Clinic in Lemoa and headed to Antigua

Today, Lisa picked Sandra and me up and we dove to Lemoa for clinic.

It was a good morning.  I had a new diabetic patient, with a 517 blood sugar.  He said he went to a clinic last month and they told him it was over 500 but he said they did not give him any medicine or talk about the diet.  He is coming to see us next Thursday to see if he has improved.  He has lost a lot of weight and his family members are very concerned. I feel he has a lot of support since they sat in on the consult and also had a lot of good questions.

This was one of the patients today..........very sweet.

At 1130, I left clinic and went to Antigua.  In the morning, I will go to Monterrico and see the black sand beach.  I am really looking forward to it and plan on having ad adventure.

So, how do you know if you are addicted to Downton Abbey?  When you go to Antigua and flip through the tv channels, multiple times, in hopes of finding a rerun..............oh well!!!

Clinic in Xepol

Gaspar, Ceci, Cesar and I headed out of Chichi this morning to Xepol.

Gaspar has a meeting in one of the communities, Chuguexa, so he went that far with us and then we said our good-bye.

We had a good clinic with nine patients.  Victor was waiting for us with his mom. He continues to do well.

This is a young girl who has had chronic ear infections.  Her mom was so happy since this last month, there has been so sign of infection.  What a blessing for this little girl!

During the consult, I looked down and there were some seeds sprouting in the floor.  It reminded me of a few years ago, when I found some seeds that had sprouted in the floor of the truck. We just never know where growth is going to take place.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Lemoa.  I hope we have several patients!

Worship in Quiche

This morning, I went to Quiche for worship.  The highlight of the day was when Mikaela came to say hello to me.  This is a photo of her that I posted last year in Mactzul VI. We were at a seminar for the day and I got a photo of her with Lisa and Kemmel.

Mikaela has been sick many times and has more lives that a cat!  She barely is four feet tall and weighs about 85 pounds.

On Sundays, she wears shoes in the street but then as she enters for worship, she takes them off.  She then kneels in the aisle and prays.

It is something that I think we can learn from.  While we may not all kneel in the aisle, we need to  prepare our hearts for worship. She is a very special lady and I enjoyed her hugs today.

Clinic in Chicua

This morning, Ceci and I headed out for Chicua.  We had a small clinic of only seven patients. 

The disappointment of the morning was when our favorite diabetic patient had a blood sugar of 517.  I was so sad that I almost cried.  She is the lady that I took to the hospital a few months ago.  When she comes to clinic, she is somewhat controlled but then she slacks off...........and then she soars!!

The good part of the day was seeing Alicia and how well she has done during her pregnancy. I think they will have their new addition soon.

About five minutes after Ceci jumped out of the truck, the traffic stopped.  I mean, it just stopped!!  A trailer had tipped over and dropped all of its cement blocks on the highway.  I wanted to go and get a photo but did not want to leave the truck unattended.

They told us that the road would not open for three hours.........agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I sat there and thought of what I could do.  I could sit.......and sit........and sit.   Nope.
Or, I could return to Los Encuentros for lunch but that would not take much time at all.  Nope.
So, I remembered a place in Panajachel that Lisa and Kemmel have told me about that grills BBQ on Saturday night.  Yep.

I turned the truck around.........and off I went. The rain and heavy fog set in but I just took my time and cranked up the marimba music!

I ordered ribs and when they handed me these plates, I was speechless!  Just so you know, it was 75 Q, not including the Diet Coke.............so, I know many of you will be wanting to visit Panajachel with us!

I would not be surprised if I find myself on the road to Panajachel, on a Saturday afternoon, in the near future!

Clinic in Mactzul VI

Sandra, Maria, Ceci and I met Manuel out in Mactzul VI this morning. We did not have a lot of patients due to problems with their loudspeaker.

I had planned on visiting a lady in Patzibal and then was asked to visit another lady in Mactzul VI.   We responded, "Sure!!!"

Maria, Ceci and I headed to see a lady that always comes to clinic.  She had fallen and could not walk to clinic. She has bad circulation to her legs and has had problems with sores.  Today, her legs looked much better and I was pleased.

Then we headed to Patzibal to visit the lady who fell a little more than a month ago.  As were were driving, I told Ceci and Maria that we needed to paint the Suk white and put a red cross on it for our home visits!  Kemmel, when you read this, you will know the new plans for the suk.  You know I enjoy home visits, so it makes perfect sense :)

When I made it back to Chichi, I walked up to town to see Maury.  This was the problem in the street.  The streets of Chichi are not very big but some people refuse to admit it.  This trailer was trying to make a right hand turn to head to Santa Cruz.  

