Clinic in Caris with a Cat

Lisa, Kemmel, Sandra and I headed out to Clinic Caris this morning.  Lisa saw the pap patients and did ultrasounds and I saw the others.

When I was in the lab room, I heard a loud, "Meow!"  I thought it was someone's ringtone.  A little later, I found out that we had a kitten in the storage room.

We finished clinic today with 12 medical patients.

One lady that came for her medicine today, suffers from epilepsy.  I noticed that last time she was at clinic, she was pregnant.  I asked about the baby and she told me that it had died at birth.  How sad for her!  We talked for quite a awhile and she she told me that she often is in Chichi.  I invited her to the ladies Bible class in November, when we will be talking about good emotional health.  She sounded like she will be there, so we will see.

We have one diabetic patient who has been telling everyone that he has not taken his medicines for five months and how great he feels.  He says he is controlling his blood sugar with hard work and exercise.   Well, he came to clinic in the afternoon and he is not controlled.  His blood sugar was 384..........and at his last visit, it was 280. I hope he changes his mind and returns next month.

When it came time to head to Chichi, Ceci put her kitten in a cardboard box.  He finally poked his head out and as you can tell, he was not happy at all!

Warm San Jorge

Today, I headed to San Jorge with Manuel and Enrique.  We left Santa Cruz at 0800, quickly set up clinic and then were seeing patients.  San Jorge is much warmer than Chichi and Santa Cruz so we enjoyed the sunny day!

These photos are from behind where we have clinic.  The owner of the land wanted me to take a photo of his flowers.

I think that it is very pretty here.  I would not want to live here year around but from time to time, I enjoy the warmer climate.

I had mentioned yesterday that this clinic has a lot of diabetics and they proved me correct today.  We had 18 patients and 11 of those were diabetics.  We had some newly diagnosed ones so Pedro and I talked about doing another series of the classes in 2014.

Our travels today were safe and we are always thankful for that!

Tomorrow, we will be in Lemoa.

Carris Clinic

Today, I went to Lemoa for clinic.  We had a large diabetic population today. 

We have several female patients, whose husbands have traveled to the United States to find work.  Sometimes they return to Guatemala to be with their families, but many times not.  One lady today continued to ask me about The States and then I eventually found out why.

Her husband has been working in The States for several years.  By the end of the conversation, she was crying.  Guatemalans are usually very stoic with emotions but this lady is having a very difficult time.  Her husband left before their child was born and he has never seen the child.  When she talks to him about coming back, she said he gets very upset with her and they begin to argue.  She partially believes that he will return but is beginning to think not. It is just a sad situation for the family left back here.

I hope to get Diabetic Classes scheduled again.  We have a lot of new diabetics that really need more education.

We ended the day with 20 medical patients and 9 dental cleanings.

Tomorrow, I will head up to San Jorge with Enrique and Manuel..........another area that has a lot of diabetics.

Ladies class in Mactzul I

This afternoon, Ceci and I went to Mactzul I for a ladies class.  We arrived before anyone else so I was a little concerned that I had the date wrong.

Soon, people began to arrive and I felt better.

Today, the class was a topic of their choice.  They wanted to study good emotional health.  I enjoyed preparing for the class and as I have talked to Ceci about it, I thought she would also enjoy it.

There were 40-45 ladies in the class with several young people. There eventually was a lot of participation and people seemed to enjoy it.

We will do this same class next month in Chichi.

Clinic and corn field in Xepol

Gaspar and I set out this morning and picked up Ceci as we made our way to Xepol.

Everything was, notice I say "was" great until I needed to park the truck.

The heavy rains have washed part of the road away above the church building.  Unfortunately, this is where we park the truck.  We thought it would be easier to park the truck if we turned around first.  I was told there was a good place below to make this turn...........

Well, as we went down the hill we met quite a bit of mud but I was able to turn the truck around without any problem.  Then, as we started up the hill, the problem began.  The truck could not make the hill........there was no traction.  It was just as if we were on a frozen lake.

We decided to just back down and carry the equipment up.  The sunshine and wind would hopefully dry the road enough so we would get some traction.  As I started back down the hill, the truck decided it wanted to do something different and one tire ended up in a cornfield! We got out and talked about a plan of action.

