Belize......After All of These Years!!

I have lost track of how many years it has been since I have visited Belize.  For some reason, it has always stayed on my mind and I finally have a chance to return.  When I return to Guatemala, I will look in my old passport to actually see how many years it has been. I was on a three week vacation  of Guatemala and Belize with Janice and Barbara, who I worked with and also some other friends. I had no idea then, that someday, Guatemala would be my home.

I left the hotel in Antigua at 0400 and made my way to a small plane in Belize.  When we boarded, it looked to small to actually fly.  It reminded me of the flight that I took with Kemmel and Lisa last year to Cozumel to translate at the orphanage.  Flap those arms hard!!

So before take off, he let me jump out and crank the prop!

He ushered me out to the plane and he told me that I would have a private plane for the first five minutes. We would land in Belize City and pick someone up.  He was correct.........it was someone, so this one guy and I had a semi-private flight.

Getting ready to land in Placencia, Belize.

This looked very familiar after all of these years.

I got a taxi to my hotel, The High Tide Guest House.  It is only about ten minutes from the airport.

I got settled into my room and met Cheryl, who runs the guesthouse.  It is super clean and in a quiet location.

I am about half a block from the beach and checked out the surroundings.  I went down on the beach to read a little and then walked down the beach for an early dinner. This was the view from my table!  I enjoyed fish tacos and then a quick swim in the pool. I slept for a few minutes and then was back on the beach!

How could the day gone any better??  Well, they did loose my luggage for about two hours in Belize City but that sure did not ruin my day!  Tomorrow??  Who knows...........but I will keep you posted.

Clinic in Lemoa

Today is Saturday, which is OUR FRIDAY.........................if you can follow that, you are doing well.  When I have clinics on Saturdays, I always joke that this is our Friday and tomorrow is our Saturday.

I forgot to share this photo with you from yesterday.  This turkey, this is not a very good photo but will show the point, is mothering these 9 baby chicks!  She talks to them and they follow her around.  When she loses track of one, she goes back to gather it!

The other day returning from clinic, Martina was making a lot of phone calls. I did not pay much attention as she was primarily speaking in K'iche'.  When she finished, she told me that she was trying to find a turkey egg to place under her turkey. She told me that a turkey will take another egg and care for it until it hatches as if it were her own. I am not a farm girl so I do not know these kind of things. I am always learning something.

We did not have a lot of patients today. We have been announcing and talking about the new clinic on Saturday but it will take some time for people to remember it.  We counted a lot of pills, cleaned, organized and ate.  Manuel took a truck to get it serviced and when he returned, he surprised us with a  morning snack.  It is white corn broth with a few black beans, in which you flavor with anything that you want to use.  Everyone uses the Palitos and then you have options of chili, lime, salt or chicken flavoring.  I like mine with Palitos, lime and salt.........hold the chili and chicken, please.

On Monday, I will continue with the ladies in Chuchipaca. We are studying Proverbs 31 about the Virtous Woman.  We are talking about the manner in which she works and cares for her family.  She is not lazy but works though the day and into the evening to provide the best she can.

The ladies have always enjoyed examples so I try to prepare some for them. So, if you were in the market and wanted to buy something..................would you be more likely to buy from this lady??

Or would you buy from this lady??  Everyone selected the second photo and explained by saying, they would buy from her because she is prepared to sell.

People see our actions and they observe our behavior.  It is obvious the first lady, at the moment that the photo was taken, was not interested in making a sell.

So, that is on the agenda for Monday.

On Tuesday, I will go to Antigua and then fly to Belize.  Semana Santa in Chichicastenango is packed and very crowded.  I am going to make an escape!!

Meet Glenda From Paxot III

Today, we had clinic in Paxot II.  We had a good number and a good variety of patients.

When it was lunch time, we walked to Manuel's home and enjoyed lunch. The kitchen was full of family and we had a great time.  Manuel's mother was in her usual position and served the soup into two bowls. In one bowl was the broth and in the other bowl was squash, carrot and beef. We also enjoyed lime, avocado and tortillas. 

Meals are always interesting in this home.  You can openly see how important family is to this culture. There were seventeen of us and we had a great time.  Lunch went quickly and then it was back to clinic.

It was almost time to close up and then I found out that my newest ABC Daughter was there from Paxot III.  I have not had the opportunity to meet her yet......................so here she is!

Her name is Glenda and she lives down the road, in another community.  She is studying to be a secretary and has one more year of school.  She likes lipstick, jewelry and likes to study.........yes, she IS my daughter!

I asked her if she is studying English and she said yes.  She told me that she had a project from school that she was working on and I offered my help her if she would like it. We will meet for ice cream on Sunday at 2pm and I will help her with her English project.

Armando and Armando Visit Us

Today, was the day that we have been waiting for.

