Quetzal

Last day we did clinic was definitely the best day.  We had to travel to Queztal, a city that's about 45 minutes to an hour away, to set up clinic. We actually set up at the church we attended last year for a service. Once again, this clinic was completely set up and run by us. They provided the space and patients and we took care of the rest.

The day started off a little slow but the pace picked up. Both doctors were seeing patients and every other station was operating efficiently. The evangelism station and the hygiene unit combined to one so that kids could get their feet washed and hear the gospel at the same time. 

I spent my entire day in pharmacy, which was pretty chaotic. We had so many patients coming through that we ran out of bags for the medicine, aspirin, vitamins, allergy medicine, and a lot of other stuff too. We had to make do though because the pharmacy down the road, which was behind bars, didn't have what we really needed.

Something crazy that I just heard about is how expensive medication is in Guatemala. It was somewhere around $20 to $30 for any bottle we needed, even vitamins. So, knowing this, I can see why so many people don't have the medication they really need. The pharmacy unit made due though. We found some bags and substituted a lot of medication so people wouldn't have to walk away empty handed.

The first special momet of the day came from this little old lady. She had bad arthritis and terrible vision. We were able to provide her with the medicine that she needed to ease her pain and also with a pair of glasses. She was so grateful for the care she received, she hugged and kissed  several  people from our pharmacy unit! So glad our team was able to help her! 

So second incredible moment of the day came shortly after the first one. This girl came into our clinic to receive care and prenatal vitamins. She was 15 and maybe halfway through her pregnancy (or maybe even more). She got her feet washed and was trying to get a pair of shoes because she didn't have any. Unfortunately, we didn't have any of the size she needed of the Manna shoes, so she was almost turned away. However, one of our team members, who has such a big heart, took her own shoes off of her feet and gave them to this girl. Our team member walked around in socks the rest of the day, while this woman couldn't contain how happy she was. Thinking about that really gives me goose bumps and how the love of Christ changes people.

The most incredible moment of the day came at the very end (our last patient). We were supposed to have left already but it's amazing how God works things out. This lady came into the clinic to see one of our doctors. She had HIV and was completely rejected from her family and community. She also has a 7 year old daughter and has been too afraid to test her. The woman hadn't received any type of affection or touch from another human being since her diagnosis. I didn't get to the room until everyone did so I'm not sure of the flow of things prior to that. But our translator gathered all of us and told us her situation and said she has never heard of Jesus Christ, and he asked us to pray over her. I can't even type this without tearing up and getting goose bumps. We all piled into this small room to pray over her (we crammed in because she didn't want anyone to know at the church that she had HIV). Whenever we walked in, it was overwhelming immediately for me. She was crying and couldn't stop. Our student translator held on to her tightly as she sobbed onto her soldier. Before anyone spoke my heart was already breaking for this woman. We all gathered around her and prayed over her while our translator translated for us. She was so incredibly grateful for that. Then, the associate pastor of the church, who helps Manna, read from the book of Romans and laid out the gospel for her. He spoke with her back and forth a little bit, which I couldn't fully understand, but I image he was speaking with her about salvation. She collapsed on the floor because she was so overwhelmed and again we laid our hands on her to pray for her and show her love. She was constantly crying. After a bit she was able to get back up on her seat and our student translator spoke to her. Again, all in Spanish so I couldn't keep up with everything that was being said, but I know by the look on her face when she got through speaking, she had been saved. The associate pastor offered to help her as much as they could and I think that's incredible. I don't think there was a single dry eye in that room. 

We all piled out of the room pretty quickly, because with no air conditioning it gets extremely hot. A few girls did stay behind though to speak with her a little more. I was told that as they went to hug her bye, she said "thank you for not rejecting me". My heart aches for this woman and what she was going through. 

God works wonders and I'm so thankful that we hadn't left yet. This woman desperately needed help and to learn who Jesus was. She now has people who care about her and an eternal life waiting for her in heaven. 

I tend to forget how big of deal it is to hear who Jesus is for the first time. I've heard it growing up and I'm sure a lot of others did too. But don't forget how big of deal it is hear his name for the first time! Like I said a few posts ago, he is a drink of water to those who are thirsty and a light to those in the dark. 

Seeing this woman broken and in desperate need humbled me so much. Because, before salvation, I looked the exact same way to God. It's always a good reminder that living out scripture and doing good deeds are great, but nothing but salvation from Jesus will allow you to have an eternal life in heaven. Such a beautiful moment I got to experience that day! 