It took him at least10 minutes to get this far and then he was stuck!!!!   Duh!  So, as you can see, they are bringing in a tractor to help him out.

It was becoming very interesting, so I bought some grilled corn on the corner and pulled up a brick with the others!

They attached heavy chains, multiple times in hopes of pulling the back of the trailer around.  The chains kept snapping off but finally they succeeded. 

As soon as the action died down, I finished walking home.  I made it in time before the rain started.

It was a good day!  Tomorrow, we will have a diabetic class in Chichi.

Clinic in Chutzurob

Today, we had clinic in Chutzurob.  We had 14 medical patients and several of them were new.

I had the opportunity to tell Gloria, one lady that always helps us with our clinics, that she is pregnant. She and her sister, Angelica, were really excited.

After clinic, I had lunch with Lisa and Kemmel.  We do not get together very often so when we do it is nice.  We chatted about clinics, classes and things that we would like to accomplish in the communities.

Then the afternoon rains fell................I made it home just in time.

Chichi has a NEW Chicken place.......I knew you would want to know!  Of course, it is quite near the other newest chicken place in town.  I think that someday, Guatemala will run out of chicken!
 

Tomorrow, we go to Mactzul VI for clinics and a home visit!

Clinic in Chuchipaca

Today, Manuel, Cecy and I had clinic in Chuchipaca.  We had several patients and we stayed busy.

You have heard me say, that I have learned not to ask what color are different bodily fluids.  Well, there are sometimes that I still feel I need to ask but they are not as often as they use to be.  Cecy was helping me translate into K'iche', when a lady offered to show Cecy her sputum.  The look on Cecy's face was, "Did she just do what I think she did?  Surely not!!"

Cecy and I had another interesting moment.  We were going though the consult and we heard some loud voices outside.  Soon, there was a shouting match going on and I recognized the voices.  We completed the consult and we went outside.

One of our regular patients had been fighting with her mom.  It had caused quiet a scene and people were laughing.  This lady began crying and I took her into the room to get her away from the ridicule.  She has several problems and her husband has been hitting her again.  Cecy and I talked to her for a long time and then we prayed.  What a sad situation........................

When we finished in Chuchipaca, I went to Patzibal to see another patient.  I was told that there was a young lady who had had a stroke.  One of the men from the congregation met me and we drove up the hill.  Then we walked down a mountain, through several cornfields, through a house, through some more corn fields and finally, finally reached the house. 

The lady was very sink but I do not think she had a stroke.  I will return tomorrow and take her some more medicine that might help. 

Tomorrow, I will worship in Santa Cruz, visit a friend and then work on a few things.

Second clinic in Patzibal

Today, we had our second clinic in Patzibal.  This was the view from where the trucks were parked.........as you can see, the rain is coming in.

 

I was very excited for dental, since they had 22 patients.  There were also 3 dental cleaning.  Medical, on the other hand, had a slow day with patients but we stayed busy.

Today, Juana was with us.  She is Tomas' wife and helped me all day with K'iche'.  We saw her in clinic last week and she was sad.  It was good to see her today and be back to her happy self.  She was a great help!

Last month, we visited two patients in their homes.  I wanted to do follow-up visits today.

Last month, Charlie, Vanessa and I went to visit a man that is 98 years.  He looked so good today!  He was dressed, was able to sit on the side of his bed without help and has been walking some.  He no longer has a cough or fever.  What an encouragement that is to us!

We also went to visit a lady that has been in bed for four months.  We drove about 10 minutes int he truck and then parked it as we walked......and walked......and walked.  We went down the road, through a cornfield, then back up a him to a house that we could see in the distance.

She patient was sweet and has many medical issues, but was all smiles!  Here she is with her family on the side of her bed.

She has a beautiful smile with a great disposition.  I will make copies of these photos and take them to her.

When we returned to the clinic, it was time for lunch.  We enjoyed a great lunch of chicken soup, fresh avacado, wonderful chili and tortillas.

After lunch, we went to visit a lady that we saw last month after she fell.  The day that we saw her, she had just scraped her leg.  We gave her cream for it and I thought it would heal great.  Well, somewhere along the line, she decided to go to a doctor and they removed some blood that had accumulated in her calf area. Well, it is not healing but they seem pleased with her progress.

I am concerned since her wound is very, very deep.  Her dressing looked dirty and the story changed on how often they are changing it.  I offered to return and gave her my phone number so if they are not happy with her progress, they can call.  As I mentioned, I am concerned that it is not healing well.

