Healthy ministry!

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? *** For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

One of this team's field ministries is heath and well-being education from the Scriptural perspective of our bodies as temples, dedicated to serving God.  We do this teaching ministry (described in past posts as the "hygiene station") both with groups and with individuals who need special attention.

Many of the people we serve abroad have never had any information or instruction on how to preserve their health and increase their well-being.  Many of the children we see have teeth with cavities or cracks; many of the adults no longer have their teeth. As in many places in the world, here there are individuals who struggle with obesity, stomach/intestinal issues, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Ann, a dietitian, has led this health and well-being effort, with the assistance of our interpreters.  The medical providers make specific referrals to her of those individuals with diabetes, weight, high blood pressure, and dental issues.

Most of the team has now heard her presentation dozens of times--a few of us now dream about it; some of us can repeat it verbatim.  Much of the information is straightforward to us, but some was surprising, even to us.  All of it is of such value, however, to everyone's continued ministry, in any country, that we have decided to post a summary of Ann's message:

"We are going to talk about what to eat and drink to keep your body and teeth healthy, because our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, we want to take good care of ourselves, so we can serve God for a long time.

looking at teeth

Learning how to brush teeth correctly

Drilling out cavities

Starting with our teeth, we know that some of the food we eat sticks to our teeth, even if we can't see it. We need to brush carefully after each meal to remove these food particles and the bacteria that turn into cavities.  We also need to eat foods that are healthy for our teeth and body.

Fruits and vegetables, of all the colors of the rainbow, are good for your teeth and body.  Save sweets, such as candy, desserts and soda, for occasional treats, not every day.  Brushing teeth after each meal is the key to preventing more cavities.  However, in situations where you cannot brush, use clean water to rinse your teeth and mouth whenever possible.

Too much sugar causes a lot of physical illnesses.  Sweetened beverages, such as sodas, have a lot of sugar.  One 12 oz. soda, for example,  has 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar.  Drinking 2 sodas every day equals over 4 pounds of sugar in a month! This is not only bad for teeth, it also increases our weight due to the calories from all that sugar, and has other consequences to our overall health.

Teaching kids about healthy foods

It has been shown that drinking sweetened beverages increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Exercise is also important in diabetes prevention and control of blood sugar.  It also helps lower blood pressure, which helps your heart.

Exercising with the students

Limiting salt intake, in cooking and in salty snacks, also helps lower blood pressure.  Using many of the herbs grown in Guatemala are great ways to add flavor instead of using salt."

Instructing adults about food

At the end of the group presentation, group members were "quizzed" about some of the topics discussed and had a chance to add comments or ask questions.  Everyone was very surprised that there was so much sugar in soda: the visual of 12 teaspoons of sugar in a pop can and a 4 pound bag of sugar in a month drove the message home: it is easy to put too much sugar into our bodies.  They had also never thought of using less salt in some foods, such as in cooking beans.

For those that already had diabetes, guidelines on what to eat were provided:

Eat 3 meals and 1-3 small snacks on a regular schedule.
Avoid, or limit to special occasions, sweets such as candy, desserts, fruit juices and regular soda.

Foods that have less effect on blood sugar are:  Unsweetened beverages, including tea and coffee; small amounts of sugar substitutes can be added.

Low starch vegetables such as leafy green vegetables, green beans, celery, bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers, etc., should be included in meals and snacks.

Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs and cheese have very little effect on blood sugar; include 2-3 servings of these daily.

Carbohydrate foods contain sugar, including milk, fruit, starchy vegetables, such as potatores, corn, yuca, plantains, dried beans/peas, and grains such as rice, pasta, cereal, bread, and tortillas.

Portion control of such carb foods is important: women should average 3-4 carbohydrate servings per meal, and men should average 4-5 serving per meal.  Snacks should be 0-2 carbohydrate servings.

These are general guidelines; sample menu ideas were individualized based on diet history, activity and medication.

Individuals with any medical issues should seek the counsel and advice of their physician, which might include a referral to a dietician, in addition to perhaps prescribed medication.

Stay healthy, and serve the Lord!

Blessings from your 2015 Guatemala mission team.  And may your teeth be with you!

We are home!

The Sioux Falls group arrived at 8:45 p.m. tonight.  It is always fun to set foot in the DFW airport and hear the agents say "Welcome Home!

With our service work done, on Friday we gave our remaining medicine to a local doctor and clinic, toured the city of Antigua Guatemala, and received a guided tour, by Nury, of a Mayan village.

Saturday we were up at 2:00 a.m., left for the Guatemala airport at 3:00 a.m., for a 7:00 a.m. flight to Dallas Fort Worth.  We left DFW at 6:45 p.m.

Because of the lateness of the hour, we are not posting anything of substance tonight.  But we have a lot to share, show and tell. So please check for further posts and follow us as we de-brief for the next week or two.

We thank you all for your prayers and support, and look forward to seeing you at home!

Blessings to all,

Your 2015 Guatemala mission team.

A cathedral destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 at Antigua Guatemala

Walking through Mayan ruins



Stay tuned!

Interpreting Life Together

We have an awesome, integral, and local  part of our local mission team:  Our interpreters!

At a busy clinic time, Courtney announced from the balcony:  "the medical team needs a translator; we have exhausted all our gestures."

Part of the team on the balcony

Sometimes even our best efforts, using the 10 Spanish words we think we know, and our best body language with hand signals, just aren't enough.  Sometimes our Spanish/English dictionaries get us into trouble.  Sometimes our knowledge of the cultur
e is inadequate.

Fortunately, we have extraordinary translators that not only convey our words, but protect us and express our love in just the right words; and, as an added bonus, they put us in the best light and express their love and care as well.

One example was an elderly man  who came for back pain, but primarily was lonely.  Our translator talked with him for 20 minutes, with the doctor largely silent.  He left having experienced God's love, through someone who mainly just listened.  The Ibuprofen prescription was a distant second.

As Mother Theresa often said, people are starved for love more than they are starved for bread.  Our interpreters helped us feed them.

Ilse translating for Karen's medical station

We will update this post with the names of our interpreters, the descriptions of the pictures below, and more stories, after clinic today.  Keep looking for new things on this post!

Your 2015 Guatemala mission team.

Jen, our team leader, also served as an interpreter

Paola invited us into her home for a clinic, interpreted for us and is also a teacher

Barbara very capably helped in the pharmacy, clinic and hygiene education station.

Christian helped both the doctors and Ann in the hygiene education station

Scarlet, who is studying to be a lawyer, is helping at Patty's  medical station

Steph, who is now working at the US Embassy in Guatemala City, helped with both the medical stations and Ann's hygiene education station.

Paola, Scarlet, Nury, our host and sometimes interpreter, and Ilse, who did it all.

Scarlet and Paola on a field trip (Paola is using a large leaf as a hat)

Paola with Ann helping with wellness education

The whole team on Wednesday, less interpreters who had to leave earlier.

Paola helping at Kristi's medical station

Nury, our host translating for Ann at the public school

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