I will be praying for this woman and all the other Guatemalans we encountered that week and I encourage you to do the same! 

We averaged about 100 patients per day (Tuesday thru Thursday). However, on Friday, with all of our team working hard and working together, we were able to see 200 patients. Which means those 200 heard the gospel, maybe for the first time, and the pharmacy unit may have easily filled 400 prescriptions to families in desperate need. A day like this is what drives me to continue on with medical missions! Such a great last day and one that I will never forget!

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

San Lucas

For our 3rd clinic day, we traveled to San Lucas, back to the same feeding center we were at the day before. We got off to a hectic start, because we were missing 5 team members, with all of those being a crucial part to how things flowed. So we had a little bit of the controlled chaos going on for some of the day. But, luckily, we have very strong people on this trip, and we easily managed to pick up the slack and help things run a little smoother. I spent a lot of my day at triage. I really liked triage because you seemed to be able to interact with the patients a little more than when you were in pharmacy. We had 2 doctors for the first part of the day and it ran much the same as the previous day. The children showed up at 12:30 for lunch, and they were given a very short version of our VBS we did in El Arado.

After lunch, we were all able to regroup a little bit and get some of our energy back. We had one doctor stay in the clinic and the other doctor went out on a house call. The doctor that stayed saw so many patients, it was very impressive to me. The other doctor went with a small set of students on about a 3 hour round about trip to this woman's house. I didn't go because I was feeling ill still. However, I heard whenever they walked into the this ladies house, they assumed that she was 80 years old or so. They were told that she had severe diabetes and it was already starting to take an effect on her. She had no way of testing her glucose levels, which could be life-threatening. So they gave this sweet lady our only glucose meter so that she could monitor her levels and try and fight her diabetes. Pretty cool thing!

I missed a few could chunks of this day because of how ill I felt. I actually laid down and napped for a hour or two during the day! But, 3rd clinic day was a success!

Afterwards, we went shopping in Antigua in the shops. We went to this little center with several shops. I bought quite a few things, and I have to admit, I love haggling with the people to get a better price. We actually stayed long enough for the gates to close so we had to take a detour around the marketplace. (Don't worry Mom, I was with several guys and girls!) But we did walk through where the Guatemalans actually shop and I have to stay that it was very different. Very good day in Guatemala!

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures this day. The next 2 blog posts should be very good. Friday, today, was such an incredible day. With lots of stories that made me tear up witnessing them!

Clinic Day 2

I meant to post this the other night to describe what all we did that day, however many of our team members are sick, including myself, so sleep was the better option!

On Wednesday, our team split up into 2 groups. Half of us went to a feeding center in San Lucas and the other half went back to El Arado to run a strictly prenatal clinic.

I was with the team at San Lucas. Manna has a feeding center at this location which we turned into a clinic for the morning and afternoon hours. On this particular day, we had one doctor and he was able to see about 60 patients over the span of about 4 hours. That's crazy! The coolest part about that is not only did they receive help for their physical needs but every patient heard about the good news of Jesus Christ! One of the sweetest moments that day was this little girl and a couple of our team members.

The way the clinic was set up every child had to go through our evangelism station before they could go to our hygiene unit. We gave out Salvation bracelets at this station and explained to them the meaning of each colored bead. This one little girl, who couldn't have been more than 3 years old, didn't have salvation bracelet. So we got one of our guys to come and explain the meaning of each bead on the bracelet while she sat in another's guys lap. That was such a sweet moment to see, and she was even able to repeat back what each bracelet meant. Several children came through and it was so exciting getting to interact with them. Our clinic was smooth-running (for the most part). I worked a lot in pharmacy on that day and a little bit in triage. It was excited getting to rotate through the different stations compared to last year where I stayed almost completely at the hygiene unit. At about 12:30 children started showing up for lunch. Manna serves lunch to the children in the surrounding area after they get out of school. I would guess about 100 children came to eat. They packed 2 rooms full, and just before we rushed off to Antigua, I was able to hear the children (all of them!) pray aloud and thank God for their food and blessings. Such a humbling moment for me.  So all in all, Wednesday was a successful clinic day for us! 

After we finished clinic, we went to Antigua to go zip lining! It was a different place from where we went last year, and it was such a workout. 14 lines, I think, with one of them being from one mountain to another. We had to walk on rope bridges, climb up a ladder as steep as a tree, and climb up tons of flights of stairs to reach all the different platforms. It was so much fun though! Especially the last one because we had a mountain to our right and an active volcano to our left. On that zipline 2 people went at the same time so that was a lot of fun too! I was too chicken to do the last zip line "superman" style. For the superman way, the harness was connected on your back, and it actually looked like you were flying through the air. It took enough courage to finish all the zip lines, so I just couldn't work myself up to it.

