Chutzurob and flat tire......

Today, we had clinic in Chutzurob.

When I went to Lisa and Kemmel's to get the truck, we found the truck had a flat tire.....ahhhhhhh!!!
Kemmel called Marcos and asked him to stop by the house and we would load the clinic equipment to his truck and we would fix the flat after clinic.

We had a wonderful clinic in Chutzurob with 25 medical patients and 15 dental patients.

This is Tomas and his family.  Tomas always helps us in the clinic and is concerned that his children do not eat very much at home.  I think it is because they are eating too many cookies and chips and drinking bottles of Coke at school.   I mentioned doing a nutrition class in the next few months and it went over well so we will plan on that.

This young man was waiting bravely for his visit with Marcos and Martina.

You have heard me mention, "Oh by the way......." stories.  Here was a good one from today.  A mother brings her 6-7 year old child in, who 4 days ago, stuck a bean up his nose.  He is not in any respiratory distress and as I mentioned, it has been in there for 4 days.

I look and look but can not see anything.  She said that they had dug some of it out but there is still some of it left inside.  I did not doubt her but I just could not see anything. Yes, his nose is red and irritated but I can not find a bean.  I offer to let them ride with us and we can take them to the hospital. She then says, "No, we did that on Saturday......oh, by the way, they told me I need to take him to Xela to see a specialist to get it out."

Yep!  You still need to go to Xela!  I hope she does what was recommended before he grows some bean roots in his nose :)

We finished clinic and then returned to Chichi and got the tire changed. Manuel drove the truck home and will come back to get us in the morning before we go to Xepol.  

Karen's visit to Chichicastenango

This morning, I went to Quiche for worship.  I was saddened to hear that the building was broken in to and their computer and PA system was stolen.  This also recently happened in Josue's community.  How sad........

When we finished, I went to Santo Tomas to meet Karen. Below is the scarf that she brought me.  It was made by the ladies in Chuchipaca.  They have the ability to coordinate colors and their workmanship is very good.

Karen wanted to visit the Utz Batz, the local Fair Trade Store here in Chichi.  They had a lot of pretty things.

We walked around Chichi a little and then it was time for lunch.  We sat outside at Santo Tomas and ordered something to drink as we waited for the food to be served.  I ordered a Diet Coke and for some reason, a couple of bees loved my drink. They were diving for the glass and this is unusual for Diet Coke.  I threatened one of the bees and told him that his life was going to be short if he did not leave me alone.  Then, the waiter told us the food was ready.

When we returned to the table, we began to eat.  I was eating my vegetables and was loving them.  They have great salads and veges at the hotel. Well, something was real crunchy and had an ODD flavor and then it STUNG my gum.............I am sure I do not need to tell you what I was eating!  I tried to discreetly place the remains in my napkin and then Karen noticed something was not quite right. I kept my promise to him..........I shortened his life :)

The waiter was nice and brought me some ice and that helped. Later I took some IBU but my mouth was tender for the rest of the evening.  Another day.......another adventure!

Manuel, Gaspar and I went to Chuchipaca today.  We had a small clinic but had some good results.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned a 38 year-old lady that has had seizures for 18 years.  She had never been seen nor has ever tried medicine.  Well, she came back today and during this two weeks, she has only had two seizures!!  She said that these two were very mild compared to the ones that she use to have almost every day.  How exciting is this??

One lady returned and I am afraid that she has some type of cancer growth on her nose.  She has had it for over a year and it is continuing to grow.  She will go and see the surgeon in Chichi that we use.  Maybe she will have a biopsy done and I will be wrong.  I hope that for her!

In the afternoon, Karen came to visit us.  Karen is here in Guatemala and is working with the ladies in Chuchipaca.  Today, she had a meeting with them so she came by the clinic.  She was real pleased with the products that the ladies made.  I love the scarf that she had so tomorrow, she is coming to visit me in Chichi and she will bring the scarf to me.  I will post a photo so you can see the colors. 

Diabetic Class and organizing in Lemoa

This morning, we went to Lemoa to have the first diabetic class and continue to organize the clinic.  Last week, Kemmel and the guys went to Guatemala City and purchased things that had been stored in a warehouse.  He was able to get a lot of things that will be very helpful in the additional rooms of the clinic.

Kemmel helping Martina, Maria and Maury clean and organize.  This is the area that Sandra and Maria will be working in.

This is the area that Gaspar and Tomas will be doing dental cleanings in.  Before the addition, they either did the cleanings in the lab or outside on the porch.

Gaspar and I had nine students for the diabetic class.  In this class, we discuss what diabetes is, who can have it and how if affects your body.  I always like to emphasis that this is not an illness that will go away.  Taking one bag of medicine will not cure you.  There were a lot of questions and discussion.

One man shared the story that when he talked to Lisa about the medicine, he asked her how long he would have to take the medicine.  He told us that Lisa responded with, "You will need to take the medicine until Jesus returns for us."    Her response left quite an impression with him and he continues to come to clinic every month.  Thank you, Lisa!

