Bringing Guatemalan Girl home

We started day 4 with Rhonda’s devotion.  Be open to whatever God has in store for you.  Recognize possibilities in life.  Wow!  Did I ever think 4 years ago that I would have such a passion for these people in Guatemala.  I feel that going on these trips is such a part of my life now.  Today there was a little girl waiting for her Mom who was in the Spiritual Clinic.  I wanted to say something to her, but the interpreters were busy (interpreting, imagine that).  I held my arms out for her.  I got the biggest hug.  One that we both needed.  Don’t worry, Eric.  She’s not in my suitcase.  Tomorrow is Antigua day.  We will see what kind of deals we are able to get. 

Miss you all

See you on Saturday

Sue

Celia

I was blessed and caring for 10 year old Celia.  Her chief complaint was that her mother didn’t think she was growing fast enough and was always tired.  On exam she had a loud heart murmur and chest pain with activity.  The mother then shared that last year a sibling brought Celia to the clinic that had come to Sumpango and was told “she had a bad heart” but without money she just watched her.  She heard about our clinic and brought her in for an exam.  God blessed our team with Dr. Nick, who brought an ultrasound machine so he did an echo cardiogram.  It appears she has PDA(patent ductus arteriosis).  The mother again explained that she has no money.  I spoke with Oscar Chiquito whom thought there may be a services available in Guatemala City but to check with Dr. Paredes.  At dinner Wednesday, Dr. Paredes joined our team.  I asked about how we could help Celia and he will be calling his pediatric cardiology friend, but feels all the tests and part or all of the surgery will be free through a program he is aware of.  Thanks be to God.  Please pray for Celia that she will receive the needed surgery and can lead a normal functioning life.  Provide support and comfort to her family as they move forward, working through the tests.

~Diane

Greetings From Sumpango!

Greetings from Sumpango!  What a fantastic week of fellowship and communion with this wonderful team!  I am so blessed to be here—we had a successful week in gyne clinic and with our friends from Los Olivios.  I am looking forward to a day in Antigua, then back home in Stevens Point.  Thanks for to all my family and friends for your thoughts and prayers.  Can’t wait for Emy J’s with you MDW!!

Love, Rhonda

Hola Clase!

Hey all:

                Regreats to inform that injury has been suffered. Last night during a ferocious game of Mano-Tazo (SIappers) Lulu stabbed me with one of her nails. There was blood, but I hit it with the hand sanitizer (que quemacion!!) but Sue, my room-mother, gave it a kiss last night, it’s stopped bleeding and I have a bandaid on it now so it’s all good. I can’t believe that we’re to the last day of clinic already! It seems crazy that we’re already to the point of return! I mean, I’ll be happy to go back to the states (I’m especially looking forward to seeing my cat) but at the same time these trips are so amazing that I don’t want them to end.

Hola clase!

                Lo siento a decirles que yo habia rebecido un herido. Estaba sangrando! Estaba jugando un juego que se llama “mano-tazo” con los estudiantes que estan traduciendo, y alguin (Gracias, Lulu) me corto con su una. Me dolia mucho, pero ya no esta sangrando y por  eso estoy feliz! Y tambien quiero ensenarles como jugar cuando regresara – pero todos necesitan llevar guantes mientras jugaramos!

Anastasia

Hello From Guatemala

I am learning so much on this trip. I am seeing firsthand how God works through others and how much he cares for his people. Every patient that I see changes me in some way. I love listening to the people of Sumpango, even though I do not speak very much Spanish. I have been doing blood glucose tests, urine tests, blood pressures, and taking pulses. This experience is definitely going to help me as a future nurse, not only because I am gaining experience in medicine, but also because I am gaining experience on how to treat each and every patient the same and with compassion. Every member of our team contributes something different. We would not be able to help all of these people without each and every one of our team members. I believe that I have become close to all of the members on this team. I am having a blast, caring for people in need, and becoming closer to God. I especially enjoy the worship and devotions that we do as a team every morning and night. I have found that I love singing worship songs, whether I am actually good or not. I have been considering becoming part of the worship team at Woodlands for over a year now, and now I believe that I have been called to act upon that thought. I talked to Anna-Cheri about the worship team, and she said that it will not take up all of my time, which was my main concern. When I get back to Wisconsin I am going to get in touch with the worship pastor Doug Allord and hopefully get hooked up with the worship team. God bless every one. We will see you all in just over 3 days!!! J Please pray for the team, that everyone remains healthy and we get home safely.