We went and ate at a restaurant in Antigua called Anita's afterward. Very good food! After we got done eating, we walked around a little bit and looked in the different shops that were still open close by the restaurant. Antigua is such a beautiful place, cobble stone roads, colorful buildings, and a volcano in the background. Each day I feel more blessed to be apart of this team again!

Something I forgot to mention was the story of the day from the team that went back to El Arado. The team was running behind schedule so they hadn't left yet. A little girl came running down the road, who couldn't have been more than 4 years old, with a fishbone stuck in her throat. Apparently the bone had been stuck in her throat for a few days, and she heard that the Americans were hosting a clinic nearby so she rushed over and made it in just enough time. Our doctor at the site didn't have any of the things needed for the procedure. But, he was able to work with the few things that he did have and pull the fishbone out. Saved that little girl's life!  

El Arado

This post comes to you from one exhausted girl! We hit the ground running with our first clinic day today. Very little sleep the night before, I feel like now is the first time I've sat down and really given some thought to what all happened today.

The clinic we visited today was in the El Arado community (I think thats right). Its about 45 minutes from our location at the Manna House. To me, it looks like this community is in the mountains somewhere, living in extreme poverty. Modern technology hasn't really reached the area yet. We visited this clinic last year.

The cool thing today (one of the many cool things I should say!) was talking to the ladies who worked there and started up the clinic on their own. It's very impressive to see God do great things through someone! However, this clinic is only open 2 days a weak, and I was told that the doctor will usually see about 65 patients per day.. insane! So, I really gained an appreciation for their hard work that went into such a passionate dream of theirs.

Once we got to the clinic, we set up the hygiene unit and pharmacy. Our pharmacy supplies were just added to the already existing pharmacy the clinic had. We brought our 2 doctors with us, with one of them specifically focusing on prenatal care. We ran the triage, helped pull patient files, assisted the doctors, and the pharmacy in getting the medicine out and in the correct doses. In our hygiene unit, today, we were able to wash many children's feet and washed a lot of hair for poor little girls who had lice. It really humbles you seeing how much basic medical care can make a difference in their lives. We treated a lot of cuts and open wounds today in our hygiene unit.

We ended our day at the clinic around 2. Two of our team members had planned a very small scale VBS for this afternoon. I was washing feet so I was late to them getting started, along with a few others! Our team members played with the kids before we got started and oh what a site that was. These kid's look SO happy that someone was willing to play with them and give them some attention. We then worked on making Salvation bracelets for all the children. If I wasn't already in love with these kids, then I definitely would have been after this experience. Whenever I would sit down or have a child come up to me, we typically made the bracelets together. It was such a sweet and tender moment for me being able to share something so wonderful with them and having them smile back at me. I even had a few little girls hunt me down to take some pictures of them because they were just so excited about the bracelets we had made. We had a team member translate for the children to explain what the different colored beads on the bracelet meant. She then prayed with them, and I just felt so blessed to be in His presence in that moment! All in all we had around 200 kids show up. That's 200 kids who heard the good news of Jesus Christ, and for some it may have been the first time ever that they had heard it.

Today has been a great first day and I'm excited for the rest of the trip to see what else God has in store for me and the team!

Tomorrow, our team will be splitting up into 2 groups, one focusing on a strictly prenatal clinic, while the other half sets up their own general clinic at a different location. And then tomorrow afternoon we get to go zip-lining! So far, this trip has far exceeded by expectations and I couldn't be happier!

I posted some pictures below from today and I will be posting again tomorrow night!

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord, not for human masters

Lights

Today has mostly been a travel day. Our first flight was only delayed once and we only had one bag go missing (for a short period of time!) Its been fun going through the experience and excitement of traveling to Guatemala again. I was even able to  squeeze in a coffee from Starbucks before leaving the country.  Our flight was also delayed to Guatemala but only by about 30 minutes, so smooth sailing for the most part!

Have you ever seen this picture before?

I've seen it several times and I just think it's a cool picture. Hard to imagine those dark spots, but I thought it was cool how much light we had in our country. 

Today, we flew to Guatemala at night time. First time seeing this for me, but as I looked out the window (and try to figure out where we are) I notice that it's really dark. As we're passing over the land, there are only trickles of light every so often. I wouldn't even call them city lights, more like fires going. Seeing this in person, has started off this trip on a very humbling step for me.