There were also questions about the use of insulin.  This is exactly what this class is for.  When there are 30 patients waiting to be seen, it is difficult to give sufficient time to each patient.  This gives them an opportunity to have all of their questions answered and to clarify things that they hear about this illness.  The education is so important to these patients.

Tomorrow, Manuel, Gaspar and I will go to Chuchipaca for clinic.

Gospel Seminar in Chuguexa

The other day when we had clinic in Chuguexa, there was some serious preparation going on the the three days of meeting that the church was going to have.  Today, we saw it in action and it was a wonderful day!!

All of the local Churches of Christs were invited to attend.  Today, was our usual day of classes for the promoters so we cancelled our class.  During lunch, Tomas and Gaspar estimated that there were 800 people in attendance.

In the morning, there were two speakers and the topic was on doctrine.  A responsibility that we have, and a very serious one, is to only teach the Bible.  There are a lot of ideas and thoughts that are not Bible-based.  We have a responsibility to teach and only stand for truth but to do it with love and compassion.

Most of the activity was going on inside but not everyone could comfortably fit inside.

People had set up stands to sell fruits, flavored ice, drinks, chips, ice cream and snacks.

This is the kitchen area with people in line for food.  For breakfast, they served boiled eggs, beans, tamalitos and coffee.  For lunch, soup was served with tamalitos.

This is a group of ladies from the Paxot II area.

Kemmel made a few contacts through the day.  We found two areas that might be areas for future clinics. This is the daughter of one of the ministers, who is interested in a clinic in his community.

In the afternoon, the lesson was on the crisis of the offering. The speaker was very energetic and had some excellent thoughts.

It was a good day and everyone enjoyed our time together.  There is nothing like Guatemalan singing........it was a blessing to be able to participate in the day.

HTI Board Meeting in Antigua

Kemmel, Lisa and I headed down to Antigua to prepare for the HTI Board Meetings that will be this weekend.

It was good to see everyone again, since it has been two years since the board meeting was here in Guatemala.  It is exciting to see all of the work that is being done in the coastal area and here in the highlands. 

We are very thankful to be led by a board that is truly dedicated to the work and assure that the work is done by Christian principles.  While we have seen accomplishments, we are aware that there is still much work to be done.  We will strive to better and improve the work, while remembering the glory is His.

Harriet and Cynthia called the meeting to order.  Cynthia translated for Harriet, since there are many in the group that do not speak English.

Julie translated for David during his presentation.  David presented the activities of the clinics in the coastal area.  It was very exciting to hear of the teachings and baptisms that have occured near Montellano.

A true joy was hearing of how David's wife, Sonya, was recently baptized.  For those who have spent any time in Montellano during a surgical clinic, you will remember Marta, who places the IVs in the patients before their surgery.  She also was recently baptized.  These two ladies have heard the Christian teachings and also wanted to obey the gospel.  I know the angles rejoice with us.

Lisa presented the medical activities of the highlands.  She then introduced Ruben and Sandra, his wife.  Ruben spoke for a few minutes on the differences he has seen between Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Kemmel, ran the presentations and made sure we did not have any glitches.

These are a few of the Guatemalan HTI Board Members.

We heard presentations about the ABC Program and how it is growing. The changes that have taken place at Clinica Ezell and the additions on to Clinica Caris.

It was a long day but a good day.  Tomorrow morning, we will worship together and then later return to Chichi.

Clinic in Lemoa

Today, we had a great day in Lemoa. We had 22 medical patients, with a wide variety of illnesses.

Lisa had one patient return with xrays and we scheduled her an appointment with Jennifer. Jennifer, is a physical therapist and has been helping in our clinic. She is able to educate patients on exercises and treatments that will help their illness.

We had several diabetics and most of them plan on attending the next diabetic class. The family that lives behind the clinic has had family members from New York and New Jersey visiting for a two weeks. One of the ladies came to the clinic to get some medicine before she travels home. She told me that she is a diabetic and when she is in New York, she has no problem controlling her blood sugar. When I asked her how it has been since she has been here, she just laughed and said, "Way too high! They eat so much rice here!"

After all of the patients were seen, we had a staff meeting. There are so many things that we need to talk about as the ministry grows and needs arise. It takes a lot of planning to keep things going and Kemmel does a great job of keeping us organized.

This weekend the HTI Board will be meeting in Antigua. Some of us will be going to Antigua tomorrow and preparing for the meetings on Saturday and Sunday, while others will arrive on Saturday morning. Please remember us in your prayers as we all travel to Antigua. We will be presenting information on the medical and dental clinics in the highlands. We will also present information on the educational programs that we have and how it has impacted the communities.

I know the board members would appreciate your prayers as they make decisions on how to better serve the communities and congregations that we are involved in. Health Talents is very much respected here in Guatemala and we always want to remember our ministry.......to share the love of Christ and to support the local congregations in their ministry.