Welcome MET Students

This weekend we spent time with our new Medical Evangelism Training interns studying missiology and culture an getting to know each other.  We have a great team this year (as always!) and they have great attitudes.  Our weekend training with the students is primarily for them, but we always feel like we get our sights re-adjusted and our spirits encouraged when we listen to Roger McCown teach.
At the end of the orientation weekend, we split up our team of interns and brought half with us to the Highlands while the other half start off in the the coast at Montellano.
Here are some pics from our time together and getting settled in their host familes.

Thankfully this hammock bridge was in better shape than the one Indiana Jones had to cross!

"Tae in da wai-nd"  Our students at the rubber tree plantation.

Kyle, Gabby, Anna, Kelsy, Aubry, and Easton overlooking beautiful Lake Atitlan.

Kelsy's all set up in her new pad. She even got a brand new mattress set!



The first of FOUR coffee and bread receptions with the host familes...we shouldn't have stopped for that pizza for lunch!

Easton with his host parents.

Aubry with her host parents.

Gabby with her kashel--When you share the same name as someone they are your kashel.

Anna getting tucked in.

Kyle towering over his doorway.



Driving lessons

I'm in the truck riding in the passenger seat, teaching our youngest health promoter Josue how to drive a stick shift on a dirt road dotted with one-lane bridges and uphill stretches. He is doing pretty well, although I have to stop myself on occasion from yelling "watch out!" and "you're going to kill us!" and "Lord, help us!"  After crossing a washed-out part of the road with deep drop-offs on either side, he realizes he will have to quickly downshift to make the uphill climb that follows.  He throws it into first gear only to realize that he is in neutral and starts to roll backwards.  Thankfully, he is able to brake without stalling out and gets his first lesson on proper use of the emergency brake while gunning the engine and massaging the clutch.  After a few kilometers we reach the fork in the road, and  I reclaim the driver's seat to save us all from certain death on the upcoming perilious stretch.  I know on the inside he is disappointed until he sees the steep cliffs bordering the next two narrow bridges we come to.   I let him know he did great and we'll keep practicing... Lord, help us!

New Church - Chijtinimit

Yesterday Lisa and Josue took off to clinic in Chuchipaca, Sheri and Manuel traveled to La Palma for an education session with the ABC kids from La Palma and Las Cuevas and Kemmel went to the inauguration of a new church in Chijtinimit, the first town you come to going out the cemetery road.

This church is a sister church to the increasing Chichicastenango church.  There are quite a few families from the Chichi church from Chijtinimit and they have dreamed a long time about starting a church in their own village and now is the time!  The first sister church from Chichi was Xepocol, where Gaspar (HTI promoter) is from. 

As you can imagine, it was an exciting day with much emotion at he chance of starting a new church in their own community!

They made the final decision in March, started the building and now have an adobe building with a roof to start the church all with local funding.  Of course they ask for money from the organization, but we respectfully decline, keep tithing personal funds and encourage them to put forth the effort.  One of our favorite quotes from a preacher is "I have good news that we have the money necessary, but it is still in your pocket!"  Something like that, but says it all.  If it is important to us, the money is there.

Since there was a large crowd, most of the day was spent outside of the church in worship and fellowship together.  They had Churches from up to 2 hours away come to encourage them.  Very nice!

On another note, this year we have started a new part to the ministry dedicating Gaspar to full-time evangelism and ministry.  He has had multiple opportunities to visit homes of members of different churches to encourage them in times of conflict and is helping a few families reunite with their church families.  One man has not been to church for 20 years.  He is also speaking with a number of people through contacts at the clinic and is currently praying with the church in Xepocol for the uniting of a family of 8 to accept the gospel!  We are excited.  Of course this has it's challenges and one is transport - Gaspar walks alot, so to hopefully give him more flexibility we are fixing up the Suzuki Samurai for him and teaching him how to drive.  He wanted to get a motorcycle which we quickly discourage.

Gene Luna's old Suzuki - 1987 - and still running great.  We are going to give it a paint job and revitalize it for at least another 10 years - Primero Dios! 

If you would like to help revitalize the Suzuki for our evangelism vehicle, please let us know.  Every dollar counts.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Treated to Lunch

Living in a developing country you would think that free lunches would be few and far between.  But this is a very hospitable culture and we are frequently treated to meals--probably more often than we deserve!  Today Kemmel and I worked in two different places and were still honored by someone buying our lunch.  Kemmel was working in the office and was visted by one of the brothers from Paxot II, bearing fried chicken from Pollo Campero so they could sit down and talk about some ABC business.  Nice!   I was at Clinica Caris doing pap smears and procedures and got invited to a birthday lunch for one of the neighbor kids who turned 2 years old today.  They brought me a whopping bowl of chicken soup, extra noodles and fresh tamalitos, and to top it off--a cold diet coke!  About 18 of us sat in the tiny kitchen with mismatched plates and cups enjoying the birthday meal. The birthday girl got her own bowl and cup as a present from Grandma--she was excited!
We are definitely blessed and have a lot to learn from our humble but generous neighbors.

Finished Second Clinic at Caris

Today we finally had the time and opprutunity to finish the second dental clinic at Clinica Caris.  It was a good day as both Marcos and Sandra were available for the set-up as well as Maria, Martina, Mauri, Manuel and Josue.

Marcos proved to be a great dental technician as well to ensure all of the equipment was working properly and we got to use Josues skills in carpentry to do some touch up work, fix a few drawers, etc.

We recently purchased some used cabinetry, dental chairs, medical exam tables, dental equipment and dental instruments which allowed us to get things up and running.  We converted some wood medial exam tables into cabinets by replacing the bed padding with a counter-top which will be a huge help to us.

In clinic news, Ruben and team head out to San Jorge and Sheri and Gaspar to Xepol where they were able to do some house visist with some patients struggling with ilnesses. 

All in all a good day.  Ready for clinic today.