The beauty of Guatemala city at night is amazing to see though! We had a bit of a scary landing, but other than that we are safe! It was complete chaos when we got back sorting through the supplies and getting packed up for our clinic day tomorrow. But, as always, so much fun! We've also got 300 pairs of shoes with us to hand out to children who desperately need them!

All in all, the first day of Project Guatemala has been a success!

Keep the prayers coming, every bit is greatly appreciated! 

Señor, hágase tu voluntad!

I thought I posted this one, but this was my last post before we started our journey!

11 more days until we leave the country! All of the final preparations are being made for the trip. We had our last team meeting on Tuesday, last t-shirt Thursday, and our last prayer meeting is this Tuesday! My blog posts will become more frequent as we get closer to the trip.

I feel like the title of my blog posts for the, now, 3 that I have done accurately describe the message I'm trying to convey. My title for this post is Señor, hágase tu voluntad which means Lord, your will be done. As I prepare myself for the trip, this has been my prayer.

I recently found out that at our hygiene station, before we wash the children's feet, we will be making the beaded bracelets with them and explaining the meaning of the different colored beads (in Spanish of course!). After learning this information, I was excited to get to spend some more time with the children, tell them about Jesus Christ, and show them love. However, this morning as I was reading my devotional, it really hit me the importance of this situation.

My devotional for this particular morning was titled "Stop Waiting and Start Trying!" and it spoke to me. (By the way, if you need a good devotional, I strongly recommend this one. It is Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.) She talks about how finding your calling and doing the work God wants you to do will take putting yourself out of your comfort zone and possibly going down the wrong path once or twice until you find the right one. I've known for a quite some time, that God has put a calling on my life for me to be a doctor, but maybe it doesn't end there.

I consider myself to be somewhat shy, and I would definitely say I'm leery of things outside of my comfort zone. For example, I am really uncomfortable when praying out loud and I get incredibly nervous about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, I tend to let others do those jobs.

I know making a bracelet with a child and talking with them about Jesus seems simple (it did to me!) but how incredible of an opportunity we have here! Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the ability to radically change their life. It is a drink of water to someone who is thirty, a piece of bread to someone who is hungry, and it is the light in all of the darkness. And I get the opportunity to share that good news! So, instead of shying away from this incredible opportunity, I am going to boldly walk where the Lord calls, so that His will may be done! My spanish may not be the best and I may not be the best speaker, but I cannot stand in my own way of such incredible things God is trying to do anymore.

So today, I say Lord, your will be done! My excitement for this trip grows with each passing day! Please be in prayer for our entire team as we prepare ourselves for such an important journey!

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Send Me

Well, I originally said I would be posting about every other week leading up to the trip to give updates on my fundraising and the fundraising for the clinic expenses. However, sometimes life gets a little crazy, so this blog post comes a little later than I originally planned!

Our first deposit has been turned in, and I continue to work towards the total cost of the $1310 for the trip. Personally, my fundraising has been extremely slow and I still have a lot left to raise to cover the cost of my trip. I am constantly reminded though, that God will always provide what we need when we need it. Maybe not exactly what we ask for, or even during the time that we want it, but God is all powerful and always faithful! Patience is key! So, in the mean time, I have started sewing elephants and am selling them for $10 to help raise money. They are selling really well, and this has really helped me deal with my patience (or lack there of!) by using a sewing machine that pops the thread constantly! It's all being done to be able to do the work God has called me to do though, and this provides me with amazing strength!

Raising money for clinic expenses has been going well. We had a "t-shirt Thursday" at LC about a month ago and we had one today to help raise funds! Some of our team members were also able to raise $400 and $700 at two different churches to go towards clinic expenses. Yay!

The logistics of the trip and travel are in the works and I can hardly contain myself as I wait to hear what our days will consist of and what communities we will be working in!

Last year, I didn't have a blog so I spent a lot of time writing in my travel journal. Now, I am reading back on my thoughts during my time there. I'd like to share a few of those that remind me of why we work so hard to raise the money for our own trips and clinic expenses.

"Someone did not eat their sandwich for lunch so they gave it to one of the little girls. It was humbling and it broke my heart as I watched this little girl break that sandwich into 6 pieces to share with her siblings."

"Although to some, the scenery was run down by the pieces of tin put together to make houses, the dirt roads, and the livestock running wild, I thought it was absolutely beautiful in its own aspect."

Tonight, I am humbled and ready to serve God wherever he calls, and answer with send me!

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.