the finding.  Tucker, is at the table and helping with different dental instruments.

This is Alan.......and he is sterilizing the dental instruments. He always has this big smile!

These people were my left and right arm today!! Paul and Megan weighed and measured the children.  Becky, in the yellow, managed all of the paper work and kept us organized!  What a team they were!

This is Mario and he helped with dental.  Here, he is giving the children the dye to evaluate their teeth.

This is Sandra and her dad.  Sandra, has been sponsored for about 5 years now by Jeanie, in Morganton, NC.  Sandra has really matured a lot in those years and is becoming quite a lady!

This is Charlie, he is doing part of the medical consults.  Translating for him is Manuel.

This is Lisa, doing the other part of the consults.

When this family of brothers arrived, Mario thought they were his long lost brothers!!  It was pretty funny but of course, you can not tell it from the photo!   ha ha ha

I asked more questions about the young lady that we saw a few weeks ago.  I was told that she is now not able to get out of bed because she is in so much pain.  What a sad situation.

We had a great day together and saw a little over 60 patients.

Tomorrow, another day and more adventures!!

Hennessey Chuch Arrives!!

Lisa and Kemmel went to Guatemala City to bring back the Hennessey Church of Christ, who will be visiting with us for a week........that is Hennessey, Oklahoma!  Hennessey, helps support me while I am here in Guatemala and I appreciate that so much.  It will be great to have them with us for the week and to participate in the the work with us.

In the morning, we left the hotel about 8 am and headed to Chintinimit for worship.  We parked the trucks and started climbing up to there the church building is.

This is Paul and Megan, before worship started.

Most of the group before we started...........Lisa's sister Anna, is on Lisa's right.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed the lunch at Santo Tomas and then went to market.  It was fun walking though town and seeing several people that we know.

When we finished, we went over some the activities that we would have this week.  We will have some ABC clinics, so we will be measuring children and evaluating their dental status.

Charlie, Anna's husband, is seeing how tall Vanessa is.

We practiced with the red dye to see how clean our teeth were...........

For dinner we had planned to eat at the Casa Chulumal so we drove out there but when no one answered the door, I was disappointed.  I had made reservations so was a little confused.  Kemmel had heard that Carlos is now working as the main chef in one restaurant in Chichi.  I called Carlos and he thought that I was aware of the change in location but I had not heard yet.  We loaded the truck back up and returned to Chichi.  Dinner was very good.....................Carlos is a very good chef!

Tomorrow, we will have clinics in Lemoa and Mactzul V, while a few people will go out and look at some cattle.  Bob is a veterinarian and we are thinking that he might have a lot of suggestions on how to better care for the animals here. 

I will learn my lesson.........

Maury, Cesi and I went to Chuguexa today.  I told them that we needed to take our muscles with us because we would have to carry everything up to the where we have clinic.  They both laughed and we knew we would be ok.  Tomas, one of the members of the congregation made two trips with us and it helped us alot!!

We had a great clinic of 16 patients.  We had several new patients and several diabetics.

There was one patient who told me that he has been having a productive cough.  I asked him what color the sputum was.......he was kind enough to promptly spit into his hand and show me!!  Thank you, dear patient.  After we prayed, he quickly then reached out for me to shake his hand.  As you can guess, when he left, I quickly reached for my lime colored, hand gel :)  Some day, I may learn to stop asking what colors different body fluids are.

Tomorrow, we will be in Lemoa......................another day and more adventures!

Preparing for August!!

August is almost here and it is time to be getting ready for surgery!

This is Jaime and his mom.  His labs were great and he weighs enough to go to Montellano for surgery in August.

This is another baby, Carlos, and his mom.  This photo was sent to me a few months ago, when Carlos was only 1-2 months old. 

Today, I met Carlos for the first time.  Notice how different his mom looks. Carlos is growing and now she has hope for him.  He will have to wait until February 2014 but he will be bigger and stronger then.

This is Hector, who drives many of the babies to come and see us in Lemoa.  I have known Hector for about six years now but this was the first opportunity that I had to meet his family.  Here he is with his wife and his daughter. We appreciate all of the driving that he does for the babies and their families.

Stay tuned for more stories of the babies and surgeries the week of August the 4th.

Disappointement........

I studied this morning at home and continued to think of the lady that we took to the hospital yesterday.  About noon, I decided that I wanted to go and visit her.  The visitation at the national hospital is at 2pm-3pm in the afternoon.

I took a van to Quiche and then walked to the hospital.  It was such a pretty afternoon and I enjoyed it.  When I arrived at the hospital, I did not recognize anyone.  Usually, people start talking to me since they remember me from the community but not today.

