Pepperdine's last clinic day

Today was somewhat of a sad day to end the week. Many of the students became sick last night or early this morning. Up until this time, everyone had done so well.

Some of us went to our regular clinic in Lemoa. We had 17 medical patients and I did not hear a final number on the dental patients.

The patient with the nasal tumor returned and I was eagerly waiting to see what information he had for us. Unfortuantely, he had not gone for his consult at the hospital. Kemmel and I have both talked to him and his mother and have said that maybe we could help financially with his treatment but need to know more specifics of what the treatment might be. He said that he would return next week with more information.

We saw a lady yesterday in Mactzul VI who complained of being thirsty all of the time. When we tested her blood sugar, the glucometer read "HI", which means it is over 500. I asked her to visit us today in Lemoa and not eat any breakfast before she came to the clinic. Her glucose this morning was 463. We started her on some medicine and talked about how she should alter her diet. She said she will return to Lemoa again next week so we can see if some progress is being made.

Today many of us went back to Mi Taco Express for dinner. Some of the students still did not feel well so they passed. We then returned to the hotel to have a devotional. Then everyone took a few minutes to share with the group what they enjoyed most about the week or anything that really encouraged them. We ended the evening with prayer and asked God to grant safe travel tomorrow as they drive to Antigua and then as they fly home on Saturday.

I would like to thank the family and friends of the students who have been reading the blog and posting comments. I really appreciate it and hope you continue to read about the clinics.

Anja's Birthday Pinata Video!

Below is the video you have been waiting for....................Blogger finally cooperated and uploaded the video.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANJA!!!

Clinic in Mactzul VI

OK, another day.........we took off this morning in two trucks for Mactzul VI. The clinic was smaller than I had hoped for but and enjoyable one. We had 11 medical patients and 12 dental patients. Everyone pitched right in and unloaded the truck quickly. Gaspar welcomed the patients and then Kemmel led us in prayer.

It was nice to see Pedro again. He is the gentleman who's son died a couple of weeks ago. He seemed to be doing as well as can be expected but his wife is struggling. Please remember her in your prayers.

The group was given a chance to try their hands at making tortillas. It does not appear to be very hard to do but once you try..........your thoughts are different.


This little girl has no problems and enjoyed showing us how quickly she could make one!

This little boy won the hearts of the students! I had to check their suitcases to be sure they did not try to smuggle him back to Santa Cruz!

The students brought soccer balls and played with the children and they loved it!!
They left the balls with Pedro so they can continue to enjoy them.

We ordered pizza and had it delivered to the hotel tonight. It was very good! We ended the night with a devotional again led by Juan Diego. Juan Diego studied at a Bible college in Honduras and from time to time works with Health Talents helping translate for visiting teams.

Juan Diego talked tonight about how the Guatemalan culture is repressed by their own government. He gave many reasons for this, one being the language barrier caused by 23 different languages. Another one that he mentioned was the civil war that lasted 30 years.

All of this was leading to scriptures that talk about Jesus being compassionate and healing. He said that Guatemala needs a leader who has compassion for the people. Guatemala needs a leader who is strong and will heal the land. It was a very thought provoking discussion because there are so many areas of need here..........the two largest being health-care and education.

Well, all of that thinking made me want icecream........so we all headed out for some.......now it is home for a good night of sleep!

Celebrating Anja's Birthday in Pacaja Xesic!!

It was another day full of adventure and challanges! Especially for Anja as we celebrated her birthday in Pacaja Xesic. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANJA!! Please see March 6th for the video of the pinata.

We loaded 4 vehicles this morning full of supplies and people and made our way to Pacaja Xesic. We had 23 medical patients and 22 dental patients. Brian and I saw one lady that has a small mass in her abdomen. She will have an ultrasound down and follow up at our clinic in Lemoa. Another lady brought her ultrasound back today that confirmed a mass so she will also be seen in Lemoa. Hopefully, we will get both these ladies scheduled for the surgical clinic in April at Clinica Ezell.

Below is Aaron playing around with one of the little boys that lives near the area we have clinic.
This little boy is always full of energy!

We were served a wonderful lunch today by the family that lives near the Church. We had fresh guaccamole and blackberry punch with steak, beans and tortillas. There are no words to describe how good it was! After lunch Anaj was presented her pinata. It was suspended in the field so she could really stretch and show us her swinging ability.
Below is is the Pepperdine group before Anja takes her first swings.