Making a long story short, many people came to help us.  They carried rocks and straw.  Gaspar, slipped but I could not see him due to the way the truck was tipped, but he came back up with a bloody nose.  Ceci grapped some toilet paper from my backpack and went to his rescue.  My heart just sunk lower.

We eventually got the truck on level ground and carried our equipment up the hill.

We had a great clinic of 17 patients.  There were 4 patients that need surgery so I will work on getting those scheduled.

This is one little girl that is always in clinic and she helps by carrying our backpack for us.

By the time we finished clinic, the road was dry enough for the truck to make the climb.

No damage to the truck, just to my ego and to Gaspar's lip  :(   but both will heal :)   Just another day and another adventure!!

Tomorrow, we have a class in Mactzul I and I am really for it!!

Let's go DOWN to the River!!!

It was another very exciting day for many people!!  There were over 2000 adults and over 300 children that participated in the conference today in Mactzul VI.  It is always an encouragement to go and see people from several communities.

Let the Conference begin!

When the conference begin, the ladies have already been working for many, many hours.  There are several pots with boiling beef, vegetables, tamalitos and coffee. They are too heavy and hot to lift so they insert wooden poles through the handles.

As soon as Kemmel got his spot set up, he had an assistant! Kemmel sells Bibles, song books and educational materials at cost.  He does not make a profit doing so, but understands how important it is that people have these tools.

Then came the moment........it was time to go to the river.  This was a very special time for me again.  Irma, who was baptized, is one of our patients in Mactzul II.  When she first came to us, her hair was falling out, she was underweight and had a few other problems.  She then started reading the Bible and the elders of the church visited her and her family.

They told us it was a 15 minute walk to the river........I should have known better.........that translates into about 45 minutes and down, down, down!!  And when you go down, that means to return you must go up, up, up!

We finally made it and there were over 80 people who had made the hike!  People were lined up on both sides of the small stream. On the right side of the photo, is the sheet that they hang up so the person can change into dry clothes after the baptism.

I talked to Irma before we left and she told me that she was nervous.  What a sweet, young lady she is.  Her health has improved and she is much happier.  This is Irma in the front.  Behind her, is her dad in the solid white shirt.  Her parents are not Christians at this point but we pray that they will reconsider their relationship with God.

The elders praying before the baptism.

Irma being baptized..........just as Peter told the people in Acts 2, just as the Philippian Jailer, as Philip baptized the eunuch, just as Jesus did for our example and the list goes on...........

The angels rejoiced again today.

This young girl is now 5 years old.  When she was only a few days old, I was asked to visit her since she had "a ball" on her back.  Well, we drove out to her house and I visited her and her mom. This is her mom on the left and they live in Paxot II.  I called Kemmel and told him about the situation.  If I remember correctly, Lisa was working on her Guatemalan license at this time.  Kemmel went to Guatemala City with this family and visited with them in the hospital there.  She had surgery, followed by  physical therapy.  She is now running and playing, as all of the other children!

It has been a full 2 days but they have been wonderful!

Let's Go to the River

Wow, what an afternoon it was!  I knew that there were going to be several baptisms today and I knew what a special day this will be for many.

Kemmel called me and told me that one of the people that is being baptized is Esteban, and he is my ABC Child.  I was hoping to make it back to Chichi to ride with Kemmel and Lisa out to Xepocol.

When we arrived in Xepocol, we walked down to the river and crossed over.........with the help of many rocks!

We sang several songs and then Gaspar talked to the 11 people that were to be baptized.

As always, the people who will be doing the baptizing, begin in prayer.  Gaspars' uncle is on the left and his dad is on the right.

This is Esteban.  I think this was a special moment for his dad........his dad is on the left and his uncle is on the right.

The following photo is Cristina.  She is a the sister to Maria, who works as a dental assistant with us.

When I talk to patients about what they need to do to be saved, I tell them that it does not matter what I think, nor does it matter what other people say.........What matters is, what the Bible commands.  So, in reading,  

Romans 6:4

Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death:

that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.

When Cristiana and the other 10, were raised........they had completed the commandments for salvation.  They now have a new life.  Their names are now written in the Book of Life.

When we finished, we went for an evening worship in Xepocol.........the angels were continuing to rejoice!

For more photos and more of the story, please see Kemmel and Lisa's blog at:
www.kemmelandlisa.blogspot.com

Tomorrow, the conference in Mactzul VI begins......it will be another exciting day!!!