I went back to the woman's ward but they could not find her.  I went to the surgical ward but she was not there either.  I then went back to the emergency area where we were the day before.

The man at the desk told me that she was not there.  I asked what had happened and he told me that she left, against the advise of the doctors.  I thanked him and then left.........as I was walking across the parking lot, it hit me!  She had not stayed!  She had gone home!  This lady that was so sick yesterday, really went home!  My heart just sunk and I can not tell you how disappointed I was.

I try to be flexible and roll with punches.  Today, I did not roll very well.  I will try to find out more about her and what happened.  We will see........

As Lisa often reminds me............we are not the patient's family.  I just need to remember this.

Clinic in Mactzul V

This morning, several of us headed out to Mactzul V.  I stopped and got Sandra, then Ceci, and then Maria.  We met Manuel in Mactzul, since he already had the dental equipment.

For those who have been here, when you ask how long it will take to get somewhere, you probably have heard me say, "It depends on what is in the road."  Today, was a perfect example of this.

This man have three cows and two dogs and they were just truckin' down the road.  This problem was the cows would not stay on one side.  One would change sides and then the other two would follow.  At first, nothing was said because this is not uncommon but then it because humorous.   Ceci pulled our her camera and took this photo.

One lady came to clinic after lunch and she was very, very sick.  She could barely walk, had severe abdominal pain, had fever, her heart was beating very quickly and had been vomiting.  After I examined her, I told her husband that I thought she needed to go to the hospital.  She is only 34 years old and what would happen if she went home and continued to get worse through the night.  He quickly agreed and they waited in the truck while I saw the last patients.

When everyone finished, we loaded up and I slowly drove to Quiche.  The lady was in so much pain, I asked them if they wanted to go to Chichi instead.  They said they would rather go to Santa Elena in Quiche, which is a national hospital.

When we arrived, one of the emergency room employees came out to help her.  He could tell that she was very sick.  She seated her right away and started taking her information.  Please pray for her.  Her name is Tomasa.  I will try and go to visit her tomorrow or Sunday.  I will keep you posted.

Old Guys Rule

As you can tell by the previous blogs, I had a great time in FL with my parents.  One day when we went shopping, I found a great cap for my dad as I was walking in the store. Since he has a few special caps, I have to find one that I think he would like.  They had several colors, so I hid what they were but had him select a color.

As we were getting ready to leave the area, I heard him chuckling as he was reading the "Old Guys Rule" logos on shirts.  I knew I had found something he would like!

He liked his cap so much, that mom went back and got him the shirt.  They sent me these photos from Florida.  I think my dad looks looks like a gangster with his glasses!

This is the back of the shirt.........made in the shade!

Yeah, I think my dad rules!

Sunday---worship, market and more ABC Children

This morning, we had a special worship time together.  Some of the group went with Lisa and Kemmel to Chintinimit, to a new congregation.  I had a hard time deciding what to do, so I asked Lisa and Kemmel for a rain check on that visit. 

Dale led us in a few songs.  Then Dave led us in some thoughts about the resurrection.  The Gospel or The Good News is that Christ died, was buried and resurrected.

I Corinthians 15:1-4----Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firm to the word that I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:  that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Paul goes on to talk about other actions of Christ, but it is the gospel that saves us.  There is no other manner of salvation.  There are many things that are important in the Christian life, but Paul is plain about the first importance......the death, burial and resurrection.  If we miss this, we miss it all.

The market is always enjoyable, especially to people who have not been many times.

The luncheon buffet was made available to us and it was as good as always.  This year, is the first time that I remembered having strawberry pie.  I might have to return for pie and coffee later this week :)

Steve, Lydia, Somer and Haley had the opportunity to visit with Eria and her parents.  They live in Mactzul I and she is a child in the ABC Program. It was a wonderful time together.  Erica had made a large poster for the family, which I know they will cherish. 

Erica wanted Somer to polish her fingernails!  If you have ever thought about having an ABC Child, this photo will convince you!  You can tell that Erica really enjoyed her time with the family!

Erica brought Steve the colorful hat that is in his hand. I need to get a photo of him with it on!

It was a great close to the week..........what a week it was.

When I did the blogs after the clinics, I was disappointed with my photos.  I did not do a very good job of getting photos of everyone during the clinics.  I apologize..........but it also means that you will have to return :)

The team will now return to Guatemala City with Lisa and Kemmel.  We pray that they will have safe travels to the city and safe flights back to The States.  It is always exciting to have people come down and participate in the work here!  Thank you for all of your hard work!