The last group

This week has been the hardest of the entire trip. When the team of 19 got here we started immediately jumping into ministry. They arrived Saturday afternoon and that night we were out on the street of Guatemala City ministering to the homeless. There unfortunately weren’t many out that night, but it was great getting to see those who were. The next morning we went to Antigua for some shopping. Because Hannah hasn’t done a lot of shopping yet, we were busy running around the market finding what she wanted. I picked up a few more things as well. Then that afternoon we had church service. There were a lot of people there. The team had prepared a lesson about David and Goliath. They had little cards with Goliath printed on the to color and then they were given a bag of little koosh balls to throw at him. This represented knocking over the obstacles we have in our life with the help of God.
Monday was a big Medical clinic day. The whole team went to Zorzoya to set up a clinic that had two doctors, a dental hygienist, and a women’s health nurse practictioner for pap smears. Some of the youth did triage to get the name, weight, age, and main concern from each patient. There was also a hair washing clinic to de-lice some children. At this station they could also get their hair cut. I was claimed by Kathy, the dental hygienist, to help her for the day. I was really excited about that because the field really interests me. The first patient we saw was already an interesting case- she had fused teeth. I learned so much that first day about gingivitis, periodontal disease, bridges, root canals, abscessed teeth, tartar/calculus, impacted teeth, occlusions, and so much more.
Tuesday was the first day we did construction. Originally most of the guys were going to go do it, but the interns got selected by tom to go as well, because those on construction had to do the kids for Christ club as well. We went down there and first thing we had to do was cut the grass with machetes. The weeds were so high they were at least 4 feet tall. That just made them more fun to slice down. But when I really started cutting the grass for real, it was such hard work. That’s how everyone down here cuts grass. I was doing pretty good, I got a room done in like 45 mins….ok that’s not that great, but at least I was trying. Then Alfredo told me to go cut the grass up the hill in front of the building. Ok, not too hard. So I went but the machete I had was super dull. I got the sharpener and started sharpening. A guy on the team came over and tried to help me and showed me a different technique. I started that was and instantly sliced open my thumb. I could see some white stuff down in the cut….not good. So me and a couple guys went to the tienda right there and asked the lady for some water and a bandaid. She brought out a bowl of water which I washed the cut in because it was pouring blood! The she brought me a cloth napkin to put pressure on the cut. The she got alcohol swabs and she herself scrubbed the cut (which was very painful). And then she gave me some bandaids and extra alcohol swabs. And how much did she want for all of this? Nothing, even though she sells the alcohol swabs and bandaids. What a blessing she was for me! That night I showed the cut to the doctor, who was concerned that it might get infected. He had me splint the thumb as well because it’s on the knuckle and wouldn’t stop bleeding throughout the day. That afternoon we had the kids for Christ club. We told them the story of Jesus walking on the water and then we watched the movie Robots and ate popcorn. We didn’t get to finish the movie before we had to feed them and send them home. I think the kids really enjoyed it because it’s not something they get to do very often.
Wednesday we went to Embaulda for more construction and time to play with the kids. I had to scrub rebarb with a wire brush. Not the funnest job ever, but it was fun getting to know those on the team. The rest of the team handed out bags of toiletries, beanie babies, and bracelets. We weren’t there for long because we got to go ziplining that afternoon. It was the only touristy thing this group did, except shop in Antigua. It was a pretty scary ride up the mountain. We were in massive trucks of some sort and the road was awful! Once we got up there everyone put on the harnesses and we started down. There were 7 platforms we went to. I was somewhere in the middle of the group. It was really fun but about halfway through it began to pour like crazy. So here we are ziplining, in the rain, freezing! The last one wasn’t a zipline, it was a drop straight down. I had them drop me fast; I was so scared I screamed. But in all it was so much fun! That night we had church service. I felt like it was pretty short because we were doing so much with the kids. We did Noah’s ark that night. First they read the story, then read it again doing an interactive puppet show, and then we made noah’s ark necklaces. It was fun to help the kids in small groups.
Thursday was another medical clinic, this time in the Guatemala City Dump. Once again I was a dental hygienist assistant. We were in a lady’s house and the dental clinic was set up in her kitchen. It was actually the nicest set up we had all week. That day we actually had three doctors (which was good because they saw about 200 patients). Unfortunately our nurse practioner was very sick and couldn’t do the women’s health check ups. I saw one patient with the worst teeth I had ever seen. Kathy said that she doesn’t think the lady has ever been to the dentist. She was scared to death too and I held her hand the whole time. There was an old lady that we had gone to see before who was very sick. She was 72 years old when she died today. That was really sad but I was told that her wake was a celebration of her life.
Friday we had to get up super early again! This was the longest day of the week for me. We had the breakfast that morning with the street people at the Mary Magdelena house. Then we went next door to the clinic and had a medical clinic. Cindy, our nurse practioner was still sick, so I was once again with Kathy. We did about 10 patients there before we packed up. It was great because Janette (aka Pearl) was there and she helped translate. She’s the one we want to send to rehab. Also, we had Cherylleigh’s cousin and two of her friends to come translate as well. How nice for them to have so many translators! At this clinic when the patients went to get their prescriptions, they were taken into a back room to pick out a new pair of shoes. I got to watch this girl Sherly and her daughter Ashley pick out shoes. It was so wonderful to see the joy in their faces when they tried on a pair and got to take it home. Then that afternoon we went to Gorrion for another clinic. We set up in a small home so it was a very tight squeeze. It was cool though to see how everyone else operated in their stations. We did about 10 patients in the dental clinic and the doctors saw about 50 before leaving after 6 that night. The people of the village we pretty disappointed because they really wanted to get seen as well, but weren’t able to. We gave them clothes and toothbrushes, tooth paste, and floss and they were a little happier. That night we had our fiesta, but it was pretty short. It was nice to have a party before they left.
The next morning they packed up and left. It was pretty hard for us to see this team leave because 1) we really liked them just like the other groups 2) it was the last group. We don’t have another group to look forward to before we go home, but it’s nice to know that the next time tom sends some people to the airport it will be Hannah and me!
We have really had a great week and seen God move in the lives of so many! Please pray for us still! We have a couple weeks of ministry with just the three of us girls. It’s hard to teach and lead lessons when there are only a couple of us. Plus, we have no idea what it is we will be doing over the next 16 or so days! I miss everyone so much and am looking forward to coming home soon!