I did not have the best of luck today.  When we arrived in the morning, the truck was parked next to a dirt wall and there was a lot of mud.  I gracefully, slipped in the mud and had to clean it off before I started clinic.

In the first house we visited, a dog nipped at my leg.  Luckily, he only got my scrub pants and not my leg.  Whew, since dog bites do not do too well here in Guatemala.

It was a wonderful day. I am so thankful that the gentleman is doing well.  Last month, Vanessa told the man that she wanted to return to take his photo when he is 100 years old, so Vanessa, you better be packing your suitcase for your return visit!

Tomorrow, we head to Chuchipaca. It will be great to see Cecy and congratulate her in person on the success of her exam!

Clinic in Chichi

Today, I met Tomas and Enrique at the clinic in Chichi.  we had a good day with 15 patients.  Many were diabetics and told me that they will come to the class on next Thursday. It is the third class in the series and I hope we have a good class together.

This lady wanted some new reading glasses today.  She told me that she had searched and searched through our selection but did not find anything that she could see with.  When I asked her if she would like to try mine, she seemed hesitant...........after she put them on, she loved them!!  She sounded like one of the three bears, "They are not too strong, they are not too weak.......they are just right!  They do not make me dizzy!"  I was so excited that I could make her smile!

Tomorrow, we will return to Patzibal. I am looking forward to it and I hope to see the two patients that we visited in their homes.

Clinic in Chuguexa

We had clinic today in Chuguexa.  It was a busy clinic with 22 patients.  This was one of the sweet mothers and baby that were at clinic today.

We had our usual diabetics.  Some of them were really controlled and others.........well, we talked again about how to improve.  We will see what happens when they return in September.

There was one lady that I was very concerned with.  She told me that she has been having some pain in her breast for four months.  When I examined her, I found her breast to be very hard, filled with a mass.  After she dressed, I asked one of the ladies of the church to help me talk with her.  When we returned, I learned more of the story, which I did not get earlier.  She had already been to the health department and to a national hospital and was told that she has cancer.  How sad..........she is just looking for some hope.

She has an appointment with a national hospital in Guatemala City but is too afraid to go.  We talked about it and will see what will happen.  Please pray for Anastacia as she needs our prayers.

I heard from Cecy tonight and she passed the first part of her exams to enter nursing school.  I am so excited for her!  She will be a great nurse and I hope that some day, she will be working with Health Talents!

Ask, "What can I do?"

Today, in Mactzul II, was a day of hope.

In July, we had a group of people here and we had a clinic in Mactzul.  That day, we met a 13 year-old girl named Irma. She wanted a Bible so I told her that I would bring her one.  She said that she likes to read but does not understand a lot of what she reads. Her parents are costumbre, not Christians.

Today, I reconnected with Irma and I took her a Bible. She was so excited!  She continued to look through it as we talked with her mom. Today, Tomas sat with me through the consult.  He is an elder at the church in Mactzul II and talked to Irma and her mom about studying the Bible together.  Irmas's dad also agreed to a study............how exciting this is!!

I sent an email to Abby, who sat in on the first consult in July.  Abby's comment was, "I will pray for her and her family."

Today, I also met a young man, Juan, who was found in the street after drinking for two days.  The elders of the church brought him to see us today.  Juan had spent a few days in the hospital after being found and will go back to the hospital later this week to get the results of his exams.

Juan and his wife, Juana, are not Christians but they have also agreed to study the Bible with the elders.  The growth of the church depends on Christians showing concern for people and giving of their time.

When I told Lisa about this situation, the first things she said was, "I will pray for them."

So, if you ask what you can do...........my response would be be, "Please pray for these people."

Irma, her parents, Juan and Juana will have the opportunity to study the Bible and to know what they need to do to become Christians. Satan does not want this to happen.  He does not want them to learn.  He does not want them to know what the Bible teaches.  I pray that they will listen as the elders meet with them.  What is more important than anything, is what the Bible teaches.  May they have open hearts as they hear The Word.  May they know how to apply it to their life.

Please pray with us that this will happen.  I will keep you posted when I hear more.

Clinic in Mactzul Toto

Jodi and I met Manuel as we headed to Mactzul Toto.  This was my first time to this clinic and I enjoyed it.

Jesus, is the gentleman than owns the house where we have clinic.  When we arrived, there were not any patients but we set up and waited.

There were several children that met us.  We walked up to the house and the children started playing a game with us.  Jodi and I had no idea what the game was but we quickly learned.  We walked around in a circle,  sang and kicked up our heels.  We entertained the children as they entertained us!

Jodi with a few of the children.

Then, we had a few patients arrive.