This evening we had dinner with a lady that grills steaks in front of her house.....another delicious meal. We followed dinner with a short devotional and people having the opportunity to share their thoughts on what they have experienced so far. People have enjoyed the hospitality of the Guatemalans and their willingness to open their homes to us.

Our first clinic in Xeabaj!

We had our first clinic in Xeabaj. Gaspar had told me that we would climb and that it would be pretty........and it was! We had 20 medical patients and 8 dental patients.

These were the Pepperdine students and Julie that were with us today. The other students were with Josefina in Clinica Carris in Lemoa.

I worked with Brian, who is a pediatrician from Minnesota. We had a good day talking with the patients and examining them. He is very kind with his patients and through. When we had a few minutes between patients, people went to check out, Jose, the dentist. Jose lives in The City and studied with Marcos. He is here to help us this week.
After clinic we ate dinner at a small restaurant here in Santa Cruz. I am going to snatch that hat before the end of the week! :)
I never can forget our guys! They keep us going on a daily basis and are very helpful!

Tomorrow......another day.....another challenge!

A Day in Chichi with the Pepperdine students

What a good day it has been! I met the students this morning at the hotel and 14 of us made our way to Chichi to check out the market. For many, it was their first time and they were looking forward to it.

We found a van that did not have any passengers to we jumped in that one. When we arrived in Chichi there was a traffic jam so we unloaded early and walked to the corner. As soon as we got there, a tuk-tuk lost it's front wheel. The guys, wanting to be helpful, just picked the tuk-tuk up, turned it around and pushed it up an incline to remove it from the congested area. Then the owner was able to totally replace his wheel!

Max wanted to buy some blankets with money that was donated for his trip. He was able to find a good price and with doing so, marked himself as an easy buyer :) The ladies below followed and followed him hoping he would leave Chichi with their goods also in his bag.
We enjoyed lunch at one of the favorite restaurants, Casa Juan. They have a good buffet on Sundays and it is in a central location.
I had a real good group photo this morning but had camera problems so I lost it. :( I will have to work on another one. This photo was taken in the Santo Tomas Hotel while we waited for everyone to return.

We safely made it back to Santa Cruz in time for worship. Josefina's dad preached the sermon and Juan Diego translated for him. They have never translated the message into English before so I thought this was very kind of them.

The message was on evangelism and what really evangelism it. He talked about the death and resurrection of Christ and how Christians are to continue to share this story. Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. When we are baptized, we are baptized into Christ. He shared scripture from Romans 6 as he spoke. It was a very good message.

We then went for icecream and some went to get more substantial food as chicken and pizzas. I headed home to make last minute plans for tomorrow.

We are going to a new community tomorrow, Xeabaj. I am really looking forward to it and pray that they people will be receptive and we will have several patients.

Mactzul V Clinic and Pepperdine arrives!!

Today we had clinic in Mactzul V and it was a good clinic. There were 10 medical patients and Gaspar had 4 patients that wanted their teeth cleaned. We were all happy campers.......

Gaspar told me today that me wants me to clean his teeth. I told him I did not know how but I would be glad to watch, learn and to clean his teeth.......I will keep you posted on that :)

One husband told me that his wife had not been feeling well for about a month and was not eating very good. So after talking to them for awhile, I tell her that I now will examine her. Then her husband tells me a few other things that makes me think she might be pregnant.......he proclaims, "No, she is not....these problems are because she is sick." Well, she is pregnant.......they have have 4 other children, the youngest being 9 years old. I do not think she was very happy about the situation.

After clinic we went Lemoa to reorganize the truck and prepare for next week. I drove Gaspar back to Chichi and wanted to wash the truck. All of the car washes were packed so it will have to wait for another day.....what harm is a few more inches of dust on the dash???

The Pepperdine group arrived safely from The City. Marcos, Manuel, Maury and Aura went to get them. I met them at the hotel when they arrived and we walked to dinner at Mi Taco Express.

When we arrived at the restaurant, our friend was happy to see us. He seemed not sure about taking our orders and seemed to hide behind the stove. I asked him if he wanted me to do it.....he said yes, please! So all of the orders were taken and then we promptly emptied out his fridge of drinks. Everyone had a plate, some had two and again, we were all happy campers.

The group walked back to the hotel and probably crashed for the night.....they were tired from the early departure this morning, the flight and then the drive to Quiche. Tomorrow morning we will head to the market.