Panajachel!

We finally got to go to Panajachel!! The three of us interns went by ourselves for a two day trip…yep by ourselves! We got Alfredo to drop us off in Antigua early Monday morning. That was such a panicked time. We asked him to meet us at 7:15am, but at 7:35 he wasn’t at our house yet. So we walked over to his and he looked at us like we were crazy or something. Like he was saying, duh, I know I have to come. So he comes over and we find out that he has to put the battery back in the truck…great. How long is it gonna take for us to get going? But I’ll tell you what, it was the fastest I’ve ever seen that man drive! So we get down to the park in Antigua and run (on the cobblestone) to the travel agency…but where did it go? We ran all the way to the market before realizing that we had passed it. So we turned around and saw a little van that said “turismo” on the back…there’s our ride! God really worked it out perfectly. Haven’t I learned that He always does yet? Haha
The van ride was interesting (and while we were driving, there was a 5.2 earthquake, but we didn’t feel it). We had some British people, a German, a native, a Canadian, 3 Americans, and 2 drivers. The people proved to be very diverse and never boring, I’ll say that much. The ride there was quick. We only got stopped for 10 mins for a road to be cleared of a mudslide. Then we made it to a checkpoint and had to switch vans. Only four of us were going to Panajachel. The drive from there was pretty short too, so soon we were dropped off at a hotel that the driver knew was cheap. We paid Q220 for the three of us and we got a room with 3 beds and a tiny bathroom. As soon as we dropped off our unneeded stuff we went for a walk. Immediately we found the lake- Lake Atitlan. Wow, how could someone not believe in God when they see a masterpiece like that? It was truly a blessing to be able to see the beauty that his hands have created! The people there hassled us a lot more about buying stuff and going on a boat and more. It got kind of annoying. But we kept walking around and we found the market so we looked around and bought a lot of stuff. The things there were much cheaper than in Antigua, so when we left we had a bunch of stuff! That night we ate at Panarock Café- it’s supposed to be like Hard Rock Café but smaller. It was good and we had a blast. We were there for a couple of hours. They had tvs playing old 80’s music videos- hilarious! That night we didn’t get much sleep because there were two roosters, one on either side of the hotel, having battle of the roosters!!
The next day we set out early to go on a boat across the lake. The same guy from the day before came and bugged us…but we didn’t get a good vibe from him so we went on a different boat. He wanted us to get on his private boat…yea right. So we went on a public boat that had another couple on it. They went to San Marcos, we went to San Pedro. We didn’t know what we were going to do there though. The ride took at 25 or 30 mins. When we landed we got the guy to come back at 1 to get us. As soon as we got off we were bombarded by people trying to get us to do this and that. We ended up decided to go kayaking! We had to leave our stuff in the “office” of the kayaking people, which we weren’t too comfortable with. So I took out everything valuable- money, camera, passport. Then we got a single and a double kayak. I was in the single at first and boy was that a lot of work. But once again, just seeing God’s creation, while sitting in the middle of it, was amazing. It took us about 40 mins to kayak across a little part of the lake to get to a beach. The water was so clear there though! It was a little cold but I got in to my waist. Hannah went all the way! After about 40 mins we had to start back because we only rented the kayaks for 2 hours. So on the way back Hannah had the single and she found out how much work it is!! I was sad to give them back, but I was ready to explore the city. It was a city of hippies! Everyone had big tattoos, crazy piercings, dreads, and loose hippy clothing. It was great! We looked around at their market, but it was really small. I was going to buy this beautiful painting, but I couldn’t get the guy to back down on his price. It really wasn’t bad, but I like to bargain. We went back and found a place to eat that overlooked the lake. The food wasn’t that good, but the view was great! Afterwards we went to a coffee shop that was highly recommended. Katy said the coffee was amazing. I tried it and still hated it.  But the guy was so nice. He’s a Christian American and he showed us the back room where they keep and grind the coffee for large orders. The machine was beautiful and took up a quarter of the room! We had to hurry from there to catch our shuttle. It was raining again so by time we made it to the “Dos Mundos” we were soaked! We had to wait a while because our driver was late…but he was very friendly. We were the first of 8 to be picked up. The drive back seemed to take forever! I was so car sick it was crazy! We even had to pay the driver extra to take us to “La Chos” so that we didn’t take a crazy chicken bus home. When he dropped us off there we still had about ¼ mile walk to get home. It was so dark so I was thankful we live in the safest area around. I was so thankful to get home!
We are preparing for a group to come on Saturday. There are 19 of them and several are medical professionals! Pray for us- we will be very busy with long days and short nights! I also ask for your prayers for me because I’m still not feeling well. We are really excited to see what God has planned for this group- I know it will be great!