We had a few children that are significantly underweight.  I gave them medicine and vitamins.  I asked the mother to please bring them back next month.  She had taken them to the health dept. a few months ago but never followed-up there.  I hope she will return for the next clinic.

After we saw about nine patients, we sat on the porch and had coffee and bread.  It was a good day and a good clinic.

I look forward to going back to Mactzul Toto.

Tomorrow, Jodi and I will head to Antigua.  We will worship with the church there and then she will return to the States on Monday.  We will pray that she has safe travels and will be able to return next year.  I know Gabriela would enjoy seeing her again!   :)

Jodi meets Gabriela

Today, we had clinic in Mactzul V.  Jodi had an opportunity to meet Gabriela, her ABC Child.  It was exciting to have them meet each other!  Jodi gave Gabriela a Bible for her birthday.  We talked about her reading to her family during the week.

This is Jodi, with Gabriela and her mom.  I will make copies of the photos and take them then next time that we have clinic there.

The ABC Program is a wonderful opportunity to help a child, while also helping the family. You have an opportunity to meet your child and family and make a real impact on their life.  If you have any questions about the program, please let us know!

This is the Mactzul V church building as it continues to be worked on.

This is the view from inside.

Another view, so you can see the size.  It will hold a lot of people and this is great as the church is continuing to grow in this area. 

A lot of progress is being done but I am sure it is not as quick as the members would like for it to be.  All of it is being done by the financial commitment of the members. I know that many are making personal sacrifices but they see the value in it.

We had a clinic of about 9 medical patients and 6 dental patients.

For dinner, we met Lisa and Kemmel in Chichi.  It was good to just sit for awhile and touch base again.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Mactzul Toto.

Thursday......headed to Chichicastenango

I went down to see Jaime and his parents this morning and to get one more set of photos.  Anna and Jaime were eating breakfast.

Then we went outside to find Jesus.  Jaime is healing real well.

They wanted a photo of Dr. Dwayne before they left.  Dwayne was between cases and had just a minute. Right as we were ready to take the photo, Jesus' photo rang............oh well..............I will make a copy of the photo for them and we will have another opportunity next year when Jaime returns to have his palate repaired.

Jodi and I packed the truck and headed home.  We arrived in Chichi without any problems and had a quick early dinner.  Time to get some rest before clinic tomorrow.

Please remember the medical team as they return to the states on Saturday.

Wednesday in Montellano

Things continue to go well here in Montellano. I have failed to mention how hot is is here.  I told you a few years ago how hot it is and the heat has continued.  I am ready for Jodi and I to head to the cool lands tomorrow!

This is Jaime and Jesus to the side of the clinic.  They were enjoying a morning stroll.

Jaime is a little swollen but he is in good spirits.  He has not cried or has seemed uncomfortable. He just reaches up and wants to hug!

We continue to be thankful that everyone has done well!  During the week, the patients have done well and we never tire of that!

In the morning, I will pack the truck and we will head to the highlands!

Tuesday in Montellano

When I went to the recovery area, things were good this morning.  The patients were doing well, the nurses were busy but not crazy and there were several patients waiting for their surgery today.

This is Jodi and she is sitting with a young boy who had surgery yesterday.  Jodi will be returning to Chichi with me and doing clinics for two days.  I am looking forward to her meeting Lisa and Kemmel and also having the opportunity to meeting her ABC child that lives in Mactzul II.

Then, it was time for Jaime's surgery.  I heard that they had taken him back to the OR, so I went to get his parents.  His mom and I went out to the gate to find his dad.  We sat in front of the OR and prayed.  His mom, Anna, put her arm around her husband's arm and promptly fell asleep!  She was exhausted!

After about two hours, Jaime was ready to come out to his parents!  The doctors placed Jaime in Anna's arms.

Anna and Jesus talked about how great Jaime looked.  They were so pleased!

Later in the evening, Anna, Jesus and Jaime were sitting outside on the porch.

This is Lesli, working with a patient fresh out of the Operating room.  Lesli has been down a few times and enjoy having her with us!

Will you share your popsicle with me?  We had made some popcicles for the patients and Karen wanted a bite.  I am not sure that the little girl wanted to share.  Karen, if you come back next year, I will buy you a whole box of them!!

What a good day it was.  Everyone did well and the patients are healing.  We are so thankful and always want to remember to give God the glory!

Monday in Montellano

This morning, we had a busy time.  The OR started in full swing but was not out of control. 

Mid-afternnoon, we needed something from Chicaco, so Susan and I went.  As we were walking through the street, the marimba school was practicing.  We stopped to listen.  Then, the teacher had the students stop playing as he walked to the door.  I thought he was going to ask us to leave, but he kindly invited us in, cleared two chairs for us and encouraged us to sit down!