Last October or November, I heard about a gentleman that needed some help.  At first we did not know his name or where he lived. We just heard he was out there. It took about five weeks and we found him and his name is Armando. Early in January, he had surgery to remove an extremely large lipoma or mass from his neck and back area. He did extremely well and is so thankful to Health Talents International for the help he received.

After surgery, his son Armando Junior started messaging Gaspar and me about wanting to meet with us.  They are not Christians and have had more interest in studying the Bible. We have offered them the invitation to visit us when ever it is possible.  The travel for them is about 10-11 hours on a bus.

This morning, they left their home at 0200 to come and see us. I was so excited to see them standing outside of the clinic as we welcomed the patients.  Gaspar welcomed them and told people how far they had traveled.  Armando spoke up and told the crowd about the care he has received and how it has changed his life.

This was the day we had been waiting for.  I spoke with Armando, his son and Gaspar before I started seeing patients.  Gaspar continued with them for almost three hours. When they finished, they came and asked me if I could talk a few miniutes.

They have decided that they want to be baptized and become Christians.  They are returning to their home today, to speak to the other family members and to tell them what they have learned. They are hoping that the others will want to do the same and then they will start a church in the area where they live.  We are all very thankful for their interest and want to help them in any way that we can.

Before they returned to Jalapa, they wanted a photo as today was very special for all of us.......Gaspar, Armando, myself and Armando´s son.  We will be following up with them in the next couple of weeks. I will keep you posted.

The Instant World That We Live In

This morning I went to Quiche to worship.  There was a good number there and as I have mentioned before, the church continues to grow.

The lesson was very good.  He talked about how we live in an Instant Society.  I have thought about this many times.  We are not a patient people.  We, myself included, sometimes want things five minutes ago.  Waiting can be difficult and frustrating for us.

He started naming all of the things we have that are instant. 
  

We enjoy our computers until they are not fast enough.  Instead of writing a letter by hand and having it delivered a week later, we are frustrated if our emails are not sent in a few seconds.

We want success and we want it now.  Generations before us had to "work up the ladder." Now, we have the expectation that we deserve the promotion or the newest and largest account in the firm.

How many young people actually have a used car for their first owned car?  Many people have traveled outside of the states internationally, several times before they are out of college.

If we do not get what we want and as fast as we want it, it can cause frustration, leading to severe depression. We want to give our children the best but is that always the best for them?

Just a few thoughts to ponder on a Sunday afternoon.

Wow, Mactzul I Has Changed

Today, we had clinic in Mactzul I at the school.  It was a good clinic with a variety of patients.

Between patients, Teresa cleaned out the medicine boxes. I would like to be able to say that I helped her but actually I bothered and pestered her more than I helped. I just could not control myself!  I wanted to put dust and rocks in her nice, clean medicine box.  She took it well and teased me back. Manuel even started giving her a hard time but it was all in fun...........

We started this clinic at the school early in 2015.  This section was an abandoned school house that some of our adult promoters were able to study at when they were younger. Most were only able to finish 3rd or 4th grade.  There is a newer section to the school and eventually, this was torn down. This photo was taken in January of 2015.

At this time, there was an inauguration at the school and a ceremony was held to show unity through out the community.  Kemmel spoke and represented Health Talents. He explained that we would be there every Friday and welcomed everyone to visit the clinic. Others from the community spoke, which included a Catholic Priest and a Mayan Priest.

There were several in attendance!The whole front of the new section was full with chairs and then people were also sitting in the backs of their trucks.

The landscaping has changed drastically in the last few months.  They now have cleared away the land in front, laid a cement foundation and have built this enormous cover.  The section of school to the far left is the section that replaced the old school.

For lunch we enjoyed eggs and tortillas.  We finished up with the last few patients and then started packing up for the day.

Tomorrow, we will have clinic in Lemoa and I hope that we have some patients.  I am going to buy pizzas for us and then our friend will deliver them to us to enjoy for lunch.  Really, they are a peace-offering to Teresa for picking on her so much   :) :) :)

Meet Jessica, Our New Dentist

Today we had clinic in Saquilla and in each clinic, we have a few more patients. It was a good clinic and we enjoyed the day.

I have not introduced you to Jessica yet. She is a dentist from Nicaragua that previously worked in Montellano at Clinica Ezell.  It is because of this, many people know her and she does not seem like a new employee.  Her brother is Ruben, who worked with us for a few years and then returned to Nicaragua.

Anyway, due to the political climate in her home country, she is here working with us for about a year. She was back in Montellano for a couple of months and now she will finish the year with us. She is working in the clinics that were Andrea's clinics and she is working with Maria.

Instead of carrying a lot of the equipment into the house, we decided to just pass it through the window and save many steps. That is Manuel in the back of the truck as he hands down the dental supplies.

Thank you Jessica for your help and we hope that you have a great year with us!

For lunch, we ate eggs and fresh avacados.  They were really good and during this time of year, you can get about 5 for $1.00..........fresh off the trees for our dining pleasure!