Team from Georgia was here for the week!

What a busy week we’ve had here! A team from Georgia came to do construction, though those plans quickly changed. There was Art and Mary Fowler, Jenny, Janet, Crystal, and Charles on the team that arrived June 6. As usual we went to Antigua on Sunday morning before church that evening. The group was well prepared to do lots of children’s ministries- which was good because in all we did six VBS’s. On Sunday they did the Fisher’s of Men story complete with a craft of making fishing poles and drawing a picture of a friend who doesn’t know Jesus on the fish. They kids loved it, but by the end of the night most of them were broken and being used for weapons! J

Monday we were supposed to go to Panajachel, but all roads were closed. The main highway was closed because of protesting, and the back road was closed probably because of mudslides. That road was pretty scary anyways. It was just big enough for one lane, yet they were using it for two lanes- bus next to bus type thing….and it was uneven dirt road with a cliff on the one side. What an adventure. The team ended up just going to the Mayan ruins of Ixmiche. The interns stayed in the car because we have already seen them and we were being cheap, not wanting to spend the money again! Then we went home for the day and hung out. I was sick as ever this day though, because I was in the back of the van, in the middle seat, for four hours of driving around nowhere!

The days of construction got changed to days of medical clinics and VBS for the kids. We visited Zorzoya, October 20, and Gordion between Tuesday and Thursday. We also did the regular ministries- Kids for Christ Club, and Wednesday night service. In all we did bookmarks, gave out bubbles, played with slap bracelets, painted crosses, and sang lots of songs. It was a lot of fun playing with all the kids this week! On Thursday night we went out on the streets of downtown Guatemala City to visit with some street kids. It was hard to find them and we were unsure why until we saw a couple police hassling one of the guys we minister to. They were throwing everything out of his pockets and threatening to beat him with their night sticks. It broke my heart to see how the police treat the poor people of their country. Police here are very corrupt and will cause trouble just for something to do. We went to a different area of town and ministered to them by singing, preaching, and giving them some bean sandwiches and juice. It was so sad to see the young children and a baby out there on the street too. One of the boys was probably 8 and he had nothing but a pair of sandals, shorts, and a tshirt. He was obviously freezing! Mary had a sweater she was wearing under her shirt which she gave to him. If you could have seen his joy at an oversized sweater! We later went back to the first place and was able to gather a large group of teenagers. We sang and dances with them before they shared some of their testimonies. They have such rough lives. One talked about how he got hit by a car, another how he got shot 3 times, and one how he got shot by the private police and now his bowels empty into a Ziploc bag on his waist. All of them gave credit to God for their survival. We fed them a ton of food and juice- everything we had left.