They were wonderful!  After they played one song, we started to applaud and to stand but the teacher told us that we were not finished!!  ha ha ha!  He then had them play two more songs for us and they were great!  He told us that they have been studying for four months. 

I especially enjoyed the time at the school because it was obvious how much the students respected their teacher.  They listened very diligently to him.  They respected him and wanted to please him.  It was a very nice treat!

This is Jill, as she spent time with one young girl before her surgery.  The little girl was playing a game on Jill's phone.  It was fun watching her and her mom.  Jill was a great help during the week with the young patients!  Jill, thank you!

I went and visited Jaime several times today to make sure that he was still doing well.  Here, he was sleeping on the bed, next to his mom.  I did not change anything on the bed, this was not a posed photo.  How sweet!

So far, about 20 surgeries have been done.  All of the patients have done well and we are so thankful for that!!

Please continue to pray for the patients and staff.  I really appreciate it!

Let the surguries begin!!

This morning, I arrived in Montellano before worship.  I walked across the street and visited with the parents of Jaime and Bryan.

It was so good to see everyone and enjoy our time of worship together.  Carlos had a great lesson on continuing to accomplish things when we are not successful.  He had many stories of people who had failed after multiple attempts but did not give up. They finally succeeded! It is a great lesson for us to remember.

Rick told me there was a surprise in my room.  When I took my suitcase in, they had arranged several bottles of Dr. Pepper for me.  What a surprise it was.......thank you, Rick and EVERYONE that contributed!  They are something that I will savor on the porch on warm afternoons.

When I went back outside, Bryan's parents told me how sick he has been for seven days!  He has had fever and diarrhea.  Carrie, a CNRA, took his temperature and it was a 102.  We gave him medicine and decided it was better to wait until February 2014 for his surgery.  How sad but the risk is just to high when a baby is that sick.

This is Jason, Sophie his daughter and Kathleen his mom.  Jason and Kathleen have been coming down for several years and they translate.  Sophie, worked with the patients and she did a great job!

Even though it was just a half day of surgeries, it was a packed schedule.  Things went well and then we finished the day with a short devotional. 

Please continue to pray for the patients, the doctors, nurses and all of the support staff.  Everyone's role is so vital in the ministry. 

Heading to Montellano in the morning

Tomorrow morning, I will be headed to the coast with two babies that need surgery.  Please remember them in your prayers this week. 

You may remember Jaime from a few months ago.  Here he is, with his parents.

Jaime's surgery will be sponsored by Danny, from Morganton, North Carolina.

Another baby is, Bryan Ixcoy Patzam.  I do not have a photo of him at this time but his surgery will be sponsored by Tom and Freda, also from Morganton, North Carolina.

Please remember the team that travels down with Rick today.  Many surgeries will be done and it is for the purpose to help others and to share the love of Christ.

Please also remember the Eastside Church of Christ as they travel back to Colorado.  Lisa and Kemmel will also be traveling back to Chichicastenango..............I know that Fifi and Jorge will be glad to see them :)

Savor Chichicastenango in One Day

I recently had people write and ask me about the book, Savor Chichicastenango in One Day.  I realized that I had never mentioned it here on the blog.........so, here goes.

It is a book that is available on Amazon. com and Lulu.com.  It sells for $2.99 and is about Chichicastenango. 

It includes things to help make your visit to Chichi more comfortable, restaurants that are tour friendly, hotels that are clean and safe, information about the largest open market in Central America, where the famous Santo Tomas Catholic Church is and also contact information if you would like to hike to a Mayan Sacrificial area and spend time in a Mayan sauna.

Many people travel to Chichi for the morning on market days, which are Thursday and Sundays.  You will be ready before you hit the streets.

If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.  

Eastside helps at Clinica Caris

 For the last few days, Eastside has helped the communities.  Today, they are in Lemoa, helping at Clinica Caris.

They painted the outside of our clinic and built some shelves for us.

Bryant and Lisa beginning to paint.

 Debbie continues on another section.

 It looked great!!

This is Allen, Wally and Craig as they work on one of the shelves that they made for us.  It will be great to hold clinic bags and educational materials.

 Matt continues to paint and pray that the ladder holds him!

The group headed to Panajachel with Lisa and Kemmel for a little rest and relaxation. 

Thank you for all of your hard work, prayers and support.  It was great having you down and share in the work. Thank you for your support to Lisa and Kemmel.  I know that you hold a special place in their hearts.  We pray for your safe return to The States and look forward to your  next visit!