-Alex Crockett

Last Day of Clinic

Today is our last day of clinic and is comes with mixed feelings.  It’s sad to think that our time here in Guatemala is almost over, but I’m happy to have been able to help the people we have and will continue to help throughout the day.  Our day started with Rhonda leading our devotion and she talked about God’s calling in our lives.  She shared a story from her own life about how she made a decision without God and then asked Him to bless it after the fact.  I for one have been in the same situation and I’m sure many of you have done the same thing.  The awesome thing is that once you have realized the mistake you made, you can ask God for forgiveness and make the needed change in your life.  She referred to Jeremiah 29:11 which says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’  God has a plan for our lives and we don’t need to know what it is, we just need to trust Him and know that this life is all for His glory.

We headed to the clinic for our last day and it went really, really well.  We were not open as long as the other three days because we had to tear down and pack things up before we went to Oscar’s for dinner.  Packing went well and the people from Los Olivos helped tear down the exam rooms, put away tables and chairs, and helped us finish up with the last few patients.  Once everything was put away we went to see the dump that is in town.  The dump is like a 200 foot deep ravine that has been continually filled with and just continues to fill the ravine.  People have compacted some of it and there is now a basketball court built on top of part of it.  It was sad to see because there are houses along the side of the road that are built out of sheet metal; it was a very poor area.  We went to Oscar’s for dinner and as always it was amazing.  I want to say thank you again to Oscar for opening his home to us and feeding us this week, we are all truly grateful for your generosity.

After dinner we went back to the orphanage and were lead in worship by our fearless leaders, Ryan and Anna Cheri.  As always, it was a great time to be refilled after pouring out God’s love all day to the people we saw in the clinic.  I can’t even explain how amazing it is to worship with a group of people who are all so passionate about God and serving him.  It is truly a blessing to have spent a week with this awesome group of individuals.  When we were done worshipping, we had free time before heading to bed for the last time at the orphanage.  Tomorrow we head to Antigua and get to spend a little time with the orphans, which will definitely be fun.  Please keep us in your prayers as we begin our journey home tomorrow, we will see you all soon!

~Jenny

From Guatemala with Love… and one kidney :)

Hola from Sumpango everyone!  I haven’t had a chance to blog yet so I figured I should just to let Mom and Dad know that I’m still alive and still have the same amount of kidneys that I came down with.  As far as the clinic is going, we’re very pleased and grateful for what a great team God has brought together to be here.  It is truly amazing to see so many medical professionals from different places with different backgrounds working together for a common goal.  This is what the body of Christ is supposed to look like.  Though our numbers have remained the same as in past years we’re running so smoothly that it feels slow at times.

I’m especially proud of the optical team which I get to work with during the clinic.  Half of our team doesn’t speak Spanish and none of us have any formal training with Optomology but we’re doing the best we can and from what I can tell, things are going very well.  Though not everyone needs glasses, everyone wants to come pay us a visit (I like to think it’s cuz they want just want to see me but the doctors assure me otherwise J)

Our times of worship have been very cool and as always I get the honor of leading us every morning and night into the presence of our Lord both to be filled up so that we might pour out His love during the day and so that we might praise Him for all He’s doing and all He’s going to do.  Please continue to pray for us!  Ohp- gotta go.  Optical needs me.  HASTA LUEGO!

-Intern Ryan J