The next morning we got up early again for the service and breakfast at the Mary Magdelena house. There were tons of people there! More than usual. We prayed with them and served breakfast. There wasn’t even enough left for the team to eat! We did a short clinic before they left for sightseeing. The interns stayed at the clinic to clean out the hospital and then go back to the MM house for pill drowning! It was such a chore just to open up pill packages and pour them into a bucket of water. The worst were the nasal sprays. We had to spray them up into a bag- about 30 of them. Our hands were killing us! It was so disgusting when the pills were melting, each bucket was a different color! Finally Tom and the team came back to pick us up before our night of celebration before the team left. Today they left to go back home, which was so sad for us. They were such a great team- so loving and generous and willing to do anything! We were all blessed by their presence!! Now we have a week until the next group comes.

On Monday and Tuesday the interns are taking a trip to Panajachel- so far twice we were told we were going and were never able to, so we decided we’d go ourselves! We are taking a bus over and back and staying at a little bungalow (hopefully). It’s one of those things that is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we can’t miss!!

A prayer request that we have is for a lady named Jannette (I think, I couldn’t quite understand because everyone talks fast and has a ton of names). She is a prostitute and alcoholic, but is trying very hard to quit. If we can find a way to pay for her rehab, she is very willing to go. It is about 900 Quetzals a month, which is $112.50, for at least 9 months. She speaks both Spanish and English perfectly and even grew up in California. I know that God can change her life and do wonderful things through her!

El Salvador, another team, and more!

Buenos!
I never thought that I would be going to yet another country….to El Salvador, but that’s exactly what I did for four days. We left on Monday and stayed until Thursday at this beautiful house that Elizabeth’s cousin owns. It had many rooms, but Hannah, Katy, Cheryl Leigh and I all stayed in one room. It was upstairs and had a balcony that overlooked the pool. From this balcony we had the most amazing view. Trees and mountains everywhere except to the right, where we saw the ocean. We were close enough to hear the roar of the crashing waves and see the tiki hut that the surfers stay in. There is a beautiful tree in El Salvador which has bright red flowers that bloom on it so every once in a while in the midst of green covered mountains we would see a patch of fiery red beauty. The purpose of this trip was just for vacation for the Allan family. They are constantly working and taking care of so many people and they needed a break- aren’t we lucky? The interns did do some work though. We were responsible for the cleaning of the house and most of the cooking. We also wrote some blogs for Tom and wrote thank you letters for people who have so generously given money to the ministry. The first night we even had to do some data entry so a group can bring medicine into the country for the medical clinics. It was interesting to see some of the administrative aspects that go into being a missionary. We got to swim in the pool a lot and see a little bit of the market in the city. We went to the beach twice; the second time Hannah took a surfing lesson! The sand is all black there and there are so many rocks that are scattered on the shore and in the water. The first time we went everyone ended up bleeding from the rocks. The waves are so strong down there and they beat us up! But then again, we were playing in waves that people next to us were surfing! Haha It is a big surfing area down there so we actually saw a good amount of gringos, probably Americans. We also got to climb these huge rocks that were in the ocean. I felt like the little mermaid because we’re sitting on rocks in the middle of the ocean and the waves are crashing against them and spraying thirty feet into the air. Do you know what I’m talking about? It was great. The biggest rock we never got to. When I say rock I mean a small island that is a solid rock. It’s huge. And it’s also covered with crabs! I was amazed at how many were covering the side of it and they were completely unphased by the waves crashing against them. We never got to go to San Salvador like we had planned to. It is the capital of the country and has some great markets like we have in Antigua. But I heard it’s a lot bigger. I was hoping to be able to get something from there, but I have nothing. Not even a stamp in my passport. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are considered one country when you are going between them, so no stamp, except in Guatemala. I now have 3 stamps from this country…so strange. I did have to get out and have my temperature taken before going into El Salvador since I am an American. They were afraid we had swine flu. So here is all six of us with thermometers under our arms while tons of natives are staring at us and asking us our age. It was quite the experience. We had a lot of fun, but I must admit that I was kinda ready to be back at the ministry house. I really like it here and I missed it some. It’s my home away from home. I do miss Alabama so much, but I’m trying to keep reminding myself that God has a great purpose for us down here. He didn’t send us here to be exiled, but to bless other people and be blessed. Hannah and I have about 5 more weeks to complete the job that God has for us.
Today we had a team arrive from Georgia. There are six of them, 4 girls and 2 guys. They are great let me tell you. Immediately I took a liking to them. They are God’s children and they are here to do His work, what is better than that? We are going to be doing a lot of construction as well as all the other ministry activities. Jesus is really going to be giving us his strength because I don’t know how else we could be doing all of this stuff without passing out! Pray for this group that they are able to fulfill God’s purpose for them while they are here for a week. Pray for all of our strength and that we will listen to God’s voice and obey what He tells us. I miss everyone and I’m praying for you too! Dios le bendiga!