In the service of others we serve the Lord

What an incredible day in the land of the Fire Volcano!

There were so many wonderful examples of service to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let's start with the paint!

Before Paint

After Paint

 Scott and Todd headed up a painting project- the sanctuary at the church & school we used for our clinic space the past three days. The team as a whole were touched beyond words to learn the men of the church (and our bus driver!) volunteered to help paint once we were given permission- what service to each other!

                  

Another blessing was the pepian- a Mayan broth made with special spices and a piece of chicken and a guatemalan vegetable called wisquill- this lunch was again made by the women of the church, which included blue corn tortillas! Patty and Deb were designated team tortilla makers today!

                                     

Included in our patient volume today were local firemen! One of the fireman in his doctor interview when complimented on his career choice replied, "it is our duty to care for our fellow man." He also had a ring with a tiny rosary wrapped around the ring, to help him with his prayers. It was an honor to serve someone who serves others even in the face of danger.

 

And to bring to light the extra service of one of the provider teams- Karen and Courtney saw a young girl about 18 months old yesterday with her mom. The girl had a complicated case and per the mom it was previously not feasible to obtain specialty care- Karen felt the mom required more reassurance and follow up after the visit yesterday. Thanks to our amazing host, Nuri- she was able to coordinate a home visit today for Karen and Courtney. The two were blessed to have the opportunity to evaluate the little girl further, and also to have an in depth conversation with the parents and grandparents of the little girl, and were able to offer the family more medical information, and hope.

One of the church elders today summed up our experience here, and our callings as Christians here on Earth- Luke 17:7-10- we are here to serve others, and in that service, serve the Lord.

Buenas Noches from your 2015 Gautemala mission team

Volcano power

Nury, our host had some extraordinary pictures of the Fire Volcano, which we can see from her home,. We were so impressed that we wanted to share!

Most nights, we can see at least some fire on the volcano.

But on February 7th, it erupted!

The last picture is of the ash from the volcano in the nearby city of Antigua.

Maize

Blessings to all this beautiful evening in the Lord's Earthly Kingdom!

Today we had a field trip to one of the women of the church's house- she was so kind to be willing to show us her lay out of her second house, and share with us her husband's farming activities along the mountainside.

This corn is what is left of the woman's supply after boiling and grinding corn for the homemade tortillas they have made for our noon meals the last two days. The pumpkin is actually a black squash, which was cooked with sugar molasses and a Guatemalan fruit called a jocote for dessert- very interestingly sweet!

Clinic was another day of bright young children eager to receive vitamins, and talk about their continued success in school! All clinic stations were blessed by interactions with these smiling faces!

There was even painting with the children, as well as games of soccer and duck duck goose that were enjoyed by participants and spectators alike. 

The children in this picture are holding hygiene kits that we were able to provide for them- the team worked hard collecting hygiene items like toothpaste and toothbrushes, and soap for the clinic attendees.

One of the suitcases of hygiene kits

The last picture of today is posted per request of one of the team members with an ironic sense of humor- below is a picture of the volcano releasing smoke from the top- the picture was taken inside our van en route to clinic- the corner of the window has a "no smoking sign". We have enjoyed many a chuckle.

We have been updating and posting additional pictures in our past posts, so you might want to check those again.

Thank you for checking in, until tomorrow!, your 2015 Guatemala mission team.  

The land of the volcano

Blessings to all our supportive friends and family from this beautiful countryside ringed with hills, and coffee plants, and our team favorite- the volcanoes!

We have a view of  "Volcan Fuego", or fire volcano. Each night and each morning we are able to see lava spurt up from the volcano, providing some quality, and might we add, FREE entertainment! We have also been able to walk up the road and get different views of the mountains and volcanoes.

We discussed highs and lows of our first full day of clinic at our 2nd location--a village nearby the fire volcano. It is a church with a school attached to it, with the most amazing group of Mayan women who made the most incredible homemade Mayan meal, complete with homemade tortillas and tomatilla based soup and hot sauce. To make it even better, several team members were allowed to make tortillas with the women.  Marnie was named honorary Mayan because of her mad tortilla making skills!

To close for this evening- the band Crowder says it so wonderfully "Come as You are", and you will be accepted, loved, healed.

Blessings, Your 2015 Guatemala Mission Team

beauty is blue, red, and grey

The greatest in the kingdom of heaven

Mt. 18:1-5   Mt.19:13-15

Today we saw lots of students at The Redeemer of the World Church and School.  Note the uniforms, the concrete slide, and the teacher, and children playing in various places.  Blessings to all, and thanks for your prayers.

                                                     

The slide at the Lutheran School

Checking out the students

                                             

One of the teachers

Playing with the kids

    

flying a home-made kite

looking for more wind for the kite

Heather with a student

Marnie painting fingernails

a boy with a toy car that we brought

coloring with Heather

exercising with Ilse

siblings

On the ground boots running

We arrived! Friday night was a late one, as we hit an unexpected snag in customs.  Our list of medication differed from the one they had, and we spent three hours in the airport before traveling an hour to Nury's house.

Bed at midnight, after getting up at 4:00

a.m, and then up again at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, all of which made us pretty "draggy" for the start of our clinic at Jocotenango at 9:00 a.m.

But we rallied!

It is amazing to see an experienced medical team at work:
1.  Local volunteers helped register 105 people.
2.  Heather weighed all of them and supplied them with Vermox (worm medicine)
3.  While the patients waited to see the medical team, Ann taught
them about diet, hygiene, dental care, and diabetes management.
4. Kily distributed evangelism bracelets.

5.  Patty, Deb, Kristi, Jan, and Karen set up and operated two medical stations, where they took histories, diagnosed illnesses, gave advice, and prescribed medication.  They also distributed the hygiene kits and the angels.

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6.  Courtney and Pam provided medical support, running hemoglobins, urine tests, and blood sugars.  Courtney also served with the doctor on a medical station.
7.  Then the patients who were prescribed medications went to the pharmacy, where Bryan, Karen, Marnie, Todd, Pam and Courtney filled their prescriptions and counseled them on taking the meds.

The whole team was assisted by wonderful translators: Steph, Chrisitan, Barbara, Paola, and, of course by Nury, our host, and Jen, our MOST team leader.

Everyone received vitamins, angels,and hygiene kits,  The little children got toys.  All were reminded of God's love for them.

As is common with field medical care, there was a lot of ear washing (instead of feet washing), diabetic care, and pregnancy support.  The team was able to use a doppler to let a new mother hear her baby's heart beat for the first time--always a high.  They treated a child for scabies, which is a very irritating and sometimes painful disease.  They taught physical therapy exercises, prayed with patients who were anxious, and used i-phones to translate medication names from English to Spanish and visa versa.

Experiencing the thankfulness of individuals and families, who recognized God's grace and love provided by Him through this team, were definitely the highlights of clinic day-one.  And the children are oh so special.

Thank you for your continued prayer support!

Blessings,

Your 2015 Guatemala mission team